By Dennis Howard (c) Copyright, 2010
As Yogi Berra might say, “2010 makes 1994 seem like deja vu
all over again.”
In 1994, we were already
living under our first pro-abortion president, Bill Clinton, as we
prepared to launch the Movement for a Better America,
Then as now, abortion was a
central issue in a major Democrat national health care plan that sought to
enshrine abortion on demand as a permanent feature of American life. That
prompted me to write my first special report on “Abortion, Health Care &
the Economy.” In it, I predicted economic disaster if Americans didn’t
stop killing the unborn.
Fortunately, “HillaryCare”
died soon after, but the country was still divided. There was more
distrust of political leaders than I had ever seen before. In an interview with
the late John Cardinal O’Connor, I asked him about the hope for healing these
divisions.
He answered, “I believe with
Mother Teresa that we will have no end to war in the world, to unrest, to
hatred, to divisiveness until we generate a respect for human life.”
”I firmly believe,” he said, “
that we will either be a free people without abortion or we will be a slave
people, slaves to this violence against human life. Look at the incapacity,
look at the debility, look at the paralysis we suffer as a nation . . . It goes
beyond apathy, beyond ennui, beyond indifference. There’s fear on the streets.
There’s fear of the political system.
“It’s not merely cynicism about
the political system,” he said. “It’s fear of what the political system is
capable of doing to a people, fear of the kinds of laws legislators are capable
of passing, fear of what people will do to get elected."
His words became a virtual mission statement for us. Since then, MBA has served as a
pro-life think tank whose mission is to develop new ways to heal these moral
and spiritual divisions and work toward a genuine pro-life majority in America.
In the years since, pro-life public opinion has risen from
33% to 51% -- a dramatic rise of 3% a year.
There is no doubt that lively public discussion of the life issue on
many fronts contributed greatly to that change.
Our main contribution to that
debate is that we were the first and often the only voice to raise the issue of
the horrendous economic impact of abortion – an issue that resonates not just
with pro-life folks, but with all who are concerned with the future of our
country and our economy.
Today, that impact already amounts to $38.5 trillion in
lost GDP and is climbing by $2.5 trillion every year. It is the
major reason for the long term dislocations in our economic system. It is
rooted in the demographic shifts brought on by those who preached a gospel of
fear about a mythical “population explosion” that never came to pass.
Why
should we be surprised by a 17% unemployment rate when we have killed 17%
of our population through abortion?
We were the only voice to warn of a major economic crisis
long before it happened. Wall Street wouldn’t listen, nor would major
pro-life organizations like National Right to Life. Even Rush Limbaugh refused
to air the issue. I got through to his call screener four times, and was told
each time, “I can’t let you talk about that.” I was then curtly cut off.
Yet it would take a blind economist to overlook the
dislocations caused by the Baby Bust on Main Street and the
Baby Boom bubble on Wall Street, It was clear that a shrinking younger
generation could not absorb all the investments of the Boomers. I was finally
able to say so in a 1998 debate with the economics editor of Barron’s.
We pioneered new approaches to pro-life education aimed at young people and encouraged others to do
the same. We pointed out that “preaching to the choir” is no way to build a
genuine pro-life majority. Pre-Vatican II Catholics had been the mainstay of
the pro-life movement for 30 years. Today they make up less than 3 per cent of
the population.
We developed innovative solutions. Our research proved that well-directed
efforts can have a major impact on the pro-life leanings of the younger
generation. Our Celebrate Life seminars
for teens produced a 75% increase in those who were strongly pro-life, and a
40% increase in the overall pro-life group.
We showed that the best way to save the future was to save the younger
generation that the churches were all too often losing.
Today, the most vital pro-life
efforts are aimed at the young. You can see it at the annual March for Life
where at least half of those marching are high school and college students. You
can see it in Students for Life, Feminists for Life, and Rock for Life and the
growing number of articulate young pro-life activists on the internet. The
baton is being passed to a new generation.
The thrust of our 2010 Campaign is to carry that new direction forward in every way we can.
The two greatest dangers we face are the continued apathy of our "couch potato civilization" and the drift away from traditional values among the young driven by our over-commercialized sensate consumer culture and the failure of so many of our churches to inspire them with a higher, nobler purpose.
Yet, despite those difficulties, we are continually and happily surprised by the response of young people across the world to our message. They range from students in Australia . . . to dedicated pro-life workers in Africa . . . to graduate students in Mexico who want to devote their theses to the economic impact of abortion . . . to retired CEO's who "get the picture" . . . to talk show audiences all over the country who want the same thing we do: to leave the world a better place than we found it.
We are also heartened by the greater willingness of pro-life groups to work together for their common purpose. We are blessed with a varied, multi-faceted movement that often failed to work in unity and solidarity. That is rapidly changing as more and more groups join hands to support common goals, share research, and explore new, more effective strategies.
We
humbly admit that our backs are against the wall. Pro-life
donations have declined sharply during the current recession. Economic
pressures are sending abortion rates higher. The new health care reform act could cause abortions to soar by another 20% to 30%. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood is on its way to becoming a major operator of community health care centers across the
country.
This
is no time to relax our commitment. To achieve our goal, we must expand our
efforts, not fold our tent and fade away. Your gift can help us make your
voice heard across the land.
200
years ago, Edmund Burke warned, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph
is for good men to do nothing.” We have a choice. We can do nothing and accept a growing culture of death. Or we can do everything in our power to arrest it and rebuild the culture of life that blessed our country with greatness and prosperity for over 200 years.
This is not a political war.
Politics is far too fickle for permanent success. We are in a battle for hearts and
minds that will be decided by renewing the convictions that our Founding
Fathers brought to the task of building a government of the people, by the
people and for the people.
It is all there in the Declaration: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among
these are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And that to
secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed. . .”
Here at MBA, we see our mission as
one of making your voice heard in fresh and original ways that can make a
difference. Like Washington in the darkest hours of the American Revolution, we
husband our resources carefully. We pick our battles where we can make the most
difference. We encourage others to do the same. Above all, we refuse to give
up.
We hope you will review some of
our signal inititiatives of the last 15 years, achieved with a budget that
rarely exceeded $25,000 a year. It is
time to take these efforts well beyond that level, expanding existing programs
and using proven research to develop new ones.
Whatever you give, be assured that your
donations are received with our deepest appreciation, and that we are committed
to matching your sacrifices with our own.
Personally, I’ve been fighting the good fight
for years, often putting in 50-hour weeks researching, writing, speaking and
communicating for the cause of life. That adds up to over 40,000 volunteer
hours – all because I want to leave this world a better place for my children
. . . and for your children, too.
Yours for Life,
Dennis Howard, President
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