Document: pub/resources/text/breakpoint: BPT94.03.28 -------------------------------------------------- Note: Prison Fellowship has recently asked that email transmission of the BreakPoint commentaries be suspended until they decide how they wish to proceed with that matter. However, I have been given permission to email special noncommentary items like fact sheets and urgent announcements. Write me for the recent posts about transmitting BreakPoint over email. You have my permission to forward these posts ONLY if you are being sensitive to and respectful of the recipients' views and you KNOW that these posts will not be a threat to or abuse of their ideals, only if the copyright notice (if present) is retained, and only if there is no profit involved. If you've missed a post, you may get it from the USENET newsgroup bit.listserv.christia. This is an UNOFFICIAL transcript made from the radio broadcast. Mistakes in it are mine, not Mr Colson's nor Prison Fellowship's. Comments, corrections, questions are welcome; send to . * Monday, March 28, 1994 BREAKPOINT with Chuck Colson It's not easy these days separating the martyrs from the murderers - especially when our national leaders are confusing the two. Just take two events that occurred over the past few weeks in the White House and on Capitol Hill. From the White House, President Clinton has just made another statement about abortion, this time in relation to Dr Gun, the abortionist who was shot a year ago by a pro-life extremist. The President sent his condolences to a group of abortion activists who had gathered in Florida to eulogize Dr Gun. But the President didn't stop at expressing condolence. He went on to celebrate Dr Gun as a hero. "As we honor his memory," President Clinton wrote, "we rededicate ourselves to strengthening the freedoms of choice and privacy he so bravely defended." Bravely defended? What's so brave about dismembering tiny babies? What's so heroic about performing an act most Americans find despicable? Even those who believe abortion should be legal generally see it as a grisly business. No one except extremists wants to turn abortionists into national heroes. Now, it was wrong for Michael Griffon to murder Dr Gun. No one condones it, and he's been sent to prison for it. But about the only thing the doctor bravely defended was his own right to make money off desperate women. Ironically, at the same time President Clinton was turning a paid killer into a pro-choice martyr, Congress was busy turning pro-lifers into common criminals. Last week Congress began putting the final touches on the Clinic Access Bill - a bill that will turn peaceful protests at abortion facilities into federal crimes. The mischief in this bill is that it singles out pro-life protestors for severe punishment while leaving animal rights groups or anti-nuclear activists free to pursue exactly the same tactics. In other words, the Clinic Access Bill imposes severe criminal sanctions on certain behavior purely on the basis of the political motivation behind it. While not all pro-lifers agree that illegal protests are the way to win the abortion war, still we can agree that this is a dangerous law leading to the criminalizing of political thought. It's a giant step backwards in civil rights. And when we consider it along side President Clinton's letter, the contrast is truly frightening. How did we get to the point where our leaders honor people who dismember babies and imprison those who try to save them? How did we get to the point where our leaders celebrate the sordid abortionist who kills for profit, and condemns the courageous protestor who acts out of concern for others. Surely, this is an Orwellian world where values are turned upside down. As Christians, we need to tell our legislators we oppose the clinic access bill. Versions of the bill were passed by both houses of congress, and have been sent to a congressional conference to iron out the differences. This is the time to let our voices be heard. But political action alone is not enough. Christians also need to address this dangerous inversion of values. It is a sad day indeed when our national leaders can't tell the difference between a martyr and a murderer. <> BreakPoint is copyright (c) 1994 by Prison Fellowship. To talk with Prison Fellowship about emailing BreakPoint write or call: Prison Fellowship (800) 497-0122 PO Box 17500 (703) 478-0100 Washington, DC 20041 (703) 834-3658 fax BreakPoint (800) 995-8777 ----------- David S McMeans amUous Mind Puzzles Dayton, OH BreakPoint with Chuck Colson