A small step for life

I participated in 40 Days for Life in Tucson this month. It was a big step for me. I have long thought that one of the most barbaric acts remaining in the modern world is the murder of the unborn. The idea that the issue could be recharacterized as a feminist issue or a privacy issue seems ludicrous to me when the intentional caused death of a human being is the "elephant" sitting in the room. Going to actually sit with other peaceful protesters, to pray with them, to stare at a nearby abortion mill is an act of introducing the "elephant in the room." The location is a quiet street I have often driven by. The imagination staggers to think of human lives ripped from the mother's body nearby. It is impossible not to think of quiet German towns where the trains ran on time--filled with more victims to go to the death camps and all around people calmly went about their normal business. Perhaps one day, this murderous practice will seem as bizarre and anachronistic as slavery and many other ways humans have been cruel through history. Going and sitting there was a profound interruption to that habitual flow in my life...and I felt happy to be there. The people I met love God and love life and believe in life--the right to life for all. With that outlook I feel comfortable. So close to the location of legally sanctioned murder and the horror of the concept, I felt a real peace. It was a privilege to pray with the people who gathered there on the two occasions. There were not many people there and there was not a lot happening that can be seen by the eye. The tiny gesture to just show up and think about it and focus on it was for me a profound experience. It makes me feel compassion for the victims--both the murdered children and their mothers, rather than angry. It is such a trivial thing for me to come and sit by an abortion mill for a couple of hours. For them, the visit is a life-changing event.