Pro-life won’t be passive

Allan deLaubenfels (Letter to the Editor, June 11) asks why the phrase “if you oppose abortion, don’t have one” is not a good way to deal with the issue. This I similarly addressed seven years ago this month as I stated it equals “if you don’t like child abuse, don’t abuse your child but allow others to do so if they wish.” Thus, the opposition is telling pro-lifers to have total passivity for life before birth which we certainly won’t do. An excerpt from a Priests for Life prayer reads, “Today I commit myself never to be silent, never to be passive, never to be forgetful of the unborn.”

Mr. deLaubenfels continues by asking why those who believe abortion is wrong impose this belief on others. A cartoon on page 3 of the Northwest section of the S-R appears on June 10 depicting a pregnant woman. Above an arrow pointing to the child she is carrying reads on her shirt, “none of your business.”

“Or is it?” as Priests for Life director Fr. Frank Pavone would ask. Abortion is the ultimate in child abuse resulting in a baby’s death. Similarly, a woman who does give birth and has this attitude can say she may use alcohol and/or drugs without consideration for her child due to her own self-centeredness.

Patrick Kirlin

Spokane