Death Penalty and other Killing: The Destructive Effect on Us
by Fr. Jim Hewes I have opposed the death penalty for years. My reasoning stems from a larger perspective than just the death penalty. It focuses not on the circumstances surrounding the crime or the killer, but the effect of our actions on those that approve of or carry out an execution. Anguish In…
Dialog on Life Issues: Avoiding Some Obstacles to Communication
by John Whitehead An essential part of consistent life ethic advocacy is learning how to talk about the ethic or specific life issues to people with differing views. In a recent post for us, Josh Brahm of the Equal Rights Institute (ERI) offered for constructive dialog. I offer further thoughts, partly inspired by ERI’s work…
A Lawyer’s Turnaround on Baby Doe with Her Own Down Syndrome Baby
by Sarah Terzo Janine Steck Huffman has a child with Down syndrome. But years before she gave birth to her son Nash, she was partly responsible for the legal starvation death of Baby Doe, another child with Down syndrome. Baby Doe was born in Bloomington, Indiana, in April 1982. Besides Down syndrome, he had…
Is the Death Penalty Unethical?
by Hannah Cox Is the death penalty unethical? For many years, this was where the debate around capital punishment began (and often ended). While it’s an important question, especially for those concerned with human ethics or coming from a religious background, it is not necessarily the proper place to start the discussion. This is a…
Police Brutality Against Protesters
by Sarah Terzo In the news there have been multiple cases of police brutality against Black men and women and even Black preborn children. Those who’ve protested these outrages have also been targeted for brutality. See, for example,In one week there were at least 9 instances of police using excessive force caught on camera…
Two Practical Dialogue Tips for Changing More Minds about Abortion
by Josh Brahm Editor’s Note: while the author applies this to abortion, the same principles apply to dialogue on any issue. I was standing in the exhibit hall in front of our booth at the Students for Life National Conference a few years ago when a student walked up to me. He had just heard…
#Rehumanize2020: Experiences of a Virtual Conference
John Whitehead As always, our friends at member group Rehumanize International did a great job of bringing together a diverse group of activists to discuss an array of issues encompassed by the consistent life ethic—with the added technical accomplishment this year of doing it all online! Indeed, diversity was one recurring theme of the presentations…
Police Brutality Against the Preborn
by Sarah Terzo Police brutality, which disproportionately affects Black men and women, has been in the news with the horrible deaths of Breanna Taylor and George Floyd, among others. Protests have erupted throughout the country over the past few months. Preborn babies are not exempt from dying by police violence. In fact, there have been…
Ireland’s New Silence and Its 6,666 Victims
by Maria Horan At the end of June, the Irish government released its first official abortion report: 6,666 abortions in 2019, with another 375 women traveling to the United Kingdom for abortions. Prior to abortion being legalized in Ireland, the number of Irish women traveling to the UK for abortions had been declining. Even the…
Tear Gas and Miscarriages
by Sarah Terzo Major protests against police brutality have occurred around the U.S. in recent weeks. While many demonstrators were peaceful, some rioting occurred. There are many documented cases of police using tear gas and other chemical agents on both violent and nonviolent protesters. A New York Times article says that chemical agents were used…