Our Experience with Overturning Terrible Court Decisions
by Rachel MacNair Several US Supreme Court decisions have been horrifying. What lessons can we learn from history? Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1857 Dred Scott was an enslaved man who petitioned the Court for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters, because they had been moved to a state without slavery….
The Parable of the Bridge
by Carol Crossed There was a village and a river ran through its center. Every day at 4:00 people would go to the church to pray for those who were drowning in the water. The farmers put aside their plows, the students put down their books, the mothers took their children by the hand and…
The Creativity of the Foreclosed Option
by Rachel MacNair In an episode of Star Trek, The Next Generation, the Klingon Worf was in an accident leaving him paralyzed. According to Klingon tradition, this meant he should commit ritual suicide. He was intent on doing so. The doctor was appalled. She tried to research Klingon physiology to find treatment, but Klingons had…
Movie Review: Mothers and Daughters
by Mary Bennett Mothers and Daughters boasts an impressive ensemble of stars, including Susan Sarandon, Sharon Stone, Christina Ricci, Courtney Cox, Mira Sovino, and Selma Blair. It features interconnected stories based on the theme of motherhood – complete with the trials, heartache, and rich reward that accompany it. Rigby Gray (Selma Blair) is a photographer…
Why the Hyde Amendment Helps Low-Income Women
by Rachel MacNair In the US, the 40th anniversary of the Hyde amendment’s first passage was September 30, 2016. The amendment is a legislative provision that taxpayers, especially through the Medicaid program, don’t pay for most abortions. Medicaid provides health care for low-income people and goes state-by-state, so when the amendment passed, some states immediately stopped funding, but…
The Poor Cry Out for Justice, and We Respond with Legalized Abortion
by Graciela Olivarez, 1972 Commissioner appointed by US President Richard Nixon from the “Separate Statement of Graciela Olivarez” in Report of the President’s Commission on Population and the American Future U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972 To brush aside a separate statement on the issue of abortion on the grounds that it is based on religious…
If Men Could Get Pregnant
by Rachel MacNair The “Sacrament” We’ve recently had the idea of what would happen with abortion if men could get pregnant come up twice. In last week’s blog, Mary Liepold said: “I still agree with blessed, angry Florynce Kennedy, may she rest in peace, that if men could get pregnant abortion would be a…