The Chasm of Life and Death
So many conservatives, including many pro-lifers, focus only on the political ramifications of opposing IVF. We need to instead focus on the lives lost.
Bishop Strickland Changes the Game
On Friday, history unfolded as Bishop Joseph Strickland addressed the crowd at the CPAC Ronald Reagan Dinner in the nation’s capital. Now the world of conservative politics is being transformed.
After the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF Decision, What’s Next?
In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court IVF-related decision, Democrats want to glom onto this ruling to push abortion-on-demand while Republicans seem to be declaring their love for in vitro fertilization in the hope of not being controversial.
Treating Embryocide With White Gloves
Pope Francis recently commented on the practice of prenatal testing to identify developmental defects in utero, which, if positive, typically results in abortion: “The murder of children. And to have a nice life, they do away with an innocent.” He recounted how he learned at school that the Spartans of ancient Greece took deformed babies up … Read more
The New York Times Reacts to Falling Fertility Rates
A recent article in The New York Times on America’s declining fertility rates—“American Fertility Is Falling Short of What Women Want” (I note the article’s title appears to have changed)—was as concerning and risible as the news they reported. The concerning part was its statistical confirmation of a trend bedeviling (not just) the Western world: … Read more
Brave New World: The Future Is Now
“Do you take milk or cream in your coffee, Anna? I’m so forgetful these days.” “Neither, dear. Don’t fret about it.” Anna gave a little sigh and passed the cup to her friend Liz. Then they sat quietly for a moment at the table, Anna stirring the sugar in her cup and clinking the spoon … Read more
Why Surrogacy Violates Human Dignity
Surrogacy became mainstream when in the 4th season of the popular sitcom, Friends, the ever-spacey Phoebe became the surrogate mother of her brother’s children, in the episode titled “The one with the embryos.” The episode’s writer noted this had never before been seen on television—the story arc was considered “risky” and writers were concerned that … Read more
Mary’s Witness to the Gospel of Life
Saint John Paul II taught that Mary is a singular witness to the Gospel of Life. Having recently celebrated the feast day of John Paul the Great and recalling that, according to the liturgical calendar, Mary is some eight months pregnant (Christ’s birth hastens!), it seems appropriate to consider Our Lady’s witness to the joyous … Read more
The Next “Hobby Lobby”: Mandating IVF Coverage
The most cursory survey of the American mass media in July 2014 would have you believe that millions of women are being denied basic medical care and fundamental rights are under total assault because … they can’t get somebody else to buy their abortifacients. Indeed, the U.S. Senate—whose legislative productivity this year suggests it has … Read more
“Reprotech” Ushers in a New Eugenic Age
Following the devaluation of babies in the developed world in the 1970s and 80s, babies became scarce and, consequently, desirable once again. Now, any means used to make babies is seen as good, as long as pregnancy occurs at a convenient time. Some cannot conceive naturally. The prevailing view is that those who cannot do … Read more
Why We are Losing the Gay “Marriage” Debate (and How We Can Start Winning)
Gay activists tell us that “gay marriage is inevitable.” It’s a taunt devised to pick off the more faint-hearted clingers-on of traditional marriage by exploiting the human instinct to be on the winning side. And all too often, it works. Traditional marriage advocates rightly protest that this isn’t an argument. Nothing, they say, is ‘inevitable’ … Read more
Black Market Babies and the Church
The current battles over the fate of thousands of babies conceived via in vitro fertilization would confound even King Solomon. Sensational news reports surrounding the $180,000 price tag for Ukrainian black-market babies shocked the determinedly secular segments of society, and few remain unmoved by the story of the FBI’s round-up of “baby-brokers.” Beyond the initial … Read more
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be ethicists
Two “kill all the dumb people” posts in one week? What are the odds? Human embryos should be screened for their potential intelligence and only the smartest allowed to live, an Oxford University ethicist has argued. In shocking remarks, Prof Julian Savulescu says embryos that do not pass the intelligence test should be destroyed for … Read more
IVF: Money over Morality?
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is currently trying to determine whether infertility treatments should be included in individual and small-business health-care policies that will be made available through state-based insurance exchanges in the new health-care plan. If these treatments are deemed an “essential health benefit,” they will be covered when these policies … Read more
Protecting life in the laboratory
The Nobel Prize in medicine this year has been awarded to Robert Edwards, the man responsible for developing in vitro fertilization. Scientifically, of course, IVF was a major development; morally, it has been disastrous. Reports estimate that around 4 million children have been born through IVF treatments since 1978 — but who knows how many millions … Read more
Doing the right thing on Miller vs. Jenkins
Last week, Phases of Womanhood posted a column by Mary Hasson about a heated same-sex custody battle that reached Virginia’s Supreme Court. While Hasson and I agree on some of the fundamental issues involved, I disagree with both the tone and content of her commentary. First, the case: Two lesbians — Lisa Miller (on the … Read more