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From the Narthex

In this special section, which runs as an occasional feature, we present samples of the offerings in the Narthex, the NOR’s online blog.

Prisoner of Love

AN INTERVIEW WITH A PARDONED PRO-LIFER

Bernadette Patel

Other inmates were shocked that pro-life rescuers got two to five years in prison for doing a sit-in, handing out brochures, livestreaming a sit-in, or planning a sit-in.

Be the Champion!

FURTHER PRO-LIFE PROGRESS WILL BE GRASSROOTS

Jonathan Darnel

We’ve made little progress in convincing Americans that abortion is wrong, and now we don’t even have a major pro-life political party since the Republican abdication.

Why Must Man Work?

ON PRODUCTIVITY & PERSONHOOD

Edmund B. Miller with Patricia Bonar

That which is the first object of our making is not stuff but — like God — life itself, which means friendship, justice, generosity, love, peace, and children.

The Rise & Fall of the Human Life Amendment

THE END OF ROE & THE REIGN OF DOBBS

Paul James Macrae

Dobbs was the triumph of the “states’ rights” approach to abortion, an approach that never had the consensus backing of the pro-life movement.

The Eternal Advent of Pro-Life Activism

PRO-LIFERS GO TO JAIL

Bernadette Patel

My friends have been jailed for “conspiracy against rights,” an Orwellian term the federal government is using to slap decade-long sentences on pro-life activists.

Are We Weimar?

AMERICA'S BIRTH DEARTH

Pieter Vree

Abortion rates are sky high. Birth rates are at rock bottom. Americans are rejecting parenthood on a scale not seen before. What does this mean for our nation's future?

Let Those Drive Who Have Minivans to Drive

GUEST COLUMN

Eric Jackson

There is no "home grown" or "thrift store" shortcut when it comes to obtaining a vehicle, and large vans are expensive.

Reply from an American to a “Letter from an American”

DOES THE LADY KNOW WHAT SHE’S TALKING ABOUT?

D.D. Desjardins

Abortion was a crime in the extant states in 1868 and in the territories that became states after 1868 and the District of Columbia. Yet later, Roe was called “settled law”?

Engaging the Morally Unconscious Person

AN ANALYSIS OF ANTI-LIFE ATTITUDES

Christopher M. Reilly

The appropriate message for such a person is a stern warning to “Wake up!” reminiscent of Jesus’ dismay at finding His disciples asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Flesh Is Best

INHABITING THE REAL WORLD

Jeffrey Wald

Babies require their parents to inhabit the real world, to occupy time and space and physicality. Babies destroy gnostic escape; they are the anti-video game.

The Case for Reviving the Rescue Movement

ON THE NEED FOR PERSONAL INTERPOSITION

Jonathan Darnel

Unlike the invisible, nameless, voiceless, and forgettable preborn child, the rescuer is visible, named, memorable, and possesses a voice.

It’s Time the Church Declared the Personhood of the Unborn

A DOCTRINE BEGGING TO BE DEVELOPED

Monica Migliorino Miller

With our advanced scientific knowledge of fertilization and fetal development, there is really nothing standing in the way of a definitive doctrinal affirmation.

An Amazing Turn

A SHORT STORY

Alex Kudera

She wanted to fly in and meet. At the airport, he was disappointed by how she looked in person. But by that stage in his life, he didn’t think he could do better.

Subsidiarity of the Body

PERCEIVING THE FACE OF THE OTHER

Jason M. Morgan

The subsidiarity of the body is a testament to the theology of the body; it says that the human body is a marvel fit to host the human soul.

The Pontifical Academy for What?

NEW OXFORD NOTEBOOK

Pieter Vree

The Academy for Life’s horizons are so broad that it seems to have lost sight of its mission to promote and defend the Church’s pro-life teachings.

After Dobbs: What’s Next?

PROCLAIMING TRUTH ABOUT JUSTICE & LOVE

James G. Hanink

Our shared vocation as Christians is showing our neighbors that destroying preborn babies cannot be an act of justice, much less of love.

From the Narthex

Here we present samples of offerings in the Narthex, the NOR’s online blog.

Briefly Reviewed: January-February 2022

A review of Unborn Human Life and Fundamental Rights: Leading Constitutional Cases Under Scrutiny, edited by Pilar Zambrano and William L. Saunders.

A Common Grief, Re-observed

OUGHT WE PRAY TO OR PRAY FOR OUR SON?

Kody W. Cooper

All Christian believers who affirm personhood from the moment of conception can appreciate the puzzle of the status of unborn children who never had the chance to receive baptism.

Reverie Under the Shroud

OVERCOMING OUR HYPER-TECHNOLOGICAL HYPNOSIS

Christopher M. Reilly

We can resist what Pope Francis has called the “technocratic paradigm,” a technology-inspired ideology of acquisition, consumption, and control.

