November 2007 Newsletter
Back to Main Newsletters Page"Our 2007 Who Decides? Report Card illustrates that choice is at risk across the nation. Almost half of the states received failing grades based on their restrictions on access to contraception and abortion. The nation's overall grade for women's reproductive rights remains a dismal D-."
- Website excerpt from NARAL Pro-Choice America
October 2007
Our Board Chairman and co-founder, Fr. Robert Spitzer, is fond of observing that the pro-abortion movement is in a "dogmatic slumber."
The ideology of the culture of death hasn't changed much in the last forty years. Their rhetoric sounds increasingly stale, especially to those women and men who have been victimized by abortion and know first-hand about the empty promises of "reproductive rights."
The stagnant condition of the pro-abortion movement has created a tremendous opportunity for pro-life organizations, including Healing the Culture, to make real inroads in the battle to change our culture.
The good news is: there is abundant evidence that our work is succeeding. If you're skeptical about that, I hope you'll read on and let me tell you more.
You've probably picked up from our previous letters that we're not at all gloomy about the future of the pro-life movement at Healing the Culture. This comes as a surprise to many people, especially since we're based in the Seattle area - arguably the "poster child" for everything that's wrong with our culture! So, our optimism is not rooted in any kind of naivete about the state of our culture - we see the worst of it every time we pick up a paper or watch the news!
Many pro-life people measure success based only on the outcome of political and judicial battles. And it's true, if you look only at court decisions and legislative acts, it's easy to conclude that the goal of having every vulnerable person protected by law seems very distant indeed. But is it?
It's usually the case that political change lags far behind cultural change, sometimes by many years or decades. And while pro-life political success has been limited and incremental, in the cultural realm the progress has been far-reaching and dramatic. Some of the best evidence for this comes from pro-abortion groups. The following facts regarding abortion in the U.S. are taken verbatim from the website of a pro-abortion group called the "Abortion Access Project:"
- "Since 1982, the number of abortion providers has decreased by 37 percent."
- "From 1982 to 2000, the number of hospitals providing abortions has decreased by 57 percent."
- "87 percent of all U.S. counties and 97 percent of all rural U.S. counties have no abortion provider."
- "In 1983, 42 percent of all OB/GYN doctors performed abortions. In 1995, only 33 percent did. The overwhelming majority of abortions are performed by a small group of doctors: Only 2 percent of U.S. OB/GYN doctors perform more than 25 abortions per month."
- "58 percent of all OB/GYN doctors who provide abortions are 50 years of age or older. This means the number of providers will continue to decline as current providers reach retirement age, unless younger clinicians learn to perform abortions."
- "72 percent of OB/GYN residency programs do not train all residents in abortion procedures."
Do you see the significance of this? Abortion has been stigmatized to the point where doctors don't want to perform it, students don't want to learn it, and schools don't want to teach it. This kind of cultural change did not happen by accident it happened because you and I, and millions of like-minded people, have been persistent in exposing the Culture of Death for what it is.
Given the trends above, it should come as no surprise that both the number and rate of abortions in the United States is on the decline. The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) is the research arm of Planned Parenthood, which performs more abortions than any other entity in the U.S. According to AGI statistics, the abortion rate for women of reproductive age declined by more than 28 percent from 1981 to 2002!
AGI cites the following as one of the reasons for the decline: "More women are choosing to continue their unintended pregnancies or are unable to obtain abortion services."
The pro-abortion edifice is more vulnerable than ever. Will you help us take advantage of this opportunity by renewing your financial support for Healing the Culture? Your gift will help us expand our educational efforts and reach more people with our compelling pro-life message.
Our goal is nothing less than building a culture where practices such as abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide are as unthinkable as slavery.
Please consider using the enclosed envelope to send a donation of whatever amount you can afford. Your financial support of Healing the Culture allows you to partner with us on the most important humanitarian cause of our time. Thank you for your generous support!
Blessings,
Camille Pauley
President
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