OrthodoxNet.com Blog

HumanEvents | Benjamin Wiker | May. 13, 2008

Judging by the number of posts, my recent column “Darwin and Hitler…in their Own Words” set the fur a-flying. Many folks just don’t like it when you trace a revered scientific icon to an icon of evil. Small wonder. Too bad it’s true.

Not to rub too much salt in the wound, but Darwinism is responsible for a lot more destruction than the eugenic fantasies of the Third Reich. He can also claim substantial patrimony for the rantings of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche that likewise inspired the intellectuals that surrounded and supported Hitler’s scheme. Continue Reading »

PriestsforLife.org | May 7, 2008

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Human Events | Benjamin Wiker | May. 5, 2008

As David Berlinski recently noted, “the thesis that there is a connection between Darwin and Hitler is widely considered a profanation.” But striking an indignant pose — feathers in full ruffle — is not an answer to such a serious charge, especially when the words of both Darwin and Hitler speak otherwise.

Those defending Darwin cannot have read his Descent of Man, wherein he applies the principles of natural selection to human beings — a thing he prudently avoided in his earlier Origin of Species. In the Descent, the eugenic and racial inferences are clearly and startlingly drawn by Darwin himself. Continue Reading »

PriestsforLife.org | Apr. 30, 2008

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OrthodoxyToday.org | Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev | Mar. 14, 2008

The recent debate on euthanasia is impossible to examine apart from the main problems in the dialogue between the religious world-view and Western secular humanism over the values which should lie at the foundation of the ‘new world order.’ In our opinion, these arguments demonstrate the anti-human essence of atheistic humanism, which lays claims to being a universal ideology and openly opposes itself to the traditional notions of life and death. Continue Reading »

Times Online | Sarah-Kate Templeton | Mar. 16, 2008

Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a medical royal college has warned. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.

This overturns the consensus that has stood for decades that the risk to mental health of continuing with an unwanted pregnancy outweighs the risks of living with the possible regrets of having an abortion. Continue Reading »

Shocking, disturbing, and outrageously racist policies at Planned Parenthood. Another ugly truth about the abortion lobby is exposed.

California Catholic Daily | Lila Rose | Mar. 2, 2008

Covert investigation by UCLA students finds Planned Parenthood still wedded to founder’s bigoted views. A 19 year-old sophomore at UCLA continues to shake up pro-abortion forces with her investigative reporting, most recently by revealing Planned Parenthood’s indifference to racism when it benefits them. Continue Reading »

CNSnews.com | Terence P. Jeffrey | Mar. 3, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told a crowd at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, Sunday that he believes the Sermon on the Mount justifies his support for legal recognition of same-sex unions. He also told the crowd that his position in favor of legalized abortion does not make him “less Christian.”

“I don’t think it [a same-sex union] should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state,” said Obama. “If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans.” St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans condemns homosexual acts as unnatural and sinful. Continue Reading »

A story you won’t hear about in the mainstream media or being addressed by the abortion-embracing Democratic party, including Obama and Hillary.
Telegraph Media | Feb. 23, 2008

An artist killed herself after aborting her twins when she was eight weeks pregnant, leaving a note saying: “I should never have had an abortion. I see now I would have been a good mum.”

Her suicide note read: “I told everyone I didn’t want to do it, even at the hospital. I was frightened, now it is too late. I died when my babies died. I want to be with my babies: they need me, no-one else does.” Continue Reading »

LifeNews | Steven Ertelt | Jan. 23, 2008

It’s no secret that Hillary Clinton has promoted abortion at every turn as a senator and presidential candidate — forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions and voting against a partial-birth abortion ban repeatedly. Clinton confirmed she will take her pro-abortion views to the White House in a statement on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Continue Reading »

Theme for March for Life January 22, 2008: “Build Unity on the Life Principles throughout America. No Exception! No Compromise!”