Is Human Life “Sacred”? A Taidan with Kevin Doak

CULTURAL COUNTERPOINT

Jason M. Morgan

Our bodies and our lives are tools at the service of the Kingdom, to be sacrificed if necessary, in imitation of Christ, for a higher good.

The Eucharistic Theology of Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians

THE AMERICAN CHURCH’S GREATEST CRISIS

Monica Migliorino Miller

Now it is pro-abortion Catholic politicians who are teaching the bishops the meaning of the Eucharist, something as absurd as it is unprecedented.

The Wanting Seed. By Anthony Burgess.

WHAT SEEMED ABSURD IN 1962 NOW APPEARS FRIGHTENINGLY QUOTIDIAN

Michael S. Rose

The book seemed absurd when it appeared in 1962. Sixty years later, lipstick-wearing men, sex changes, and overzealous population controllers are common.

Conveying the Message of Humanae Vitae to the People of Today

IN AN ABSENCE OF UNIVERSAL MORAL STANDARDS

Willem Jacobus Eijk

Church doctrine regarding contraception is one of the least understood and accepted parts of her conjugal and sexual ethics.

Why the Modern Democratic State Needs Abortable Children

THE FETUS AS HOMO SACER — PART II

Jason M. Morgan

Liberalism is, in its essence, universal sovereignty premised on the expendability of life inside the individual’s sovereign domain.

The Nowhere Between Life & Death

THE FETUS AS HOMO SACER — PART I

Jason M. Morgan

The unborn exist in a borderland between the shedding of innocent blood and the sacrificing of children so that individual sovereignty remains intact.

On Nurturing Man’s Spiritual Relationship with Technology

SEARCHING FOR WARMTH IN A COLD, MECHANICAL WORLD

Christopher M. Reilly

Technology cannot erase our humanity. We will find a way to live and even flourish in a world saturated with technology.

Progressivism’s Bastardization of Science

Terry Scambray

When elites ignore the sublime Judeo-Christian doctrine that each individual is made in the image of God, then scientism and cults like eugenics flourish.

Unmasking the Executioner

CULTURAL COUNTERPOINT

Jason M. Morgan

I contend that the state in 2020 has been so corrupted by institutionalized murder that it has no authority to carry out executions of anyone.

The Short-Lived “Gay Gene”

GENETIC DETERMINISM OR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY?

Christopher M. Reilly

We can challenge genetic determinism by reaffirming both our inherent free will to make choices and our inherent dignity.

What Every Priest Should Know about Ecological Breastfeeding

GOD’S PLAN FOR MOTHERS & BABIES

John F. Kippley

Fr. William Virtue concludes “it has been the constant teaching of the Church that there is a serious obligation of maternal nursing.”

Eugenics De-fanged or Re-fanged?

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

The new eugenics is essentially a man-made religion, with a false hope of perfection and immortality.

Suicide: Human Right or Human Tragedy?

HOW CAN IT BE BOTH GOOD AND BAD?

Joseph Illo

On the one hand, we declare suicide a human right. On the other, we set up hotlines and billboards to prevent people from exercising this supposed right.

“Good News, Son, You’re Adopted!”

ADOPTION, DIVINE & HUMAN

Christopher A. Decaen

Blood relationship is overrated, and natural relations are less important than ones that mirror supernatural relations.

A See of the Second-Rate

GUEST COLUMN

Craig F. Montesano

The norm among the men who wear miters — men who are supposed to possess powers of discernment — appears to be gaffes, ill judgment, and an apparent blindness to reason.

The Hollywood Scandal Behind the Clerical Scandal

STATE JUDICIAL SYSTEMS AND MEDIA HOLD A DOUBLE STANDARD

Jesse Russell

U.S. media and the American judicial system will gladly go after a high-ranking Catholic priest or bishop but will run cover for powerful Hollywood directors and actors.

Parental Love vs. Loveless “Rights”

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

"Abortion Rights: For and Against" is exceptional in showing with startling clarity how the fight over abortion is really a battle between love and lovelessness.

Is Francis’s Revised Teaching on the Death Penalty a Development of Doctrine?

THE PRIMACY OF MERCY — OR THE END OF MERCY ?

Monica Migliorino Miller

The Culture of Life may be advanced by the Holy Father’s innovation, but he has forged an unsettling theological path to take us there.

Gosnell: The Bigger Picture

GUEST COLUMN

Alexandra Wilson

Gosnell’s attorney asks why Gosnell should be convicted of murder in the case of “Baby A” but not in the cases of the countless other babies.

Humanae Vitae: A Manual for Better Sex?

REVERT'S ROSTRUM

Casey Chalk

Much popular Catholic literature on NFP is utilitarian, claiming that obeying Church teaching results in a happier, more exciting bedroom experience.

