Pro-life activist Peter D'Attilio: What the "mainstream" pro-life groups SHOULD be doing

He needs to be supported and held as an example, not ignored.

POSTED: Jan 24, 2012

Peter D'Attilio is an unusually dedicated man. He gave up his successful landscaping business to do pro-life work full-time. For a while, when his money ran out, he had to live out of his truck, but he kept on. A religious Catholic, he was also able to stay at a Catholic retreat.

In our opinion, Peter D'Attilio is the single most effective pro-life advocate we've seen. Over the past few years, Peter has reached out to and talked with thousands of high school and college students across New England. He is single-handedly changing minds. It's hard work. He is frequently harassed, roughed up, and detained by local police, and occasionally arrested, but he is not deterred. In making a difference, he is right up there with Operation Rescue and the pro-life pregnancy clinics.

But since he doesn't look or act "mainstream" and his approach is frowned on (to say the least) by authorities, every major pro-life donor whom he's asked for financial help has turned him down. This is a travesty. He should be a held up as an example for everyone. So to support himself and keep going, he continues to do whatever landscaping and tree trimming work he can find.

Instead, the "mainstream" pro-life movement raises and spends hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to finance their various "walks for life," dinners, conventions, and -- yes -- radio ads for pro-choice politicians such as Scott Brown, In our opinion the whole situation is a disgrace.

Luckily, there are pro-bono defense lawyers willing to stand by Peter, including Mr. Foley here in Massachusetts and the Thomas More Pro-Life Law Center in Chicago. And MassResistance!