Transcript of the BlogHer podcast interview with Maria Vitale

Emily Zanotti- Hi and welcome to BlogHer.com’s interview with Maria Vitale. My name is Emily Zanotti and I blog on BlogHer.com as the American Princess. Today, actually, we will be talking to Maria Vitale, who is the Education Director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation an affiliate of National Right to Life that is centered out of Pennsylvania. Maria has not always worked for Pennsylvania Pro-Life, she worked as a lobbyist for Ohio Right to Life and before that Maria was a journalist in public and commercial broadcasting. She has been heard on national public radio, CBS radio and received awards from Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists and lots of other great organizations. She currently does work for LifeNews.com and The National Catholic Register. I want to thank Maria for joining us.

Maria Vitale- Thank you.

Emily Zanotti- I am excited to have you on today to talk about how the 2008 election is going to affect your work in women’s reproductive health and the field of women’s reproductive health and especially the pro-life movement. Do you want to give me a little bit and our readers a little bit of background on what your organization, Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation does?

Maria Vitale- Sure I would be glad too. The Pennsylvania Pro Life Federation concentrates on the issues of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and stem-cell research. We are a pro-life organization and an affiliate of National Right to Life. There are a lot of other issues out there, which some people consider to be pro-life and I can understand that but we really have our hands full just dealing with those four issues. We are an educational organization primarily. We also do lobbying and we also have a political action committee. So, we really have a diversified stratum of interest there. And, it is just wonderful to see how many people are joining the pro-life movement. You don’t hear that too often in the major media, but actually we are growing and we are glad of that.

Emily Zanotti- So the primary focus of your organization is to promote life issues and education about life issues?

Maria Vitale- Yes. We promote the sanctity of human life from fertilization to natural death and that encompasses issues such as abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. We feel strongly that the important issues in the world could be debated but there is no issue that is more important than the life issue. Because if you don’t have the right to life, you can’t enjoy any of the other rights we hold dear.

Emily Zanotti- That sounds great. In terms of what your organization does, are you primarily an educational organization? Do you have any specific programs that you would like to highlight? Something that gives an idea of what your organization does out in the community?

Maria Vitale- We do a number of educational outreach programs. We have a number of publications. For instance, we have a quarterly newspaper that goes out to subscribers throughout the State of Pennsylvania. We have an email newsletter that goes out to anyone who wants to sign up at our website, www.paprolife.org. We have talks that we do in schools, at churches and community organizations. We do essay contests and oratory contests for young people. Those are very, very popular. Young people are increasingly pro-life and they really want to make their views known and so they enjoy participating in those contests. We have a website, as I mentioned, www.paprolife.org, which gets about 60,000 hits a month and it is very comprehensive. It gives you soup to nuts on pro-life issues and if you can’t find the information there, chances are you can find it at our parent organization, National Right to Life’s website which is www.nrlc.org. And so, we are constantly involved in educating people about the pro-life issue. There are a lot of myths concerning the pro-life movement and the life issues and so we are working every day to try to address those myths. We also reach out to members of the major news media, keeping them informed about pro-life issues.

Emily Zanotti- Now when you say, you hit something interesting to me. You said that there are a lot of myths about the pro-life movement. Can you elaborate on that a little bit? What kind of myths do you focus on?

Maria Vitale- Sure. And this stems from my own personal experience because I was pro-choice but I came into the pro-life movement gradually as I became more educated in it. I think that one of the myths is that all we are talking about in abortion is a blob of tissue. Well, we know now from 4-D and 3-D ultrasounds that that is a baby we are talking about and the development of the baby starts very early. I did not know, for instance, when I was pro-choice, that you can have a heart beat at 24 days. I did not know that the eyes can develop at 19 days, things of this nature. So, we are constantly educating people about the development of the unborn child. Another myth, I think with the pro-life movement is that you have to be a certain religion in order to join. That is definitely not the case, although there are a number of people of faith who are part of the pro-life movement, there are atheists for life. You don’t have to subscribe to a certain religious philosophy in order to be pro-life and I think that some people make the assumption that you have to believe in certain Bible verses or you have to recite a certain creed in order to belong to the pro-life movement and that is not true at all. We are very diverse but we are united in our belief that life begins at fertilization.

I think another big myth of the pro-life movement is that we don’t care about the baby after it is born and that is definitely not the case. At pregnancy resource centers you will find that they have parenting classes. They can network with social service agencies for providing daycare for young children. They often help out the mother within the first two years of the baby’s life and also the fact that we deal with issues such as euthanasia show that we are concerned about life across the spectrum, not just the lives of babies but the lives of the elderly, the lives of people with disabilities.