Briefly: September 2018

Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality... The Maternal Face of God?: Explorations in Catholic Sophiology... Seeing is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of Abortion... An Introduction to Ethics: A Natural Law Approach

A Pro-Life Pivot?

GUEST COLUMN

F. Douglas Kneibert

Pope Francis’s new appointees to the Pontifical Academy for Life have expanded the pro-life umbrella to include migrants, technology, and the environment.

The Politics of Suicide in Post-Christian America

GUEST COLUMN

Amir Azarvan

There's a direct link between changes in theistic belief and suicide rates. "Disbelief can be deadly" is one way to put it.

Infinity War: A Call to Action

GUEST COLUMN

Alexandra Wilson

The final scene of Infinity War is particularly haunting for millennials; a whole third of our generation has been destroyed by abortion.

A Journey to the Threshold of Eternal Life

ON THE PAINFUL ROAD OF SPIRITUAL PURIFICATION

Alvaro Delgado

My mother's frailty and slowness as she maneuvered her walker showed me how to dwell in the present, not giving in to stress and the pressure of the clock.

Are We Winning?

The pro-life movement has enjoyed some happy victories recently, but abortion remains a legal, political, and cultural mainstay in America. The U.S. is aborting and contracepting itself into oblivion.

Kermit Gosnell in the Cone of Silence

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

Legions of doctors, health agencies, judges, lawyers, and reporters colluded to keep his case from doing any real damage to the abortion establishment.

Pro-lifers, You've Been Played

Some call the Democratic Party the "Party of Death." There is no viable major American political party worthy of the label "Party of Life." We pro-lifers need to stop pretending there is.

Isn't It Ironic?

The former Democratic presidential nominee is no friend to women; she has been a brazen bully and an enabler of sexual assault. The press willingly disregarded a mountain of evidence on this.

Planned Parenthood: Seventy Years of Defying the Law

STAGNATING IN A FETID SWAMP

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

David Goldstein once was a militant socialist who thought life's chief struggle was economic. But he came to realize that "life's battle is primarily a moral battle."

Betraying the Fort

BIDEN & BOEHNER AT NOTRE DAME

John Lyon

Notre Dame's president honored Joe Biden for putting "the good of the nation above partisan victory," with "respectful dialogue" and "honorable compromise."

All Aboard the Suicide Train

In the Netherlands an increasing number of patients now seek assisted dying because of dementia, psychiatric illnesses, and age-related complaints — in other words, non-terminal medical conditions.

A Virus, a Crisis

EXAMINING THE FALLOUT FROM ZIKAGATE

Monica Migliorino Miller

Why didn't Pope Francis immediately promote natural family planning as soon as he heard the reporter ask about the licitness of "avoiding pregnancy"?

Pope Francis Doesn't Need Your Applause

Pope Francis isn't satisfied with the reductionism that narrows the Catholic ethic of life to "no abortion," or the Catholic teaching on the family to "no same-sex marriage."

How Pro-Lifers Are Saving Higher Education

THE HUMANITIES' HOLLOW HUMANITY

Jason M. Morgan

The Christian on campus is the only hope for bringing humanity back to the humanities and saving our dying universities.

Dying Without Dignity & Other End-of-Life Scares

UNEXAMINED ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE

Elizabeth Hanink

Disability advocates like those at Not Dead Yet and Second Thoughts find their own lives well worth living and filled with dignity.

How the Pro-Life Movement Became Warm & Cuddly

GUEST COLUMN

Richard Anderson

A new wave of pro-life Catholics reduced the significance of murder of the innocent to just another item in a long list of social issues.

Scenes from Ground Zero of the Abortion Holocaust

MODERN GOLGOTHAS

Alvaro Delgado

In modern-day America, human life is destroyed on a massive scale with the cruel, evil, and machine-like efficiency characteristic of the Nazis.

Eugenics in the USA: Black Life, White Justice

Justice Ginsburg, a powerful abortion advocate, has been working for 20 years to reduce those populations she doesn't "want to have too many of."

The Birth-Control Box in the Living Room

Research has uncovered a link between soap operas and lower fertility rates in Brazil, Mexico, and Kenya. In fact, some countries have "a history of using soap operas to cut fertility."

The Case for a Consistently Pro-Life God

DISPELLING AN ATHEIST ILLUSION

Frederick W. Marks

A favorite ploy for nonbelievers is to play off an allegedly vengeful "God of the Old Testament" against a peace-loving "God of the New." But this will not stand.

Graphic Images: An Apologia

THEIR HISTORY AND ROLE IN THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT

Monica Migliorino Miller

If the primary purpose of abortion-victim photography is to reveal the tragedy of abortion, the most effective photos will focus on the humanity of the victim.

