I’m a pretty big sports fan, but I had never heard of Sean James, until I saw this commercial only moments ago. Al Joyner, I’ve heard of, but only because of his talented late wife, Florence Griffith Joyner, and sister, Jackie Joyner-Kersey.

But here’s my take on this: if you have to tell people you’re a famous athlete, you’re probably not a famous athlete. I can’t imagine, for example, Michael Jordan saying, “Hello, I am Michael Jordan. I am a former professional and college basketball player, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. I was also a member of six NBA championship teams in the 1990s.”

In October, while I was visiting Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, I taped an episode of the EWTN program, Franciscan University Presents. For those who missed the broadcast on Sunday evening, January 31, EWTN will be repeating the broadcast twice more this week: Tuesday, February 2 at 1:00 PM ET and 10 AM PT, and Friday, February 5 at 4:00 AM ET and 1 AM PT.

I discussed my 2007 book, Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (Cambridge University Press), which, as of Monday evening, was the #1 ranked book in the category of “abortion and birth control” on Amazon.com.

(Originally posted on the Return to Rome blog)

Today is the March for Life, an event I hope to attend at least some of later in the day.  It is also the 37th anniversary of one of the most atrocious Supreme Court decisions ever handed down by our Overlords in black, and Red State has a terrific editorial today that is a definite must read on the topic.

It is heartening that we have made some small strides through the years.  Opposition to abortion has increased, and we’re seeing some signs that the youth of today are embracing the culture of life.  But we still have far to go, as evidenced by the actions of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Council.

The Montgomery County Council is considering a regulation that would require pro-life pregnancy resource centers to tell new clients that the information they provide is not intended to be medical advice and to turn to other providers before “proceeding on a course of action regarding [her] pregnancy.” The regulation would impose a fine of up to $750 per day for not doing so.

The bill singles out pregnancy resource centers only because of their pro-life mission. If approved, the Montgomery County regulation would impose government-compelled speech on a non-profit organization that does not receive public funding simply because the organization declines to provide or refer for abortion. The regulation does not apply to “family planning” clinics, which the County government funds, or to abortion clinics.

Maryland, which as a colony was a haven for Catholics, is now the state with the fourth highest abortion rate in the country, and had been one of the few states where the rate is increasing.

There is a critical need for offering alternatives to abortion. While the abortion rate declined 9 percent nationally between 2000 and 2005, the abortion rate in Maryland rose 8 percent in the same period. Our state’s abortion rate is now 38 percent higher than the national rate, with more than one-in-four Maryland pregnancies ending in abortion. There were 37,590 abortions performed here in 2005 – about 103 per day.  To even consider targeting centers that help women choose life is unconscionable in light of these tragic statistics, which represent an even more tragic reality.

Though there is growing opposition to this movement, the Montgomery City Council has not a single Republican member.  My wife has written to our Council member, but I fear our pleas will fall on deaf ears.  If you are in or around the Montgomery County area, please write your local representatives to fight this ideologically motivated attack on pregnancy resource centers.  There is more information on how to get involved here.

Yesterday I had the good fortune to attend the inauguration of Virginia’s 71st governor, Bob McDonnell.  All the guests were full of energy and enthusiasm as we watched him take the oath of office, along with his Lieutenant-Governor Bob Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.  It really felt like being at a concert of my favorite rockstar – the excitement goes beyond description. I couldn’t do it justice if I tried. There was a little something for everyone, from the flyover after the oath to the Redskins cheerleaders to the history in which Richmond is steeped.  The next four years should be good for Virginia and I pray for the Governor and his family.

Below is the full text of his Inaugural Address, courtesy of #bobmcdonnell: (more…)

The UK Daily Mail has an astounding story about a man trapped in a supposed vegetative state for twenty-three years until the advent of new technology and the intervention of neurologist Dr. Steven Laureys.  Student Rom Hubens was left paralyzed in an apparent coma after a car accident, but remained in the hellish state of perfect comprehension and total paralysis.  His consciousness, based on current standards, was pronounced ‘extinct.’

But three years ago, new hi-tech scans showed his brain was still functioning almost completely normally.

Mr Houben describes the moment as ‘my second birth.’

Therapy has since allowed him to tap out messages on a computer screen.

Mr Houben said: ‘All that time I just literally dreamed of a better life. Frustration is too small a word to describe what I felt.’

His case has only just been revealed in a scientific paper released by the man who ’saved’ him, top neurological expert Dr Steven Laureys.

My mother, in an odd trick of fate, was one of Terri Schiavo’s hospice nurses.  We talked very carefully about her case, aware of the profound difference in our views.  She was certain that what was being done was the best, most compassionate thing.

What this story reminds us is to never, ever bet against life.

