“Abortion as an Instrument of Eugenics”
Here is a link to an excellent piece by Michael Paulsen. The article was just published in the Harvard Law Review Forum. Paulsen discusses trait selection abortion bans, which are increasingly common. He notes that these bans “pose hugely important, stark, and seemingly unavoidable legal and moral challenges to the constitutional regime of Roe.”
Eighth Circuit Enjoins Missouri Down Syndrome Abortion Law
Here is a link to today’s decision by the Eighth Circuit affirming a district court decision enjoining Missouri’s Down Syndrome abortion law. The appellate court’s decision was 2-1 with Judge Stras in dissent. The Missouri law prohibits abortions if the provider “knows that the woman is seeking the abortion solely because of a prenatal diagnosis, […]
“In First 100 Days, Biden Redirects U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Abortion”
Here is a link to an article by Rebecca Oas about the Biden Administration’s policies promoting abortion. Oas states: “U.S. President Joe Biden has been in office less than half a year, but he is already on course to be the most pro-abortion president in U.S. history.”
Overruling Roe v. Wade: Lessons from the Death penalty
Here is a link to an article by Paul Linton on overruling Roe v. Wade. With the Supreme Court’s grant of cert in Dobbs, this article couldn’t be more timely. Here is a portion of the abstract: “This article argues that, just as Justices Brennan and Marshall misread the “signs of the times” regarding the […]
Spring 2021 issue of ProVita is now available++Conference information included
Here is a link to the latest issue of ProVita, the newsletter of University Faculty for Life. Thanks to Margaret Hughes for her work in editing the newsletter!!! This issue contains information about the upcoming University Faculty for Life conference. The conference will be held on Saturday June 5, 2021 via Zoom. The conference theme […]
Dave Andrusko on Down syndrome abortion bans
Here is a good story by Dave Andrusko on laws banning Down syndrome abortions. Andrusko highlights the changing legal landscape and also mentions the importance of Justice Thomas’s opinion in the Box case in which Thomas empathized that such bans “promote a State’s compelling interest in preventing abortion from becoming a tool of modern-day eugenics.”
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Mississippi Abortion Case
The US Supreme Court today agreed to decide Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. For background on Dobbs, see this link. The Court limited its consideration to the first question presented by Mississippi’s cert petition: “Whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.” The cert petition was filed almost a year ago and there […]
“Artificial Wombs and the Right to Life”
Here is a link to an excellent article in Public Discourse. In the article, Phillip Wozniak and Ashley Fernandes discuss the important ethical issues surrounding the development of artificial wombs. The development of this technology has the potential to reshape the date about abortion rights. As Wozniak and Fernandes note, “if stopping gestation no longer […]
En Banc Sixth Circuit Upholds Ohio’s Down Syndrome Abortion Law
Here is a link to the Sixth Circuit’s decision upholding Ohio’s law that “prohibits a doctor from performing an abortion if that doctor knows that the woman’s reason for having the abortion is that she does not want a child with Down syndrome.” The court explained that the law does not prohibit a woman from […]
More from John Finnis on Constitutional Personhood
Here is a link to another essay by John Finnis on constitutional personhood. In this essay, Finnis responds to an essay by Ed Whelan.The most recent essay by Finnis (dated April 9, 2021) contains links to the relevant essays in this important dialogue.