organizing
Rehumanize Conference 2023
Comments and screenshots from Consistent Life Network board members who attended: John Whitehead In her introductory remarks for the 2023 Rehumanize International conference, Creative Director Maria Oswalt offered some valuable practical advice for Consistent Life Ethic advocates. She emphasized the importance of working across differences, whether political, religious, or philosophical. She gave examples of…
Documentary Review: The Movement and the Madman
by Rachel MacNair In the title, “The Movement and the Madman,” the “movement” is the peace movement trying to stop the American war in Vietnam. To be more precise, it was the Moratorium demonstrations in October and November of 1969. The “madman” is Richard Nixon, and it’s not intended as a mere insult. It’s…
#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…
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…
Women’s History Month: Jane Addams
Jane Addams is a notable follower of the consistent life ethic (before the term was coined). We offer a lengthy book excerpt, a shorter book excerpt, and a note from the exhibits at Hull House Museum. Condensed excerpt from ProLife Feminism: Yesterday and Today, pp. 120-126 The Nonviolent Power of the Maternal Body Politic: Jane…
The Frustrations of Being a Consistent Life Activist
by Lisa Stiller I recently attended a rally in support of the people in Charlottesville, Virginia. The previous Saturday a “Unite the Right” rally protesting the removal of statues of Confederate figures had erupted into violence, as one participant plowed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one and injuring many. Many Confederate…
The Reynolds Family, the Nuclear Age and a Brave Wooden Boat
by Jessica Renshaw Note: This is the text of Jessica’s talk at the June 17, 2017 Ban the Bomb March in Los Angeles. I want to tell you a story—a true, personal story. (To save time, I’ll just tell you I’m 73!) I was one year old when nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima…
Intolerance Knows No Partisan Boundaries
by Lisa Stiller As a CL board member who has been working to promote CL representation at conferences and festivals—and the vast majority of the time loving it!—I have sometimes been amazed and discouraged at the amount of intolerance found on both the Left and Right. In the spring of 2015, I applied to have…
The Adventures of Prolifers for Survival — Scorned by Mobilization for Survival
by Carol Crossed Mobilization for Survival Mobilization For Survival (MFS) began in the 1970s and was a diverse network of peace organizations, principally to address nuclear concerns. Groups were encouraged to join by paying a modest membership fee and agreeing to four principles: 1. Disarming countries of nuclear weapons;…
Adventures of Organizing as a Consistent Lifer
by Lisa Stiller (written September 10, 2015) In the past month and a half, one of the many things I’ve been busy with is helping to organize rallies on issues as divergent as “Defunding Planned Parenthood” and “Support Diplomacy for Iran.” I’ve been sending press releases for organizations such as Students for Life of…