By Carol Tobias, President
Editor’s note. This appears in the March edition of NRL News which arrived in your email today. Please share this latest edition of the “pro-life newspaper of record” with your pro-life family and friends.
I was invited by Ibero-American Congress for Life and Family (CIVF) to join them for some special events in Guatemala last week. The president of Guatemala, Dr. Alejandro Giammattei, was hosting a celebration that declared Guatemala to be the “Pro-Life Capital of Ibero-America.”
In conjunction with this celebration, CIVF was hosting its “6th Annual Assembly of the Ibero-American Congress for Life and Family,” along with the “Continental Summit of Government Officials.” I was asked to participate on a panel titled, “Defending Life: new global challenges” for the Annual Assembly. I, of course, accepted the invitation with pleasure!
The title of “Pro-Life Capital of Ibero-America,” given to Guatemala, is well-deserved. President Giamattei and the congressional leadership are strongly pro-life. The country’s law does not allow abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger. And Guatemala is the latest country to sign on to the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a critical effort coordinated by President Trump’s administration.
Initially signed by the US and 31 other countries, the Geneva Consensus Declaration firmly states that there is no international right to abortion and that every country has the sovereign right to make their own laws to protect innocent human life. Guatemala became the 35th country to sign the document.
Guatemala would have been the 36th signatory but, unfortunately yet not surprisingly, one of Joe Biden’s first acts as president was to withdraw the US as a signatory to the Declaration.
The Assembly hosted by CIVF was extremely encouraging. As you would expect, with a name like “Ibero-America,” most attendees spoke Spanish and many were bilingual. They welcomed English-only speakers from the US to the Assembly in an effort to unite our goals and efforts on behalf of life.
There were pastors who wanted to help equip other pastors to promote life in their congregations. There were those who, like me, represented organizations that work to affect public policy. Others work with pregnancy centers and adoption promotion and post-abortive women. The people in attendance represented a variety of interests and talents that make up the pro-life movement.
During my panel discussion, I was asked what I considered the biggest local (US) and global challenges for the pro-life movement. I narrowed it down to two items.
The biggest battle we have is to make sure Democrats in Congress do not have the votes to enact a radical unlimited-abortion-on-demand-for-all-nine-months-of-pregnancy law as a national law–over-riding the many pro-life laws in effect in the states. In addition, we must make sure pro-abortionists do not add a sufficient number of justices to the Supreme Court to lock in that law for many, many years to come. The “easy” solution is to elect pro-life candidates, especially US Senate candidates, in November.
I explained why my biggest global concern is the abortion pill. Women are basically being assured that killing their baby is about as easy as taking an aspirin. The abortion pill is dangerous for baby and mother, and is becoming increasingly easier to obtain.
I addressed the way many of our state affiliates are confronting the increased use of mifepristone/misoprostol through legislation. Various efforts include a requirement that the abortionist inform women about the Abortion Pill Reversal process. Genuine informed consent should include making sure a woman knows that, if she begins the two-drug chemical abortion technique but changes her mind after taking the first drug (mifepristone) but before taking the second dose of pills (misoprostol), she may be able to seek help to save her baby.
Other provisions would prevent sending abortion pills directly into a woman’s home via mail. Requiring that the woman meet in-person with the abortion pill-prescribing doctor so that she can be given a physical exam to determine possible complications or dangers for her individual situation is essential. In addition the visit presents the opportunity to conduct an ultrasound and/or the critical ability to date the pregnancy. The numbers of complications, failures and incomplete abortions rise the farther along the woman is past the official 10-week cutoff.
As I watched President Giamattei unveil a monument declaring Guatemala “Pro-Life Capitol of Ibero-America,” I thought of my beloved country. For 400 years, people around the world have looked to America as a beacon of hope; the land of freedom and liberty and opportunity. Ronald Reagan called America a shining city on a hill.
But that light has dimmed. In 50 years, we’ve killed more than 63 million unborn children, and we’ve given billions of dollars to organizations that promote and perform abortions in developing countries.
Just maybe, this year, the US Supreme Court will overturn Roe v Wade so we can protect babies, at least in some states (unless, as stated above, Democrats in Congress pass a national pro-abortion law). And we’ll work hard to elect another president who won’t fund abortion.
I want America, again, to be a light to the world, promoting the sanctity and dignity of human life. But we have a lot of work to do.
We need to elect pro-life candidates in this year’s elections. We need to educate more people about the humanity of the unborn child and why we need to protect and defend our weakest and most vulnerable brothers and sisters. We need to help women who think their only or best option is killing their child, and we need to provide support for women who are dealing with post-abortion after-effects.
Let’s help America to shine!