The National Right to Life Committee said it’s “in complete disagreement” with an ad sponsored by a state affiliate that attacks Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action.
The ad, which appeared in today’s Colorado Springs Gazette, asked Dobson to “repent” of his statement that a recent Supreme Court ruling will protect preborn children.
That ruling affirmed a federal ban on partial-birth abortion, a procedure that involves delivery of a baby feet first, making an incision in the back of the child’s head, and removing brain matter so that the dead child slips more easily through the birth canal.
The attack ad said the ruling “granted no authority to save the life of even a single child.” The ad was sponsored by Colorado Right to Life and three other groups.
David O’Steen, executive director of National Right to Life in Washington, D.C., said the Colorado affiliate is wrong about the court ruling.
“It’s the first time that the court has allowed the legislative branch to outlaw a specific abortion procedure,” O’Steen told CitizenLink. “We think it’s a great victory.”
The Colorado affiliate is also wrong about Dobson, he explained.
“We appreciate Dr. Dobson, and we appreciate his support to end partial birth abortion,” O’Steen said. “We agree with him that the decision is a breakthrough.”
Colorado state Sen. Dave Schultheis said that after knowing Dr. Dobson for more than a decade, he knows of no one "more committed to the sanctity of human life than he is."
"For Colorado Right to Life to twist this issue so egregiously is unconscionable," he said. "I suppose CRTL would prefer that viable babies would continue to be killed without anesthetics. This is incomprehensible to me."
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of issues analysis for Focus on the Family Action, said the ad is “an unwarranted attack.”
“It’s difficult to comprehend how a law outlawing the brutal killing of a nearly born fetus is anything but a victory for defenders of life,” Earll said. “Would those behind this ad be happier if the court had ruled the other way, upholding this barbaric practice?”
Earll pointed out that Focus on the Family has made more than 300 placements of ultrasound machines and sonography training in 46 states, potentially saving an estimated 40,000 babies.
