Pro-Life

President, for Life

It is always painful to criticize someone you admire and consider a friend. But Jonathan Last—now the executive editor of The Bulwark, one of these new NeverTrump websites—has allowed his Trump skepticism to color his attitude, not just toward the March for Life but the pro-life movement in general. He gets a lot wrong along … Read more

Onward, Catholic Soldiers

I’m ambivalent about that most common pro-life argument: that, because life begins at conception, to abort a pregnancy is to commit murder. That’s not to say I don’t believe it’s true. On the contrary: it’s not only true, it’s obviously true. It’s one of the few points upon which credible scientists and ethicists can agree. … Read more

The Long March—and Its Victories

Editor’s note: this article by the founder of Crisis first appeared in the March 1993 print edition of this magazine. More and more, through deception and euphemism, the American people are being led by their government into the primitive and barbaric practice of abortion. They are being led to think of abortion as a moral good, a … Read more

Aborting a Presidency

Author and political scientist Darrell West is deeply concerned about the current climate in the United States. “Societal tensions have metastasized into a dangerous tribalism that seriously threatens U.S. democracy,” he warns. “Unless people can bridge these divisions and forge a new path forward, it will be impossible to work together, maintain a functioning democracy, … Read more

The Catholic Case Against Impeachment

As everyone knows, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives have passed a bill of impeachment against the president of the United States, Donald Trump. Oceans of ink have and will be spilled over this matter—and I am happy to add to the literary carnage. There is a great deal to be mulled over here. From the … Read more

Pro-Life, Pro-Mother

There’s no question that the Church is pro-life. In my parish, we have initiatives to pray at the local abortion clinic, raise money for ultrasound machines, and vote for pro-life politicians, and all this is good and important. We have a house that supports pregnant women, giving out clothing, diapers, car seats, and strollers to … Read more

This Christmas, Give the Gift of Life

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel…” This is perhaps the most well-known Advent hymn—one that floods us with the feelings of the coming Christmas season. But the hymn also raises a question. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that “Emmanuel” means “God is with us” (Mt. 1:23). In the song, then, we pray, “O … Read more

We Saved That One

On November 4, this year’s 40 Days for Life campaign ended. During the campaign, a million Americans committed to fasting and praying for an end to abortion and healing for those affected by this tragedy. Even though the 2019 campaign has ended, there are many ways for pro-life Americans to continue to work towards making … Read more

Abortion Induces Moral Relativism

Two elderly priests I know have offered complementary insights into our current cultural crisis: “Social engineering is preceded by verbal engineering,” and “Those who win the language wars win the culture wars.” Language carefully hones, shapes—or distorts—our culture. And, since language is our medium for comprehension, our use of language directly impacts our ability to … Read more

Why Pro-life Incrementalism Is Dead

One of the heated intra-conservative debates of late is over the benefits of different pro-life political strategies. Should the pro-life movement push for more moderate bills such as 14-week bans, or should it adopt Alabama’s approach and ban nearly everything? Should it adopt an incrementalist approach or an absolutist approach? There is a large consensus … Read more

Do Pro-Lifers Owe Rep. Brian Sims a Note of Thanks?

Pennsylvania State Representative Brian Sims’s efforts to bolster his abortion advocacy credentials by berating pro-life protesters and posting it on social media have surely backfired. Sims, a gay-rights attorney who first ran for office as a Democrat in 2012, cast himself as the star of two videos filmed outside of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility … Read more

How the Smart Set Was Wrong About Trump and the Unborn

Trump recently took $60 million away from Planned Parenthood, the first president ever to do so. This and other unique pro-life initiatives of President Trump turned my mind to certain claims made by the pro-life Smart Set back in those crazy days of the 2016 campaign. In March 2016, a group of old and very … Read more

The Pro-Life Tortoises and the Pro-Abortion Hares

Longtime pro-life educators are like tortoises compared to some political hares who have recently raised awareness about lesser known aspects of abortion. One Philadelphia area group, Pennsylvanians for Human Life, which offers presentations on life issues like abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia in schools and other private and public forums, has been at it … Read more

Censoring Pro-life Ireland

On February 22, 2019, The Irish Times reported  that “a four-year-old child, who was found to have been injured at 20 weeks’ gestation, is to receive €45,000 damages for personal injury arising from an accident in a [supermarket] store.” The Irish Times went on to report that the judge declared that the injury of an … Read more

A Different Kind of Pro-Life Argument

Misology is a neologism, coined by Plato, to name the hatred of argument, and not in the sense of a quarrel or domestic squabble. Misology names the hatred of logos; it is the hatred of reason and rational discourse. It is a commonplace in our culture today that we are deadlocked when it comes to the … Read more

Effective Pro-Life Strategies for a Post-Roe World

With the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, and the nomination and all-but-certain appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh in his place, pro-lifers feel much more hope in realizing their dream: the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the deconstruction of one of the world’s most permissive and destructive abortion regimes. Yet some legal scholars argue that, … Read more

On the Heroic Public Life of Faith Whittlesey

Editor’s note: The following eulogy was delivered at the funeral of Faith Whittlesey, who died at home on May 21 at the age of 79. I had the honor of working for Faith both in the Reagan White House and the U.S. Embassy in Switzerland. I admired her unreservedly and we became great friends. I … Read more

What the New Pro-Life Movement Didn’t Do for a Pro-life Dem

The latest test for the so-called Seamless Garment came in the primary challenge to pro-life Democrat Dan Lipinski in his effort to win his party’s nomination for the seat he has held in suburban Illinois for 13 years and his father held for 12 years before that. But we have established that the Seamless Garment … Read more

Moments of Moral Clarity

Probably each of us has had an experience that awakened our conscience, one that changed the way we looked at the world and ourselves, a moment of moral clarity that made us reflect, “I was blind, but now I see.” As a young boy growing up in the rural south, water fountains labeled “White” and … Read more

Pro-Life Redefined at the Vatican

Fair is foul and foul is fair at the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV). Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the PAV, recently redefined the term “life” for the Catholic Church, stating that the PAV will now refocus its pro-life mission to include issues of migration, arms control, poverty and the environment. He suggested that to … Read more

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