Defining pro-life

In recent issues of The Evangelist, including this one, letter-writers have been engaged in a lively debate about whether President Bush deserves to be called "pro-life."

The discussion was sparked by his July veto of legislation that would have expanded stem-cell research and, therefore, the killing of human embryos. In came some letters saying that Mr. Bush may be pro-life on abortion, but not on the death penalty and war. In response, other letters said he deserved pro-life praise for his stand on behalf of unborn children.

In Duluth, Minnesota, a similar stir was created after Bishop Dennis Schnurr canceled the appearance of Sister Helen Prejean at a diocesan dinner because she signed an advertisement calling for a campaign to "drive out the Bush regime." Sister Prejean is the anti-death penalty activist and author of "Dead Man Walking."

The full-page ad in The New York Times excoriated Bush for "the murderous and utterly illegitimate war in Iraq," support of torturing prisoners, jailing people without charges, and "moving to deny women...the right to birth control and abortion."

When Sister Prejean endorsed the ad, she did not see the final version. Now, she has asked that her name be withdrawn from it.

"My stance on abortion is a matter of public record," her website says. "I stand morally opposed to killing: war, executions, killing of the old and demented, the killing of children, unborn and born. I stand squarely within the framework of 'the seamless garment' ethic of life. I believe that all of life is sacred and must be protected, especially in the vulnerable stages at the beginning of life and its end."

Two lessons can be drawn: What earns a person the sobriquet of "pro-life" is debatable -- and never sign anything without reading it.

(8/31/06) [[In-content Ad]]