#volume4issue3

Feb 6, 2016
6 min

The Death Penalty: A Violation of Human Dignity

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

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Feb 6, 2016
6 min

Suicide By Another Name: The Destructive Reality of Euthanasia

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

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Feb 6, 2016
11 min

Why I'm Pro-Life

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

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Feb 6, 2016
9 min

The Psychological Morass of the Abortion Issue

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

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Feb 6, 2016
8 min

Provide A Safe Haven: A Case for Admitting Syrian Refugees

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

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Feb 6, 2016
13 min

True Life: A Good Morning at the Abortion Clinic

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

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Feb 6, 2016
1 min

The Ghost in the Garbage Can

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

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Feb 6, 2016
3 min

Responding to Paris with Love and Action

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

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Feb 6, 2016
6 min

An Aristotelian Defense of the Pro-Life Position

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

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Feb 6, 2016
7 min

An Open Letter to Emma Watson

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,

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Feb 6, 2016
4 min

On the Beauty of Each Wonderful Life

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

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Feb 6, 2016
9 min

Distorted Ethics: A Review of the China Mirage

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

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Feb 6, 2016
5 min

Life Lessons With Josh

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

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Sep 13, 2011
4 min

A Terse Nonpartisan Assessment of Our Political Prospects

BY JULIA SMUCKER It's that time of year again -- or has been, since sometime last year. The mud is flying left and right as a motley crew of politicians competes for our nation's volatile confidence. And who are they trying to appeal to? For a myriad of confounding reasons, our national political discourse has become so polemicized that most prominent candidates, as well as many commentators, seem able to do little more than preach to particular choirs within their own par

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Sep 13, 2011
2 min

The Abolition of Capital Punishment in Illinois

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

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Sep 13, 2011
6 min

Family Planning Freedom is Pro-Life

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

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Sep 13, 2011
8 min

Just War, Just Peace, Or What?

BY BILL SAMUEL What should our attitude -- as individuals, social movements and nations -- be toward war? When, if ever, is war justifiable either as to our own participation or as a decision of a nation or social movement? How do we get to a meaningful peace? These questions have been discussed and debated for millennia, and may be even more vital in this day of advanced weaponry. They have been discussed by people from many different religious traditions, and from none.

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Sep 13, 2011
13 min

Justice in the Face of Unknowing

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

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Sep 13, 2011
1 min

Sonnet -- At 40 Weeks

BY LILIANNA SERBICKI Swollen, a dream on its way to fruition; Nothing romantic. Lense (soft-focus) gone. Real fruit bruises; a real fruit stays the motion We make ourselves. Our unkempt pieces drawn Into alignment; some beings are too real To smudge with soft words. Some beings delight In waking up the small pith in the chest With beating limbs. It is a sudden sleight Of soul, not hand; the itch will soon persuade Myself to love my stippled skin far more Than when it held jus

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Sep 13, 2011
6 min

What is the Consistent Life Ethic?

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

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