A CWR interview with Monica Migliorino Miller, author of Abandoned | Jim Graves | Catholic World Report
“We’re fighting the most important social justice issue of our time..."
Monica Migliorino Miller released Abandoned:
The Untold Story of the Abortion Wars through Saint Benedict
Press in 2012. It tells the story of how, as a college student in the
1970s, she became involved in the pro-life movement, through 1994, when the
blockading of abortion clinics through Operation Rescue effectively came to an
end.
While many Americans describe themselves as pro-life, few have dedicated
themselves wholly to the cause as Miller has, devoting countless hours on the
streets in front of abortion clinics “sidewalk counseling,” or trying to
persuade abortion-minded women entering abortion clinics—or “abortuaries” as
you may hear her call them—to choose life. Her aggressive, on-the-street
action has included the photographing and displaying of the bodies of aborted
children collected from the dumpsters behind abortion clinics, to painting over
or covering the contact information on subway advertisements of abortion
clinics, to being arrested for linking arms with other pro-lifers in front of
the entrances to abortion clinics. (It is important to note that she and
her fellow pro-life activists never used any sort of violence as a tactic, and
that violence used in the name of the pro-life cause is rare and quickly denounced
by the leaders of the movement.)
While some Americans may be turned off by her activism, to Miller it is more
than justified by the atrocities that occur every day in the nation’s abortion
clinics. Such atrocities, she believes, are tantamount to those of
Hitler’s extermination camps or Stalin’s gulags, and it is her role (and should
be that of any pro-life American) to stand in solidarity with the unborn child
threatened with abortion, and employ all morally acceptable means to save that
child.
In a recent interview with CWR, Miller
discussed her new book.
CWR: Why
did you choose to write Abandoned?
Miller: I wanted to tell the truth.
I’ve been in a position as a pro-life activist that has given me a unique
and incredible experience to see what 40 years of legalized abortion has
brought to our country. I’ve experienced the tragedy of abortion in a
profound way. I wanted to share that experience with everyone.
The book covers a specific 19-year period, from the 1970s through the 90s; I
wanted to preserve this important moment in history and share it with future
generations. We’re fighting the most important social justice issue of
our time, and it is important for us to explain what it is and what it meant.
I wanted to tell the story as someone active in the pro-life cause, so we
don’t have to rely on scholars and journalists to tell it. In the 19th
century, by comparison, in the fight against slavery, it would have been a
tragedy if we didn’t have the writings of the abolitionists themselves, and
instead had to rely only on the interpretations of historians.
Also, while I tell the story from my own perspective, I hope people will see
that the real main character of the book is not me, but the unborn child.
He is the hidden victim of abortion.
CWR: What
reaction has Abandoned received?
Miller: We’ve had a good reaction; I
think Saint Benedict Press is very excited. I’ve written other books that
have been published, but none has achieved the success Abandoned
has. We’re still in the early stages of promoting the book, and we’ve
already sold 6,000 copies.
CWR: What
is the most effective way to save babies from abortion?
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