By Michael Chapman 
 
June 11--People expressed shock and anger over the Columbine High School shooting. Massachusetts’ own Sen. Kennedy called it “another wake-up call for this country to do more to prevent this senseless loss of children’s lives.” But people shouldn’t have been surprised by Columbine. The cultural foundation for such violence was poured when America said it was okay to kill children by abortion. If a baby’s life is disposable, worthless, then how much less valuable is the life of a 5-year-old or a 15-year-old? 

That’s the message abortion sends. And it’s a message that’s marketed in society (and in public schools) as “choice” or “freedom” or a “right.” Is it any wonder then that some kids have no respect for human life? (Yes, there are other factors involved and the Columbine killers are responsible for their actions. But the terrible message that abortion sends shouldn’t be ignored.) 

Because our government and culture say that it’s okay to kill children by abortion, people shouldn’t be shocked when kids kill kids as happened at Columbine. Our culture tells kids that life is cheap. 

Culture of Death 

Columbine is among the flotsam of a culture that promotes sexual “freedom” at all costs, the result of which is a society perverted and plagued with adultery, divorce, AIDS, and other ills. But this culture of death—furthered by a few lawyers in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision—isn’t something many of America’s leaders want to discuss. It could, after all, expose them as accomplices. 

Instead, they blame youth violence on Hollywood, video games, and guns. And they call for gun safety locks and more after-school programs. The latest diversion from President Clinton—a champion of sexual freedom—calls on movie theaters to I.D. kids and keep the under-17 crowd out of “R” movies. The theaters already should be doing that. But Hollywood is taking heat because of Columbine and now it can say it’s “doing something.” 

“It has been less than two months since the tragedy at Columbine High School seared itself into our national consciousness,” Clinton said at a June 8 press conference. “Ever since that day, our country has been moving steadily away from a culture of youth violence …. We must ensure that children are not the targets of violence in marketing. That’s why last week I asked the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to study the extent to which the video game, movie and music industries market violence to children. … I’m pleased to announce today that the theater owners are clearly drawing the line. The nation’s largest group of theater owners has agreed to ask young people for I.D.s at R-rated movies.” 

A comparison begs to be made. Fourteen people were killed at Columbine and the president has ordered a study on the marketing of violence to children. But last week more than 30,000 children were murdered by abortion. Last year, about 1.2 million babies were killed by abortion. And since Roe v. Wade nearly 40 million babies were murdered.  A baby dies by abortion every 20 seconds in the United States. Where is the presidential study on this culture of violence? 

And what about the marketing of sexual “choice” and abortion? Planned Parenthood, for instance, sends its marketers into public schools in Massachusetts and nationwide. Planned Parenthood salespeople peddle condoms, the pill, safe sex and abortion. The same things are marketed in sex-ed classes in the schools. And there are no I.D. checks. Everyone under 17 is allowed in. (In Massachusetts, a pregnant girl may get an abortion if a judge decides that she is mature enough to make her own decisions.) 

In a letter to the Boston Globe, which the paper didn’t publish, Irene Lagan, media relations director of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, wrote: “The same ruthless disregard for human life that took place in Littleton takes place on a daily basis throughout this country, one child at a time.” In 1997, there were 28,477 abortions in Massachusetts. 

As for gun violence, the statistics available show that in 1995 there were 1,400 accidental deaths by firearms. Thirty of these deaths involved children aged 4 and under. Another 170 deaths involved kids aged 5 to 14. For further comparison, “2,900 children died in motor-vehicle crashes, 950 children lost their lives from drowning, and over 1,000 children were killed by fire and burns. More children die in bicycle accidents each year than die from all types of firearm accidents,” reports economist John Lott in his book, “More Guns, Less Crime.” 

Every human life is invaluable. The holocaust of abortion is not noted here to diminish the tragedy in Columbine. It’s noted to show that if the frailest and most innocent can be killed, with the full backing of federal and state governments, then events like the Columbine shooting will happen, again and again. Protecting kids from bad products—certain books, movies, and music—can help improve things. But abortion is the ultimate youth violence. 

Michael Chapman is the editor of Massachusetts News. 
  

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