April 10, 2010 | In: Abortion, Culture of Life, Law & Authority, Society
Boy, did I get this one wrong!
You may or may not remember two of my previous posts regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s inclusion of prolife groups as possible domestic threats. I argued that it was a mistake to get defensive about this list because there were logical reasons for security personnel to become vigilant about possible attacks by frustrated radical fringe prolifers (of the type that shoot abortionists in the name of the cause) due to the election of a radically pro-abortion administration. I assumed that the Department of Homeland Security would be reasonable in its use of such a memo. My warning was for prolifers not to fall into alarmism, paranoia and exaggeration.
See posts Alarmism and Propaganda Have No Place in the Pro-Life Movement and Alarmism & Propaganda in the Prolife Movement Revisited to refresh your memory.
In this case, I got it totally wrong! I should have known to trust Life Issues.
Now I have heard from Peggy Hamill of Pro-Life Wisconsin, someone I have come to trust a lot, has had personal experience with where this memo has led. Pro-Life Wisconsin and its members were listed in a “thread assessment” for peacefully protesting at abortion clinics. Records of this threat assessment still exist at the local police department (thought the Department of Homeland Security has destroyed their copies).
Though they have back-pedaled, authorities took the step of listing peaceful demonstrations that are protected by First Amendment free speech and assembly rights as threats. What I thought was an over-reaction has proven to be a real threat to liberty.
Let me reiterate that I still hold to the title of my original post, “Alarmism and Propaganda Have No Place in the Pro-Life Movement.” I write such posts not to water down the prolife message, but to try to sharpen it. I truly believe that alarmism and propaganda do nothing but weaken the potency of the truth about abortion (not that my little blog with its small audience really has the power to do either). However, I now need to balance that statement with a warning about due vigilance.
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