Advocating for the Innocent in an Abnormal World

Mary McWay Seaman

Miller's exposé hails from the front lines of the war on babies; it is packed with heart-wrenching drama that follows pro-life battles on the ground and in the courtroom.

Exposed

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

A review of Roe v. Wade: Unraveling the Fabric of America

Bumping Off Baby

ARE WE ROMANIZING?

Andrew M. Seddon

During the days when the Romans ruled the known world, only a few peculiar groups kept and raised all their children. Have times changed much?

Rushing Death

The elderly and the under-pressure organ donor have reason to distrust the falsely compassionate, as advocates of legalized euthanasia threaten to undermine the foundation of medical care as we've known it.

Incarnations

WORD MADE FLESH, THOUGHT RENDERED VISIBLE

Donald Lospinuso

Only by innocence and goodness can anything lasting in significance and truly beautiful be created.

Guaranteed Controversy

In advance of her big London Summit on Family Planning, Melinda Gates launched a campaign called "No Controversy." She may soon realize she's already knee-deep in it.

How Small Is Too Small?

GUEST COLUMN

Donald DeMarco

The greatest gap is not between something minuscule and something immense, but between something and nothing. Existence is more important than size.

Finding the Truth in a Narrative of Lies

WHERE THE CONTRACEPTIVE IMPERATIVE TRUMPS ALL

Kenneth D. Whitehead

Catholic bishops have been depicted as wishing to push women back into the supposed servitude of the Dark Ages.

Occasions of Truth

Sustained national discussion of taboo topics like contraception and Planned Parenthood have yielded valuable 'teaching moments' and surprisingly countercultural essays in some mainstream venues.

The Culture War & the Catholic Church

THE CONTRACEPTION MANDATE IN CONTEXT

Tom Bethell

In the face of rising opposition, will the Church blossom, as John Paul predicted, or will she contract, as Benedict expects?

On the Ethical Treatment of Rape Victims

THE PROBLEMS WITH PLAN B

Joseph E. Kincaid

Some hospitals use Plan B as routine treatment for victims of sexual assault, and some bishops have reluctantly agreed to it after coercion by state legislatures.

Are All Human Beings Persons?

SOMEONE, SOMETHING, OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN ?

James G. Hanink

"'Person' is not a generic term," writes Robert Spaemann, "it is the way in which individuals of the human genus exist." One's neighbor is unique and non-fungible.

The Perils of Promoting Personhood

DEEP-SIXED IN THE DEEP SOUTH

James T. McCafferty

Conspicuously absent from a coalition of pro-life advocates supporting a personhood amendment in Mississippi were the bishops of Jackson and Biloxi.

Gurus of a Post-Human Age

GARRETT HARDIN & JAMES RACHELS

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

The influence of post-humanist academics reveals how completely the secular academic world has embraced the culture of death.

Abortion & the Creed of Progress

GUEST COLUMN

Edmund B. Miller

The creed of progress has destroyed community, the family, and the bond between man and woman, as it has destroyed countless unborn babies.

Behind the Mask

The media hype a world population of seven billion, but growth is decelerating and we’ll face a new problem: under-population.

Who Can Judge the Quality of a Life?

GUEST COLUMN

Angela Manuel Camel

I thank the heavenly Father every day for sending such a priceless treasure as our daughter. He could have given her to any parents, but He blessed us.

The Virtue of Reverence & Respect for Life

SEEING WITH A PURE HEART

Stephen Napier

Every human being possesses dignity, value, and worth. There are factors that can obfuscate our ability to see their dignity, but it exists whether we see it or not.

Two Dubious Anniversaries

C.S. LEWIS & T.S. ELIOT ON CONTRACEPTION

Gregory K. Laughlin

Neither Lewis nor Eliot was willing to condemn all uses of artificial contraception, yet both had obvious concerns about the moral implications of its use.

The Originating Judgment of the Culture of Death

IS THE HUMAN PERSON A 'RATIONAL ANIMAL'?

Mary Rosera Joyce

The absence in our culture of a person-based definition of human nature has had devastating consequences. Our treatment of life before birth is one example.

Waiting on the Past

Two more bishops recently weighed in on what measures are appropriate to take against pro-abortion Catholic politicians.

Free Will & Freedom of Choice

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is one politician known to pontificate on subjects that are "above her pay grade."

Global Population Control

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

The demand for the "rights" of women, homosexuals, animals, and trees is a front for the goal of regulating human breeding as if we're stockyard animals.

Is It Time to Dump the Term 'Pro-life'?

FOR THE SAKE OF PREBORN CHILDREN

Leo Hunt

The Personhood Movement would jettison the term "pro-life." Pro-personhood, pro-human child, and pro-child are credible options.

