NOT ONLY DID HE JUST MAKE A CHOICE...:

Tiller and the Logic of ‘Choice’ (Donald DeMarco, June 21-27, 2009, National Catholic Register)

[A] compelling case can be made that the alleged murderer was not “pro-life” but “pro-choice.”

Pro-choice propaganda abounds in our present culture. The president declares that he is “pro-choice.” Pro-choice advocates advise people to “choose choice.” Planned Parenthood sells Christmas cards carrying the slogan “Let there be choice on earth.”

Choice itself becomes a sui generis validation for moral action. Is it not possible, then, that a pro-choice mentality has seeped into the culture to the extent that some people find it difficult to resist the temptation to think that something is good because it is chosen? If a woman can choose to kill the child in her womb, why can’t someone choose to kill an abortionist if he is personally convinced of the righteousness of his act?

The difference between barbarians and civilized people is not that one group chooses and the other does not. Rather, it is that the former chooses recklessly whereas the latter chooses righteously. “Choice” is not a self-validating moral principle. Even pro-choice people know this, and that is precisely why they condemn the slaying of George Tiller.

Being pro-choice has its appeal. It simplifies things by eliminating the more moral and usually more difficult option. It is convenient, requiring little discipline and conscience. It demands neither reflection nor knowledge. It is shortsighted, having little or no concern for the future. It conforms neatly with Nike’s popular maxim “Just do it.”

The accused, Scott Roeder, succumbed to the pro-choice attitude that is part of the culture. We judge people by their actions. If we judged people solely on the basis of their words, it would be impossible to ever convict a spy of treason.

And since actions speak not only more loudly but more meaningfully than words, we must conclude that the accused is not pro-life but pro-choice. Tragically, he gave in to the temptation that permeates the present culture and is being played out on many other fronts — arson, vandalism, theft, libel, assault and battery.

The attempt to smear all pro-life people because of the actions of one person — who is not even pro-life — is discrimination at its very worst. But more significantly, it reveals the inability of pro-choice people to come to terms with their own philosophy.

They are the ones who have been disseminating an unregulated “pro-choice” morality. When it comes home to roost, the result is not self-recognition, but the projection of guilt onto the innocent. It is sobering to remember that when a person points the finger of blame at another, three fingers are pointing back at himself.

Being unqualifiedly pro-choice is, of course, barbaric.

...but given that the clinic closed the action was undeniably pragmatic.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 16, 2009 8:11 AM