The unborn must not be marginalized

I am reading a book titled “Bonhoeffer,” who was a Lutheran minister in Germany during the rise of the Nazi regime. I am the son of German immigrants, who were gentle and loving. I could never fathom how their countrymen, most of whom were churchgoers, could acquiesce in the face of such a brutal and immoral regime. The immorality started slowly, and that coupled with German nationalism seem to blind the average German to what was happening.

That wasn't the case with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who early on saw Hitler's marginalization of the Jews. He was later executed for his opposition.

In many ways my countrymen, many of whom are churchgoers or at least describe themselves as “believers,” have also acquiesced on the issue of respect for life. We have rationalized in the name of “tolerance” while the unborn are left unprotected and euthanasia is gaining respectability in some parts of our nation.

I repeat that in some ways it is reminiscent of what happened in Germany in the 1930s. We too have our Bonhoeffers, and fortunately the American people are becoming more pro-life and are now in the majority for the first time. However, it will take a change of heart for more of us if we are to correct this grave injustice. It was Martin Luther King Jr. who said “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

For those who think the comparison to the Nazi years is unfair, consider that in both cases innocent life was and is being extinguished, only in our time the victim is unseen. Unseen except in the case of ultrasounds, which will often change the mind of a mother considering an abortion. Interestingly, Planned Parenthood strongly discourages the use of ultrasounds. I wonder why.

Richard Kaiser

Arlington Heights