If there is a lesson to be learned from the 2008 election, it is not that
the
pro-life movement should abandon its efforts to overturn
Roe. Rather, the lesson is that the
pro-life movement, vastly outgunned and outspent, is in dire need of an army
of professional community organizers.
The success of, and controversy surrounding, the voter registration efforts of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) illustrates this need.
The success of, and controversy surrounding, the voter registration efforts of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) illustrates this need.
During the 2008 election cycle, ACORN employed over 13,000 registration
assistance workers to successfully register 450,000 new voters.
But voter registration is just one aspect of the group's efforts. At the
heart of ACORN's outreach is the neighborhood organizing drive,
which, according to their 2005 annual report, is an effort in which a
community organizer "systematically doorknocks a defined neighborhood,
engaging in one-on-one conversations with hundreds of community residents"
While conservatives made light of community organizers - the fact that one
of them was elected to be the President of the United States should make
them stand up and take notice.
It is not that the pro-life movement lacks paid activists; after all, nationally recognized activists and leaders Joe Scheidler, Troy Newman, David Bereit, and their staffs are compensated for their full-time community outreach.
And movement does employ more than a few people, but even so, their
numbers pale in comparison to those employed by abortion rights
organizations. Of them, only a fraction are paid to engage their
community on a full or part time basis - the rest play supporting, back
office roles for local and national organizations.
There isn't a lack of unpaid activists either, as evidenced by the tens of thousands of people who participate in various pro-life activities such as the 40 Days for Life campaign as well as the small army of sidewalk counselors who, day in and day out, are saving lives in the killing fields of our nation.
But what the move lacks is an army of thousands of paid pro-life witnesses -
people who's job, day in and day out, is to spread the Gospel of Life door
to door, person to person -- without a tie-in to any political party or
political philosophy.
But what, other than wearing out the treads on their shoes and blistering their knuckles, would such an army accomplish?
For one thing, they can help put the sting back in the word "abortion," a word that has lost practically all impact and association with its true nature. From challenging individuals to come face to face with what they mean by the words "choice" and "abortion" to eliminating the numerous myths and distortions put forth by abortion rights organizations, these paid workers will help to change the hearts and minds of the nation, one family at a time.
But what, other than wearing out the treads on their shoes and blistering their knuckles, would such an army accomplish?
For one thing, they can help put the sting back in the word "abortion," a word that has lost practically all impact and association with its true nature. From challenging individuals to come face to face with what they mean by the words "choice" and "abortion" to eliminating the numerous myths and distortions put forth by abortion rights organizations, these paid workers will help to change the hearts and minds of the nation, one family at a time.
A paid army of pro-life community organizers will help bring the plight of
the unborn to the forefront of our nation's conscience, and not just during
the election season. They will help to dispel the abortion myths that have
been ingrained into our culture by the media and Planned Parenthood, and on
a scale that the pro-life movement isn't currently capable of doing.
These community organizers can hone their message to specific communities.
For example, in the African American community, the message could be fine
tuned to explain how and why this community is targeted by Planned
Parenthood.
The end result of using pro-life community organizers is that both major political parties will feel grassroots pressure to protect life, abortion will be made unthinkable, and the converted will help to further build a culture of life.
The end result of using pro-life community organizers is that both major political parties will feel grassroots pressure to protect life, abortion will be made unthinkable, and the converted will help to further build a culture of life.
But why paid activists instead of volunteers and missionaries? The answer
is simple - while many have the desire to spread the gospel of life on a
full time basis, few have the financial ability to do so. Because of this,
the number of full time activists remains low.
How can such an army be built? Well, to start with, the Catholic Bishops'
Campaign for Human Development can help - after all, they gave over
$7.3 million dollars to ACORN over the past few years. Now that they
have cut ACORN off from funding due to
allegations of fraudulent voter registration practices, they can now use
those funds to put a down payment on building the culture of life.
No single pro-life group or leader has the ability to hire tens of thousands
of organizers on their own, but together, as a coalition, we can.
The question is: "Do we have the will to do so?"
The question is: "Do we have the will to do so?"
Ruben Obregon is a founder of the No Room for Contraception Campaign and
the Pro-Life Witness Project. To receive more information on pro-life
community organizers, visit
prolifewitness.com
It is hard when you have million dollar companies donating to pro death causes.
It doesn't stop individuals from spreading the pro life message through blogs and message boards.
Fabulous plan!!
$7.3 million to ACORN??
Where is a matching grant for human rights??
We already have community organizers in many communities. They are the staffs and boards of pregnancy centers. These are the people already committed to the community and working in the pro-life movement. But, most pregnancy centers don't have the funds to do anything more than help families--and many hardly have the funds to continue doing that. Adding a canvassing program could be an addition to most centers, but would need additional funding.
