By Peter J. Smith
RALEIGH, North Carolina, July 8, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As his funeral proceeds today, pro-life advocates and conservatives mourn the death of former US Senator Jesse Helms, 86, a hero known for his ardent defense of unborn human life and his passionate opposition to the anti-family threats of communism, abortion, and the homosexualist agenda.
Sen. Jesse Helms, Jr. died July 4, Independence Day in the United States, and spent much of his political career dedicated to the principle that America promised “the pursuit of happiness”, found in the Declaration of Independence, to those willing to strive for happiness.
The former North Carolina Senator did the vast majority of his political work during his thirty year term in the United States Senate from January 3, 1973 – just before the infamous Roe v. Wade decision compromised America’s promise of the “pursuit of happiness” to millions of unborn children – until January 3, 2003, when he retired because of failing health.
Helms battled with the United Nations over withheld dues and against the feminist neo-imperialist CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), which has been used as a powerful weapon to pressure pro-life nations into abandoning their laws against abortion.
Helms was a tireless advocate of life and family values. As the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Helms proposed in 2001 to scrap USAID and its pro-abortion policies and allow private and religious groups to take over its work. Helms also denounced CEDAW’s attack on “Mother’s Day,” which the convention viewed as a matter of discrimination.
When he retired in 2003, a tribute by National Right to Life called Helms “a tenacious, uncompromising champion of unborn babies who refused to capitulate to fashion, the (alleged) results of polls, or the editorial pages of the Washington Post and the New York Times.”
In the 28 years following the travesty of Roe v. Wade, Helms introduced 27 pro-life bills and amendments.
While a former opponent of forced racial integration before the enacting of civil rights legislation in the 1960s and his entrance into the US Senate, Helms’ own writings and actions at that turbulent time in US history indicated a nuanced position on the matter of race that was to continue to develop.
A Wall Street Journal piece, at the time of Helm’s retirement, by Walter Mead read, “If Mr. Helms can be seen as one of the great conservative figures of American history, calling the nation to remain faithful to traditional values in the midst of rapid social change, he also deserves to be remembered as one of a handful of men who brought white Southern conservatives into a new era of race relations.”
Helms praised the achievements of black leaders such as Asa Spaulding, President of North Carolina Mutual and Rev. Leon Sullivan, a member of the Board of General Motors, and held them up as examples for all Americans. At the same time he had opposed forced integration by the government, which he believed produced tremendous social upheaval on the South and was accompanied by violence and mistrust.
Helms also worked to advance black Americans in governmental and civic positions, while at the same time he opposed pre-set racial quotas in Affirmative Action. A 1965 letter from Helms to Spaulding indicates one such plan to help identify and advance black Americans to high positions through personal ability and achievement. Helms wrote to Spaulding, “What I want, simply said, is to create a climate of acceptance among the races—both ways.”
Helms was also in the vanguard of social issues such as school busing, pornography in art, flag desecration and the imposition of homosexuality on the Boy Scouts. On a great many issues before a US Senate forcing radical social change, Helms gained the nickname “Senator No,” which he wore as a badge of honor.
Helm’s own autobiography, “Here’s Where I Stand,” was released in August 2005.
The funeral for Jesse Helms was held today at Hayes-Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh at 2PM.
See previous LifeSiteNews.com reports:
HELMS WARNS CLINTON: LAST CHANCE TO APPROVE COMPROMISE ON U.N. FUNDING
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1998/apr/98042804.html
SENATOR HELMS PROPOSES REPLACING PRO-ABORTION AID AGENCY
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/jan/01011201.html
SENATOR HELMS ENCOURAGES PRESIDENT BUSH TO RAISE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WITH CHINESE
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/feb/02022004.html
SENATE TRIBUTE TO PRO-LIFE HERO
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/oct/02100303.html
HELMS SLAMS ANTI-MOTHER UN ‘WOMEN’S’ CONVENTION
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/may/00051507.html
PBS AND AMA SLAM BOY SCOUTS WHILE HELMS BILL TO DEFEND THEM MOVES IN SENATE
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/jun/01061904.html
US SENATOR CONFIRMS CEDAW ALL ABOUT ENFORCING ABORTION
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/mar/00031301.html