HT Steyn in The Corner

(HT: K-Lo at NRO)

From the KBXT.com website (Bryan / College Station, Texas):

Planned Parenthood has been a part of Abby Johnson’s life for the past eight years; that is until last month, when Abby resigned. Johnson said she realized she wanted to leave, after watching an ultrasound of an abortion procedure.

“I just thought I can’t do this anymore, and it was just like a flash that hit me and I thought that’s it,” said Jonhson.

She handed in her resignation October 6. Johnson worked as the Bryan Planned Parenthood Director for two years.
(more…)

Just a reminder that I will be speaking at the Value of Human Life Conference, sponsored by the Institute of Bioethics at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. It will be held on the Franciscan University campus on October 23-25, 2009. For more information, go here. The three other keynote speakers at the conference are John Keown (Georgetown University), Gerard Bradley (University of Notre Dame Law School), and Patrick Lee (Institute of Bioethics, Franciscan University). You can find the entire conference schedule here.

During my time in Steubenville, I will also be taping an episode of the EWTN television program, Franciscan University Presents. I will be discussing my book, Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (Cambridge University Press, 2007). When I find out the date of the broadcast, I will post it on this blog.

I know I would be if I spun this wildly.

[Deal] Hudson argues that the public option will end up extending federal funding for abortion. He says that the courts will step in even if Congress doesn’t mandate abortion coverage in any such plan. Mind you, the courts have not stepped in to over-rule the Hyde Amendment lo these many years. The federal health insurance coverage that members of Congress enjoy does not include abortion coverage. Federal Medicaid funds do not support abortion. So, why would the federal option, which would be modeled after the insurance that members of Congress get, necessarily end up mandating abortion coverage? Hudson does not say. (more…)

Doug Kmiec, a law professor, pro-life advocate, former Reagan Administration official, and evangelical-Catholic-whatever, took a lot of heat from us usual suspects for endorsing Barack Obama, perhaps the most pro-choice major candidate ever.

“A black man; a caring man; a talented man. A man different from conservative self and yet calling me to find the best of that self.”

Professor Kmiec has now been appointed by President Obama as America’s new ambassador to Malta.

A scene from A Man for All Seasons comes to mind, where Thomas More confronts his betrayer, Richard Rich:

There is one question I would like to ask the witness.

But for Wales?

Or Malta.

“We must deceive them so as not to hurt them, and in that way, we honor them.”

This logical gem was employed by Dwight Shrute in an episode of The Office (“Casino Night,” for fellow enthusiasts) to justify hiding the presence of one woman at a party from another and vice versa. Unfortunately, such logical travesties are not confined to sitcoms, but are all too frequently used to justify killing unborn children. (more…)

This is video of a brief talk I gave yesterday at a gathering of conservative Republicans.

My talk to the RALC

When does one become a human being? Let us turn to White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director, John P. Holdren, for a clue.

John P. Holdren is director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In 1973, he co-authored a book — “Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions” — with Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich.

…

On page 235, while making an argument for legalized abortion, the authors use language that on its face says a child “will ultimately develop into a human being” — after it is born.

“To most biologists, an embryo (unborn child during the first two or three months of development) or a fetus is no more a complete human being than a blueprint is a building,” they wrote. “The fetus, given the opportunity to develop properly before birth, and given the essential early socializing experiences and sufficient nourishing food during the crucial early years after birth, will ultimately develop into a human being. Where any of these essential elements is lacking, the resultant individual will be deficient in some respect.”

Did you go through the essential early socializing experiences, and were you given sufficient nourishing food during the crucial early years after your birth? If not, then you, though born, are not a human being.

Yet another compelling video from the folks at CatholicVote.org:

Whenever freedom is lost, wherever tyranny is found, there are three accompanying factors: religious oppression, economic depression, and a culture of death.

Orwell’s 1984 provides a vivid example of this principle. Religion in Oceania has been wholly abolished, the people live in government-induced squalor, and the state routinely comes between children and their parents, and is working on preventing marriage altogether.

But there are ample historical examples as well. (more…)

It’s about Trig. Always has been.

Southern Appeal readers in the greater Chicagoland area may be interested in an upcoming conference on Global Bioethics sponsored by the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. It will be held July 16-18, 2009 on the campus of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. Among the featured speakers are yours truly, O. Carter Snead (Notre Dame Law School), and David P. Gushee (Mercer University). You can find out more about the conference here.

(Originally posted on First Thoughts, a First Things blog)

On this feast day of St. Thomas More, patron saint of politicians, it seems appropriate to mention my latest enterprise.

Southern Appeal has always been a law blog, among other things. When I came on board as a contributor, it was in spite of my lack of experience with the law. I am now endeavoring to gain a greater involvement with the law — as a legislator.