I think another big myth is that the pro-life movement is judgmental. In fact, there have been studies indicating that people do tend to believe that. I have not found that to be the case at all working within the pro-life movement. I have found the people to be extremely welcoming, especially welcoming of people who were pro-choice prior to joining the pro-life movement. I find it is basically a movement of love. I think another myth is that it is a male-run movement.

Emily Zanotti- I was just about to ask you that. I have heard quite a few times in looking at this issue that the pro-life movement is anti-woman or that it is really just set up as a way for men to control women. And I was curious as to what you thought about that statement and that belief that is out there.

Maria Vitale- Yeah, I think the funny thing is, is that the majority of people that I find working in the pro-life movement either full-time or as volunteers are female. In fact, the women vastly outnumber the males in our office. We only have a few men on staff and a lot of people do not realize that. They do not understand that abortion can be seen as a woman’s issue from a pro-life perspective and that there is good reason for somebody to embrace the pro-life cause because they are a woman. You know, when you talk about abortion, you are talking about ending a human life and some of those lives are obviously the lives of children who are girls. So we are talking about equal rights for unborn women and I think there is a lot of appeal of the pro-life movement to women. Increasingly our ranks are being filled by women who have had abortions and who regret them. They are more passionate then ever about ending legal abortion in our lifetime. I think that is an untold story. I think that it is important that people learn about that.

Emily Zanotti- Can you talk a little bit about pregnancy resource centers? You hit on that a little earlier and that is something that interests me because we spoke a couple of weeks ago with a leader of Planned Parenthood and she talked a little bit about what Planned Parenthood does to serve the health of women and I was curious as to why pregnancy resource centers need to exist if there is already a resource for women to go out there and get reproductive health services.

Maria Vitale- Sure, the reason that pregnancy resource centers exist, is to give women the support they need to bring their babies into the world. We know that there are situations that are not ideal. We know that there are unmarried women, women who may be in abusive situations, women who may not have family support, and they need help and these pregnancy resource centers can stand in the gap and provide that support. There was one public opinion poll that was done that showed that 80% of the women who had chosen abortion would have chosen life if just one person had expressed support for them in that option. The pregnancy resource center can do that. It can provide counseling. It can provide concrete help. Some of the pregnancy resource centers do ultrasounds. Some of them are becoming clinics to provide some medical care. They can provide diapers, formula, maternity clothes, baby clothes, all sorts of things and they network with local social service agencies. So that pregnancy resource center can really become a one-stop shop for a woman who is in an unexpected pregnancy situation.

Emily Zanotti- And now when a woman goes into an abortion clinic, is there, are these options given to them there or do pregnancy resource centers sort of spring up because there were options that were not being offered to women?

Maria Vitale- Well as I understand it, there was an annual report that came out from Planned Parenthood and it showed that the number of abortions or abortion referrals far out numbered the number of adoption referrals. And so, when a woman goes to a pregnancy resource center, she will definitely be told about the adoption option and be given the resources necessary should she choose that option. Obviously the pregnancy resource centers do not council for abortion. They don’t believe in abortion. They are life-affirming. They are trying to provide support for a woman so that she can bring that baby into the world and they are trying to provide comprehensive support. So it is just not a few cases of formula or a few diapers, it is support to help her through that pregnancy and through the first couple of years of the baby’s life until she can get back on her feet again.

Emily Zanotti- Okay. I think the focus of my, I want to find out a little bit of background information on what you did and the differences between what you did and what Planned Parenthood does and now I want to go into a little bit about how the 2008 elections are going to affect what you do as an organization and what the political process does for your work. My question is: Do you believe that life issues are on the top of the list of priorities this time around in 2008?

Maria Vitale- Well, I think the life issue is the most important issue for a number of people. That is borne out in public opinion polls, which show that there are some people who base their votes specifically on how a candidate stands on life issue. Now, let’s be honest. We don’t hear that much about abortion in the news. Once in awhile it crops up but we do not hear about it as much as gas prices or national security. And so, I think that yes, people are going to be basing their votes on national security, on gas prices, on the economy but there is a contingent out there for whom life is the most important issue. The interesting thing is that when I was a reporter and when I was pro-choice, I assumed that if a candidate came out and said that he or she was personally opposed to abortion but pro-choice politically speaking, that they would gain a number of votes. Okay. That was my thought process at that time. But there has been polling done that shows that for the people for whom abortion is the top issue, the increment favors pro-life. So in other words, for those for whom abortion is the top issue, the majority of those people are pro-life. So there is an advantage to being pro-life for a candidate and I think you find that with people like George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, even George Bush the first, I think you find that they were pro-life people who helped to propel their candidacy. So it is going to be a factor in this election.