Heartbeat International's Urban Initiative is working to develop centers in communities where there is no pregnancy center and an overabundance of abortion clinics. By mobilizing the community they have been able to open centers such as Heartbeat of Miami. What you're talking about is taking this process to the next level and taking the message door-to-door, not just church to church, and on a much larger scale.
Paid community organizers? Organized to do what? I am completely sold on the 40 Days for Life concept of prayer and public witness in front of abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood offices. In Scranton, for our opening event we had more than 200 people at a Mass to pray for an end to abortion and about 150 of those Prayed the Rosary in front of Planned Parenthood that first night. Dozens continued throughout the 40 days. Were they looking for pay? No.
If we engage in meaningful pro-life activity volunteers will invest their time. People need to see that they are making a difference. Once you stand on the street in front of an abortion clinic or Planned Parenthood, and experience a turn around, you know you are making a difference. Once you see the faces of the young women and men who go into the clinic or PP, and sometimes they will be young people from your school, church, or circle of family and friends, then abortion is not about statistics anymore.
I received the following email. I know it is a lengthy read, but please join us in our attempts to keep Obama from signing FOCA into law. It is the most horrific bill that could ever become law. May Our Lord help us!
Dear Friends of the Unborn,
>
> If you are opposed to abortion then there is potentially bad news on the
> horizon. For those of you who are aware, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)
> could be signed into law if congress passes it on or around January 21-22,
> 2009.
>
> The FOCA is the next sick chapter in the book of abortion. If passed into
> law, all limitations on abortion could be lifted which may result in the
> following:
>
> 1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals will be required
> to perform abortions upon request. If this happens, Bishops & the Vatican
> vow to close down all Catholic hospitals, more then 30% of all hospitals in
> the United States.
>
> 2) Partial birth abortions would be legal and have no
> limitations.
>
> 3) All U.S. tax payers would be funding abortions.
>
> 4) Parental notification will no longer be required.
>
> 5) The number of abortions will increase by a minimum of 100,000
> annually.
>
> Perhaps most importantly the government will now have control in
> the issue of abortion. This could result in a future amendment that could
> force women by law to have abortions in certain situations (rape, down
> syndrome babies, etc) and could even regulate how many children women are
> allowed to have.
>
> Needless to say this information is disturbing. As Catholics, as
> Christians, as anyone who is against the needless killing of innocent
> children, we must stand as one. We must stop this horrific act before it
> becomes a law.
>
> The Plan :
>
> Say a novena (9 days of prayer ) along with fasting starting on
> January 11th. For Catholics, the prayer of choice will be the rosary with
> intentions to stop the FOCA. Non Catholics are encouraged to pray your
> strongest prayers with the same intentions, also for nine consecutive days.
> The hope is that this will branch and blossom as to become a global effort
> with maximum impact. We have very little time so we all must act fast. Just
> do three things:
>
> 1) Pass this letter to 5 or more people
>
> 2) Do it in three days or less
>
> 3) Start the novena on January 11th and pray for nine
> consecutive days. (please also fast for at least two days during the novena)
>
>
> Remember that with God all things are possible and the power of
> prayer is undeniable. If you are against the senseless killing of
> defenseless children (babies), now is the time to do something about it!
>
> May God bless you all!!
>
4prolife
What happens if FOCA fails to pass. what happens ? Won't the existing laws still be legal? What is your solution to end abortion? What happens to abortions in other countries where abortion is legal.What is the worldwide abortion death rate?
Please give me answers
Lucy
Oh, dear readers isn't it interesting that when I finally had the time to do a cross-check, it appears that the troll who used the name TOM in December and also tried to post as JIM and then several times as LUCY and was banned in December, has been posting most recently at the very same IP address as LUCY, and isn't a prolifer at all...
S/he has been trying to be a troll on this blog for about 2 months now, at least. In about a dozen different blog posts.
Goodbye, Tom/Jim/Lucy. You've really got way too much time on your hands. Grow up, get a life, you are just proving what a foolish person you are.
READERS:
The now-two-month-long TROLL "Lucy" aka "tom" aka "jim" continues to attempt to post abusive, intolerant, harrassing, taunting, and insistently uneducated, disinformed comments on the blog.
Even if such a "new" commenter here might "say" they are really prolife, s/he could very well be lucy/tom/jim under yet another alias.
So much for that person's following his/her "great leader Obama's" way of "change", "tolerance" and "bipartisanship."
Such Obama worshippers only prove why he was the wrong choice by their being insulting, abusive, harrassing and refusing to engage in intelligent discussion.
The small minds of trolls get their jollies only by wasting your and our time.
And by doing so, they truly waste their potential.