The party political broadcast for the Pro-Life Alliance was banned from British TV screens in 1997. Thanks to YouTube, you can now see it. Embedding has been "disabled by request" and the video carries a warning about its content. This is all par for the course: the truth is not always easy to stomach. The video very effecively shows the wonder of new life and the horror of abortion. It also highlights the pain caused to women. It deserves to be seen and I am glad that the "citizen journalism" of YouTube enables the video to circumvent the censors.
Banned ProLife Alliance Party Election Broadcast
(I realise that politically, not everyone agrees with the idea of going with a Pro-Life party; and the Pro-Life Alliance is not now fielding candidates for election. Nevertheless, their video is a powerful reminder of why we fight this battle.)
6 comments:
Oh, my. That is so shocking. I felt like my heart was bleeding. What are we doing?? Its one thing to look at this in a rational, scientific way - but when one is presented with images like that, a case is made and surely won, even in the coldest of hearts.
Gosh; utterly chilling.
I can understand why it was not allowed to be shown; nevertheless, Matt is right - without explaining what abortion really means, the moral lethargy isn't counteracted.
Yet, there are many, who, for example in the case of losing babies through miscarriage, or death following premature birth, would find this video incredibly distressing.
Thank you, Father, for posting this link.
Two things occurred to me. First, of course, the absolute horror - how can anyone whatever their faith (or absence of it) fail to be moved. The objection to abortion does not rest on some obscure point of theology, but (as the most ancient Christian sources affirm) on the universal abomination of murder.
Second, although I do have some difficulties with a single-issue Party (even on such an important issue as abortion), I think it is appalling that the broadcasting authorities censored this video. In doing so, they were protecting people from seeing what is being done in their name. If we abolished abortion, it would not be possible to produce these appalling images. The dictatorship of relativism indeed.
Let us pray for the souls of the unborn whose bodies are so cruelly discarded in this way, but also for those caught up in this evil practice - mothers who see this as the only way out of a perhaps difficult predicament, medical staff who abuse their God-given skills for saving life to do the very opposite, those who justify abortion and those who stifle public debate on the issue.
That's one of the most shocking things I've ever seen. It's strange - I knew abortion was an appalling evil but it's only when you see these images (and I haven't till now) that you get the full impact. I just keep thinking - "you could recognise many of those children from family resemblances".
Mark is right. It's important everyone (adults!) see what we allow happen in this country but I can understand to people who have lost children or people of a sensitive nature it could be damaging. I'd be interested to see the edited version.
SJ,
Absolutely; I know people who, for non-abortion reasons, would be turned into gibbering wrecks if they ever got beyond the ultrasound part of the video.
Fr. Tim,
In secular society, it is encouraging to see that the penny is finally dropping about the horrors of abortion. Here is a link to an article from this week’s Times – which I don’t think would have been written even five years ago – showing that the growing undercurrent of unease about abortion is not just confined to the increasing numbers of medics who are exercising their right of conscientious objection. The chattering classes are having their doubts as well. You can read it here.
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