Because the Michigan state legislature contains a sufficient number of right wing extremists, the lawmakers passed a law banning what's politically known as partial-birth abortions. On June 12, the Michigan governor, Jennifer Granholm, said she will veto the bill.
That veto threat lit a fire under Father Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life. The reverend father has "called upon the state legislature to override the Governor's action."
Why would a Roman Catholic priest stick his nose in the business of the state of Michigan? Well, because he "knows," not only the "first purpose" of government, but also "the responsibility the law has to preserve the proper role of the physician."
And, according to the Rev, "The first purpose of government is the protection of human life. This promised veto contradicts that purpose."
This is typical Roman Catholic dogma deriving from the non-scientific belief that a fetus is a person. The fact that such a dogma is not accepted by the majority of physicians, scientists and regular people in this country makes not a whit of difference. You must understand that the Roman Church claims a direct pipeline to the deity.
No one in their right mind promotes any type of abortion as a good thing. It's always the lesser or two evils. Unfortunately, "partial birth" abortions have become politicized by so-called religious conservatives who believe they have the right to impose their beliefs on everyone else.
One common name for the procedure is "intact dilation and extraction" or IDX or Intact D&X. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists uses the term "intact dilation and evacuation." The American Medical Association prefers the term "intact dilation and extraction."
None of the recognized medical associations use the term, "partial birth abortions." This is a political term first introduced "by pro-life congressman Charles T. Canady" in 1995.
As noted, IDX is not something that is done lightly. Often it is done to preserve the health or the life of the mother. In fact, it is a very rare procedure, "representing 0.17% ... of all abortions in the United States in 2000.
Generally, in the United States, anti-abortion activists have targeted the IDX procedure because of its rarity and because it appears to be more brutal than other abortions to some people. But in many, if not most cases, these activists insist that it not be performed even to protect the health or life of the mother! That indicates they are operating, not from an humanitarian standpoint, but from a political/religious standpoint.
Furthermore, these anti-abortion activists believe if they can arrange to ban partial birth abortions on the basis that a fetus is a human being, they are well on the road to banning all abortions.
There are some other problems relating to the actions of the anti-abortion activists. One is they usually have little interest in a child following its birth. These are the same conservatives that consistently vote against welfare programs that would benefit low-income parents and their children, and most often oppose health care for the needy.
These anti-abortion activists, who like to promote themselves as "pro-life," are actually not that at all. To allow a mother to die to feed their moral fever is a pro-death stance. That same stance is reflected in the fact they are often the most vocal supporters of war, such as the police action in Iraq, and in their unrelenting fervor for the death penalty; George W. Bush being the prime example in both instances.
Back to the state of Michigan. So far as the reverend Pavone is concerned, the legislature of the state of Michigan did a fine thing banning "partial birth" abortions. The governor, however, at least in his opinion, has abandoned her role as a protector of human life by threatening to veto the bill. Therefore, says Pavone, "Michigan legislators have the opportunity to correct this mistake, and I urge them to do so."
The Rev. Frank Pavone is from Staten Island. He has hung out with such lesser lights as Rush Limbaugh, Steve Forbes, Charlton Heston and Ben Stein. His Priests for Life is a multi-million dollar operation with the goal of goading priests into a more active stance against abortion in order to get all abortions banned in the United States. Pavone also has connections in Rome, and has been called the pope's "vicar for life." His group spends millions of dollars annually promoting his anti-abortion message.
Some folks think Pavone is a bit off the wall. He's too chummy with the extreme end of the "pro-life" movement -- the ones out there blockading abortion clinics. He's appeared with Randall Terry of Operation Rescue and the Rev. Flip Benham. Mark Crutcher, an anti-abortion activist who is trying to litigate abortion clinics out of business with malpractice suits, is a friend and has appeared on Pavone's TV show. Another ally of Pavone's, Joseph Scheidler, who runs the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago, was found guilty a few years ago of violating federal racketeering laws by harrassment and intimidation tactics at abortion clinics.
One of the largest donors to Priests for Life is Tom Monaghan, the ultra-rich, ultra conservative, ultra Catholic founder of Domino's Pizza.
Interestingly, the son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a member of Priests for Life.
But while we grant "Father" Pavone (isn't it interesting how these folks like to be called "father" when their church won't let them be real fathers?) to have the right to believe anything he wants, we have to ask who the hell he thinks he is, as a representative of a moribund, decadent, scientifically-challenged institution like the Roman Catholic Church, to tell the elected leaders of a secular state they need to obey his organization's religious precepts?
God save us from the self-righteous!
