Abortion: a dead end, says priest for life

By JEFF GRAHAM

Abortion is a dead end. That is the message Father Frank Pavone, noted pro-life advocate and founder of Priests for life, wants to get out to the world.
Father Pavone was at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver May 14, for the Right to Life Gala, to share his message of life at the fund-raiser for the group's annual ad campaign.

Jeff Graham / The B.C. Catholic Father Frank Pavone, a noted pro-life advocate and the Founder of Priests for Life, blesses Cara Hudson's son Ashton (left) and Colleen Roy's son Elijah at the annual Focus on Life Gala.

"Abortion is a dead end road. As women travel down that road, they see signs that tell them it is a dead end; the Church puts up signs that tells them it's a dead end. Sometimes it's not until they reach that dead end themselves that they realize it."

Father Pavone told the crowd of 750 that once women realize that they have hit a dead end, many of them turn around, recognizing that the only way out is to start walking back in the other direction.

"When women start walking back the other way, they themselves become the sign that tells others that abortion is a dead end."

Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, noted singer Mark Donnelly, and Trinity Western University President Dr. Jonathan S. Raymond were on hand for the event.

The archbishop noted how moving the ads were, and said he prayed regularly for the work being done by pro-life advocates.

In his keynote address, Father Pavone scoffed at the pro-choice

Authentic feminism hijacked

movement's claim of being pro-woman. He said the pro-choice position twists authentic feminism, and has a misperception of the connection between a mother and her unborn child.

"The so-called pro-choice movement has hijacked authentic Christian feminism and presented it as something else. It is presented as pro-woman by protecting their freedom of choice, but we stand by the woman and her child, and give her true choice!"

"The so called pro-choice movement will also tell you that the pro-lifers will stand by the baby, but that pro-choice advocates stand by the women. However, the pro-life movement says something completely different, because they recognize that the woman and her unborn child are not something that is separate. You cannot hurt one without also hurting the other."

Father Pavone stressed that mercy, compassion, and forgiveness should be at the forefront when dealing with women who have had or are considering abortions. He also said that organizations like Pro-Life BC, which promotes life-affirming messages that empower women to choose life, do an excellent job of expressing this compassion through their ad campaigns.

"People may not be looking to get a pro-life message, but frankly we don't care if they aren't," Father Pavone said. "We are bringing this message to where the people are, we are bringing it right into their living rooms."

"Some people say, `Abortion is none of my business; I personally disagree with it, but it's not my business,' but what about child abuse? Is that our business? What about when someone gets assaulted? Is that our business?"

"It is our business because these are our brothers and sisters. We need to make it our business because we are all in the business of preserving life."

By all indications, Pro-Life BC is a model business in terms of saving lives and getting results. The Focus on Life media campaign, which it co-sponsors along with a number of different organizations, including the Archdiocese of Vancouver, is an on-going campaign using television to air woman-centred, life-affirming messages.

These high quality, non-adversarial ads deal with sanctity of life themes and inform viewers where to find help for those experiencing crisis pregnancies or suffering from a past abortion. They direct women to the 1-877-88-WOMAN hotline, where abortion-minded women can receive counselling and hear about the alternatives to abortion.

Over the months when the ads run, calls to the toll free number increase by roughly 600 per cent. Unfortunately, the group does not have enough money to keep the ads on the air for the entire year, and so the calls to the hotline drop off dramatically when the commercials are not running.

Focus on Life follows the model of Michigan Right to Life, which employed a similar ad campaign with great success. Since their media campaign, which runs year round, began in 1987, the abortion rate in Michigan has dropped 45.4 per cent. Pro-Life BC points out that if abortions drop that drastically in British Columbia, they would be saving the lives of 7,000 unborn children per year. They also point out that the major challenge for them right now is money.

Camille de Blasi-Pauley, co-counder of Healing the Culture, a Washington based pro-life organization, made the trip to open the hearts, and the wallets, of those present for the gala.

"Now we've come to the moment we've all been waiting for," she said. "We all know you didn't come here just to have a good time or to hear some great speakers, you came here to give some money."

The goal of the gala was to raise $250,000, which would allow the group to keep the ads on the air for at least four months of the year. However, de Blasi-Pauley pointed out that if the night brought in more than that goal they would be able to keep the ads on television for longer. The group hopes eventually to raise an annual budget of $1.5 million, which will allow the ads to stay on television for the entire year.

Donations can be made through www.focusonlife.ca, or sent to Focus on Life, c/o Pro Life Society of BC, #1, 2599 Cedar Park Place, Abbotsford BC, V2T 3S4. More information is available at 604-853-3413 and info@focusonlife.ca.