Saving Our American Idols

by Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director
Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The farewell season of "American Idol" marks the end of an era. A generation of unknown talents from across the country have graced the AI stage, eventually becoming household names like Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, and Jennifer Hudson.

Recently, the original idol, Kelly Clarkson, gave an emotional performance in which she brought the audience, and herself, to tears singing her hit, "Piece by Piece." She said she wrote it when she was pregnant with her first child, talking about the father who had abandoned her when she herself was a little girl.

So often, a woman who walks into an abortion facility feels abandoned--abandoned by a boyfriend, a mother, a father. It is no coincidence that a poll once found that 80 percent of women who have had abortions said they would have continued their pregnancies and given birth had just one person supported them--just one person. Often times, too, the woman is coerced into having an abortion by the very people who should be loving her and supporting her. Again, research shows as many as 60 percent of abortions are coerced, indicating a boyfriend, father, parent, or even a grandparent is forcing a woman to make a choice she'd rather not make.

I think, in the end, the premise of American Idol is a simple one--every talented young person deserves a shot at stardom. It's an equal opportunity musician-maker because, over the years, people of all different racial and social backgrounds have had their chance under the spotlight.

Over the 14 year course of the show, I wonder how many Idols we have lost to abortion. We know the yearly figure for abortion stands at about a million. A million children whose songs were left unsung.

The movement to make abortion unthinkable has as its essence the simple premise: everybody deserves a shot. Whether you're black or Latino, male or female, able-bodied or differently-abled, you deserve a shot at life. And no one has the right to take that opportunity away.

Let's keep in mind the lyrics of Kelly Clarkson's stirring new song Piece by Piece and pray that all fathers will courageously accept the duties of parenthood:

"He never walks away

He never asks for money

He takes care of me

He loves me

Piece by piece

He restored my faith

That a man can be kind

And a father could stay..."

The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, Inc., is committed to promoting the dignity and value of human life from conception to natural death and to restoring legal protection for preborn children. Through legislation, political action, education and other legal means, we proclaim the truth about abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. For more information on the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, use this link.