Abortion and Violence Against Pregnant Women
by Martha Shuping, M.D. This is based on a handout Dr. Shuping made for widespread use; she sent it to us and we adapted it with her approval. Martha Shuping is a psychiatrist, and wrote several chapters of the book Peace Psychology Perspectives on Abortion, edited by Rachel MacNair. Intimate Partner Violence Intimate…
What Does It Mean to Be Inconsistent?
by Julia Smucker CLN President John Whitehead recently put a question to fellow consistent-lifers: does it necessarily make sense to call people “inconsistent” for not fully adhering to the consistent life ethic (CLE)? After all, the reasons people give for approving of some forms of killing and disapproving of others often follow their own…
“Everybody Else in the World Was Dead”: Hiroshima’s Legacy
(compiled by John Whitehead) The American atomic bombing of Hiroshima was 74 years ago today, August 6th. To mark the anniversary, we share stories from bombing survivors, in Japanese hibakusha (“bomb-affected people”). Hibakusha Stories Dr. Michihiko Hachiya was at home that morning, which was “still, warm, and beautiful. Shimmering leaves, reflecting sunlight from a cloudless…
Activists, Beware: Burnout is a Very Real Danger
by Rachel MacNair Part 2 of 2 posts responding to Ward Ricker’s essay, “Prolife – Not.” Here’s Part 1. Ward Ricker’s main point is: haven’t pro-lifers been ineffective because we’ve sent mixed messages? Mainly, we’re proclaiming an abortion to be the murder of an innocent child, and yet our behavior shows we’re not taking…
“Why Haven’t We Ended Abortion?”
by Rachel MacNair Part 1 of 2 posts responding to Ward Ricker’s essay, “Prolife – Not” Ward Ricker has been active in opposing abortion, but has recently written an essay expressing alienation from the pro-life movement. In Part 2, I’ll address that feeling of alienation more directly, but first I was challenged by his complaint…
Oppressors of Women Scapegoat Fetuses to Preserve Patriarchy
by Richard Stith [Originally published in The New Human (Vol. VI, No. 5, June 1977), newsletter of the National Youth Pro-Life Coalition,, under the title “Abortion Proponents Are Often Exploiters of Women.” Lightly edited.] We’re all familiar with the argument that racism is fomented by those who exploit poor whites, in order to generate a…
Misogyny vs. Patriarchy
by Rachel MacNair Before I get into why I think it’s important to understand the difference between misogyny and patriarchy, I want to explain how they fit into the Consistent Life Network’s set of issues. We identified six issues of violence involving socially-tolerated killing of human beings, as listed on this banner: Each of the…
Book Review: “Resisting Throwaway Culture”
by Mary Lou Bennett Resisting Throwaway Culture: How a Consistent Life Ethic Can United a Fractured People, by Charles C. Camosy. Anyone living in the United States today is acutely aware of the pain and decay that permeate society as a result of contemporary moral issues. With such awareness, feelings of sadness, despair, and disbelief…
When Women Lead: The Pro-life Women’s Conference
by C.J. Williams This year’s Pro-Life Women’s Conference had a theme: WHEN WOMEN LEAD. But what might just as well have been the unspoken theme was unity, and underlying all unity is consistency. As the Consistent Life Network (CLN) set up to table in the enormous Pontchartrain Conference Center in New Orleans, we were surrounded…
The Mirror-Image Counterpart of the Selfish Society
by Richard Stith This 1978 article was originally entitled “What it Means to be Pro-Life: Toward a Political Theory for Our Movement.” It appeared in The New Human, Vol. VII No. 2, March–April 1978, a publication of the National Youth Pro-Life Coalition. It’s been lightly edited. Does being “pro-life” mean something more than being against…