I am looking for a quotation from a speech by Henry Hyde in which he described the way in which aborted babies will speak up for pro-life workers when they die and stand before God. Where can I find it? L.M., Ottawa.
There is one speech reported in Hyde’s “For Every Idle Silence.” He has used this in other talks. “I believe, speaking for the pro-life people, that when the final judgment comes – as it will surely – when that moment comes that you face Almighty God – the individual judgment, the particular judgment – I believe that a terror will grip your soul like non other you can imagine. The sins of omission will be what weigh you down; not the things you’ve done wrong, the chances you’ve taken, but the things you have failed to do, the times that you stepped back, the times you didn’t speak out.
“Not only for every idle word but for every idle silence must man render an account. I think that you will be overwhelmed with remorse for the things you failed to do.
“But I do believe that people in the pro-life movement will hear voices on their behalf advocating Christ’s mercy. I think they will hear little voices that were never heard in this world but are heard in the next world in a chorus like Handel’s Messiah saying: “Forgive him, forgive him, he loved us very much.”
“I believe the terror that you will feel at that time, if you work for the unborn, will be lifted when you hear the words: ‘Come, beloved of my Father and enter the Kingdom.’”
(Note: Henry Hyde, a U.S. Congressman from Illinois has been a leading opponent of legalized abortion since 1969, first in the Illinois Assembly and, since 1974, in Congress in Washington, D.C.)
In the coming election shouldn’t we judge political candidates on their whole policies and record, and not just one issue – abortion? R.T., Vancouver
A political candidate who thinks that it is perfectly legitimate to kill an innocent pre-born child is unworthy of, and unfit for, any office. Politicians who believe that some human beings can be destroyed, quite deliberately, because they are “unwanted” are a danger to all of us, and cannot be trusted with power. If a politician thinks that human life is so cheap, so worthless, that a pre-born baby can be killed because he is an “inconvenience,” or an “economic burden,” or he is “handicapped,” we should all be aware that he may well use the same arguments against the infirm, the elderly, the mentally ill, the handicapped and the retarded.
Unfortunately the dangers to the vulnerable are only too real. Euthanasia is not a future threat, it is here, and now. In countries like Denmark and Holland it is open and wide-spread and there are strong forces working towards legal euthanasia. Your life, like that of the pre-born child, is safer with a pro-life candidate.
However, the fact that a person says that he is pro-life does not necessarily mean that he should be supported – he could be a liar, or untrustworthy, or even a “nut.” Check out the candidates by contacting Campaign Life Coalition.
Who was the Nobel Prize winner who thought handicapped newborn babies should not be allowed to live? W.H., Cornwall
I know of two such men. Dr. James Watson, the man who cracked the genetic code, stated, “If a child were not declared alive until three days after birth, then all parents could be allowed the choice only a few are given under the present system. The doctor could allow the child to die if the parents so choose and save a lot of misery and suffering.” He added “I believe this view is the only rational, compassionate attitude to have.”
An article by Dr. C. Everett Koop quotes Francis Crick, also a Nobel Prize winner. In January, 1978, Francis Crick was quoted in the Pacific News Service as saying: “No newborn should be declared human until it has passed certain tests regarding its genetic endowment and that if it fails these tests, it forfeits the right to live.”
Both Watson and Crick openly advocated infanticide. Dr. Koop, who spent his professional life in the service of rehabilitating babies with congenital abnormalities, warned (in 1980) that the day would come when euthanasia forces would say: “Why are you concerned about euthanasia? We have had euthanasia of infants for a long time and there has been no outcry.”
