For many years now, pro-life leaders have pointed to the massive loss of life that comes with in vitro fertilization (IVF) as one of the key evils of the procedure. Additionally, the extreme cost of the procedure, the likelihood of multiple embryos implanting resulting in selective reduction abortions, and health risks to both mother and […]
-Where I was ten years ago- I told my future husband on a date in 2004: “My sister had half of her thyroid removed because she had parasitic cells growing on it. Was she wrong to have the surgery done so that she could live? Of course not and it’s the same with abortion.” I […]
“Imagine in a thousand years someone doing IVF with a long-frozen embryo just to see what a 21st century – or, in this case, 20th century – human being was like. Just keeping them frozen – kicking the can down the road a little farther – seems wrong to me. . . . If you […]
For forty-one years Human Life International has been engaged in building a Culture of Life through education and activism. Though we have been blessed with success in many of our efforts, we have also faced numerous difficulties. One of these difficulties is one we share with all who defend life, faith and family: As cultural […]
When RU-486, the abortion pill, was approved in the U.S. — after a scandalous campaign of political arm-twisting, media-pressure, and fudging of trial data by abortionists — it came with strict regulations. Now the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether states can require abortionists to follow those safety measures. A fascinating history of the multi-year […]
A few days ago former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, was having a discussion with her five-year-old grandson about possible war in Syria. She told the press that she explained to him that “hundreds of children” had been killed in Syria and that her defense of going into that country was that the killing […]
In 2003 my beautiful daughter Chloe was born with a diagnosis of Down syndrome, and I must admit my family was filled with fear, anxiety and uncertainty about Chloe’s future. At the time I was in my 20th year as a Police Officer, and I had no knowledge of supports for children like Chloe. When […]
During a conversation with my 23-year-old son, he told me that a lot of his friends like our new pope. This isn’t the measure of the greatness of the man, but it is good to see some of Pope Francis’ major themes resonating with the young. Among the most prominent of these themes, something that […]
With its announcement of possible reforms, China has implicitly admitted its forty year-old one child per-family policy has been a failure. The rules led to draconian abuses. There were an estimated 336 million abortions, including forced abortions and sterilizations at the hands of a powerful and intrusive family planning establishment controlling the most intimate aspects […]
Far too frequently we look around our lives and find so much going so wrong. Sometimes we know what we can do about our problems, and sometimes we don’t. But that’s where faith comes in. Here’s what I mean: The sixth century before Christ was a time of tremendous pain for the Israelites. The Temple […]
In a profound analysis of the inherent problems with “advance directives” and other such statements of how one wishes to be cared for at the end of life, Brother John Luth writes in an e-mail: In philosophy, we are taught that the first words are the most important in an argument. As Christians, we can […]
I realized a while ago that debates are pointless. All they do is try to prove the other person wrong rather than bring about greater knowledge of the good. Think about it – the nature of a debate is to locate the weakness in a person’s argument so that you can exploit it to the […]
Last week marked 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his seminal “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Fifty years ago, if someone had told the audience assembled at the National Mall that they would see a black man elected President in their lifetime, […]
There’s a dangerous tendency in America today to view disabilities of various kinds as insuperable barriers to productive and loving service. There is often an implicit, and sometimes explicit, disrespect of a basic feature of human dignity in the treatment of those with disabilities as merely passive recipients of government aid, the objects of public […]
Francoise Baylis, a professor in Bioethics and Philosophy in Canada, has an important piece out on the Quebec law that pays for up to three IVF cycles out of the state-funded public health system. I wrote about this bad decision when Quebec passed the law in 2010. Is it working? Sort of. IVF cycles in […]
A U.S. judge is allowing a lawsuit by a Ugandan homosexual group charging an Evangelical pastor with a “crime against humanity.” The American pastor is accused of violating international law for speaking against homosexuality and discussing legislation with Ugandan leaders. Scott Lively, an attorney and author, runs the Holy Grounds coffee house in Massachusetts where […]
Cardinal John O’Connor was known for many things during his tenure as Archbishop of New York City (1984-2000). I think of him often, but most recently I was reminded of O’Connor’s courage when I remember how he handled being confronted by a group of homosexuals while celebrating Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The cardinal conducted himself with absolute respect […]
Good science fiction tells a morality tale about the dangerous directions in which contemporary society is heading. For example, Brave New World—perhaps the most prescient novel ever written—warned against the dystopian impact that using biotechnology to perfect the human race would have on society. Similarly, the Dune novels—which feature a breeding device known as an […]
While many people believe forgetting an injury is part of forgiveness, Fr. Justin Waltz, pastor of St. Leo’s Church in Minot, ND, suggested just the opposite. In fact, he stated that forgetting is not even possible. “The only type of forgetting I have heard of is stuffing,” he said during a retreat presentation and added, “The […]
The German government has invented a third “indeterminate” gender for official purposes on government documents. Instead of “M” or “F,” parents may list their children’s sex as “X.” Starting November 1, the parents of babies without “clear gender-determining physical characteristics” can register them without a sex on their birth certificates and other official documents. Parents […]
“Crisis pregnancy centers lie to women about abortion and contraception,” NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue declared in an email to supporters Thursday. The email contained a link to a video attacking crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) as “fake ‘clinics’ set up by the anti-choice movement.” The real aim of the video was to smear Virginia […]
Fathers Felipe and Paulo Lizama, two twins saved from abortion when it was legal in Chile, are now both Catholic priests. The siblings say their mother’s determination to protect them in her womb fostered their vocations. “My mother was told to abort because the baby she was carrying had two heads, three legs, and four […]
We’ve all heard the “quality of life” argument applied to everything from an excuse for abortion to the reason posited to justify assisted suicide or some other form of euthanasia. Ongoing debates relating to various segments of Obama’s national health care law—the Affordable Care Act—challenge us to sort out and explain the problematic nature of using a slide rule […]
A growing sense of urgency surrounds the UN development agenda as major milestones approach and long-term goals are set to expire. Of particular concern to some is the fate of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Indeed many governments are expressing increasing exasperation with abortion advocates. In the closing minutes of a recent conference, delegates […]
