"Everyone knew it was going to be rescinded," says Wallis. "He was trying to do it quietly, without fanfare. By issuing a statement first, he sent a clear signal that he's not looking to start a fight with people who are pro-life."
In other words, if you are pro-life, you are supposed to be feeling good about the President’s decision and relax, because although abortions will skyrocket in the third world countries, it was nothing personal against you.
Anyone familiar with the pro-life movement knows there is nothing "new" about tackling social issues to reduce abortions. And really, how new is the "newness" of these groups? In this regard, Kliff is either completely new in the field or simply partisan. Just a quick Google search reveals how pro-life these new "pro-lifers" really are.
"Faith in Public Life," is headed by Rev. Jennifer Butler a Presbyterian minister, who happens to be a frequent guest of honor at Planned Parenthood events. Is Planned Parenthood the new pro-life?
James Salt, from "Catholics United," oversaw the Kansas Democratic Party’s faith outreach efforts, including messaging work for Governor Sebelius –yes, the one denied Communion by Archbishop Joseph Nauman for her pro-abortion stand- and development of faith-based messaging resources, according to his bio on Catholics United’s website.
Sister Dillon is the Operations Director for "Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good." The Franciscan Federation she headed has lobbied for decades for several social causes, but NEVER against abortion.
Moreover, "Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good" was co-founded by Alexia Kelley, who forgets to include in her extensive biography that in 2004 she worked as a religion advisor to pro-abortion Catholic Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in the closing weeks of his campaign.
More importantly, none of these groups represent a real grassroots membership.
During the latest March for Life their presence would have gone completely unnoticed if it weren’t for the systematic efforts of outlets like the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Newsweek – hardly "the cream of the crop" when it comes to pro-life friendly media- to let people know that, among the 300,000 real pro-lifers, a couple of them were out there.
So, if they don’t bring anything new and they don’t bring numbers, what are these groups really bringing to the pro-life movement? Nothing. Again, Kliff could have saved lots of ink.
(Column continues below)
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Alejandro Bermudez