Respect Life Issues

October is Respect Life Month, a reminder of a very important topic which we must address each day of our lives, not just the days of October.  In less than two weeks we will have an opportunity to go to the polls and vote for our legislators who have been espousing positions on many issues.  Abortion is only one issue, but one of great import because here in the United States alone since the Roe v Wade decision it has directly affected 40 million children, 40 million mothers and 40 million fathers – 120 million human beings, a number equivalent to 40% of the population of our country!  And that does not include the indirect effects on their immediate and extended families.  At the heart of this issue is a lack of respect for the life of the unborn child

Shockingly, a lack of respect for the life of each human being can be found in the positions of candidates on many other issues.  We hear a great deal about “no child left behind”, a noble goal to see each child reach their full intellectual capability – a respect for the life of each individual child.  If the child is ill or malnourished, he or she cannot attain maximum development.  Seeing to it that each child has proper medical care and nourishment must be part of that same package to truly respect the humanity of that child.

What is the candidate’s position on the minimum wage?  If the minimum wage does not allow an individual to purchase adequate nutrition, affordable health care and shelter, then there is a lack of respect for that human being’s life.

What is being done to alleviate the suffering of the victims of Katrina?  These people have all the needs they had before the catastrophe and now even more.  Care for these people’s needs is respect for their lives.

What is the candidate’s position on immigration issues?  The only native American is the American Indian.  For the most part we are immigrants or descendents of immigrants.  We must show respect for their lives, native and immigrant.

What is being done for the dependents of our soldiers killed in war, those temporarily disabled, those permanently disabled and those returned uninjured?  Their needs must be met for as long as it takes out of respect for their lives.

Undoubtedly close examination of many of the issues will have at their core a position that will be easily seen as showing respect for the dignity of the human lives affected  or a disregard for it.  A Pro-Life candidate will act with Respect for Life in all issues.

Our duty will be to decide which of the candidates is the most consistently pro-life. Although that will be a difficult task, it nonetheless is our duty and we hope to see you all at the polls.

Peter Moore, PhD    George A. Sprecace, M.D., J.D.