Editor’s note: This column contains graphic material that some may find very disturbing.
Ron Kelsey is the archdiocesan consultant for the pro-life office. You can email him at: profile@archkck.org or call him at (913) 647-0350.
by Ron Kelsey
We have all been shocked by the barbaric and horrific nature of the killings by ISIS.
Yet the barbaric acts of killing unborn babies go largely unnoticed by much of society. Yet these gruesome killings occur widely and on a large scale in the United States. The state of Kansas records nearly 600 such acts each year, and nationwide the toll is around 100,000. Why are our sensibilities not offended? Is our desire for so-called sexual freedom so strong that we can even shrug off these atrocities against the unborn? Is our apathy and self-interest at such a heightened level that we are numb to these atrocities?
These abortions are performed by the procedure known as D&E (dilation and evacuation). This procedure involves grabbing the arms and legs of living, pain-capable unborn children and ripping them from their bodies.
Lest you have any doubts as to the nature of this procedure, listen to how U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is often regarded as the swing vote on pro-life issues, describes this technique: “The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn apart limb from limb. The fetus can be alive at the beginning of the dismemberment process and can survive for a time while its limbs are being torn off.”
D&E abortions should offend the sensibilities of all of society and force us into action to defend these babies. There is no justification for this barbarism. There is only rationalization and apathy. One cannot help but recall Christ’s words: “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Mt 25:45).
We have seen the benefits of legislation that both serves to provide some protection to unborn children and also serves to educate the public. Partial-birth abortion has been banned. Pain-capable unborn child legislation has been passed in Kansas and several other states. Such legislation helps to reveal the humanity and horrific plight of the children hidden from our view.
Now Kansas is the first in the nation to introduce legislation to ban the D&E abortion technique. Hopefully, this legislation will pass this legislative session. Governor Sam Brownback has stated that he will sign this legislation into law.
What kind of defense can Planned Parenthood, other pro-abortion forces, and pro-abortion legislators muster? Any such defense will certainly involve deceptive language and attempts to shift our focus away from what is actually occurring.
Help keep the focus on the barbaric nature of these abortions. Contact your legislators and ask them to ban D&E abortions.