Manchester, Disunited

GUEST COLUMN

Gail Besse

To avoid problems in Catholic-secular hospital mergers, parties would be wise to specify in writing the actual terms of ethical practice required.

Blessed Are the Barren

WHO'S AFRAID OF FERTILITY?

Ann Frailey

In Jesus' warning to the women of Jerusalem, He says that those who wish for barrenness will also "say to the mountains: Fall on us; and to the hills: Cover us."

The Five Most Pathetic Words

'I AM A PROCHOICE CATHOLIC'

Patrick Madrid

For the sake of your own immortal soul, and for the sake of the lives of the unborn children your ideology menaces, please rid yourself of this delusion.

Contraception & Logical Consistency

GUEST COLUMN

Howard P. Kainz

Catholics or non-Catholics who practice contraception but oppose premarital or extramarital sex hold a position that is logically inconsistent.

The Prolife Movement & the Culture of Violence

ON THE MURDER OF GEORGE TILLER

Judie Brown

Senseless acts of violence should never be answered with any words other than those extended with the love of Christ.

Prolifers: Practice What You Preach!

LIFE OR LIFESTYLE

Kerrie K. Hendrickson

We Christians must constantly reevaluate our own situations to determine whether life is welcome in our own homes or is overwhelmed by the desire for creature comforts.

Everyone Knows That!

GUEST COLUMN

Raymond W. Belair

Sometimes the truth is so simple, so easily recognizable and self-evident that even children have no trouble comprehending.

Wonderful Are Your Works

Every life is valuable in and of itself. Every life is capable of giving glory to God, and therefore every life is worthy of our protection.

The Spirit of Humanae Vitae

MAKE THE LORD YOUR REFUGE

Frederick W. Marks

Pope Paul VI's words are a breath of fresh air in a world suffering the horrendous effects of the contraceptive mentality.

Oh Saratoga!

GUEST COLUMN

Francis G. McCloskey

As the great battle was the turning point for America's independence, with God's grace we will bring the battle to the doorsteps of the Culture of Death.

Is Immigration Prolife?

THE ONLY STATE CLAIMING OUR ULTIMATE LOYALTY IS THE STATE OF GRACE

Kenneth G. Davis

Immigrants now make up about 20 percent of our seminarians and a majority of our Catholic youth.

Heroic Mothers

"I guess she knew the secret of life, and it is not in receiving but giving."

Situation Critical

How far has marriage sunk? Married couples in 2005, as a proportion of U.S. households, "have finally slipped into a minority."

American Genocide

WHY DO WE MURDER DOWN SYNDROME BABIES?

Charles & Donna James

We are systematically eliminating a community of human beings from American society. Why do our priests and bishops remain silent about this?

'Just Say No'

The modcon Our Sunday Visitor is now advocating a new vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease given to girls at age 11.

The Vaccine Debate

WHOM TO BELIEVE?

Agnes N. Penny

Why have no studies been done to investigate the long-term effects of vaccines? Why aren't pharmaceutical companies more closely monitored for their testing procedures?

In Vitro Clinics Are Death Camps

"If embryos are human beings with full human rights, fertility clinics are death camps -- with a side order of cold-blooded eugenics."

The Betrayal at the Root of the Culture Wars

Anne Barbeau Gardiner

Christine Rosen studies the American clergy's involvement in eugenics from the 1880s through the 1920s.

Pope Paul VI's Prophetic Warning

THE BIRTH CONTROL PILL IS A "GATEWAY" DRUG

George Delgado

Undoubtedly, the Pill is a "gateway" drug, introducing its users to promiscuity, premarital pregnancy, abortion, and divorce.

When Will Prolifers Wise Up?

If any of our readers had any doubts about what we had to say regarding John Roberts, they can now quietly lay them to rest.

Abortion Is More Than 'Murder'

NIETZSCHE VS. CHRIST

Richard Stith

Accepting the killing of strangers eats away at our community from the outside in; accepting the killing of our own children rots us from the inside out.

Here Come the Catholic Cheerleaders

The Thomas More Law Center, founded by Tom Monaghan, has decided to support the nomination of Judge John Roberts, even though he called Roe v. Wade "the settled law of the land."

Athanasius Against the World: Still Looking for Some Company

GUEST COLUMN

Daniel M. Hoffman

People jealously want to control the one thing that demonstrates God's infinite artistry and creativity -- life.

Prolifers: Thanks for the Votes; We'll See You Again in Four Years

"According to the White House, Judge Roberts does not oppose Roe v. Wade." What more do you need to know?

Her Mamas Were Prolife

GUEST COLUMN

Daniel J. Rabil

Gov. Ronald Reagan signed a milestone pro-abortion bill in 1968. California's abortions jumped from 518 in 1967 to an average of 100,000 per year from 1968 to 1974.

