WICHITA, Kan., Nov. 22, 2010 /
Christian Newswire/ -- For many years Operation Rescue has worked to restore legal protections to the pre-born. In early 2006, when South Dakota was attempting to pass the first state-wide ban on abortion, Operation Rescue was there supporting those efforts. Later, when that law was challenged through the referendum process, Operation Rescue was there.
We sent one of our missionaries at that time, Keith Mason, who now heads Personhood U.S.A., to South Dakota, Mississippi, and elsewhere to learn all he could about the abortion bans that were sweeping the nation in 2006, so we could know best how to support those efforts.
In our office, we often discussed the topic of personhood and how the "Blackman Hole" was the loophole in Roe v. Wade that could eventually lead our country back to restoring legal protections for all, no matter the age or stage of development. (
Read one of our articles from 2006 discussing this topic.) One could say that the Personhood Movement was birthed in our office.
Keith Mason learned well from us, and after leaving Operation Rescue, he founded Personhood U.S.A. and began promoting Personhood amendments throughout the country, especially in Colorado.
Recently, a lively discussion on Facebook concerning Colorado's twice defeated Amendment 62 prompted Troy Newman to extend an invitation to the Personhood camp and to those who question the wisdom of tactics used by Personhood U.S.A. in Colorado to a friendly debate to be hosted at
www.operationrescue.org. We asked both sides to submit 400 word statements in support of their views.
Keith Ashley, of Personhood Kansas submitted a statement on behalf of the Personhood organization. Steve Ertelt, Editor of
LifeNews.com, has submitted a statement in opposition.
We encourage all to read the two statements and engage in the debate through the comment feature at the end of the articles. We ask, as we have with our debaters, that those who comment abstain from ad hominem attacks and profanity.
"It is our prayer that this debate will air ideas that will ultimately be beneficial for the Pro-life Movement as a whole and help guide us toward the most efficient and practical way to stop abortion in America as soon as humanly possible," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "That is a goal to which we can all agree."
We plan to allow Mr. Ashley and Mr. Ertelt to post rebuttals to each other's statements in the near future.
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America. Operation Rescue is now headquartered in a former abortion clinic that it bought and closed in 2006. From there, Operation Rescue launches its innovative new strategies across the nation, exposing and closing abortion clinics through peaceful, legal means. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to stop abortion and ultimately restore legal personhood to the pre-born in obedience to biblical mandates.
