PRO-LIFE: WE'RE THE ONES TRYING TO STOP THE VIOLENCE
by Mary Beth Bonacci
Last time, we decided that we're in big trouble, just like Pope
John Paul II says, if we don't defend life. If some people have
so little respect for life that they'll kill unborn bablies, they
won't stop there. So we need to get busy.
The next question, then, is how do we get busy? How do we
defend life?
Today, I'm going to start with how we don't defend life. We
don't do it by taking other peoples' lives. We don't do it by
killing abortion doctors.
I'm sure that any of you who are known among your friends as
being pro-life have had to deal with this since Dr. Britton was
killed in Florida this summer. People are asking you to explain
how, in the name of pro-life, someone can justify killing
someone else. You see people on TV ranting and raving about
how these pro-lifers are really a bunch of violent terrorists, and
you're not too sure you even want to be known as pro-life any
more. How can pro-lifers defend killing this guy?
They can't. And they haven't.
Pro-liferes who actually do respect human life are appalled by
what happened. Every single national pro-life leader has
denounced the killing in no uncertain terms. This is exactly
what we're against. A real pro-lifer is the last person who
would kill anyone. We're against violence. We're the ones
outside trying to stop the violence. We're the ones who want
people to live.
Paul Hill, the guy who has been charged with the murder, has
supported the idea of killing abortion doctors for quite a while,
while saying that it's justified in a "war," and it's self-defense to
defend those innocent children against a man who would kill
them.
Now, there's no doubt Dr. Britton was killing unborn children.
And that's a very bad thing to do. A hideous thing. But even
people who do hideous things have a right not to have their
lives taken by individual vigilantes. To kill him was to play
God -- judge, jury and executioner all rolled up into one. Self-
defense? The Church says that, in self-defense, if someone is in
immediate danger, we have the right to exert as much force as
is necessary to remove the danger. No more. What would it
have taken to stop the danger? Sitting in front of the door could
definitely be justified. Shooting to kill can't.
The biggest evil in abortion is not the fact that babies die. That's
evil, all right, and man has no right to do that. But those babies
go to a better place. The biggest evil is the eternal souls that are
lost -- people who play God taking other lives and lose their
souls as a result. That's why we should pray for the souls of
those who perform abortions.
What happened here? A man in the midst of a sinful life was
shot in cold blood. Killing him didn't stop abortion. It probably
didn't save one single life. But he has been robbed of the chance
to repent and to be reconciled with God. We can't know what
happened to Dr. Britton's soul -- only God can judge that. But
his life should not have been taken, and it definitely should not
have been taken by someone claiming to be "pro-life."
Naturally, the pro-abortion forces are using this to try to
convince people that all pro-lifers are violent, which is
ludicrous. The thing is, every single social movement in
history, from women's liberation to the civil rights movement,
has had what we call a "lunatic fringe." People who tend to be
unbalanced are often attracted to causes. I guess a lunatic alone
is just a lunatic, but a lunatic for a cause can convince himself
he's a hero. And so acts of senseless violence have always been
committed in the name of social movements, no matter how
noble the cause.
The difference is, with other causes, people are smart enough
to recognize that the movement itself isn't responsible for the
violence of individual lunatics. Paul Hill is not a "pro-life
leader." No one really knew who he was. He was just a guy
who showed up at a couple of meetings, and got a lot of
attention for screaming that abortionists should die. Pro-lifers
who are putting their lives on the line to save others don't
deserve to be lumped in with him. But for some reason, being
pro-life is unpopular enough that some people want to believe
we're violent. I guess it's easier than accepting that we're right.
Pro-life means just that -- pro-life. It means we respect all life,
not just the lives we like. A real pro-lifer brings that respect into
his everyday life, and to all of his pro-life work.
Don't give up your pro-life work. Don't be afraid to tell people
where you stand. Just make sure that, in you, they see what a
pro-life person is really like. Remember, they'll know we are
Christians by our love. Not by our guns.
Bonacci is a frequent lecturer on chastity.
This article appeared in the September 1, 1994 issue of "The
Arlington Catholic Herald."
Courtesy of the "Arlington Catholic Herald" diocesan
newspaper of the Arlington (VA) diocese. For subscription
information, call 1-800-377-0511 or write 200 North Glebe
Road, Suite 607 Arlington, VA 22203.
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