Emily Zanotti- So would you say that the goal of your organization, or your organization’s work, is affected by the political process?

Maria Vitale- Well, obviously we are affected by the political process but no matter who is elected we are going to go about the business of educating people on the life issues; on abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. We will continue to do that no matter who is in the White House or who is in Congress. But I can say this, that if a pro-abortion candidate is elected, speaking now for our political action committee, that it will set the pro-life movement back thirty years.

Emily Zanotti- Okay. Speaking of George W. Bush, you mentioned him in your answer to the last question, he has been one of our most pro-life presidents in history and I was curious, has the pro-life movement taken a step forward under President Bush? I think that the popular impression is that it has taken a huge step forward and so I am curious as to what it is like on the ground, if you feel that same way about how it has progressed under George W. Bush?

Maria Vitale- Yeah. I think we have made tremendous progress under the Bush Administration. And a lot of people might not know about this because some of these things are not necessarily in the news that much or are over shadowed by other news events, but for instance, during the past decade we have seen where the Supreme Court upheld a ban on partial-birth abortion. Now that was revolutionary for the Supreme Court to say that there is an abortion procedure that should not be done under our Constitution. We saw where the President signed not only the partial-birth abortion ban but the Born Alive Infant’s Protection Act which ensures that if a baby is born alive after a botched abortion, the baby’s right to life will be safeguarded. Because we saw where babies from live-birth abortions were being left to die in soiled utility rooms in hospitals. That ended under the Bush Administration. We saw him draw a line in the sand as far as embryonic stem-cell research was concerned saying that federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research could not be expanded. We saw where the Lacy and Connor Law was signed under George W. Bush and that is the law which ensures that if a federal crime of violence is committed against a pregnant woman that her unborn child will be considered a victim too. That was a huge step.

Emily Zanotti- That is the Unborn Victims of Violence Act?

Maria Vitale- Yeah that is also known as the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. All of these things occurred under the Bush Administration. So, I tend to say that this first decade of the twenty-first century is really the most pro-life decade and in addition to that, we are seeing more public opinion polls showing that more people are either saying they are pro-life or are saying that they are opposed to most abortions. And you even see, politically speaking, where the Democratic Party, in their platform, put in a paragraph to attempt to appease pro-life Democrats talking about the importance of prenatal care, postnatal care, the importance of adoption, and the importance of supporting a woman who chooses life for her child. That is now in the Democratic Party platform. Now, it is true that they also have a plank in there which talks about wanting to safeguard Roe in their opinion and it is obvious that the party platform is pro-abortion but there was that paragraph put in there which speaks to pro-lifers. In addition, we are going to see where Pennsylvania Senator, Bob Casey, is…

Emily Zanotti- I was just about to ask you about Bob Casey.

Maria Vitale- He is scheduled to address the Democratic National Party Convention and his father was denied a place at the convention back in the 90’s. So I think we are making a huge step. I think the whole language of the abortion debate is changing and a lot of that may be driven by the fact that younger people are more pro-life then young people of a generation ago. The polls show that. And so, those young people, they know that part of their generation, a fourth of their generation is missing because of abortion. They want a better solution to the problem or challenges of unexpected pregnancy than abortion.

Emily Zanotti- Now why do you think it is that young people are, during the March for Life this year, there were many stories, one in the San Francisco paper, a column in The New York Times, that talked about how people were surprised at how many young people were showing up for this march. Why do you think it is that young people are embracing a pro-life platform more now? My generation probably grew up never knowing a time when abortion wasn’t legal. So, what do you think changed their minds?

Maria Vitale- I think one of the things propelled them was that they might have some experience with abortion in their families. There might be brothers, sisters, cousins who are not here today because of abortion. This is called the survivor generation because any child who is conceived after 1973, their mothers had the option of abortion. So they know that they are lucky to have survived. I think that makes a real impression on them. I think that we also now have the body of evidence showing that yes, there are women who do regret their abortions. These young people hear about these women. These women might be within their own families and they don’t want that pain. They do not want other women to have to go through that pain. So, I think that has a lot to do with it. Back in 1973, we did not have things like 4-D ultrasound readily available. This generation sees the sonogram pictures. They are emailed. They are posted on the refrigerator. They know that there is a baby there. Even the U.S. Supreme Court back in 1973 couldn’t say that, because they did not have that technology back then. So, I think that all of these things are factors, which contribute to the fact that young people today are more pro-life then young people of a generation ago.

Emily Zanotti- Back to the presidential elections for a second, what would happen to the pro-life movement, you believe, if McCain is elected president? I will ask you about Obama in a second but I know that McCain has publicly expressed support for stem-cell research and just recently, a couple of days ago, he expressed support for the idea that his Vice-Presidential candidate might not be pro-life. So I am curious as to how you feel about John McCain’s record on pro-life issues and whether you believe he would be amenable to pro-life issues once he is in the White House.

