Applause from Hell

Father Frank Pavone is the president of the organization, "Priests for Life." His work in the pro-life field is second to none, really, and his passion in defense of life comes through in all he says, does, and writes. This short article, taken from the Catholic Education Resource Center, is one more example of his work in defense of Life.

Some may argue that graphic depictions of what occurs in an abortion are not effective means of combating the scourge of infanticide, some argue that they are most effective. I am not sure myself. I do know that many good people in the pro-life movement fall on both sides of the argument. I think the answer is somewhere in between, and there is a place for both in the dialogue, depending on circumstances and audience.

Questions and comments are welcome.

God love you.
************

Applause from Hell

FR. FRANK PAVONE

If we think of hell, we might imagine screams coming out of the flames, or the sinister laughter of the devil. But the sound I recently heard coming from there was that of applause.

What I heard was an audiotape of Dr. Martin Haskell giving a presentation at the 16th Annual Meeting of the National Abortion Federation Conference in 1992 in San Diego. It was a gathering of abortionists — men and women who make their living by killing babies. Haskell was describing to his audience how to do a partial-birth abortion. Listen to his words about how this procedure takes place:

"The surgeon then introduces large grasping forceps ... through the vaginal and
cervical canal ... He moves the tip of the instrument carefully towards the
fetal lower extremities — and pulls the extremity into the vagina ... The
surgeon then uses his fingers to deliver the opposite lower extremity, then the
torso, the shoulders, and the upper extremities. The skull lodges in the
internal os. The fetus is oriented ... spine up ... The surgeon then takes a
pair of blunt curved Metzenbaum scissors in the right hand. ... the surgeon then
forces the scissors into the base of the skull — spreads the scissors to enlarge
the opening. The surgeon then introduces a suction catheter into this hole and
evacuates the skull contents."

It is also true, however, to say that hell is very cold. It is the absence of all conscience, of all pity, of all love. That kind of hell is reflected on earth when a group of human beings can sit around a video machine, watch someone deliberately kill a baby, and then applaud. That's the heart and soul of the abortion industry.

Haskell, having described these brutal details, shows his audience a video of himself doing one of these procedures. And at the end of the video, after the sound of the suction machine taking the brains out of the baby's head, the audience applauds.

That, my friends, is applause from hell.

We often speak about "the fires of hell." It is also true, however, to say that hell is very cold. It is the absence of all conscience, of all pity, of all love. That kind of hell is reflected on earth when a group of human beings can sit around a video machine, watch someone deliberately kill a baby, and then applaud. That's the heart and soul of the abortion industry. That's the heart and soul of "pro-choice."

It's the same chilling attitude of which Dr. Bernard Nathanson repented. He writes about how he felt after he killed his own child by abortion. "I swear to you that I had no feelings aside from the sense of accomplishment, the pride of expertise. On inspecting the contents of the bag I felt only the satisfaction of knowing that I had done a thorough job" (The Hand of God, p.60).

I am convinced that the first and overall most effective way to fight abortion is to expose it. People need to hear descriptions of the procedure, see what it looks like, and get a glimpse into the utter corruption of the abortion industry. Saint Paul tells the Ephesians, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them" (Eph. 5:11). Let's put Paul's words into practice and spread the information in this column!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Fr. Frank Pavone. "Applause from Hell." Priests for Life (April, 2007).
This article is courtesy of the Priests for Life newsletter. You may contact Priests for Life at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; call 1-888-PFL-3448 or 718-980-4400; fax 718-980-6515; mail@priestsforlife.org; www.priestsforlife.org.

THE AUTHOR
Fr. Frank Pavone was born in Port Chester, New York and has been active in the pro-life movement since 1976. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of New York by Cardinal John O'Connor in 1988. In 1999, the Daily Catholic named Fr. Pavone among the Top 100 Catholics of the Century. He is the recipient, for the year 2001, of the Proudly Pro-life Award of the National Right to Life Committee. In 2002, in recognition of his pro-life work, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In 2003, Fr. Pavone was elected to be the President of the National Pro-life Religious Council, a coalition of groups from many different denominations working to end abortion.

Copyright © 2007 Priests for Life