Fr. Hans is in Washington supporting the March for Life. Continue Reading »

Human Events | Rep. Duncan Hunter | Jan. 22, 2008

Thirty-five years ago today, seven of nine Supreme Court justices voted to make abortion a legal right in this country. In the landmark case of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court dramatically changed our nation, ushering in an era that disrespects human life and fails to acknowledge our responsibility to value and protect life from the moment of conception. Continue Reading »

OrthodoxyToday | Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews | Jan. 20, 2008

Since in the teaching of the Church, abortion is wrong and equivalent to the taking of innocent life, that is, a form of murder, it is a “thing that does damage.” The name take by those who encourage and facilitate abortions, to promote their cause is “Pro-Choice.” Because few would agree that abortion is a “thing that is good in itself,” they do not usually call themselves “Pro-Abortion.” By projecting “choice” rather than “abortion” they distract us from the fact that they are encouraging and making easier a behavior that is wrong. Continue Reading »

The Philadelphia Inquirer | Rick Santorum | Jan. 3, 2008

If art is a reflection of our culture, our culture - and particularly our youth culture - is awaking to the reality of life in the womb. You hear it in Nick Cannon’s autobiographical single “Can I live?” You see it in the stunning episode of the television show House where Dr. Gregory House’s finger is grasped by a baby in the womb during intrauterine surgery. The recognition of the life in the womb is going mainstream. Continue Reading »

American Thinker | Kyle-Anne Shiver | Dec. 14, 2007

The Abortion War still rages. The battles are mostly private affairs, often taking place in conversations between lovers in cars, or in college dorms or over coffee at Starbucks. Babies’ lives are fought over in private counseling sessions at Crisis Pregnancy Centers, in doctor’s offices and in the Yellow Pages or on the internet, one baby at a time. Some battles occur in living rooms between daughters and parents, or in church offices between pastors and a parishioner. Some are fought between a husband and a wife. It’s a one-baby-per-battle war. More than 45,000,000 souls lost Baby Battles since 1973. And still the war rages. Continue Reading »

Washington Post | Charles Krauthammer | Nov. 30, 2007

“If human embryonic stem cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough.” – James A. Thomson

A decade ago, Thomson was the first to isolate human embryonic stem cells. Last week, he (and Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka) announced one of the great scientific breakthroughs since the discovery of DNA: an embryo-free way to produce genetically matched stem cells.

Even a scientist who cares not a whit about the morality of embryo destruction will adopt this technique because it is so simple and powerful. The embryonic stem cell debate is over.

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Will the secular left soon attack the religious right for being pro-science?
Opinion Journal | Joseph Bottum | Nov. 28, 2007

If the news of major breakthroughs in cell research should turn out to be correct, we are about to witness something like victory in the fight over embryonic stem cells.

And that will open a nest of interesting questions, beginning with this one: All those editorialists and columnists who have, over the past 10 years, howled and howled about Luddites and religious fanatics thwarting science and frustrating medicine–were they really interested in technology and health, or were they just using all that as a handy stick with which to whack their political opponents?

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Daily Mail UK | Nov. 21, 2007

Had Toni Vernelli gone ahead with her pregnancy ten years ago, she would know at first hand what it is like to cradle her own baby, to have a pair of innocent eyes gazing up at her with unconditional love, to feel a little hand slipping into hers - and a voice calling her Mummy. But the very thought makes her shudder with horror.

Because when Toni terminated her pregnancy, she did so in the firm belief she was helping to save the planet.

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Miracles happen all around us, we just have to stop and pay attention.

Daily Mail UK | Lucy Laing | Nov. 3, 2007

They say twins share a strong bond - but the one between Gabriel and Ieuan Jones was unbreakable. When doctors found that Gabriel was weaker than his brother, with an enlarged heart,and believed he was going to die in the womb, his mother Rebecca Jones had to make a heartbreaking decision.

Doctors told her his death could cause his twin brother to die too before they were born, and that it would be better to end Gabriel’s suffering sooner rather than later. Mrs Jones decided to let doctors operate to terminate Gabriel’s life.

Firstly they tried to sever his umbilical cord to cut off his blood supply, but the cord was too strong. They then cut Mrs Jones’s placenta in half so that when Gabriel died, it would not affect his twin brother.

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Ed. (Jacobse). It’s “Salon” so they start their pro-euthanasia advocacy (albeit defensively) in the second paragraph, but apart from this bias, this is compelling article that reveals how much we don’t understand about comatose states.

Salon | Robert Burton | September 25, 2007

An extraordinary brain study concludes that a woman in a vegetative state is aware of herself. It’s a dangerous claim that could throw families and physicians into turmoil.

Sept. 25, 2007 | In a recent article in the Archives of Neurology, a team of British and Belgian neuroscientists describe a clinically unconscious accident victim who can, on command, imagine herself playing tennis and walking around her house. By showing that her functional brain imaging studies (fMRI) are indistinguishable from those of healthy volunteers performing the same mental tasks, the researchers claim that the young woman’s fMRI “confirmed beyond any doubt that she was consciously aware of herself and her surroundings, and was willfully following instructions given to her, despite her diagnosis of a vegetative state.”

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