Message from the President of the Montana Right to Life Organization:

People ask, "Aren't you overcome by grief and outrage for the victims of the twin tower bombings?" Yes, I am.  Rightly so. Just imagine!  All those people enclosed inside those walls, safe in the cubicles that were so familiar to each of them.  Warm, comfortable, surrounded by  the familiar, the sounds of voices and the pulsing beat of their offices.   Suddenly, they were attacked in their own surroundings. They were gripped by terror as unfamiliar metal came slashing at them through the walls.  "Why?"   We all ask ourselves. "What have any of these innocent human beings done to deserve such sudden, violent and cruel deaths?" The answer may never come, as to why the members of one group of people feel themselves justified in killing the members of another without ever having even seen their faces. Members of the Right to Life movement have been asking these questions for 30 years, without receiving adequate answers.  Why don't we recognize the humanity of others and their right to exist? Why do we permit 4000 innocent human beings to die every day in abortion clinics across the country? I have to ask, "Aren't you overcome by grief and outrage for those victims?  If not, why not?"

 I can't watch or read about the terrorist attacks in New York without seeing parallels to the abortion clinics. Every time they say the number of dead, I think of the 4000 daily in our abortion clinics. Even the way they died seems so similar:  being ripped apart, crushed, smothered, or burned.  Did you know that unborn babies feel pain, and that they recoil from the abortionists' surgical instruments as they approach them?   The innocent nature of the victims is paramount on everyone's minds.  Yet,
every time I think of these parallels I am aware that if I say something out loud about it, people will interpret this as my not caring about the other victims of terrorism.  This is certainly not true, but how do I convey that?  It's a question of empathy, I think.  I have a son-in-law stationed with the army in Fairbanks, another son-in-law who serves with the Air Force. My son is in an Army camp in Korea, and my other son has registered, as required by law, with the selective service. I wake up each morning with something akin to morning sickness because I feel I may become the mother of four fighting men. Giving birth to four babies (yes, I can count - I gave birth to two sons and two daughters)  was so much easier, and how I wish I could choose not to let them become soldiers, just as other women can choose not to continue their pregnancies and have an abortion instead.  But how does a person turn their backs on the cause of those dead in New York and on their nation?  A person with a conscience doesn't. Instead we empathize with them, walk a mile in their mocassins. In the same way, we in the Right to Life Movement empathize with the 4000 unborn innocent babies who die every day on American soil.  We wear the precious feet pins that replicate the tiny feet of the 10 week old unborn babies who will never take a single step on American soil, just as so many now wear red, white, and blue.

 I have heard people express a concern that this war on terrorism may be misplaced and that it may spread unchecked to other fronts.  I don't think that will happen. Our history has proven us worthy of the challenge to protect and to defend those who can not protect and defend themselves. Americans have been attacked viciously, without warning in our own territory.  We are angry and we are impatient.  We want swift and effective punishment of those who attack us. And we want to ensure that it will never happen again.  We reacted the same way to the terrorists at Columbine, and Oklahoma City.  The citizens of Billings reacted to the hate crimes against their Jewish neighbors;  and what they saw as merely "the right thing to do" became national news. The people of Wyoming and the nation were sickened by the blind, hate-driven killing of a young gay man. Many were moved to act by their empathy for him and his family.  Passive resistance doesn't give us much satisfaction, and it doesn't stop the terrorists from taking more victims while we react with peaceful protest. There are many ways to fight terrorism. Going after the Taliban in Afghanistan and stopping the brutality of Saddam Hussein in Iraq was the quicker, more effective way. We in the Pro-Life movement have chosen the non-violent response to the terrorism in the womb. It has already been 30 years,  but it can't go on much longer. People will start to open their eyes soon and realize that innocent human life is being taken in their own neighborhoods every day. I know they won't let it continue once they are made aware of it.  They will be overcome by grief and outrage, sooner or later, and then they will act.

To condemn all those in the Pro-Life Movement as being terrorists because of the actions of one such as Eric Rudolph, is unreasonable, just as it is unreasonable to condemn all Germans for the acts of Hitler, or all Iraqis for the acts of Saddam Hussein...or all the people in Billings or Wyoming for the  acts of a few.  In fact Montana Right to Life has issued the following non-violence statement:

Montana Right to Life Association strongly opposes any use of violence as a means of stopping the violence that has killed more than 31 million unborn children since 1973.  Montana Right to Life Association has always been involved in peaceful, legal activities to protect human lives threatened by abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. We have always, and continue to, oppose any form of violence to fight the violence of abortion.  Montana Right to Life Association has long had a policy of forbidding violence (or any illegal activity) by its staff, directors, chapter affiliates or members. Montana Right to Life association's sole purpose is to protect human life.  Montana Right to Life Association will continue to work in educational, legislative, and political activities to ensure the right to life for unborn children, people with disabilities, and older people.  Montana Right to Life Association will continue to work for peaceful solutions to social problems. These solutions do not involve violence against anyone.

Sincerely,
Lianna Karlin, President
Montana Right to Life

PRESIDENT LETTER ARCHIVES

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