Two months after the terrible World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of Sept. 11, most Americans have gone back to their everyday lives. Martha Stewart is giving out tips on better turkey carving techniques, and families across the country are gearing up for Thanksgiving. Jay Leno and David Letterman are cracking up their viewers again, and we here at Penn have gone back to talking about job offers, the joys of dining hall food and the prospect of getting HBO on campus cable.
But sadly, a handful of radical extremists have made this return to normalcy difficult for many others.
America's spirit has undergone a remarkable recovery, which is a testament to the millions of men, women and children who have pulled together in the wake of Sept. 11. They opened up their hearts and pockets to the victims to bring this country back to its feet.
However, there are exceptions to every rule.
Take for example, the small but very vocal group of conservative religious extremists, who have sought to use the terrorist attacks in order to further their own agendas. Their offensive started on Sept. 13, when Jerry Falwell proclaimed during Pat Robertson's 700 Club TV show that "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians... helped this happen." Falwell later apologized, but the harm had been done already.
But Falwell's comments were just the tip of the iceberg. The root of this damage lies with a number of anti-choice operatives, who are vehemently trying to capitalize on the terrorist attacks for self-serving purposes. According to Reuters, as recently as last week Planned Parenthood affiliates and other abortion rights groups around the country have received more than 100 packages containing white powdery substances. In many cases, these packages were accompanied by a threatening note signed by the "Army of God," a fringe anti-choice group.
The notes allegedly read: "You have ignored our earlier warnings. This is the real thing -- get tested."
The anti-choice perpetrators even listed the National Abortion Federation in the return address on the FedEx-delivered packages so that their pro-choice targets would not be alarmed and would feel comfortable opening them. The packages are currently being tested for anthrax.
The perpetrators of these mass mailings are not only taking advantage of the American public during an especially difficult time by targeting the innocent employees of family planning and reproductive services clinics, but they are doing so while calling themselves "pro-life." Isn't it painfully ironic? A "pro-life" group that nonetheless takes pleasure in threatening innocent men and women with a deadly disease?
Nonetheless, a small fraction of these radical anti-choice activists are no strangers to painful ironies.
According to the real National Abortion Federation, over 2,500 reported acts of violence against abortion providers have been registered since 1977 -- including bombs, arson, death threats, kidnappings and assaults. Since 1993 alone, three doctors, two clinic employees, a clinic escort and a security guard have been murdered in abortion related incidents.
Judging from these facts, characterizing some of these extremist groups as "pro-life" is incorrect and to some extent a cruel irony. Perhaps, the adjective "pro-murder" would be a more appropriate way to describe some of these extremists who want nothing more than to spread fear and destruction.
Their actions -- whether they be the murders of abortion providers or the sending of allegedly anthrax-tainted letters to opposition groups -- are unacceptable and should not be allowed to undermine the right of American women right to choose or the right of innocent people, whatever their beliefs, to live in safety. Even if you are anti-choice, you should speak out against these barbaric and very untimely acts. These radicals are merely taking advantage of the heightened level of fear that has been widespread in the country over the last two months.
If you are pro-choice then it is crucial to show support now more than ever for those professionals who -- whether working for an abortion provider, Planned Parenthood or the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League -- selflessly put their lives on the line everyday in their ongoing struggle to protect American women from these extremists' unrelenting attacks. Whether joining an on-campus group or outside organization, or speaking out for choice, every voice counts and makes a great difference.
Once we get HBO next semester (hopefully), check out a rerun of the made-for-TV movie If These Walls Could Talk -- you might even be surprised by some of the ordeals women had to go through before the U.S. Supreme Court established a woman's right to have an abortion in 1973 with Roe v. Wade.
By drawing on the fears of the American people after such tragic events, these extremists attempt to return to an even more dangerous and uncertain time for American women, as well as the entire country.
And in the process, they undermine the very principles of democracy and freedom that allow them to spread their combative rhetoric.
Frederico Sanchez is a sophomore International Relations major from Guadalajara, Mexico.
