EDITORIALS; Gauging Our Prospects.(Editorial)

"Abortion opponents have long considered the Senate to be a daunting roadblock for new abortion restrictions and conservative judicial nominees, halting many of the initiatives of a sympathetic House and a president committed to 'a culture of life.' But now, both sides in the abortion struggle agree, the Senate is changing."

From "Changing Senate Looks Much Better to Abortion Foes," New York Times, December 2

If space were unlimited, I could offer many more examples of this positive analysis and then juxtapose them against even more illustrations of those who have come to the opposite conclusion. Who is right?

The first thing to be said is, be sure to order extra copies of NRL News's special January 22 Commemorative Issue. A preliminary list of the wide-ranging stories is included in the order form found on page 7. Please note that you can dial up (202) 626-8828 to place orders over the phone.

To gauge our prospects, we need to know the strength of our Movement (growing in depth and breadth), the cultural climate (warming to the truth that abortion hurts both unborn babies and their mothers), and the caliber of leadership (top gauge in both the House and Senate, bolstered by the addition of new pro-life members and the re-election of pro-life President Bush).

In other words, all three angles of this particular triangle are promising. Let's briefly look at each.

Winning is rarely all or nothing. Positive change typically takes the form of incremental increases over time. The January issue makes it clear that our Movement is experiencing a steady growth in active support, whether we are talking about young people, African-Americans, or Hispanics.