By Judie Brown
Many years ago I sat at a table in the White House, looking at a dumbfounded President Ronald Reagan. I had just told him that under his administration, research was being funded in the United States on an abortion pill called RU-486. He took the documents from me, handed them to Ed Meese, and said, "This is wrong. Look into this."
Well, God rest his soul, President Reagan's horror did not result in an elimination of the research money. As a matter of fact, the death pill has been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and is currently being used throughout the nation as "safe medical abortion."
The record shows, however, that RU-486 (now known as "mifepristone") is not safe for every mother who ingests it. Today we know that at least two more mothers have died because Planned Parenthood and their allies simply cannot get enough abortion. These women died needlessly, for if the very organization that had provided the deadly drug had provided affirmation of motherhood and willing affection for the child, neither mother would have succumbed.
It is obvious that dealing with Planned Parenthood is much like witnessing the effects of a high-powered vacuum cleaner that sucks up much more than dirt, wrecking everything in its wake.
In 1985, RU-486 was a very bad idea that was being imported to America from France. Today it is simply another tool in the arsenal of weapons being used to kill innocent preborn children ? children who are perceived to be annoyances, inconveniences or simply problems in need of easy solutions.
When I heard of the most recent deaths and that they were connected to Planned Parenthood facilities, it created a picture in my mind. I imagined a very dark place where gnomes are busily occupied concocting devious plans for those who are steeped in the business of abortion. I could hear them cackling aloud as they recognized the successes of those who have solved the problem of sexual promiscuity by eliminating the result ? the baby. You might think that is a bit far-fetched, but so is killing babies and calling it "protecting reproductive choices."
The mantra of "safe and legal" has shrouded the ugly facts about abortion for years now. These most recent deaths have been accepted as part of the price a culture must pay when it persists in refining methods for aborting the results of people's unwillingness to accept responsibility for their actions. Not only do we hear very little about the mothers who die because of abortion, we also hear very little about any of the side effects of RU-486 ? side effects that are unhealthy for some, deadly for others.
Planned Parenthood's rhetoric aside, the facts rarely see the light of day on questions like abortion.
Frankly, I have never liked anything that Planned Parenthood stands for. I have become somewhat accustomed to the assortment of gunk in Planned Parenthood's public relations grab bag, but the organization has outdone itself with the extremely awkward expressions of compassion it unleashed in the wake of these most recent deaths. As Vanessa Cullins, M.D., said in the official Planned Parenthood media release, "We do not know the exact cause of these incidents, but we do know that they have caused enormous pain and anguish."
Cullins immediately moved on to the abortion statistics relating to the use of RU-486, as if to provide the grieving families with the comfort of knowing that after more than half a million "medication abortions" in the country, a mere seven women have died.
I can hear those gnomes saying, "Not to worry, folks. The loss of your loved one is a minor problem in the scope of our successes, but gosh, we are sorry she died."
Far fetched? You decide.
As if that blatant lack of respect for the dead is not enough, we have heard nary a word from the White House. It seems that the war of terror being waged on preborn children is of no interest as long as there is a war on terror that can preoccupy the president. After all, his mushy position on abortion does not require him to acknowledge something as minor as the deaths of two unfortunate victims of Planned Parenthood's prowess gone awry.
If this all sounds a bit cynical to you, then you are finally
beginning to understand the problem. We are faced with a tragedy beyond all telling. Two more mothers have died in this war on procreation ? and only God knows precisely how many preborn children. The sadness is gripping; the loss is staggering, but the silence is frightening.
An apathetic public is a vulnerable public; and if America persists in her affection for the elimination of "products of conception" (i.e., babies), I fear we will see a decline the likes of which we cannot imagine. No, not a moral decline, for that is already upon us; but a decline in our ability to relate to our fellow human beings who have survived the womb. For as surely as we have accepted direct killing in the womb, it is not a stretch to conceive of a time when direct killing of any type will simply be considered part of taking care of Number One.
It's time for the crucial questions not only to be asked, but to be answered. If you have never thought about the proper responses, it might be time to at least think about the questions:
Since when are human beings mere calculations on the slide rule of life?
Why is it that we are living in a nation where the government is more concerned with what happens in a distant land than they are with the human destruction that is described as "freedom of choice"?
How can it be that the agency of our government that is charged with protecting our citizens from dangerous drugs can approve a chemical that kills preborn people and occasionally kills their mothers?
Why hasn't the Food and Drug Administration recalled this drug?
Why isn't the Bush administration demanding that the FDA do so?
Why aren't members of Congress cutting off the millions of dollars that flow into Planned Parenthood bank accounts?
What is it that mesmerizes so many of us with a false sense of security amidst the human, psychological, spiritual and mental devastation that occurs every few seconds of every single day?
That's right. It's that many babies who die; that many mothers who will never be the same; that many families deluded into thinking "it's a choice, not a child."
Release issued: 23 Mar 06