Chastity & the Prolife Movement

PROMISCUITY IS THE BASIC CAUSE OF ABORTION

Mattei Radu

The prolife movement of the 21st century must adopt chastity as the fifth pillar of advocacy for preborn children.

A Primer on Stem Cells

IT'S NOT REALLY COMPLICATED

E. Christian Brugger

Stem cells found in adult bone marrow, adipose tissue, fetal umbilical cords, and placenta promise equal if not greater results than embryonic stem cells.

What Is Happiness?

Christopher Kaczor

Spitzer's genius lies in showing, in so many ways, the links between one's chosen "level of happiness" and one's view of the contentious life issues.

A New Approach for the Prolife Movement

GUEST COLUMN

R.T. Neary

Let's form an environmental group with a novel approach to prolife goals. Let it be known as Project EARTH, or Extend Animal Rights to Humans.

The Example of Large Families

CAN GOD BE TRUSTED?

Nancy Harvey

We need to re-think children — whose they are, why they exist, and whether anything else we can possibly choose is more important.

Reality Incognito

GUEST COLUMN

Lydia McGrew

God in the flesh does not look like God, and He very often does not exercise divine power, even in His own defense.

The Latest Antilife Thrust: "Emergency Contraception"

WHERE ARE THE PROLIFERS?

Kenneth D. Whitehead

Morning-after pills are effective only after ovulation and fertilization have already occurred; they are, at least some if not much of the time, a form of early abortion.

'Till Death Do Us Part (And Not Soon Enough)

In the style of their pro-abortion counterparts, right-to-death advocates have been busily forging a debate over when life ends.

Standing Seldom by the Crib, But Often by the Coffin

GUEST COLUMN

Carrie Tomko

As we bury our parents and watch our circle of family diminish, will we finally humble ourselves before God and ask forgiveness for rejecting the gifts He had to give us?

Confessions of an Ob-Gyn

A JOURNEY FROM DEATH TO LIFE

Beverly McMillan

My conversion involved non-participation in any form of contraceptive prescribing or sterilization, and promotion of Natural Family Planning.

The Catholic Hiroshima

RADIATION SICKNESS IN THE CHURCH

Dermott J. Mullan

Dissent affects spiritual life in a way that is analogous to what happens to biological life in the aftermath of an atomic bomb.

A Smile From the Womb

WHEN THE ABORTION ISSUE GETS PERSONAL

David T. Koyzis

When our daughter was born, though she was not quite through the second trimester, she already had her own distinct personality and could smile.

Infertility & the Illusion of Control

ON BUCKING GOD'S PLAN

Andrew D. Muras

Our life, and each life, is really God’s and no one else’s, and must be treated as such. Life is not something we earn or something owed to us, it is purely a gift.

Woe to the Bloody City!

THE HARVEST OF INNOCENTS

Joseph Collison

“Find out how you can turn your patient’s decision into something wonderful” reads a brochure sent to abortionists by a fetal tissue “wholesaler.”

The Cloning of Margaret Fanger

THE FOUNDER OF CANNED PARENTHOOD

Brent T. Zeringue

This fictional piece uses exact quotes of the real-life Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood.

The Bitter Fruit of the Sexual Revolution

THE DISEASES OF OUR SEX-OBSESSED SOCIETY

Joseph Collison

Catholics who practice their faith and embody its sexual wisdom can have stable marriages, loving families, and freedom from STDs.

The Incredible Shrinking of Man

Peter Singer's philosophy of preference-utilitarianism

An Educational Funeral

GUEST COLUMN

David C. Stolinsky

Aside from somber, beautiful, or inspiring, a funeral I attended recently could be described as educational.

Confronting Sexual Immorality

TO CIVILIZE THE COMING GENERATION

Anthony Zimmerman

The Lord God, eschewing the “pastoral prudence” of hesitant confessors, asked the Original Penitents point blank to tell what they had done.

Don't Mess With a Pregnant Lady - Or Her Husband!

GUEST COLUMN

Lou Bruno

The right attitude and a little preparation can turn a rude comment into an opportunity to witness to your faith.

In the Valley of the Shadow of Death

NO EVIL SHALL I FEAR, FOR JANE FONDA IS MY GUIDE

Joseph Collison

Malaria kills many in Kenya when there is no chloroquine, but the West consistently sends “huge stockpiles of contraceptives.”

These Are Family-Life Experts?

Trustworthy advice for parents who happen upon the "Your Family" page in Time magazine

Anti-Fetal Rhetoric: America's Best-Loved Hate Speech

"...BUT NAMES WILL NEVER HURT ME"?

William Brennan

Why Is It O.K. to Insult a Pregnant Lady?

