BOB CASEY - A VOICE REMEMBERED.(Column)

There are many excellent speakers who are strong, eloquent advocates for unborn children. When it comes to politicians, few can match the silver-tongued oratory of Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) or the ardent fervor of Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).

As the presidential campaign moves along and Democrats try to decide who the party's presidential nominee should be, pro-life Democrats can understandably remember, and long for, the resolute and spirited vitality of the late Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey.

A staunch Democrat, Gov. Casey addressed abortion many times and in many places. In 1994, for example, he said of abortion, "Twenty-one years ago, it was sold to America as a kind of social cure, a resolution. Instead, it has left us wounded and divided. We were promised it would broaden the circle of freedom; instead, it has narrowed the circle of humanity. We were told the whole matter was settled and would soon pass from our minds; 20 years later it tears at our souls."

He continued, "The fundamental question posed by abortion is this: Once a child has been conceived, what is the proper response of a good society - - of America at her best? If pregnancy presents a challenge, do we, as a society, rise to that challenge, or do we steal away, dispensing with the challenge by dispensing with the child? And when a pregnancy comes at a difficult time, what is the worthier response? Do we surround mother and child with protection and love, or do we hold out to her the cold comfort of a trip to an abortionist? Where is our true character to be seen, in an adoptive home or at the abortion clinic?"

Casey continued. "Since when does America abandon in despair an entire class of people, the most defenseless, innocent, and vulnerable members of the human family? How can we justify writing off the unborn child in a country which prides itself on leaving no one out and no one behind?"

Casey described America as "a people who recognize that no nation, however strong, can ever prosper if it does not protect the powerless - - before and after birth; a progressive society, precisely because we know that no nation can truly progress by leaving behind its most vulnerable members; a caring community that offers women meaningful alternatives to abortion and children and families the help they need to have a real chance to live decent, healthy, and happy lives."

Bob Casey was a proud Democrat who fought with his party over its radical pro-abortion position. He was right then, and right now.