Dignity: Law and Order Explores the Dignity of Life

Dignity:

Law and Order Explores the Dignity of Life

Like many conservative pro-life people, I am nearly always disappointed by how network TV dramatizes pro-life versus abortion issues. “Fair and balance” rarely comes to mind.

So … I was hesitant to watch the October 23, 2009 episode of Law and Order when I heard it was their third attempt in twenty years at addressing this vital issue.

Ripped from the Headlines

This “ripped from the headlines” episode “fictionalized” and “dramatized” the summertime shooting of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller, who was killed on a Sunday morning while at church in Wichita, Kansas.

And … so … I was totally shocked, as was my wife, as we watched the episode.

Two main characters (Kevin, one of the lead detectives, and Michael, the head prosecuting attorney) actually verbalized pro-life positions—and did so in intelligent, rational, passionate, empathic portrayals.

In fact, Kevin boldly told Jack McCoy (his boss and the District Attorney) that Roe v. Wade needs to be revisited because of scientific, medical, and moral advances. He also said the tide has turned and America is a pro-life nation. He even links the modern pro-life perspective to pro-emancipation views during slavery (a link I have blogged about previously). And, believe it or not, he acknowledges that cats and dogs have more rights than unborn children.

Another main character (Connie, one of the prosecutors) began to shift positions from a life-time “pro-choice” view to a pro-life perspective. And, due to the powerful drama of the episode, it did not seem contrived or naïve that she would move down such a remarkable and unexpected path of change.

Primary guests powerfully depicted intelligent, normal, passionate, reasonable people--who were pro-life! The entire jury (along with my wife and me) was in tears as one character shared on the witness stand how she refused to abort her baby who was sure to die soon after childbirth. Her depiction of the precious twenty-one-hours that she, her husband, and their other children shared with the baby before she passed away was a moving narrative of the dignity of life.

Richard Thomas, yes, that Richard Thomas of The Waltons fame (John-Boy), plays a pro-life lawyer with perfectly calibrated restraint. His nuanced performance anchors the episode.

Lest anyone imagine that Law and Order was one-sided, other main characters and guests portrayed equally plausible and powerful pro-abortion roles. Thus the episode aptly conveys the current debate and the many intricate issues involved in it.

Your Thoughts?

I was able to TiVo the episode. I hope you can find it online. I’ve only been able to find one link to a short four-minute clip. You can see it here, though it does not do justice to the entire episode: http://bit.ly/4btuxB.

If you can locate the full version online at HuLu or other legal sites, please email and I’ll let everyone know.

If you saw the episode, what do you think?

I imagine that some pro-life people will not be fully satisfied. I imagine that other pro-life people will be pleasantly surprised as my wife and I were.

I imagine that many pro-abortion people will be quite unhappy. I wonder if any pro-abortion people will begin to see the issue in a different light.

The Black Pro-Life Movement

Join the Black Pro-Life Movement

Join the new Black Pro-Life Movement group on Facebook: http://bit.ly/Se4zv

View the amazing video by by Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the horrors of abortion. http://bit.ly/12TZdg

Here's the introduction to the new group by one of its founder, Kimberly Cash Tate.

Did you know that abortion is the #1 killer in the black community? Fifty-percent of black offspring are aborted each year. That’s more than 1,500 black children each day. Since Roe v. Wade, more than 50 million babies have been killed in the womb. More than 14 million of these were black babies. For too long, New York advertising agencies and the media have sown the lie that “pro-life” is a white issue for “right-wing extremists.” The facts tell the truth. This isn’t an issue for one group of people or one political party. This is a human issue of epic proportion. It is an issue—like slavery in its day—that requires us to stand boldly for life, truth, and justice.

We are taking a stand. We are standing in the gap for the innocent who are being led away to slaughter. We are standing in the gap for the mothers who have been deceived into thinking it’s their body—only to be left with the pain and shame of knowing they’ve killed their own child. We are exposing the lies and plans of those who seek to advance this lucrative business of abortion. We are aligning ourselves with Jesus Christ and the Word of God, not bowing to a political party or political agenda.

This group exists to do the following:

EDUCATE and INFORM about abortion in our nation and in the black community in particular;

IMPART TRUTH from the Word of God, so that we can possess the mind of God on this important issue;

PRAY for a move of God in our land to abolish the evil of abortion; and

SPUR YOU to spread the word so that others will join this movement and learn the truth.

This group is open to all. Join us!

“Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, O hold them back.If you say, ‘See, we did not know this,’Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?And does He not know it who keeps your soul?And will He not render to man according to his work?”~~ Proverbs 24:11-12 NASB

Living Her Pro-Life Convictions

Living Her Pro-Life Convictions

Twice within less than one week Governor Sarah Palin, Republican VP Candidate, has demonstrated that she lives her pro-life convictions. Whether one is a Republican or a Democratic, an Independent or a Libertarian, all should agree that applause and props are due any candidate who actually lives what they believe, rather than live according to political expediency.

When first nominated by Senator John McCain, the news came out that Governor Palin’s fifth child had been diagnosed with Down Syndrome—early enough that she and her husband could have chosen the “legal” route of terminating the life of this child. Mom and Dad Palin chose life.

Then today, the news tumbles out that Governor Palin’s seventeen-year-old daughter is pregnant out of wedlock. While millions would shout, “abort!” the Palin family has expressed their full support for their daughter, who plans to marry the father and give birth to their unborn child.

As Senator Obama wisely and fairly has noted, his own mother became pregnant with him out of wedlock when she was eighteen. So this is not a partisan issue—Obama’s now-deceased mother also chose life.

On a related issue, some now are charging Governor Palin with guilt because she believes in abstinence-only education. In the political, “gotcha’ mentality,” they claim, without any logical or statistical foundation, that this somehow proves how naïve abstinence-only education truly is. As if other forms of sex-ed somehow guarantee that young people will not have sex outside of marriage? Please, get real.

What we have here is consistency. Like her views or not, Governor Palin lives her convictions, walks her talk, has the courage of her convictions. Props all the way.