APPARENTLY, 'DIVERSITY' HAS ITS LIMITS

Kathleen Whitney Barr

Unsolicited conversations often turn into sermonettes, confrontations, or inquisitions if this is not the “blessed” first child.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!"

JUST A HUMAN WEED?

Joseph Collison

Harold Cybulski was to be taken off life support. When his two-year-old grandson ran in, Cybulski opened his eyes, sat up, and reached for the boy.

Contraception vs. Natural Piety

GUEST COLUMN

Thomas E. Woods Jr.

The idea of nature as something to which we ought to conform ourselves allows for benign mystery as opposed to malign mastery.

Teacher's Dirty Books

CHILDREN TRAPPED IN A WEB OF DECEIT

Joseph Collison

A survey of a thousand teenage girls found 82% said they wanted sex-ed to teach them “how to say no” without hurting a guy’s feelings.

Ebenezer Scrooge at Christmas Today

"DECREASE THE SURPLUS POPULATION"

Lawrence D. Hogan

Scrooge stated, “Let those poor go to the prisons and the Union workhouses. And if they’d rather die, they had better do it."

The New Wonder Non-Drug That Cures Contraception

GUEST COLUMN

Joseph Collison

The Least of the Least of Our Brethren

THE NEW KILLING FIELDS

Jeffrey Ziegler

How can we convert this culture of death? Through education, public action, pastoral leadership — and faith.

Who Are the Real Fanatics?

GUEST COLUMN

Joseph Collison

“I didn’t know Christians would help me,” the expectant mother told the counselor. “I thought they were all mean.”

Contraception & Compromised Intimacy

FALSE FREEDOM & LIMITED LOVE

Donald DeMarco

When one has passed beyond egoism, when one has truly understood that love is a mutual gift, then one comes to what is truly love.

Unhappy Anniversary: Humanae Vitae at 30

THE PROPHETIC INSIGHT OF POPE PAUL VI

Kenneth D. Whitehead

From "Babies Having Babies" To Babies Hating Babies

GUEST COLUMN

Joseph Collison

Babies on Demand?

GUEST COLUMN

York A. Young

If you don’t want children— contracept. If you don’t want children but you get pregnant— abort. If you do want children but can’t conceive— take fertility drugs.

What the Pope Called the 'Culture of Death' Is Actually a Syndicate of Death

CRIMES COVERED UP

Joseph Collison

The Christian View of Sex

A TIME FOR APOLOGETICS, NOT APOLOGIES

Janet E. Smith

Men and women today are tired of unfaithfulness, tired of shallow and brief relationships. They crave something more meaningful and reliable.

The Prolife Struggle in Japan

A COUNTRY IN WHICH FAMILIES ARE RENTED

John Nariai

Old couples in Japan, with no one to depend on, live in makeshift houses offered by the government. They are victims of the contraception-abortion mentality.

The Decline of the Family in 20th Century America

FROM A PRODUCTION UNION TO A CONSUMER UNIT

Howard Curtis

The home, the sacred and productive realm of women, was made obsolete. For children the sacred space of home for growing, learning, and loving rapidly disappeared.

Where Tolerance Had Limits

A REMEMBRANCE OF ANOTHER WORLD

Julie Crane

A police car glides slowly, quietly onto our street. Conversations cease, and my neighbors watch, poised, as if knowing that lives will be changed tonight, prices paid.

The Problem Is Not Too Many People

ON POVERTY & POLLUTION

Thomas Storck

The best measure of the likelihood of human environmental destruction is not the number of people but how people consume and pollute.

Be Fruitful & Multiply

CHILDREN ARE GREEN TOO

Will Hoyt

Our population level is not necessarily bad in and of itself. Rather, it just amplifies the good or evil that is already in place.

America's Children Are in Jeopardy

CHILDHOOD BETRAYED — A PERSONALIST ANALYSIS

James G. Hanink

Suggesting that the very young, born or pre­born, are not persons is exclusivist. It makes the betrayal of children almost morally palatable.

Earthiness as Sacred

GUEST COLUMN

Ken Russell

The Church celebrates and proclaims publicly some very private human activities that might well cause some folks to feel a bit squeamish.

Abortion & Last Month's Election

CHRIST & NEIGHBOR

John C. Cort

My priest did not believe the state has any obligation to do something about poverty, hunger, and homelessness. He said this is up to individuals and the churches.

What Does Real Faith Require of Us?

BEYOND THE LIBERAL & CONSERVATIVE AGENDAS

Michael Gallagher

Once upon a time, secu­lar liberals and secular conservatives distrusted their Catholic fellow travelers. And quite rightly, too.

Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament & Being 'Squeezed Out Like a Lemon'

EDITORIAL

Dale Vree

Christians are called by Finnis, Boyle, and Grisez to avoid any co­operation with our nuclear deterrent, just as we must avoid any cooperation with the abortion in­dustry.

