The United States was recently able to experience the presence of Pope Francis. During the Pope’s visit, it seemed that the American public became interested in all things Catholic, even if some people disagreed with Church teaching. The Pope showed that certain teachings of the Church offer practical wisdom on the life issues and the dignity of the human life, not only for the religious, but for the secular world as well. In his address to Congress, Pope Francis expressed su

The etymology of euthanasia, when translated from Greek, means “good death (1).” In our present debate on euthanasia in the United States, the public policy arena is currently predominated by assisted suicide, a form of euthanasia distinguished only by the fact that the person committing the ultimate act of killing is the victim (2). In spite of the presence of suicide prevention programs to talk the depressed out of harming themselves — and even involuntary commitment and su

This is a pro-life response to the article from The Salon, “I am pro-abortion, not just pro-choice: 10 reasons why we must support the procedure and the choice” that came out on Friday, April 24, 2015. 1.) I am pro-life because I believe women are empowered when they understand the consequences of sex and don’t feel the need to run from their responsibilities or femininity. A woman is naturally empowered when she can plan her family by understanding her own body, and by knowi

morass: 2. a complicated or confused situation Think of all the array of views related to abortion that you have ever encountered. It’s a lot, isn’t it? And now let’s try to imagine all the array of contradictory views related to abortion as they have inhabited all the minds of all people through all of history. That array must be staggering. How could such a plethora of mutually exclusive ideas have originated? I think it is largely explained by the psychological morass on m

The United States’ plans to admit 10,000 refugees from the Syrian civil war into the country has become the center of a major political controversy. The controversy began in the aftermath of the November 13 attacks in Paris by operatives of the Syria-based terrorist group ISIS that killed 130 people. The possibility that one of the attackers gained entrance to Europe posing as a Syrian refugee has provoked fears that Syrian refugees admitted to the United States may include I

The abortion clinic in Asheville, North Carolina is located on Orange Street, a quiet street on the edge of the downtown area. It’s only two blocks long and has mostly houses that were built in the 1930s and 40s and have been converted to office buildings for lawyers, beauticians, psychologists, and so forth. The abortion clinic is on the second block and it was built 30 some years ago. It’s a one-story light brown brick building surrounded by a wood fence on one side and a c

There’s a dumpster near my place That smells bad But it’s shorter to the 7-11. When it’s dark Misting a little I hear a voice. “I was small. I was out of sight. And I wasn’t very smart.” It’s always the same. “I was small – Like our earth from a space probe. Invisible – Like your hopes when you’re deep asleep. Not smart – So what can I say? “I wish – well – If I had of been big Like Serena Williams. They wouldn’t have messed With Serena Willams.” It was fading. “If I’d had so

The terrorist attacks in Paris were tragic. That sentence cannot be followed by but. No tragedy can be used to make a point — no matter how true — without devaluing the dignity of those who suffered in it. Let’s follow it instead with and. Because and can lead us to steps that will perhaps — rather than discount the suffering — more fully count the suffering. So the attacks in Paris were and are tragic; and what do we say to the fact that Paris brought to international light

Ancient Greek philosophy, which undergirds our western way of thinking, can provide insights into the current debate over the morality of abortion. There is a false idea prevalent in our culture today that science is the final arbiter of human knowledge (1). Science, alone, cannot reveal knowledge to us, however. Science can only study and give us knowledge about the physical aspects of reality. It has nothing to say about the metaphysical aspects of reality, or about whether

Dear Emma, There’s a truly touching scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in which the character you played in the film, Hermione Granger, is consoled by her friends after being referred to as a “Mudblood” by Draco Malfoy. This particular scene is incredibly powerful, as it reveals the ways irrational discrimination and hateful language can lead to dehumanization. The use of pure-bloodedness as a metric for an individual’s worth is truly despicable; it is, in fact,

One of the most timeless Christmas stories of the past century is Frank Capra’s classic film It’s a Wonderful Life. Initially a box office disappointment in December 1946, it has become nearly as universally associated with the Christmas season as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and is watched by millions of people every December. The story centers around George Bailey, an everyman living in the small town of Bedford Falls, whose father owns the local Bailey Building and

The United States imposed an oil embargo in mid-1941 on Japan, then engaged in the military conquest of China and parts of Southeast Asia. As the United States was Japan’s leading oil supplier, this embargo threatened the future of Japan’s expansion, and the Japanese ultimately compensated for the loss by embarking on a comprehensive invasion of Southeast Asia and the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) in order to seize the region’s oil and other resources. To protect

Question: “One of the most common questions I get about being pro-life is ‘But what if the mother was raped?’ I stand for all life, even life that was created through rape or any other difficult situation. How can I explain that to a pro-choicer in such a way that I don’t come across as callous or uncaring about the mother’s situation?” Sincerely, Troubled in Tuscaloosa Answer: I love the way this question is worded. You clearly desire to show that you don’t only care about t

BY NICHOLAS NEAL We often hear partisan pundits criticize their opponents for the opponents' inconsistencies about killing people. We hear that pro-life advocates do not respect the sanctity of life in war zones. We hear that peace advocates are not so peaceful when it comes to unborn children. What is the answer to this inconsistency? The simple answer is being consistent. This ideological position is known as the consistent life ethic. The foundation for this ethic is

BY NICHOLAS NEAL The abolition of the death penalty in Illinois began when Governor George Ryan placed a moratorium on capital punishment in the state in 2000, after seeing an alarming number of death row inmates being exonerated. Eleven years later, the Illinois General Assembly passed a bill officially abolishing capital punishment in Illinois. It was then up to Pat Quinn to sign it. Now, although Governor Quinn is a Democrat, he had previously spoken in favor of capital

BY OLIVIA MELDRUM While I am mistress of my mind, You will sleep safely every hour. No morning will you wake to find My warmth turned cold, or sweetness sour. A fragile burden do I bear (O precious visitor; flesh brand-new) - I forget my face and clothes and hair In pain and consciousness of you. My little one, your mama hurts. She shakes at every strange man's gaze. You've joined the Dance - this you deserve; But our dance, dear, limps through a maze. I am not mistress of my

BY MARY KRANE DERR The right to access the full range of voluntary family planning methods is often neglected or actively undermined in the name of prolife, especially but not exclusively in the United States. Yet there are nine good reasons -- at least -- why fostering this right is essential to respect in practical deed for all human lives, already born and unborn. 1. Family planning freedom prevents millions of human deaths every year. Voluntary access to modern methods o

BY NICHOLAS NEAL & AIMEE BEDOY On Tuesday, August 23rd, the rebel forces in Libya stormed Gadhafi's capital of Tripoli, thus declaring victory over the tyrannical leader who had once imposed unjust and inhumane purification laws against his own people. After 42 years in power as an autocratic dictator in Libya, Muammar Gadhafi has been removed from power by rebels within his own borders. Gadhafi is currently out of power and in hiding from NATO forces, but in an effort to k

BY AIMEE BEDOY & STEVEN OETJEN A quandary of major proportions faces our nation in this day and age. It could be a matter of life and death for countless persons -- we cannot truly be sure. This paper seeks to examine abortion through the lens of Constitutional law, science, and justice, and lastly to apply these faculties to the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act recently passed in Nebraska. In brief, our recommendation is always to stand for justice and ultimately

BY AIMEE BEDOY I am writing this ten years to the day that those towers fell. And ten years later, I want us to discuss what we have learned from September 11, 2001, and where we as a nation must continue to grow. I am speaking as someone who grew up in this culture, immersed in it wholly from the time I was 12 years old. Perhaps I am not the wisest, or the most sage member of society to speak on these points, but this is what I have learned from my childhood to the present