ANN ARBOR, MI —The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is urging pro-life supporters to engage in a national debate regarding the direction of the pro-life movement. The Law Center’s active support to end abortion, including the actual drafting of state constitutional amendments that provide legal protection to the unborn, has been criticized by some national pro-life leaders. These leaders shun efforts to attack the central holding of Roe v. Wade in favor of an “incremental” approach that seeks to enact legislation that might reduce the number of abortions, without eliminating abortion all together.
Robert Muise, the Law Center attorney who prepared a Memorandum challenging the national pro-life movement’s lethargy head on, bluntly stated, “After 34 years of abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy, it is time to rethink pro-life strategy.” Muise stated further, “While seeking to decrease the number of abortions performed in this country is a laudable endeavor and should continue, we must never forget that ending all abortions is the ultimate goal.” Muise added, “It would be a tragic mistake to be content with a strategy that makes ending abortion secondary to other regulatory efforts, or worse yet, a strategy that avoids it altogether.”
The Thomas More Law Center has been working with pro-life leaders in Georgia (Georgia Right To Life) to get a state constitutional amendment passed that would provide legal protection to all human beings from the moment of fertilization. The proposed amendment would achieve two fundamental purposes that are essential to the pro-life movement. First, it would establish and affirm, without question, that Georgia is a “pro-life” state that protects all human life from the moment of fertilization as a matter of constitutional law. And second, it provides a direct challenge to the central holding of Roe v. Wade. As the Supreme Court itself acknowledged in the Roe decision, if the personhood of the fetus could be established, the abortion right “collapses.”
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, commented, “After 34 years and over 45 million babies killed in the womb, some national pro-life leaders still say ‘the time is not right.’ Martin Luther King Jr. had to contend with the same kind of argument opposing his direct action in the civil rights movement. His response from the Birmingham Jail is one that pro-lifers should take to heart: ‘Wait’ has always meant ‘Never.’ Moreover, as the famous hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, once said, ‘You miss 100 % of the shots you don’t take.’ His advice is relevant to the debate over strategy we are now engaged in—we must have national pro-life leaders who are willing to take the shots on behalf of the unborn.”
The national debate on pro-life strategy is being featured online on the Human Life Amendment website at http://personhood.net/legalcons
Our attorneys are assisting state legislators and citizens in Oregon, Montana, Colorado, as well as, Georgia in crafting state constitutional "personhood" amendments. Through your support and prayers we will be able continue to work to save lives. Please donate today to help us save innocent lives.
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.