I am a candidate for the Illinois legislature. I am seeking to unseat a Republican incumbent who has voted to repeal parental notifications for minors seeking abortions, voted to increase state funding of abortion, voted to abolish conscience protections for pro-life healthcare providers, voted for state funding of embryo-destructive stem cell research, who voted to remove the requirement that abortion providers be physicians, and who voted to protect abortion providers from malpractice suits. Her largest contributor is a pro-abortion PAC, and she has repeatedly been endorsed by Planned Parenthood.

And in 2008, she ran unopposed in both the primary and the general election.

I am running against her as a regular guy with no money, no organization, and virtually no relevant experience. But at least I know what a person is.

For me to beat her may require a miracle. But as a Christian, I believe in miracles. I’m asking for your prayers, for the intercession of St. Thomas More. And if you want to help spread the word, I’d be grateful for that as well.

St. Thomas More, Patron of politicians, ora pro nobis.

The Church of “Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That.”

Or, Would You Mind Removing the Dagger of Christian Fellowship From Between My Shoulder Blades, Thanks?

America Magazine offers its diagnosis of the problem with Obama being given an honorary degree at Notre Dame. And, in a shocking twist, the real problem is the group of unwashed hooligans who made the Baby Jenkins cry.

(more…)

In the midst of an excellent piece on the abortion issue, Teri O’Brien recently asked the question, “could one be a ‘centrist’ on the issue of slavery?”

The answer is, of course one could. Back in the day, U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas (D-IL; who was Barack Obama’s direct predecessor in the U.S. Senate), was the voice of moderation on the slavery issue. Douglas could be described as “pro-choice” on slavery, although he preferred to speak of “popular sovereignty,” by which he meant the rights of the people of the several states and territories to decide the slavery question for themselves. (more…)

Alan Keyes and a Catholic priest were among 21 pro-lifers who were arrested for a protest march onto Notre Dame’s campus.

Although I will admit Mr. Keyes is a little crazy, he is a tenacious supporter of the rights of the unborn. I had the privilege of meeting him in Illinois when he challenged the ambitous senatorial candidate Barack Obama.  He gave an incredibly fiery pro-life speech and was a gracious enough to give me a photo op after.

I found something particularly puzzling in an article in yesterday’s Washington Times. The article covers several mothers who elected not to abort their children even though the children had been diagnosed with disabilities, some of which proved fatal within minutes of the child’s birth. One particular story stood out:

…Anna Lise “Cubby” LaHood, a Silver Spring woman…learned in the spring of 1988 that her unborn son, Francis, would only live briefly outside the womb.

Cubby and husband Dan LaHood decided that while their son may die, it would not be at their hands. Reaction was swift; her family disinherited Mrs. LaHood and refused to see the child.

What kind of reaction is that? “Because you refused to abort your child, we are going to disinherit you.” I think we can do away with the common pro-choice articulation that “nobody really advocates for abortion; they merely advocate for choice.”

The Boy Scouts are being sued again, and the Ninth Circuit has invited everybody to play:

The City of San Diego leases portions of Balboa Park and Fiesta Island to the San Diego Boy Scouts, which use the land to operate a camp and aquatic center. The Boy Scouts use the leased areas for their own events but otherwise keep them open to the general public — and have spent millions of dollars to improve and maintain facilities on the properties, eliminating the need for taxpayer funding. While the Boy Scouts’ membership policies exclude homosexuals and agnostics, the Scouts have not erected any religious symbols and do not discriminate in any way in administering the leased parklands. (more…)

Now that it’s clear that laurels will be offered to the President regardless of the protests from the wider Church, there is still one way for UND to salvage something positive out of the controversy.

That way would be for Fr. Jenkins himself to give the speech defending Catholic life principles and respectfully criticizing the President’s words, executive actions and overall record. 

One of the greatest sins of Jenkins and the administration is that they have acted like Notre Dame is just a rental hall, providing a location (along with matchless catering and open bar at affordable prices!) for the President, but not really being otherwise involved.

For equal time, they invite outsiders (Glendon) to do the “dirty work” of really (as opposed to pro forma) standing up to the President.

This is where he, and they, have failed, conveying and strengthening the distinct impression that it’s not really ND’s place to stand up for the truth, no matter how uncomfortable that might make everyone.

“Naw–let’s fling the Laetare at Glendon and let the lady mercenary do our fighting for us.  And the good news is that she leaves afterwards.  Win-win!”

Now they are scrambling for a Plan B. 

How’s that Rent-a-Pro-Lifer strategy working for you now?

This is unacceptable.  Instead of standard form talking points briefly ”disagreeing,” it’s time for Fr. Jenkins to step up to the plate and do ND’s job.   Charitably, but unequivocally, calling the President to account for his failings on life issues and witnessing to the Church’s position on these central questions.  The honor of the university, and the greater good of  the Church in America, require no less.

