Martin Luther King Jr. Day and human dignity

Every January at the church I attend, our pastor preaches on racial harmony one weekend, in conjunction with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and on the sanctity of human life the next weekend, to coincide with the Jan. 22 anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion on demand nationwide.

There is a natural kinship between the two days. Dr. King's message, and the message we celebrate today, is that "all men are created equal" -- that skin color or race is not relevant to whether one has basic dignity and rights that ought to be respected and protected. All human beings have that dignity, including black human beings.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." ...

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

The message of the pro-life movement on Jan. 22 is that "all men are created equal" -- that size and development and dependency are not relevant to whether one has basic dignity and rights that ought to be respected and protected. All human beings have that dignity, including unborn human beings.

The moral principle violated by both racism and abortion is that every member of the human family is equal in fundamental dignity and ought to be treated as such.