“I Became Like a Soldier Going to Battle”: Post-Abortion Trauma
by Sarah Terzo Jacqueline Middler had two abortions and deeply regretted them. She wrote a book, White Stick, hoping to convince other women not to make the same choices. (All quotations below are from this book). Middler became pregnant her first year of college. She didn’t know what to do but was leaning towards choosing…
Vaccinations and Tender Consciences
by Rachel MacNair I’m about to make some heavy criticisms of the way the Covid vaccines came to be, so I start by saying I’ve now gotten both of my Moderna vaccinations. I encourage everyone qualified to be socially responsible to the community by getting theirs as well. Failing to do so, under current circumstances,…
Making a Nonviolent Revolution – Review of Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know
by John Whitehead Certain historical episodes of nonviolent resistance to injustice are famous: the Indian struggle for independence; the American civil rights movement; or the Arab Spring uprisings come to mind. However, many people who are aware of such episodes aren’t familiar with the larger history of nonviolent resistance nor with how such resistance can…
Abort or Face Discharge
by Sarah Terzo A book published in 2010 revealed that the military had a policy that all servicewomen who became pregnant had to abort or face discharge – and this policy was in place before Roe vs. Wade, when abortion was still illegal throughout the United States. The U.S. military’s purpose is to wage war….
Zoom Conference: April 24, 2021
Various people took screenshots and offer reflections. Bill Samuel Sen. Katrina Jackson was a really inspiring keynote speaker. The spirit she exudes is wonderful and it set the tone for the conference. The other speakers I heard from the workshops I attended and the closing session were also excellent. Those planning it did a great…
Death Penalty Jurisprudence of Former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith
Author’s note: I recently retired from the Supreme Court of Missouri after serving as a judge of that court for 20 years. My brother, Richard Stith, a member of the Consistent Life Network, thought its members would be interested in learning about some of the death penalty decisions and dissents which I wrote while a…
Instead of Division, Schools of Thought
by Rachel MacNair Several kinds of arguments show up in most large, long-lasting nonviolent social movements. Activists often express distress about these divisions, thinking more unity would mean more success. I’d like to make the case that instead of thinking of “unity” – an unworkable concept when dealing with large groups of people with strong…
The Death Penalty and Abortion: The Conservative/Liberal Straitjacket
by Rachel MacNair A freelance writer recently interviewed me on this question: Why is it that U.S. states tend to divide out, with some having the death penalty but passing restrictions on abortion, while others fund abortion and don’t have the death penalty? You can see the list here of death penalty states and abortion-funding…
Culture of Conscience: Would You Pay Taxes that Fund Abortions if Hyde and Helms were Repealed?
by Thad Crouch (see at the bottom for a link of a video of the author speaking the same content) Taxes for Violence This month, several pro-choice congressional representatives introduced the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage bill to repeal the Hyde Amendment and allow federal funding for domestic abortion violence for any reason to any…
Masking Up but Not Shutting Up: Defending Freedom of Speech during a Pandemic
by John Whitehead Shortly after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, activists and journalists raised concerns about how governments’ response to the crisis might restrict freedom of expression and other civil liberties. More than a year later, we have a better sense of how the pandemic response has limited press freedom and…