The U.S. Appeals Courts for Washington D.C. has given the green light for the destruction of human embryonic stem cells for research purposes. The action overturns an injunction placed by a federal judge, last August, who ruled such destruction violated Congressional spending laws, in place since the 1990’s. It was a 2-1 decision and a […]
Does the name LeRoy Carhart mean anything to you? It should. Carhart is an infamous late-term abortionist (among a dwindling number in America). He gained notoriety when he used to routinely kill babies alongside the notorious Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, Kansas. Carhart specializes in late-term abortions. Why, even a famous U.S. Supreme Court case […]
When God created Adam and Eve, he placed them in a garden and blessed them. He told them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all living things that move on the earth” (Gen 1:28). The Catholic Church […]
A Response to a Problem Within clinical practice, I frequently encounter well-intentioned people who erroneously confuse “healing” with cure, people such as fellow health care professionals, Catholic patients and their family members, health care proxy decision makers, among others. Following upon this confusion, they misunderstand the place of the “healing sacraments” such as the Eucharist, […]
Is promotion of the family a common good and profitable? These questions appear to be the point of contention for corporate America due to confusion in the definition of “family.” Consider the Human Rights Commission report (buying guide) of companies that promote the lesbian and gay agenda versus those that do not. The Human Rights Commission […]
Not long ago the media reported on a Pennsylvania abortionist who had been arrested for killing newborns. Pictures of his victims were included in a grand jury report. It was vile. Photos of dead babies killed as they were born, their necks with gaping wounds where the abortionist had slit their spinal cords. Despicable and […]
The media is abuzz with news about humanity’s numbers. Sometime during the latter part of this year or early next year — the exact date is still a little fuzzy — there will be, for the first time in history, 7 billion people alive on the planet at the same time. Left-wing pundits are already […]
Every April 22 is Earth Day. As one who studies Soviet Russia, I can’t help notice that the day coincides with the birthday of Vladimir Lenin. The inaugural Earth Day occurred April 22, 1970, no less than Lenin’s birth centennial. This is most ironic. Lenin is a decaying symbol of central planning, which, regrettably, is […]
What is the common good? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “By common good is to be understood “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily”. The common good concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence […]
In the days leading up to the eleventh-hour budget deal reached last Friday, the Liberal Left was out in frenzied force, gnashing their teeth in opposition to GOP efforts to end public funding for Planned Parenthood. Democrats invoked their tried-and-true class warfare rhetoric, insisting that Republican opposition to the organization stems not from opposition to […]
I have long wondered what it would take for the Chinese Communist Party to abandon the one-child policy that it instituted back in 1980 when I was first in China. Now we know. It certainly wasn’t the bitter complaints of the Chinese people about this assault on their families and children that changed the Party’s […]
Okay, so the government is about to shut down. Partially. Good. Because if we don’t stop the killing of innocents in the womb inthis country, if we don’t at least show our Almighty and Most Holy and Just God, that we are seriously willing to bear some cost, some pain, or at least some inconvenience […]
The cold weather in recent months seems to have brought a flurry of news stories about embryos. In October the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to the inventor of in vitro fertilization. In November the journal Human Reproduction published a study in which researchers at the University of Barcelona implanted silicon […]
Abortion, family planning, and sexual education will be vigorously debated in the upcoming UN Commission on Population and Development. The theme of this year’s commission is “Fertility, Reproductive Health and Development.” The initial draft of this year’s outcome document was released last week and as expected, the text is rife with references to sexual and […]
I often point out that our youth are not simply the “future leaders” of the pro-life movement. They are leaders here and now, in more ways than one. Often I am asked to speak about the role of youth in the pro-life movement, and to encourage parishes and pro-life organizations to focus more on recruiting […]
The time of Lent is an occasion that the Lord has given us to deepen our Faith. This weekend we arrive upon the fourth Sunday of Lent, also called Laetare Sunday, and the middle of this Holy Season. It is called Laetare Sunday because in the midst of the austerities of Lent we are called […]
As of press time, the U.S. House and Senate were still haggling over legislation to fund the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year. One of the leading disputes is over whether to allow the largest provider of abortions in the U.S. — Planned Parenthood — access to federal funds. The House […]
“As Maine goes, so goes the nation.” On election day, November 2009, the Pine Tree State harkened back to its old bellwether status — at least on the issue of same sex marriage. Defying the governor, the legislature, and the other powers-that-be (except the churches), stalwart citizens upheld the historical definition of marriage. By a […]
It was the first day of spring in 2005. I was at the florist in the seaside village where I grew up, assembling a basket of flowering spring plants for my sister who had just given birth. To have my hands immersed in budding greenery, inhaling earthy scents, replaced for a few moments the pall […]
Senomyx is a biotech company that produces artificial flavors. It enhances the way our food tastes. They are so clever their website states that they “focus on the discovery and development of savory, sweet and salt flavor ingredients.” Last year another discovery was made, that Senomyx uses, in its research, HEK 293. HEK 293 are […]
The cohesion of the American family is about the worst in the world, according to a new UN report. Rather than recommending policies reinforcing traditional family roles, the study recommends social policies reflecting the new reality. Just 70 percent of American children grow up with both parents, worse than the developed world average of 84 […]
Professor Robert George of Princeton University, and co-author of the Manhattan Declaration, is heading to Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas on Friday, July 15 to address medical doctors and medical professionals in a keynote speech on their conscience rights as part of a larger week dedicated to renewing the culture. An excerpt from the Manhattan Declaration, […]
It’s been a month since the passing of Dr. Bernard Nathanson who died of cancer at the age of 84. I’ve been waiting for NARAL (originally known as the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws) to offer some tribute to this man who was a founding member of their group. And where has […]
Last fall, I participated in the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil at our local Planned Parenthood. It was the first time I had done this, and I was a bit fearful. (Will I get arrested? Will people yell at us?) On the contrary, the experience was humbling and incredibly moving. After the 40 Days […]
