American attitudes on current issues fluctuate constantly, but for the last decade, public opinion has clearly favored Life. Despite the public’s rejection of abortion, the Pro-Life battle is not won. The Florida Supreme Court just recently ruled that Florida’s Parental Notification law violates teenagers’ right to privacy. This upset occurred simultaneously as a man awoke from a 19-year coma. As evidenced in their new media endeavors, NARAL had redoubled their advertising efforts in an attempt to uphold the right to abortion as a fundamental freedom. Pro-Life sentiments are continuing to increase while pro-abortion interest is waning; the truth is setting women free.
Please read this issue of the Pro-Life Update carefully to understand some of the challenges we now face and how you, as a Pro-Life activist, can help advance the Culture of Life. Please share this information with your family, friends and church congregations. Make copies. Spread the news.
Florida Supreme Court Rules Against Families
On July 10, 2003, the Florida Supreme Court ruled against a 1999 Florida law that would have required abortion providers to notify a parent when a minor girl seeks an abortion. The 5-1 decision trivializes the importance of parental involvement. These parents who are kept in the dark about their minor daughters’ abortions will still be held financially responsible for any additional or emergency health care for their daughters if the abortion is botched.
In an online poll of more than 3,000 people, 64 percent of respondents told the Palm Beach Post that they did not believe the notification law was a violation of the right to privacy. Only 36 percent agreed with the court. "I think [the law] would pass easily among voters," said the Liberty Counsel, who joined the state in defending the 1999 law. "The challenge with any amendment is to get the wording done right."
Florida Right to Life reiterated their commitment to fight for parental rights and the safety of Florida’s daughters. "The battle will continue whether it is in the 2003 special session, or the 2004 legislative session, or the 2004 elections," said Florida Right to Life president Robin Hoffman. "The parents of Florida will rise to the occasion when the time is right to do so."
Arkansas Man Awakes after 19 Years in Coma
Terry Wallis slipped into a coma after a 1984 accident. While driving with a friend, their car went off the road and plunged into a creek. They were found the next day under the bridge; Terry was in a coma, and his friend was dead.
Wallis’ wife, Sandi, has said, “It’s been hard dealing with it; it’s been hard realizing the man I married can’t be there. We all, the whole family, missed out on his company.” Now, miraculously, at age 39 (19 years after his accident), Terry Wallis has begun speaking again.
According to the Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation social director, “He started out with ‘Mom’ and surprised her and then it was ‘Pepsi’ and then it was ‘milk.’ And now it’s anything he wants to say.”
Terry Wallis was in a deep sleep for three months after the accident, but he occasionally could communicate by blinking or making guttural sounds, especially if he saw something he did not like. However, even once awake, it was clear that time had stopped for Terry. He thought that Ronald Reagan was still the president.
Wallis had a daughter, Amber, who was born shortly before the accident. At 19 years old, she can now begin to get to know her father. His accident left him a quadriplegic, but he is determined to walk again for his daughter.
He recovered gradually from his coma, so doctors did not place a firm date on when Terry emerged from the coma. The doctors did confirm that Terry had fully emerged when he began speaking. Angilee Wallis called her son’s full return to consciousness a miracle: “I couldn’t tell you my first thought, I just fell over on the floor.”
NARAL Ads Reveal Discomfort with Increasing Pro-Life Sentiments
The National Abortion Rights Action League’s (NARAL) new PR campaign, entitled “Choice for America,” signifies the exasperation of the pro-aborts. Recent polls show the pro-choice position is steadily becoming less popular. “We’re talking about what the majority of women in this country want, and it’s not the unrestricted abortion that we have today,” Focus on the Family spokesperson Carrie Gordon noted.
NARAL’s new lead commercial starts with a professionally dressed, attractive woman reading a newspaper with the emboldened headline, “ABORTION OUTLAWED.” The woman gasps, and the next outdoor scene features a frowning, male Supreme Court justice staring at a group of reporters. The ad next runs in reverse, as the woman walks backwards, and a NARAL leaflet she had dropped is lifted back into her hands. She then passes a group of NARAL activists handing out flyers. The commercial ends with the reminder, “There’s still time to protect your right to choose.”
Groups such as NARAL have needed to increase their visibility because fewer women are stating that “reproductive freedom” is a primary concern at the ballot box. Federal and state legislatures (including Texas) have made such tremendous Pro-Life strides over the past year that the pro-abortion groups are growing anxious. This is a great time for Pro-Lifers; we are able to witness the shift towards a Culture of Life.
