Kudos to Bishop Timothy Dolan of New York for weighing in on the censorship of a billboard erected in SoHo depicting a young African-American girl with the caption:

THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE FOR AN

AFRICAN-AMERICAN IS IN THE WOMB

This is a statement of fact.   More black human beings die from abortion than from any other cause.  Are there facts that cannot be stated?  How can that be?  Following is Bishop Dolan’s comment on the efforts of the pro-abortion faction to shut down Crisis Pregnancy Centers in New York, not because they provide a choice ( let’s hear it for choice!) but because they cut down on abortions which they say (out of the other side of their mouth) that they want to be rare:

This controversy over Intro 371 reminds me of a conversation I had not too long ago with a dedicated woman medical professional who works in one of the wonderful crisis pregnancy centers here in New York City.  “Archbishop,” she said to me, “we’re here to help women who want an alternative to abortion. We don’t get massive subsidies from the government like the abortion clinics.  We sure don’t have the well-heeled donors Planned Parenthood has.  Why are some people trying so hard to get rid of us?  Why is the city government harassing us?  All we want is to be left alone to do our work.”

It’s a good question, and one I couldn’t answer.

It’s not as if there aren’t plenty of places to get an abortion in New York City.  It grieves me to think that we can be called the abortion capital of the world, as 41% of all pregnancies in New York end in abortion.  If a woman in this city wants an abortion, it is distressingly easy to get one.

It’s also not as if this kind of bill hasn’t been tried elsewhere and been found wanting.  A similar law was recently declared unconstitutional in Baltimore.  Why then would our City Council spend valuable time and energy promoting this type of harassing bill?  Aren’t there more pressing concerns with our City’s budget, with the education system, with basics like pothole repair?

And if an industry ever needed more oversight and regulation, it’s the abortion industry, as the recent horrors from Pennsylvania demonstrated.  Yet it is the little pregnancy care centers that come under attack.

This asks the delicate question if people who claim to be “pro-choice,” but seek to silence anyone who would help a woman to have her baby, are really interested in “choice” at all.  Witness the recent gag-order imposed on a pro-life billboard last week.    These pregnancy centers will not only help a mother to give birth, but they will also find her assistance if she wants to keep her baby, or help the mother find a good home for her child through adoption.  Sure, they’ll never have the big donors or flashy celebrity support that the abortion centers have, but they are making a real difference in the lives of these women and their babies, pre-born and born.

So, why the major push to get rid of these centers and the dedicated, humble, loving people who work there?  Why can’t they just be left alone to do their work?

I didn’t have the answer for my friend. Because I don’t think there is one.

And, again, Bishop Dolan has this to say:

Another ad has been generating some fierce reactions. Here in New York, a billboard was recently displayed, that simply stated “The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb.” This message was accompanied by a photograph of a young, African-American girl.

Is that message unpleasant? Is it upsetting? Does it get our attention?

Yes!

Because the message is somberly true. The City of New York’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recently released its vital statistics from a year ago which showed that 59.8% of African-American pregnancies in New York City ended in abortion. That’s even higher than the chilling city-wide average of 41% of pregnancies ending in abortion. (I joined other community leaders from a diversity of religious and ethnic backgrounds at a press conference sponsored by the Chiaroscuro Foundation about this a few weeks ago.)

So why has the billboard suddenly been taken down? What was it that moved many of our elected officials to condemn this ad and call for the gag order. Are they claiming that free speech is a right enjoyed only by those who favor abortion or their pet causes? Do they believe that unpleasant and disturbing truths should not be spoken? Or are they afraid that when people are finally confronted with the reality of the horror of abortion, and with the toll that it is taking in our city, particularly in our African-American community, that they will be moved to defend innocent, unborn, human life?

Perhaps I’m more saddened by this intolerance right now because on Monday I will be celebrating the funeral mass for Doctor Bernard Nathanson, that giant of the pro-life movement, who died earlier this week. If you don’t know Dr. Nathanson’s story, you should. At one time, he fought hard to promote and expand abortion on demand in this state and in our country. He was one of the founders of the National Abortion Rights Action League. He ran what he called the “largest abortion clinic in the Western world,” and bragged about personally performing thousands of abortions. But, when Dr. Nathanson was confronted with the undeniable truth, when he could see the unborn baby in the womb through the use of ultrasound technology, he abandoned his support for abortion and became a crusader for the protection of the life of the baby in the womb.

His courage and bravery should be an inspiration to us, especially when we have to face unpleasant and sobering truths.

GOD BLESS BISHOP DOLAN AND ALVEDA KING, MARTIN LUTHER KING’S NIECE!

~~~

In the name of tolerance, tolerance is being abolished. — Pope Benedict XVI