Acknowledging all victims of violence against children

“Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?”
–President Obama, Newtown vigil

In the wake of the tragedy in Newton, CT, President Obama reached out to survivors, the families of victims, and the entire grief-stricken nation in a televised address at the Sandy Hook vigil last Sunday. The president aptly summarized the acuteness of the tragedy and, at the same time, assessed the need for solutions that we as a nation are called upon to explore in order to prevent similar acts of violence from being perpetuated. While many may disagree about what the solution may be, no one denies the gravity of the tragedy committed at Sandy Hook Elementary this week.

The affection and sympathy that the nation has expressed for the families and survivors of the Newtown tragedy are encouraging. And I believe there may have been many viewers of the president’s speech who couldn’t help but hear him speaking – unknowingly – to the victims of abortion violence as they simultaneously addressed grieving Newtown families.

No single law, no set of laws, can eliminate every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take to save another child … from the grief that has visited [shooting victims] … then surely we have an obligation to try. What choice do we have? … Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage? That the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

The president acknowledged that the causes of such violence are “complex,” but he was adamant that complexity does not justify tolerating tragedy. President Obama has made a decision – conscious or otherwise – to allow these noble sentiments of his to apply to a certain group of his citizens (victims of shootings), but not to others (victims of abortion). One must wonder if, with such a one-sided view, it is really possible to discover a solution to this kind of violence. Some may ask how a president who  acknowledges the preciousness only of certain young lives and not that of others can make positive strides towards ending violence against children.

The president is not, in the truest sense, an advocate for our youngest Americans. But we cannot let that fact be an excuse for inaction. We must soldier on in defense of all young lives despite the reality that we will most likely be challenged by a pro-abortion president every step of the way.

As we approach the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade next month, we acknowledge the 55 million American citizens who have become victims of abortion since 1973, whose lives were not protected by elected officials. We acknowledge the mothers and families of these victims who have all been affected by their violent deaths in some way. And we affirm the words of the president of the United States when he says that we cannot allow the perpetuation of violence against innocent children to be the price of our freedom.