Editorial

Remember Nov. 5, 2003? Many of us cheered that day when President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act into law.

Pro-life members of Congress had been working since 1993 to ban this type of abortion. It's a gruesome procedure, usually performed in the second or third trimester. A live baby is partially delivered, then the skull is punctured to sever the brain stem before the baby is delivered.

Wide support. Even so-called "pro-choice" legislators voted to ban partial-birth abortions. It is something most people agree should not be allowed in this country.

If a baby can be delivered alive, why not give this child a chance to live? Our nation is dedicated to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," isn't it? Doesn't this include unborn babies?

Federal judge's decision. Apparently not, according to a federal judge in San Francisco. On June 1, 2004, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton declared that the new law "poses an undue burden on a women's right to choose an abortion" and "may force pregnant women to undergo a procedure that is less safe."

Perhaps less safe for the mother, but what about for the baby? Obviously the baby dies a violent death during the partial-birth abortion procedure.

Mockery of the Constitution. Her decision "makes a mockery of the Constitution," said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, director of planning and information for the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. She said Judge Hamilton, by her decision, "has declared that Roe vs. Wade stands for the right to kill a child in the process of being born."

Ruse added, "The American Medical Association says this procedure is never medically necessary. To say that it is a fundamental constitutional right makes a mockery of the Constitution."

Not end of the road. Hamilton's decision places an injunction on enforcement of the law in San Francisco and in about 900 Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide. But it's not the end of the road.

A Catholic News Service article reported that a legal expert said the decision was "the first stop on a lengthy legal road that ends at the Supreme Court of the United States." Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law & Justice said he is "confident that the national ban on this horrific procedure ultimately will be declared constitutional."

Judges in Lincoln, Neb., and New York City are also expected to rule later this year. The law is primarily being challenged because it lacks an exception considering the pregnant woman's health. However, the law would have been meaningless if it had included a provision allowing the procedure if a woman's health was endangered. "Health" could even be defined as emotional health.

Judge Hamilton's decision will be appealed. No doubt this matter will ultimately reach the Supreme Court, where the justices will have to decide whether to uphold the law banning this barbaric abortion procedure.

Let's hope and pray that the court will follow the wishes of the legislative branch and a majority of citizens of this country to uphold the law and protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us.

Mary C. Uhler, editor

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We should appreciate teachers

To the editor:

The end of the school year can invite us to reflect upon teachers. Though imperfect like us, teachers influence youth who are the hope of the future. They teach future doctors, farmers, secretaries, workers, scientists, writers, priests, nuns, engineers, and others who will shape tomorrow.

Thomas Aquinas defined love as the "ability and desire to promote the good of another." Each school day teachers promote the good of students and help them to grow. They teach students knowledge, skills, and help them to discover and share their gifts. Among other things, religion teachers teach students to allow Christian love to guide their knowledge, skills, and gifts. These are some reasons why we should appreciate teachers.

A man wrote a letter of thanks to his boyhood teacher. She replied that she lingered alone in her room like the last leaf of summer. She added that she taught for 50 years and his letter was the first note of appreciation she ever received. It came on a blue cold morning and cheered her as nothing had in years.

Hopefully teachers are thanked more than she was. But to teachers who taught me and others: "I don't know how you did it, but thanks!"

Fr. Dan Lange, Ridgeway