Maria Vitale- Well, John McCain has a pro-life voting record on abortion. He has consistently voted pro-life with regards to abortion. We are very hopeful that he will pick a Vice-Presidential candidate who is pro-life, who shares his view point on abortion. It is wonderful that John McCain supported the ban on partial-birth abortion. He opposes tax-payer funding of abortion. He is for parental consent or notification for abortion. He believes in protecting the abortion survivors through that Born Live Infant’s Protection Act. All that is good. We are very hopeful that he will continue those policies within his administration. On the issue of embryonic stem-cell research, he has voted in favor of embryonic stem-cell research, however, he has also indicated that he sees great promise in the skin-cell stem-cell research that is being done that does not involve the killing of human embryos. So the whole debate over embryonic stem-cell research could soon become a moot point because we could see where the developments in skin-cell research make embryonic stem-cell research obsolete. I think that on the whole, John McCain is very favorable to common sense pro-life stands.

Emily Zanotti- Now, what about Barrack Obama?

Maria Vitale- Well, Barrack Obama is actually the most pro-abortion candidate of a major party in history in the United States. He is co-sponsor of something called the Freedom of Choice Act. What that would do is wipe out virtually all protective laws regarding abortion for unborn children and their mothers. It would mean no more informed consent. It would mean no more parental consent or parental notification. It would mean tax-payer funding of abortion. He was opposed to the partial-birth abortion ban and he was opposed to parental notification. He voted three times against the bill in the Illinois State Senate that would have provided protection for babies who survive abortions. And so, he is radically pro-abortion and I think he has said that his first act as President would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act into law. So, we know what we are getting with Barrack Obama. We are getting a candidate who believes wholeheartedly in the radical abortion agenda.

Emily Zanotti- Now, what do you feel is your outlook for 2008? Do you believe that the pro-life movement will continue to grow at this pace and attract more followers? You spoke a little bit about being further embraced by both party platforms, do you think that is going to be a continuing trend on into the future?

Maria Vitale- I am very hopeful for the pro-life movement. It is growing. It has been said by its leaders that it is stronger then ever before. We see people everyday who come up to us at fairs and festivals who say, you know, “I was once pro-choice but now I am pro-life” or who say “I had an abortion. I regret it now. I want to be a part of the pro-life movement.” And as I mentioned before, the young people are coming into the pro-life movement in droves. If you go to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. in January, the vast majority of marchers are young people, high school age and college age. So I think this is a tremendous time of opportunity for the pro-life movement. And I think that no matter what happens in the elections, I think the pro-life movement will continue to grow.

Emily Zanotti- And one last question, I know we had talked earlier about the myths surrounding the pro-life movement and I received an email with a question about how does the pro-life movement respond to the idea that they are forcing doctors or forcing the world basically to choose between the lives of women and the lives of children?

Maria Vitale- And I think that too is a myth. I think it is a myth that is an either or situation. That we either have to choose the mother or choose the baby. I liken it to this: if you happened upon a car crash and there was a mother and a three-year-old trapped in the car. Would you say to yourself, okay I am going to eliminate the mother so I can get the three-year-old out or would you say to yourself, I am going to eliminate the three-year-old so I can get the mother out. No. You try to save both of them and I think that the pro-life movement recognizes that we need to love both the mother and the child. I mean, let’s face it. You can’t save the life of the child unless you help the mother. The child does not exist independent of the mother and so we need to reach out to women with compassionate solutions to the challenges of unexpected pregnancy. It is not a question of forcing people to choose, it is a question of taking responsibility and helping women to see that they can do it. I think unfortunately there is a lack of confidence out there among women and especially women with their mothering. I notice this all the time. I think that we need to empower women so that they can make the best choice for themselves and their families.

Emily Zanotti- Great. And I have one last question for you and then I will let you go and get back to the work that you do. That question is: What is your goal? What do you see as being the goal of your organization and your work?

Maria Vitale- Our goal is to restore the respect for all innocent human life from conception or fertilization to natural death. We want to see that done in law. We want to see that done through education. We want to see that done through political action. When each child is welcomed and protected by the law and each mother is empowered to make the choice of life for her child, I think we will have achieved victory.

Emily Zanotti- That is fantastic. I thank you so very much for joining me today and joining BlogHer.com for this interview. I look forward to seeing how your organization plays out in the future.

Maria Vitale- Thank you so much.

Emily Zanotti- Thank you. Well that is it. I am Emily Zanotti for BlogHer.com and I hope you enjoyed the interview. Thanks. Bye-bye.