#339 March for Life, Call to Action, Media Bias - December 2, 2016
March for Life Is Coming Up
For the annual protest of the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, we expect to have activities on both the East Coast and West Coast. The Walk for Life West Coast is Saturday, January 21. The Washington D.C. March for Life is late this year because of the inauguration, and will be January 27. We will have a contingent in the Walk and the March, tables at associated conferences, and in D.C. a get-together at William Penn House after the March. We’ll get more specifics to you soon, but mark your calendars.
Catholic Progressives’ Call to Action Conference CLN board member Lisa Stiller staffed the Consistent Life Network table at the Call to Action (CTA) conference in Albuquerque, NM. As usual at the annual gathering, many people expressed gratitude for the table, and an interest in finding ways they can help members of their churches understand how all the life issues are connected. There were also some very productive conversations with people who consider themselves pro-choice; most agreed with the need to do a better job at addressing the systemic reasons women seek abortions.
Pictured is Lisa with Marion Paquette as they finish a walk in uptown Albuquerque. CTA participants joined Strong Families, a local nonprofit, to affirm values of justice, mercy, and love. About 125 people participated in the walk, and stood in support of the speakers from Strong Families. CL Endorser John Dear spoke about his visit to Standing Rock and did a very moving overview of Fr. Dan Berrigan's commitment to bring an end to war, and build a culture of peace.
Media Bias is Deeper After signing our Petition to the Media, Ward Ricker of Human Rights for All Ages sent in this point: “there is an even more basic bias. The media simply do not report on abortion! . . . [They] report only on the controversy surrounding abortion, not on abortion itself. To compare and illustrate: If there is a battle in Afghanistan and so many of our people died, so many of the enemy were killed, so much damage was done to infrastructure, etc., all these facts would be reported. They might report on the controversy surrounding the event – whether the fighting was justified, whose fault it was, what might be done to prevent further violence, etc. – but only after they report what actually took place. You can’t discuss these things unless you first know what actually happened. When it comes to abortion, though, they never report what actually happened (i.e., that 3000 developing humans were killed in the U.S. that day), but only on the arguments/controversy about it. If the media would start by simply reporting the facts we would be able to make progress on this. This is a much bigger and more fundamental bias then the one employed in their selection of spokespeople.” Excellent point. But the petition about bias in selecting spokespeople is still up. Be sure to sign it if you haven’t yet, and get your friends to as well.
Latest CL Blog This week's blog is a reflection from CL president Bill Samuel on a recent viral Thanksgiving happening, relating it to the simplicity of the consistent life ethic, in "The Good Grandma."
Quotation of the Week Mattie H. Brinkerhoff Revolution, 2 September 1869 (newspaper of Susan B. Anthony) When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society—so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged.
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