A Pro-Lifer Eulogizes Ted Kennedy

A Pro-Lifer Eulogizes Ted Kennedy I imagine most would like to die as Ted Kennedy did, knowing a relatively pain free end was coming - and approximately when - so as to use that gift of time to spend with loved ones as well as search their past and soul to try to make any amends necessary with the world and with God.... Kennedy was given all that, a year knowing he had terminal brain cancer before he died at home last night at the age of 77. Only God knows the condition of Kennedy's heart when he fell asleep here and woke up there. But on earth Kennedy never retracted his pro-abortion stance. We know he was capable of changing his mind because he was once pro-life. Kennedy fully understood the magnitude of the issue before renouncing the sanctity of preborn human life, as demonstrated in an August 3, 1971, letter he wrote to a pro-lifer: While the deep concern of a woman bearing an unwanted child merits consideration and sympathy, it is my personal feeling that the legalization of abortion on demand is not in accordance with the value which our civilization places on human life. Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which must be recognized - the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grow old. On the question of the individual's freedom of choice there are easily available birth control methods and information which women may employ to prevent or postpone pregnancy. But once life has begun, no matter at what stage of growth, it is my belief that termination should not be decided merely by desire.... When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception. Kennedy knew. Kennedy was called "the Lion of the Senate," by most accounts the most powerful of all, wielding tremendous influence. This means his opinion mattered more than others. In my mind Kennedy bears greater responsibility for his anti-life votes. They were not just votes. They were gauges by which others voted... and more. In his book, Onward Christian soldiers: The growing political power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States, Deal Hudson wrote: Mike Schwartz, a longtime pro-life Democrat who now works [as chief of staff] for [Republican] Tom Coburn, maintains that it is impossible to overestimate the impact decision on the Democratic Party, the Church, and politics in general: "He changed everything. Had Ted Kennedy maintained his pro-life posture, I don't think American liberalism would have said that it is a good thing to butcher the unborn." So here is Kennedy's anti-life legacy, compiled by a grateful NARAL, which consistently gave him a 100% approval rating year after year after year.... Voted NO on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP, March 14, 2008 Voted NO to increase funding to enforce the Child Custody Protection Act, previously passed in the Senate to stop interstate trafficking of minors for abortion without parental involvement, March 13, 2008 Voted YES to expand taxpayer funding of human embryonic experimentation, thwarting President Bush's moratorium, April 11, 2007 Sponsored legislation to force all hospitals, regardless of religious beliefs, to provide emergency contraception to sexual assault victims, September 26, 2006 Voted NO on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions, July 25, 2006 Voted YES on $100M to expand comprehensive sex and and availability of contraceptives to teens, March 17, 2005 Voted NO on the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which made it a crime to harm a preborn baby during the commission of a violent crime, March 25, 2004 Voted NO on the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, March 12, 2003 Voted NO on maintaining a ban against abortion on military bases, June 20, 2000 Voted NO on the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, October 21, 1999 Voted NO on banning human cloning, February 11, 1998 I once checked out Kennedy's office in the Russell Senate Building in Washington, DC. I was scouting for a friendly senator whose office we might use to film the March for Life as it passed by on Constitution Avenue. Ironically, the offices for Kennedy and his staff spanned half the length of the building, with all windows facing the March. I knew Kennedy was no friendly. Sometimes it's the little things. So farewell, Senator Kennedy. I do mourn for you if you were not right with God when you died. I hold out hope you gave your life to Jesus, accepting His gift of eternal life in exchange for His death for us on the cross. Doing so erases the gravest of sins, even one's partial responsibility for millions of abortions. And Senator Kennedy, your death also provokes me this morning into deep mourning for those innocent children. Contact: Jill Stanek Source: JillStanek.com Publish Date: August 25, 2009 Link to this article. Send this article to a friend.