LITTLE ROCK — Paul Greenberg, editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial page, was the honored guest at The Human Life Foundation’s ninth annual Great Defender of Life dinner Thursday in New York City.
“I rely on the Human LifeReview and admire the spunk of its editors and publishers, who were preaching a most unpopular line many years ago, and am honored to accept the foundation’s award,” Greenberg said.
Anne Conlon, the managing editor for the foundation’s publication the Human Life Review, said Greenberg is one of only five journalists throughout the years to be honored. Conlon said Greenberg has been a “great defender of life,” for at least two decades.
“He’s not only a pro-lifer but a great journalist and great writer. He defends the pro-life cause so eloquently,” Conlon said. “He’s been pretty fearless because [journalism] is not generally a field that has pro-lifers in it.”
Greenberg’s syndicated columns regarding life issues have been featured in the review since the early 1990s, Conlon said.
Greenberg said he originally wrote editorials supporting the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in 1973, thinking it would only be used in “exceptional cases, such as rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.”
“But as the number of elective abortions of healthy babies rose and rose into the millions during the ’70s and ’80s, I changed my mind and sides,” Greenberg said, “and have been writing pro-life opinions since then, taking a similar position against euthanasia for patients.”
Besides abortion, the quarterly journal covers a variety of topics including cloning, genetic engineering and euthanasia, according to its website humanlifereview.com.
The foundation was started in 1975 and helps promote alternatives to abortion through educational and charitable acts, the website said.
Charmaine Yoest, president and chief executive of Americans United for Life, gave a special introduction for Greenberg, and Jack Fowler, publisher of the National Review, served as the master of ceremonies.
Conlon said a 96-page collection of Greenberg’s columns dealing with life issues was handed out at the dinner.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 10/28/2011