Tillers, Killers, and Turning Points
The blood was hardly mopped up off the floor of the Lutheran church in Witchita, Kansas where usher and late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller was gunned down, when the pro-abortion press releases got full rotation in the national media; and before the pro-life spokespeople responded.
In less time than it takes to say "public relations blitz" the news of the abortionist's murder was followed by boilerplate declarations of outrage at "anti-choice" and "extremist" violence with a smattering of hero-worship for the prolific practitioner. So frantic was the output that editors were seemingly bypassed, at least in the case of the particularly logically-contorted remarks about vigilante "anti-abortion assassins," and the late Dr. "making the ultimate sacrifice."
Typically, the pro-life side released its "we do not condone violent acts" disclaimer. By now everyone knows this is true, but the essence of public communication is stating the obvious and stating it positively.
Dr. Tiller's specialty was late-term abortions -- loosely defined as abortions performed after the 2oth week following conception.
All this is very well known. And that's a problem for the pro-choice/pro-abortion side of the debate. It's a problem because, at 20 weeks, arguments invoking the "blob of flesh" device just don't work. At 20 weeks, it's clear to anyone who looks that a "late term abortion" elimates a person -- a little baby. Eliminates -- kills -- in the most sinister and painful of ways.
It is a problem for the pro-choice argument because by now, everybody knows (0r can know, after spending a few seconds on Google) that premature babies (those delivered before week 37) have survived when delivered at the 21 week mark. Nobody believes that what is a baby at 21 weeks was a "tumor" at 20.
It's a problem for the pro-choice side because so many of that persuasion -- NARAL, NOW, the other late term abortionist, even -- curiously -- the president of the United States -- have gone on record decrying "extremists" -- which of course means anyone who dares to object to abortion -- they've gone on record decrying this "heinous crime;" yet because the late Doctor's specialty was plainly, unmistakeably, gruesomely the violent torturous murder of viable infants, your average American, who might not have given the term "late term abortion" a second thought, can't avoid thinking about it now. And when they think about it, they will do what all normal people do: recoil in horror.
It was recently reported that the majority of Americans consider themselves "pro-life" (51%, as against 42% "pro choice). How can this be, when the rock-star, reportedly universally-loved near-messiah president who was just elected is so vehemently, unapologetically in favor of abortion without limit? No matter. It is.
This great majority, this Pro-Life America, is listening to NOW, to NARAL, to the rock-star president, to CNN and the ubiquitous media defend Dr. Tiller's livelihood as though were he a saviour of women, but they are fully aware that, as a practitioner of late-term abortions, he really was a dismemberer of their babies. They know the oracles of our age who rush to defend his trade have got this one wrong -- that, wait a minute, we're talking about tender little babies here, and did this guy actually kill them? They're not okaying vigilantes anymore than they are condoning the killing of babies, but the oracles have lost credibility.
Americans know that presidential protocol doesn't include an interruption of the Sunday routine to make a presidential announcement singling out one murder in America (they're all tragic) to denounce it unless the victim is some sort of national hero or dignitary. Or some great public enemy. And they know that, if Dr. Tiller was such a hero to president Obama, then there's something really wrong with the President. He's either not paying attention, and that's bad, or he's really in favor of this unspeakable procedure, and that's...almost unthinkable.
There are times in history when people's eyes are opened, when they are jarred conscious from media-induced myopia, when they finally notice an injustice, and their will is mustered against it. It's as natural a response as a crowd tearing down a statue of Saddam Hussein; or rallying to take sledgehammer blows at the Berlin Wall. Times when people say, "we see now. Enough is enough." And they act. And they speak. And they act. And they cannot be lulled into complicity of complacency any longer. People of goodwill might be temporarily convinced enough by high-falutin' discussions about "the beginning of life" or the definition of "viability," to be agnostic about abortion, but, please, everybody knows what a baby looks like, and everyone knows that a "late term" pregnancy means there's a baby well on its way.
There is a majority -- it's out of the closet, it's been reported and put into the public debate -- at odds with a very vocal, increasingly shrill and illogical sounding minority -- albeit a very powerful minority. And this minority is on record -- in the public debate -- as advocating with all its influence something the American people just won't tolerate. Something they know is not merely misguided, but sinister. Americans have been hearing about pro-life "extremists;" they know they aren't "extremists," they're just ordinary working people, raising families and trying to pay the bills. And they know -- we all do -- that there's something very "extreme" indeed about pulverizing an unborn infant.
This is a moment, a turning point. All the momentum is about to be reversed -- it can't happen all in an instant, but there is always an instant when the other side feels immovable resistance and irresistible encroachment, and it knows it can no longer dwell boastfully in the dominant position.
