Shout Back!
by Laura A. Cassell, CEO
If you’re like many New Yorkers, you feel like you just got punched in the gut. Newly-elected New York State senators had barely found the way to their offices in the capital when they enthusiastically voted to pass the dishonestly named Reproductive Health Act.
Let’s get to brass tacks and call it what it really is: a brazenly dangerous expansion of late-term abortion. The State of New York now officially allows abortions right up to the moment of birth. And if you think that’s a medical doctor’s decision, guess again. This ill-conceived legislation permits non-physicians to perform the procedure. So if a mother or unborn child was suddenly in mortal danger at this last moment, a non-doctor could be making these life and death calls. As a result, penal code protections for pregnant women and their unborn children were eliminated as well. So if someone attacks or batters a pregnant woman and causes a miscarriage, there will no longer be criminal penalties.
To rub salt in this gaping wound, Gov. Cuomo signed this loathsome act into law on the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. These out-of-touch politicians then had the audacity to celebrate this tragedy by illuminating both the Freedom Tower and the Alfred E. Smith Building in Albany in pink light – the first, a sacred place that actually memorializes the lives of unborn children who died in their mothers' wombs on 9/11 and the latter, named for a man who publicly proclaimed his Catholic values as former NY Governor and Democratic candidate for President in 1928. Abortion, once considered an avenue of last resort, has now inconceivably become a badge of pride.
To that end #ShoutYourAbortion is a viral movement that encourages women to boldly proclaim their abortion stories. Go online and you can watch painful videos of women angrily shouting the gruesome details of their abortions to crowds of onlookers. There are also thousands of written posts, all defiantly shouting variations of, “YES! I murdered my child!” Ironically, one entitled, “No Shame” claimed, “I am here to say that I do NOT regret my abortion and I am not ashamed!” Yet the author signed it, “Anonymous.”
How did we get to such an ugly place? In the 46 years since Roe v. Wade, we’ve witnessed extraordinary technological advances. Back in 1973, many women wouldn’t even suspect pregnancy until at least a month in, yet today it can be detected almost immediately. Sophisticated images reveal the amazing development of the fetus as it advances from embryo to its first heartbeat in week five, budding hands and feet in week seven and the formation of lovely fingernails at week ten. Had these clear and vivid signs of life – precious and undeniable – been available back then, perhaps the abortion argument wouldn’t have gained traction.
Yet, here we are, wondering how a once agonizing decision that prompted tears and heartache became cause for celebration. This didn’t happen overnight but we must snap out of our complacency immediately because we’re now plunging even deeper into a culture of death. Just this month, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam revealed the ugly truth about unfettered access to abortion. He described with chilling detachment how a baby that was already delivered after a failed abortion would be kept “comfortable” while mother and provider actually decided whether to save that life. My friends, no matter how people try to explain this away with double-talk, it’s nothing more than legalized infanticide.
Right here on Long Island, Catholic Charities has literally helped thousands of young women and their children find unconditional love at Regina Residence, our home for unwed mothers who chose life. That’s why I implore not just people of faith, but any person who values hope and love to rise up and be counted. Do not remain silent. This is a time for all good people – men and women, Republican and Democrat, young and old – to “Shout back!” and demand that this repugnant legislation be repealed. Go to www.nyscatholic.org/nys-catholic-conference-action-center and join all good people in the fight for life!