Abortion and the Value of Human Life (part IV-conclusion)

Abortion and the Value of Human Life, Part IV (Conclusion)
(a series of articles by Vicar Eric Phillips, Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Spring 2013)

In the past three articles, I have made two kinds of arguments in this column. The first kind is simply logical, and forms a chain that can be summarized as follows:
1) In the legalization of abortion on demand, our culture has denied that human life has intrinsic worth, and moved all that value over to human personhood, that is, the ability of human beings to recognize themselves as persons, have relationships, and build their own identity.
2) This position cannot explain why born babies should be protected by the law, at least until they begin to show signs of psychological personhood.
3) Therefore babies (up to about one year old at least) are protected by our laws only because their parents (and to a lesser degree, society in general) value them and treat them as persons.
The second kind is theological, and forms this complementary chain: Continue reading →

50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

mlkjrFather Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, will join Dr. Alveda King, Director of African-American Outreach, in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and her uncle Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Father Pavone will take part in an interfaith service from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28, at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and will be present with the King family for the events throughout the day.

“We remember the events of 50 years ago because they speak to today, and the message that the march and the speech have for America is that we cannot have equality and justice until the children in the womb are protected,” said Father Pavone. “Dr. King’s dream would be absolutely unintelligible if one imagines that somehow the dismemberment and decapitation of thousands of children a day could be reconciled with that dream, or could be justified either morally or legally.”

Dr. Alveda King noted that her uncle often spoke of a “Beloved Community.” Father Pavone, Dr. Alveda King, her mother and brother are among the signatories of a 2011 declaration called “The Beloved Community and the Unborn” that draws on a Christmas sermon Martin Luther King delivered in 1967, in which he preached the following words: Continue reading →

The Conversion of Dr. Nathanson

(Dr. Nathanson was one of the founding members of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, now known as NARAL Pro-Choice America.)

In 1970, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the son of a distinguished medical doctor, began running the Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health in New York City. In addition to performing and giving supervision to thousands of abortions, he became a zealous crusader and campaigner for the legalization of abortion. He and his colleagues argued before voters, lawmakers, and judges that laws against abortion were worse than futile and thus should be opposed. He confessed later that they lied, boldly and relentlessly, about the number of women who died each year from illegal abortions—claiming the number was more than ten times higher than it actually was. In 1973, he left the Center to become chief of obstetrical services at St. Luke’s Hospital Center, but he continued doing abortions. While there, however, he discovered the latest in fetal technology—the ultrasound machine. It opened the window for him on fetal development. His personal struggle began. Continue reading →