#378 No Nukes!, Nazi Euthanasia, Clinton - September 15, 2017
Pro-Lifers March to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
The first of our actions that parallel those of Campaign Nonviolence but also include the unborn among those needing their lives protected, was held in Washington, D.C., last Saturday. The Pro-Life March to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was initiated by Rehumanize International, and co-sponsored by the Consistent Life Network, the American Solidarity Party, Feminists for Nonviolent Choices, the Franciscan Action Network, and Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore.
The group gathered in front of the White House, where we heard inspiring brief speeches from representatives of sponsoring groups, including CLN President John Whitehead. Then we marched, chanting and singing, to the Albert Einstein Memorial, where we concluded. It was a spirited group of several dozen. We got a lot of positive feedback from tourists and onlookers. There is a petition associated with this project, which remains open for signatures. Tomorrow (Saturday, September 16) there are actions in Syracuse, NY, and Kansas City, MO. We encourage you to join one of them if you can.
Euthanasia and Disabilities The September 13 issue of the New York Times has an excellent article: “The Nazis’ First Victims Were the Disabled,” by Kenny Fries. This gives a basic primer on how it was lethal prejudice against people with disabilities that set the foundation for the Holocaust. This is essential to understanding how this slippery slope came about. Fries also tells of his own personal experience. Good news! The top court in New York State ruled September 7 that the state’s ban on physician-assisted suicide is constitutional and will remain.
Clinton: “Reproductive Rights” Are Non-Negotiable
In her recently-released book, What Happened, 2016 US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says she thinks abortion should be a litmus test, with “personally opposed” candidates being ok only if they don’t mean it when it comes to legislation. In short, she cares more about feticide being readily available than she does having her party win elections. As she thinks through why she narrowly lost enough states to keep from winning the Electoral College, this point is one that passes her by. We commented on this in January; see also a Quotation of the Week. In addition to other abortion advocacy, in the third debate she allowed the abortion issue to be framed in just about the worst possible way – she defended late-term abortions. The only way to be even worse is to defend sex-selection abortions. Our member group Democrats for Life comments that when the Democrats lost their pro-life members in the Congress, they also lost their majority.
Quotation of the Week
Richard John Neuhaus, in a speech at a 1972 pro-life rally From “Youth Pro-Life Rally Has Anti-Abortion Theme,” Washington Star, September 4, 1972 The anti-abortion forces are not instruments of political and social conservatism. Rather they are related to the protest against the Indochina war, the militarization of American life, and the social crimes perpetrated against the poor.
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