“But I was Empty”: The Story of a Doctor Who Left Planned Parenthood
by Sarah Terzo The pro-life group Live Action did an interview with former abortionist Patti Giebink, who did abortions at Planned Parenthood for three years after performing abortions in her residency. Giebink is now a pro-life activist. Giebink entered medical school with strong pro-choice beliefs, which she now says she never questioned or really examined….
Specialization or Generalization? The Many Ways of Following the Consistent Life Ethic
by John Whitehead The Consistent Life Ethic (CLE) movement is very diverse. It includes people of different philosophical or partisan backgrounds, with different understandings of the CLE and different preferred activist strategies. One aspect of this diversity is varying approaches to specialization, that is, focusing on a particular life issue of the CLE. Some CLE…
Elections 2020: Three Consistent-Life Approaches
by Rachel MacNair The Consistent Life Network takes no stand on specific candidates. This is my own personal take on how people who support the consistent life ethic view the U.S. presidential election of November 3, 2020. Three Categories Category 1: Trump is Out of the Question; Biden is Bearable People in this category are…
To Know a Person is to Recognize a Human
by Julia Smucker Methodist theologian Stanley Hauerwas once wrote, “My Uncle Charlie is not much of a person but he is still my Uncle Charlie.” This striking sentence introduced his argument on the limits of “personhood” language in medical contexts. Yet it also captures the power of having known a human being as a person,…
“Trust Landlords”: Pro-Choice Candidate Supports Eviction Rights
Satire by Richard Stith Reporter: “I am so grateful for your willingness to answer a few questions about the eviction controversy. As I’m sure you know, in response to the “My Building, My Choice!” campaign, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed rules to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants….
Sickness is the Health of the State? Civil Liberties and Conflict during a Pandemic
by John Whitehead The COVID-19 pandemic has consumed the world’s attention during these early months of 2020. The virus’ health threat, especially to older people and other vulnerable groups, is correctly the primary concern right now, with the pandemic’s economic consequences perhaps being the second greatest concern. Both these aspects of the pandemic fully deserve…
The Message of “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”: Abortion Gets Sexual Predators Off the Hook
by Rachel MacNair With the initial theater release interrupted by the Covid-19 closing of theaters, this movie was offered online April 3, 2020. The title of the movie, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” is based on an intense scene in which the protagonist, Autumn, is being counseled at an abortion facility before her abortion. Those…
A Healing Metaphor: Pandemic as War
by Julia Smucker The language is everywhere: we’re at war against an invisible enemy, adjusting to new realities of wartime living and expressing gratitude to the brave men and women fighting on the front lines to keep us safe. Except that the front in this war is in hospitals and labs, and the front-line fighters…
Why the Interfaith Approach is Important
by Rachel MacNair This February in 2020 I went on a trip to Israel and Palestine with a group called In the Steps of Our Ancestors: an Interfaith Peace Pilgrimage. In addition to seeing the holy sites of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Baha’i, we spoke with several groups promoting peace in different ways. (I went…
Is Abortion Different from Other Violence?
by Julia Smucker Four Ways of Isolating One Issue Any advocate of the consistent life ethic (CLE) can expect to encounter people who share their pro-nonviolence position on certain issues but depart from it on others. And among those working on various peace and life issues, including those of us who adhere to the CLE,…