In the 18 years since the Canadian Parliament made child killing semi-legal, the issue of this killing has never really reached a national crisis level forcing people to choose on which side of the fence they stood. It has been a constantly simmering pot, sometimes getting quite warm and other times cooling, but never boiling over. And we in the right-to-life movement have failed in our duty to the child, to our conscience and to our country.
Historically, dictators did not force citizens to make hard ethical or moral choices at the beginning of their rule. To do so would have jeopardized their position and risked spontaneous massive revolt. Instead, they worked quietly and forcefully to institute their agenda, bit by bit, piece by piece, never biting off more than the people would swallow.
Had, say, Adolf Hitler started off by forcing the German people to accept his ideas regarding the value of human life, he may have ended up as little more than a footnote in German political history. But Hitler was much more clever. What he did instead was to compromise German ethics and principles slowly, never forcing his countrymen to make big decisions. Eventually, human life was reduced to a position of intrinsic value to one of utilitarian value.
Today we are in the middle of that process, not totally respectful of human life, nor totally disrespectful. The transformation is still in progress and the question still open. But not for long! The window of opportunity for those who still believe that human lives are worth more than circumstances is quickly closing.
The media are playing a crucial role in hastening this. We who are aware of what is happening have an obligation to force people to decide if they really want to live in a secular-based elitist society where one’s value is determined by others. Take a good look at three-quarters of the countries in the world and ask yourself what isn’t possible when you undermine the principle that human life is intrinsic in value and inviolable.
What does this have to do with activism? The answer simply is EVERYTHING. We activists must confront our government, our hospitals, our communities, and, the hardest of all, our friends! Don’t let anyone say in 20 years, “Oh, we didn’t know what was going on” or “We didn’t know it was killing.” The only was we are going to make people believe that people are getting killed is to act like people are being killed!
Here are some things you can do to make a big difference on the local level as well as on the national level:
-Do not let anyone separate or categorize killing people. Don’t allow people to talk about an “abortion problem.” The only problem is that killing people is wrong no matter what their circumstance or place of residence.
-Know what you are talking about. Ask if you are unsure. Sometimes your sharpest attacker will become your best ally when he/she discovers that you have your facts straight.
-Get your feet wet by going to pro-life pickets, meetings and other places where you can watch experienced right-to-life people in action. Canada has produced several hundred very effective activists.
-Seek out other activists or potential activists and build a network capable of research, intelligence, and action.
-Form liaisons with other activist groups and even educational and service pro-life associations. Even though some of these groups may officially be “cool” towards you, you will find individuals who will share valuable information with you.
-Find out everything you can about what is happening in your area. Where is the killing taking place? Who is doing it? Who knows what is happening (politicians, doctors, nurses, ministers, etc.) and where do they stand on it? Be prepared for some surprises!
-Once you have determined that
-Your hospital skills
-Dr. Physician does the killing
-When the killing occurs (you may obtain information from a sympathetic nurse – start picketing!
-You can make your own pamphlets. For example, “This hospital normally is used to cure diseases and save lives, but an Tuesday and Thursdays, X.Y.Z. Hospital violates the very premise of its existence by taking human lives. Please speak out against this atrocity. For more information phone 123-4567 and ask for Mike or Sue.”
-Find out through your network what time babies who are scheduled for execution must arrive at the hospital. It will be difficult to determine which women are there to have their children killed. Take that into consideration in your approach. In the past I have used: “Good morning, I don’t know what you are here for, but if it does involve a crisis pregnancy, please read this over and, if you like, I would be more than happy to talk to you about it. (Hand her the pamphlet.) Have a nice day.” You can get good pamphlets from any crisis pregnancy centre or similar organization, then modify it to your needs. We used an Abortion Outreach of Calgary pamphlet and just deleted unnecessary sections. Make sure you delete and organization’s symbol or name on the photocopy.
-Once you are picketing and have your act together, do a press release stating what, when and why you are doing what you are doing. Don’t be surprised if the press tries to butcher you for “harassing” people or “disturbing” a wonderful hospital. Don’t let it bother you; even negative press coverage gets the message out and lets the public know that there are people willing to stand up against this horror. In my experience, just being at the hospital stigmatized it as “not a great place to get rid of your baby,” and statistically that had a major impact on the number of killings.
-Make an appointment with “doctors” who have become killers and ask them why they are involved with this most un-medical of operations. Ask what it will take to get them to stop. If they refuse to see you via an appointment, approach them as they enter the hospital or clinic. Be polite, respectful and assertive; make sure that there is no doubt in their minds that you will be pursuing this matter in every way possible. Here is an example: “Excuse me, Dr. Physician, my name is Bob Smith and I understand that you are involved in the killing that is taking place at this hospital. I want you to know that I am appalled and will be doing everything in my power to stop it.” Hopefully, he will respond and you can discuss why he is involved. Remember that it is impossible to defend this killing from a medical viewpoint, so be prepared for some flustered responses. Again, my own experiences in at least two cases, this was the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” and those two doctors were no longer involved in child-killing.”
-Last, but not least, do not underestimate your importance in this struggle. I’m not being nice – I’m telling you that if you don’t do something, it may not get done. An awful big weight to shoulder if your actions would have saved a child’s life! Always remember as you plan what course of action you will take that we are a movement that respects people regardless of how corrupt or dangerous they are. To forget that would be to compromise what we are fighting for and in the end negate the gains we will make.
I hope that I have given you some ideas and that this will spur you to action. Remember, ultimately this insanity will cease and we will all look back on our contribution. Let’s hope it will be one we can be proud of!