(LifeSiteNews)— Last week veteran rescuer Joan Andrews Bell was asked why she believes it is necessary for pro-lifers to rescue, that is, either to place themselves physically between pregnant women and the abortionists hired to kill their children, or to enter clinics to ask the mothers to spare their babies’ lives. This is her response:
Most issues that call upon people of faith to respond can be done by means of dialogue and legal action, such as protest marches and legal attempts to change corrupt laws. However the whole world understands that when innocent human life is being taken, then all other means, good as they are, to correct the evil is not enough!
That is because causes can be debated but human beings, being persons, even when not legally recognized, are our brothers and sisters. And people in danger need to be rescued!
Slaves in America were rescued through the Underground Railroad, even though it was illegal to rescue them. In Nazi Germany, Jews were rescued by good people, again “violating” unjust laws which were actually CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. They risked not incarceration but death for treason because Jews were legally decreed to be not only non-persons but enemies of the state.
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We in the pro-life movement do many activities to change the unjust laws that have falsely legalized child murder, but some of us are compelled to rescue these children at death’s door for the exact same reasons that our brothers and sisters throughout history have done the same non violent actions. All people of good will must fight against evil and immoral laws, but necessary alongside that good fight, when the issue is the brutal killing of people, the innocent and the just, you RESCUE them. Regardless of the cost to yourself.
It is obligatory to always attempt to rescue people. People are never “an issue,” they are your brothers and sisters.
We pro-lifers, in the rescue movement, have ALWAYS used peaceful, prayerful, non-violent means to rescue the children. And we always will despite the lies told about us, despite false testimony, despite doctored tapes. We are called to love and respect everyone because we are all brothers and sisters in the human family.
Finally, we want everyone to get to heaven because that is the ultimate goal of life on earth. God loves our enemies as He loves us, with a passion! That is what the Cross is all about.
Joan Andrews Bell, 75, has been charged with conspiracy against rights and violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for blocking access to the Washington Surgi-Clinic in downtown Washington, D.C. in October 2020. Her trial begins tomorrow, August 6.