This America has seen its president defend a practitioner of procedures it now understands are abominable. Tolerance is no longer an option; tolerance of "violent acts" against the innocent never was.
In less time than it takes to say "public relations blitz" the news of the abortionist's murder was followed by boilerplate declarations of outrage at "anti-choice" and "extremist" violence with a smattering of hero-worship for the prolific practitioner. So frantic was the output that editors were seemingly bypassed, at least in the case of the particularly logically-contorted remarks about vigilante "anti-abortion assassins," and the late Dr. "making the ultimate sacrifice."
Typically, the pro-life side released its "we do not condone violent acts" disclaimer. By now everyone knows this is true, but the essence of public communication is stating the obvious and stating it positively.
Dr. Tiller's specialty was late-term abortions -- loosely defined as abortions performed after the 2oth week following conception.
All this is very well known. And that's a problem for the pro-choice/pro-abortion side of the debate. It's a problem because, at 20 weeks, arguments invoking the "blob of flesh" device just don't work. At 20 weeks, it's clear to anyone who looks that a "late term abortion" elimates a person -- a little baby. Eliminates -- kills -- in the most sinister and painful of ways.
It is a problem for the pro-choice argument because by now, everybody knows (0r can know, after spending a few seconds on Google) that premature babies (those delivered before week 37) have survived when delivered at the 21 week mark. Nobody believes that what is a baby at 21 weeks was a "tumor" at 20.
It's a problem for the pro-choice side because so many of that persuasion -- NARAL, NOW, the other late term abortionist, even -- curiously -- the president of the United States -- have gone on record decrying "extremists" -- which of course means anyone who dares to object to abortion -- they've gone on record decrying this "heinous crime;" yet because the late Doctor's specialty was plainly, unmistakeably, gruesomely the violent torturous murder of viable infants, your average American, who might not have given the term "late term abortion" a second thought, can't avoid thinking about it now. And when they think about it, they will do what all normal people do: recoil in horror.
It was recently reported that the majority of Americans consider themselves "pro-life" (51%, as against 42% "pro choice). How can this be, when the rock-star, reportedly universally-loved near-messiah president who was just elected is so vehemently, unapologetically in favor of abortion without limit? No matter. It is.
This great majority, this Pro-Life America, is listening to NOW, to NARAL, to the rock-star president, to CNN and the ubiquitous media defend Dr. Tiller's livelihood as though were he a saviour of women, but they are fully aware that, as a practitioner of late-term abortions, he really was a dismemberer of their babies. They know the oracles of our age who rush to defend his trade have got this one wrong -- that, wait a minute, we're talking about tender little babies here, and did this guy actually kill them? They're not okaying vigilantes anymore than they are condoning the killing of babies, but the oracles have lost credibility.
Americans know that presidential protocol doesn't include an interruption of the Sunday routine to make a presidential announcement singling out one murder in America (they're all tragic) to denounce it unless the victim is some sort of national hero or dignitary. Or some great public enemy. And they know that, if Dr. Tiller was such a hero to president Obama, then there's something really wrong with the President. He's either not paying attention, and that's bad, or he's really in favor of this unspeakable procedure, and that's...almost unthinkable.
There are times in history when people's eyes are opened, when they are jarred conscious from media-induced myopia, when they finally notice an injustice, and their will is mustered against it. It's as natural a response as a crowd tearing down a statue of Saddam Hussein; or rallying to take sledgehammer blows at the Berlin Wall. Times when people say, "we see now. Enough is enough." And they act. And they speak. And they act. And they cannot be lulled into complicity of complacency any longer. People of goodwill might be temporarily convinced enough by high-falutin' discussions about "the beginning of life" or the definition of "viability," to be agnostic about abortion, but, please, everybody knows what a baby looks like, and everyone knows that a "late term" pregnancy means there's a baby well on its way.
There is a majority -- it's out of the closet, it's been reported and put into the public debate -- at odds with a very vocal, increasingly shrill and illogical sounding minority -- albeit a very powerful minority. And this minority is on record -- in the public debate -- as advocating with all its influence something the American people just won't tolerate. Something they know is not merely misguided, but sinister. Americans have been hearing about pro-life "extremists;" they know they aren't "extremists," they're just ordinary working people, raising families and trying to pay the bills. And they know -- we all do -- that there's something very "extreme" indeed about pulverizing an unborn infant.
This is a moment, a turning point. All the momentum is about to be reversed -- it can't happen all in an instant, but there is always an instant when the other side feels immovable resistance and irresistible encroachment, and it knows it can no longer dwell boastfully in the dominant position.
This America has seen its president defend a practitioner of procedures it now understands are abominable. Tolerance is no longer an option; tolerance of "violent acts" against the innocent never was.
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