Consistently Pro-Choice

GUEST COLUMN

Michael Pakaluk

Surveillance of the Unborn: A Human Rights Issue

GUEST COLUMN

Marika Wilson Smith

While the March of Dimes may do valuable work toward helping conquer birth defects, other unborn handicapped children are denied life because of its support of prenatal testing.

The New Right & the Pro-life Movement: How Solid is the Marriage?

ON THE RIGHT WING’S “SEAMLESS GARMENT”

Stephen Settle

March for Life organizer Nellie Gray had little patience with those who would solicit pro-life support simply to boost the bomb, bolster corporate profits, or get fluoride out of the water.

The Sanctity of Life & the Right to Adequate Health Care

DETERIORATING HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA

John O’Connor

Infant mortality, life expectancy, and disability rates confirm that the poor and uninsured permanently suffer the consequences of our broken healthcare system.

Seams in the Seamless Garment?

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN INNOCENT & GUILTY HUMAN LIFE

Sheldon Vanauken

If the Seamless Garment links the sparing of innocent human life with the sparing of guilty human life (the murderer or invader of the household or the invader of the country) then the Garment is full of seams.

Saying a Humble, Compassionate & Joyful “Yes” to Life

A SPIRITUALITY OF PEACEMAKING — PART III

Henri J.M. Nouwen

Resisting the forces of death is only meaningful when we are fully in touch with the forces of life we want to uphold.

Sterilization & An Unformed Conscience

GUEST COLUMN

Ann Kelly

To tamper with the generative function, as I did, is to make myself a god, or to tell God, in effect, “I know better than You do.”

Saying “No” to Death in All Its Manifestations

A SPIRITUALITY OF PEACEMAKING — PART II

Henri J.M. Nouwen

Real resistance requires the humble confes­sion that we are partners in the evil that we seek to resist. This is a very hard and seemingly endless dis­cipline.

Peace, a Gift We Receive in Prayer

A SPIRITUALITY OF PEACEMAKING — PART I

Henri J.M. Nouwen

Just as Jesus’ command to love one another cannot be seen as a part-time obligation, so too His call to peacemaking is unconditional, unlimited, and uncompromising.

Beyond “Left” & “Right”

ABORTION & NUCLEAR WAR

Peter Kreeft

How can we honestly ask God to re­move the scourge of abortion from our land when we are prepared to abort entire other countries with nuclear fire and brimstone?

Stirring Things Up in Western Europe

AN UNUSUAL PRO-LIFE/PEACE JOURNEY

Juli Loesch

Many peace & anti-abortion advocates find themselves on opposite ends of the political spectrum. In the U.S. and Western Europe, stirring up the desire for reconciliation is a crucial task.

The Consistent Pro-life Ethic

INTEGRAL TO PRO-LIFE SUCCESS

Bernard F. Law

The prophet gives words that echo an understanding of the heart. He understands the tragic situation and speaks of comfort, solace, hope, and then begins to help.

The Richness of the Mongoloid Experience

CRAZY LOVE

Joanna Carroll

My brother reacted with crazy love toward new people. He thought people’s differences made them wonderful.

Daniel Berrigan, Pro-lifer

OUT OF VOGUE

Stephen Settle

Berrigan, in casting his lot with the condemned unborn, stands again accused of high treason for defying legalistic wisdom and the current Zeitgeist.

The Seamless Garment

CHRIST & NEIGHBOR

John C. Cort

How can good-hearted people, whose hearts bleed for peace and for poor people, not feel the excruciating pain of the child who is de­stroyed in the womb?

Teenage Pregnancy: A Moral Matter

HARVARD DIARY

Robert Coles

Young women also are spiritually hungry for a sense of purpose and meaning in life, for something or someone to believe in, for moral direction.

Abortion as “Growth Experience”

Dave Andrusko

Almost all abortion ideologues refuse to address the core question: Is the unborn child a fellow member of the human family, one to whom we owe love, life, and justice?

The Treatment of Handicapped Infants

A DECADE OF DETERIORATION

Gregory F. Aloia

Wide-scale prenatal screening procedures brought about a “free-fire zone” on the defective child throughout all three stages of gestation.

Conjugal Intimacy

IN LIGHT OF CREATION, FALL & REDEMPTION

Marshall Fightlin

Sacred Scripture and the mystical tradition in the Church present our redemption by Christ in terms of a husband-wife relationship.

My Pilgrimage

COMING HOME TO THE CHURCH

Juli Loesch

When the Mass was trans­lated into English, I noticed right away how often it says “Peace”: it’s repeated over and over again, like a heartbeat, clear through.

The Mansour & Kosnik Cases

VATICAN WATCH

James Hitchcock