How can the American people, in particular the "Pro Choice" supporters, celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus Christ and yet permit the slaughter - not only during Christmas time but also year round - of millions of other babies under the legalized medical procedure called Abortion? The number of aborted fetuses (read, who could have been born as babies) certainly dwarfs the number of male infants ordered slaughtered by King Herod.

Yes, Christmas in the 21st century is indeed different from the traditional Nativity. Yes, Christmas has become a holiday culture of consumerism, materialism and the outrageous practices of liberalism.

(Writer's Note: This was written originally in December 2000 and published in several online and hard-copy magazines every Christmas season. The message remains the same. For purposes of this year's Advent celebration, the title of Mr. Bush has been changed from President-elect to President.)

Consider for instance these news items:

· On Dec. 20, 2000, (then) President Bill Clinton signed into law legislation that created  sanctuaries for hundreds of chimpanzees subjected to years of biomedical research. The White House said some research would be permitted in the sanctuaries, as long as the chimpanzees are not harmed. Animal-rights groups welcomed the new law. Why can't the White House sponsor legislation that will also create a sanctuary for the millions of fetuses that can be brought into this world if only they were not aborted?

· Just a week before Christmas 2000 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service said that "the economic effects of designating more than 5-million acres in California as federal habitat for the red-legged frog would not require changes to most development projects except in Alameda and Contra Costa counties." Environmental groups sued the Fish and Wildlife Service to force creation of a habitat for the red-legged frog. Under the Federal Endangered Species Act, the frog, federally listed as threatened, must have habitat designated for protection of the species. How come human fetuses are not included in the Endangered Species Act?

Filipino-American poet-pundit Fred Burce Bunao calls abortion the Great American Holocaust. Bunao says the Holocaust during World War II that resulted in the deaths of more than six-million Jews is nothing if compared with this American Holocaust. It has been estimated (as of December 2000) than more than 32-million fetuses were aborted since the United States Supreme Court gave the thumbs up to abortion in the Roe v. Wade case.

The White House had a new tenant come in on Jan. 20, 2001. Perhaps President George W. Bush, who campaigned on an anti-abortion platform, may be able to lead America into ending this Great American Holocaust. There are many Americans who thought that Mr. Bush's stand on abortion made him win close electoral contests. We were told that in the Great State of Florida alone, many Filipino-American Democratic voters cast ballots for candidate Bush, as they liked his advocacy against abortion. These Filipino Americans said that it was time for them to be Good Catholics, rather than Good Democrats.

Yes, perhaps by next Christmas the White House will announce that President George W. Bush will be signing into law legislation that will create sanctuaries for millions of babies saved from abortion. Yes, perhaps by next Christmas the Federal Government will include human fetuses as subject also to the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Maybe George W. Bush's compassionate conservatism may help bring back the true meaning of Christmas: The birth of a Savior to redeem people for all the inhumanity they were doing to their fellow human beings, including the unborn and the generations yet to come. # # #