Categories
Abortion Philosophy

More praise for Chris Kaczor’s book on the abortion

In a prior post, I mentioned Chris Kaczor’s excellent new book entitled “The Ethics of Abortion.”  See http://uffl.org/blog/?p=365 Here is a review of the book by Raymond Hain from The Public Discourse website. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/03/2920 In Hain’s view, “Kaczor’s clear and even-handed writing makes it an excellent resource for anyone who wishes to think carefully about the significant […]

Categories
Eugenics

Wesley Smith on the New Eugenics

Here is an interesting post from Wesley Smith on “The New Eugenics.”  http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2011/03/09/the-new-eugenics-selecting-for-intelligence-or-whats-love-got-to-do-with-it-julian-savulescu/ Smith’ post is a commentary on a recent article in an Australian paper describing the views of Oxford’s Julian Salvulescu, who believes that there is a moral obligation to use IVF to breed smarter babies. Richard M.

Categories
Conscience protection

recent essays on conscience

Here are two recent essays on conscience. One (The Progressive Case for Conscience Protection) is by Rob Vischer on The Public Discourse website. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/03/2915 The other (ACLU Has Major Misunderstanding of Abortion Conscience Law) is by Matt Bowman. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/03/09/aclu-has-major-misunderstanding-of-abortion-conscience-law/ Richard M.

Categories
Assisted suicide Euthanasia Hospice Philosophy

lecture by John Keown

Professor John Keown (Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University) will be giving a lecture in London (Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, Westminster) on May 16, 2011. The lecture, which is entitled “The provision of palliative care: an ethical and legal duty?”, is sponsored by by the Anscombe Bioethics Centre. See http://www.bioethics.org.uk/ Professor Keown will also speak on […]

Categories
Conscience protection

Mark Rienzi’s essay on conscience

Here is a link to Catholic U law professor Mark Rienzi’s recent essay on conscience. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/03/2854 This essay is based on a longer article, which I have mentioned before. See  http://uffl.org/blog/?p=491 This essay provides a good summary of his argument. Rienzi argues that Roe and Casey, with their emphasis on autonomy arguments, provide support  for a right to conscience.  Richard […]

Categories
Legislation Sex-selection abortion

Arizona house passes bill banning abortions for sex-selection and for reasons of race

Here is link to a LifeNews story describing the Arizona House’s approval of  a bill  banning abortion for reasons of sex-selection or because the unborn child is of a certain race. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/02/22/arizona-house-oks-ban-on-sex-selection-race-based-abortions/ This bill deals attempts to address a growing problem. Although it seems unlikely the courts will uphold such bans, this effort serves imprtant educational goals.  Richard M.

Categories
Politics Religious views

“Pro-choice advocates are caught in a time warp”

That assessment is from Frances Kissling, former head of “Catholics for Choice.” This assessment came in a recent opinion piece in the Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/18/AR2011021802434.html Kissling notes the “increasingly sophisticated arguments” of pro-lifers and also notes that public opinion is shifting toward the pro-life side. She states that “we can no longer pretend the fetus […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Kurt Pritzl, O.P., RIP

Father Kurt Pritzl, O.P., died yesterday after a battle with cancer. Father Pritzl was the Dean of the School of Philosophy at Catholic University. He was a member of University Faculty for Life and a gracious host for the 2010 annual meeting of University Faculty for Life. His passing is a loss to the Church […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Bernard Nathanson, RIP

Bernard Nathanson, a former abortionist who became an influential pro-life advocate, died today at age 84. http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/bernard-nathanson-dead-at-84/ Richard M.

Categories
Colleges and Universities Conferences infanticide

Human Life Review articles on the Princeton conference

The Fall 2010 issue of the Human Life Review contains a number of articles on the October 2010 Princeton conference. The article by my good friend Mark Latkovic is particularly good, http://www.humanlifereview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120:a-tale-of-two-australians&catid=55:2010-fall, as is the article by Wesley Smith, http://www.humanlifereview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122:infanticide-must-be-combatedcarefully&catid=55:2010-fall  Richard M.