Do I think it likely?  No.  But it would go a long way toward ending the controversy and repairing the breach.

As I noted elsewhere, Wall Street Journal columnist Bill McGurn was scheduled to speak this evening at the University of Notre Dame. I just returned from the talk. It was outstanding and powerful. Mr. McGurn, who I had the privilege to speak with after his lecture, offered a principled defense of his point of view while being charitable to those with whom he disagrees.

The Notre Dame Center for Ethics & Culture has published the text of the talk online, which you can find here. The following are some excerpts:

The precipitate cause of our gathering tonight is the honor and platform our university has extended to a President whose policies reflect clear convictions about unborn life, and about the value the law ought to place on protecting that life. These convictions are not in doubt. In July 2007, the candidate spelled them out in a forceful address to a Planned Parenthood convention in our nation’s capital.

Before that audience, he declared that a woman’s “fundamental right” to an abortion was at stake in the coming election. He spoke about how he had “put Roe at the center” of his “lesson plan on reproductive freedom” when he was a professor – and how he would put it at the center of his agenda as president.

He invoked his record in the Illinois state senate, where he fought restrictions on abortion, famously including one on partial-birth abortion. He said that the “first thing” he wanted to do as President was to “sign a Freedom of Choice Act.” And he ended by assuring his audience that “on this fundamental issue,” he, like they, would never yield….
(more…)

This lecture is sponsored by the academic unit at Notre Dame in which I hold my visiting appointment, the Notre Dame Center for Ethics & Culture. If you are interested in attending, here are the vitals:

Thursday, April 23 – “A Notre Dame Witness for Life”

William McGurn, Notre Dame alumnus (Class of 1980) and former chief speech writer for George W. Bush (2005-2009), will be lecturing on Thursday night on the topic, “A Notre Dame Witness for Life.” Mr. McGurn, currently a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, will be speaking in Room 155 DeBartolo Hall and there will be a reception following his lecture. The lecture will be open to the public.

In his talk, Mr. McGurn will be exploring the ways in which the University of Notre Dame is of special significance for the pro-life cause globally. Mr. McGurn offered the following comments on what he plans to talk about:

“President Obama’s invitation to speak at Notre Dame comes at a moment when the nation’s most prominent Catholics — our Vice President, our Speaker of the House, the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services — are all strong and unequivocal advocates for enshrining abortion into the law as a constitutional right. For the prolife community, the issue is not so much opposition to a commencement speaker as what we long to see at Our Lady’s university: affirmation for the premier civil rights cause of our day. In a nation wounded by Roe, in a culture that sets mothers against their own children, we know this: Our church, our culture, and our country are poorer without the life witness of Notre Dame.”

(Cross-posted on Return to Rome)

Here is the article, with the following caveat:

They must use cells culled from fertility clinic embryos that otherwise would be thrown away.

Is that supposed to make me feel better?

Much of the discussion at this point concerning President Obama’s invitation to speak at the University located in South Bend has centered around what President Jenkins should have done. The latest and very well written entry to that is our own Francis Beckwith’s piece in today’s First Things’ post. Given realities it seems highly unlikely at this point that the invitation be rescinded. That horse has simply left the barn. But given the uproar of Alumni furor, it is only a matter of time before Father Jenkins faces his day of reckoning for his decision. And given my experience that day will come, as it did for Gene Nichol at William and Mary when he unilaterally removed an historic cross from our school’s chapel. But the question for ND and Catholics remains: how do we respond to President Obama’s presence? (more…)

Yet another study showing more positive results from adult stem cell research.

Note that the headline reads: “Stem cell treatment effective in heart patients” (emphasis mine). What kind of stem cells? Adult stem cells – but you have to read the article to get that.

Here is a tip: whenever a headline talks about positive results of “stem cell research” – understand that it means “adult stem cells research”. Rarely do I read a headline that actually identifies adult stem cells as adult stem cells.

It seems that this is due to an effort to blur the distinction between ASCs and ESCs. It is done by the pro-ESCR crowd that the results of both ASCR and ESCR might be lumped together and the positive results of ASCR shared equally between the two camps. See The Little Red Hen.

The desired effect is to leave the reader thinking, “That stem cell research great stuff! Aren’t we glad our Obama lifted restrictions on stem cell research?” This impression is left despite that fact that the stem cells were from adults and Hopeful Leader’s lifitng of the ESCR did not contribute to this but actually discouraged such research.

The text of the statement is here.

More, please!

This week, a British court ordered life sustaining treatment withdrawn from a baby – against the wishes of his parents. The writeup indicates that it was uncertain whether this was done for the best interest of the baby or the best interest of the hospital. Does this distinction make any difference? (more…)