As we should be well aware, the pro-abortion campaign in Malta is building up steam. With one country after another in Europe succumbing to the removing of legislation safeguarding life from conception, it should come as no surprise that Malta is now next in line.
Sadly, we cannot blame outside pressures and the EU for the virulent assault on our laws that promoted family values, upheld traditional marriage and, above all, respected and defended life in all its stages.
Despite the apparent unstoppable changes in the West that have led to the culture that has stripped away the respect for human life – reflected in the introduction of abortion, euthanasia and the treating of life as a commodity, public opinion is slowly but surely being made aware of the negative reality of such corrosive developments.
Nowhere is this more conspicuous than in the USA. One of the men who had been most committed to promoting, and then carrying out abortion, was the late Bernard Nathanson. Yet, with the introduction of ultrasound techniques, he was brought face-to-face with the visual reality of the foetus desperately fighting for its life as the abortionist’s forceps tore it to pieces. This shocked him into abandoning his career as an abortionist and led him to becoming one of the most prominent pro-life advocates.
Similarly, in the premier of the film Unplanned, that was recently screened at St James Cavalier, we have had the exposition of the life-changing impact an ultrasound film of abortion had on Abby Johnson who had worked as a director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. What is remarkable is that such people not only stop being involved in abortion but then convert wholeheartedly into pro-life crusaders.
Another American, Dr Anthony Levatino, had a similar epiphany. He is an obstetrician gynaecologist who, in his career, carried out around 1,200 abortions. He believed in upholding the right of a woman to choose to terminate her pregnancy. The irony of it all is that he likewise did his utmost to save the life of babies facing death when the mother was facing a life-threatening condition such as toxaemia.
The tragic death of Dr Levatino’s six-year-old adopted daughter in a traffic accident shocked him into realising the injustice of being involved in the killing of the most vulnerable. Again, like Nathanson and Johnson, he turned full circle and is now passionately committed to exposing the harsh reality of what abortion entails. To do so, he has studied law in order to be able to present his pro-life views in the highest fora in the USA and he also travels worldwide to expose the evil of the abortion industry.
Next week, Dr Levatino will be in Malta to address various institutions. He will be a privileged guest and speaker at a fund-raising dinner organised by Life Network Malta at 7.30pm on Thursday, 28 November at the Corinthia Palace, Attard. He will also address the annual pro-life march scheduled for Sunday, 1 December at 2pm in Valletta.
Dr Levatino is an eloquent speaker who has the advantage of knowing the abortion industry first-hand. For those who really want to face the truth about what abortion really entails, such an opportunity to hear him talk should not be missed.
Klaus Vella Bardon
Vice-Chairman, Life Network Malta