Fearing No Evil.(Editorial)

There is no telling for absolute sure when the Senate debate on cloning will take place (Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle originally promised March before abruptly pushing the date back to April), but it now appears that it will be sometime before May 24. Whatever happens, good or ill, know that National Right to Life will continue going all-out, throttle wide-open, opposing every effort to commodify early human embryos. That's why you have placed your trust in this organization. We won't let you down.

As this edition of the "right to life newspaper of record" came together, it struck me how one thread ran through so many stories, even some I did not have room to include. See if you agree.

First, there is the long, drawn-out fight over the euphemistically labeled campaign finance "reform." Opponents have cried foul, protesting that many of the bill's components are like rabbit punches to the solar plexus of free speech. Proponents won the first round, but opponents, such as NRLC, have asked a third party--the federal courts--to pay homage to the Constitution and overturn the decision.

Then there is the 11th hour veto by West Virginia Gov. Robert Wise of the recently passed Women's Right to Know Act. (See page 29.) He did so, champion of fair play that he is, at the last possible minute, leaving no chance for supporters to organize an override vote. But members of West Virginians for Life have not given up. Even as I write this they are working feverishly to secure signatures from legislators to petition the governor to call a special session.

Tom Strahan provides a much needed corrective on page 14. While the courts may completely miscast abortion as a "woman's issue" only, treating the opinions and attitudes of men as if they are superfluous to her decision is not only ethically challenged, but also completely ignores the real-world dynamics of a crisis pregnancy.

On page 30, you'll read about a case in North Dakota. A judge there ruled that an abortion clinic had not purposefully misstated the situation when it distributed brochures to prospective clients that boldly asserted there is no connection between an induced abortion and a heightened risk of breast cancer later in life.

In a story we'll run next time, the Rev. Ben Sheldon writes about a topic we don't explore enough in NRL News: why pastors fail to preach more on abortion. His insights, as always, illuminate a subject too often overlooked.