|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
September 16, 2003Activist explores science of unbornRight-to-Life benefit hears bioethics talkByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Right-to-Life activist Scott Klusendorf said he once offered to concede a debate to a pro-choice opponent if she could answer for him one question: What is the unborn? Klusendorf, the guest speaker at the 16th annual Focus on Life benefit dinner of the Grand Traverse Right to Life held Monday night at the Grand Traverse Resort, told almost 1,000 area residents that anti-abortion forces can prevail both on both scientific and moral grounds on the often-divisive abortion issue.
Klusendorf, of Los Angeles, is recognized as a leading speaker and instructor in the U.S. and Canada on the pro-life position. A lecturer in bioethics - which deals with the ethical implications of biological research - he's written three training manuals on how to advocate for the cause and a workbook on raising money for pro-life activities, and participated in numerous abortion debates at the collegiate and graduate level. "Scientifically, the facts are clear," Klusendorf said, calling a human embryo "a distinct, living entity." Using four primary variables he described with the acronym "SLED" - for size, level of development, environment and degree of dependence - Klusendorf said the unborn have the same human value as any child or adult. "You can't draw a line at birth and say 'newborn you count, and fetus you don't'," he said. Klusendorf's presentation included a graphic two-minute video showing fetus parts following an abortion procedure. There was a debate among local Right to Life officials about whether to show the video but he said it "restores truth in a way that words do not." "If you and I want to stop abortion in our day, I don't think there's any way around the fact that we have to open the casket on abortion," he said. The dinner also included remarks from members of the Grand Traverse Area Students for Life, and their efforts to get back into the National Cherry Festival after the organization was barred from marching in the festival parades earlier this summer. Students said they would present petitions to officials at the festival's annual community forum event later today asking for reinstatement, which drew a loud round of applause.
|
|
