More Wilberforce

The L.A. Times has a great editorial about William Wilberforce, British Abolitionist and subject of the recently released (and highly recommended) movie, Amazing Grace.

An excerpt:

"Wilberforce sought to change hearts and minds, not just laws. So he organized boycotts and petitions, staged demonstrations and commissioned artwork to mobilize public opinion on a national scale. Wilberforce suffered many setbacks — his abolition bills were repeatedly killed in committee or defeated in the House of Commons — but he kept on.Most important, he was unafraid to invoke the moral obligations of the Gospel to challenge the consciences of slavers and their supporters in Parliament. In his "Letter on the Abolition of the Slave Trade," published in January 1807, Wilberforce placed the brutish facts of human trafficking against the backdrop of Christian compassion and divine justice. "We must believe," he warned, "that a continued course of wickedness, oppression and cruelty, obstinately maintained in spite of the fullest knowledge and the loudest warnings, must infallibly bring down upon us the heaviest judgments of the Almighty." A month later, on Feb. 23, the House of Commons voted 283 to 16 to abolish the slave trade."

This should cause pro-life supporters to take hope. Wilberforce fought for 20 years to end British slavery. Abortion is often called the "slavery" of today - after all, African slaves were commonly believed to be sub-human - not unlike a "fetus." The movie Amazing Grace displays Wilberforce's strategy to ending slavery: relentless campaigning, introducing a sure-to-be-killed-in-committee bill every year, and tireless debate. Yet it was an indirect tactic (please see the movie) that led to British slavery's demise. This is perhaps a fascinating lesson for today's pro-life strategists. Senator Brock Greenfiled's (R-Clark, SD) recent comments on South Dakota's latest abortion bill remind me of Wilberforce's own lesson on tactics 200 years ago.

A recent bill in Colorado, consciously styled after South Dakota's proposed abortion ban last year, garnered much debate among pro-life legislators in Denver. The debate was over strategy. Pro-choice legislators by far outnumber pro-life legislators this session. The bill would be largely symbolic, sponsored by a passionate pro-life freshman Senator - but, as expected, the bill would be smothered in committee, never seeing the Senate or House floor, much less the Governor's desk.

I myself uttered the words "issue fatigue" in reference to the debate. How much abortion legislation can the people take? Wouldn't it be more effective strategically to re-visit the issue in a few years, when the pro-life movement has a chance to re-group for a counterattack, and the issue once again becomes fresh in the public mind?

After watching Amazing Grace, I think the combination of the two strategies defeated British slavery: 1) relentless, direct campaigning and bold, but sure to die, legislation, combined with 2) opportunistic, indirect legislation that capitalized on the opposition's complacency. I think #1 laid the groundwork for #2, which ultimately succeeded 20 years later.

I believe being "pro-life" is more than just opposing abortion. The L.A. Times editorialist indicates some other modern-day "pro-life" issues that may have resonated strongly with Wilberforce, and should with us as well:

"This year, Britain is honoring Wilberforce's legacy with lectures and conferences. In the United States, the biographical film "Amazing Grace" opens in theaters Friday. Some will chafe at all the attention. Yet we face our own assaults on human rights — including the sexual trafficking of women and girls, genocidal violence in Sudan and the prison camps of North Korea. Surely we need more of Wilberforce's brand of faith today, not less."