To the Editor:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963. I believe with all my heart that Black lives matter. When a member of the human family suffers injustice, and is not treated with dignity and respect, all of society suffers.
Since the legalization of abortion in the United States in 1973, more than 23 million unborn African-American girls and boys have been killed in abortion clinics, which is approximately 37% of the total number of abortions. What an unfathomable tragedy. Think of the love and talents that these girls and boys could have offered our communities and country. Think of the scars and pain abortion inflicts on the mothers and fathers. There is no greater injustice than to end the life of another human being. Rev. King’s words of justice for all needs to be proclaimed loudly in our culture.
As we work toward equality and justice for all, let us not forget the voices of the most vulnerable and defenseless in our society. As we work to feed the poor, homeless and immigrants, let us not close our hearts to the cries of the unborn and the expectant mother. No amount of assistance or material compensation can replace the injustice inflicted on a society by abortion. Failure to recognize the evil of abortion is likened to building a mansion on a crumbling foundation. The great intentions and acts of charity will not stand without respect and sanctity for all human life.
Let us feed the hungry and house the homeless. Let us open our hearts to the disadvantaged and immigrant. May our acts of charity provide hope for young women faced with an unplanned pregnancy. May our churches be lighthouses for women so that they choose life and truth.
Mike Gannon
St. Thomas More Parish, Coralville
