Speakers to press pro-life cause

By KATE BLAIN- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

"How come somebody who is a Jewish, atheist civil libertarian is also pro-life? Because I can read."

When the annual New York State Right to Life convention is held Sept. 23 in Schenectady, 11 guest speakers will stand up for life. One of them is Village Voice journalist Nat Hentoff, who said the above to The Evangelist.

Another speaker will be Alveda King, daughter of civil rights leader Rev. A.D. King and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Both plan to outline why they are pro-life.

As a reporter, Mr. Hentoff explained, he has interviewed neonatal specialists who routinely save premature infants the same ages as others who are aborted. He finds it "bizarre" and "outrageous" that doctors "can remedy some defect a fetus has, or kill it the next day."

With such an attitude in the U.S. toward the beginning of life, the journalist said, a "culture of death" obviously follows. He noted that acceptance of euthanasia is one example: "It's not surprising that we have a culture that says, `Okay -- pull the plug.'"

In his talk, Mr. Hentoff said, he will explain the truth behind laws that use deceptive language to allow partial-birth abortion even though they appear to ban it. As an example, he cited laws that include provisions "`for the health of the mother.' That means anything the abortionist wants it to say. It's a scam. People don't know the truth."

Speaking up

Ms. King told The Evangelist that she speaks up for life as a mother of six children, a grandmother -- and someone who has had an abortion.

"I'm a firsthand victim of abortion: right after Roe v. Wade, with no information," she explained. "It was supposedly to protect my health."

Today, she believes abortion is "a tragedy, an atrocity. Statistically, it's proven that so many abortions occur for the wrong reasons or no reason. Congress has attempted to pass [bans] on partial-birth abortion, but the president has vetoed it."

Right to live

Ms. King is puzzled by laws that say harming the body of a pregnant woman so that her unborn child dies is murder, when abortion does the same thing and is considered acceptable.

"Every human being has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," she stated. "Those children -- and I say `children' -- have the right to live."

It angers her when people argue that her uncle would have applauded abortion rights. "People say if Dr. King were alive, he would support a woman's right to choose," she remarked. "Dr. King would also support the right of that child to live. He'd have to. I knew him."

Furthermore, she noted, "my uncle said the Negro could not succeed if we were willing to compromise our lives and our young for our own safety and pleasure. It's our responsibility to say, `No, we're not going to continue to kill and desecrate our young.' It's a woman's right to choose, but it's a baby's right to live."

Rouse the people

Ms. King especially hopes to get young people to agree with her position.

"I want to rouse the community about the opportunity to make a difference," she said. "It is time for America to stand up, stand out and find what each individual can do in the community."

("Millennium Thrust," the 2000 Right to Life convention, will be held Sept. 23, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Ramada Inn in Schenectady. For information or to register, call 434-1293.)

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