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Some Words Against Despair

From First Thoughts

Many social conservatives are rightly disappointed and dismayed by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which effectively legalized same sex marriage in all 50 states. Many pundits—even those who disagree with the decision—are already advising conservatives to . . . . Continue Reading »

Gallup Poll Shows Increased Support For Physician Assisted Suicide

From First Thoughts

Last week, Gallup released the results of a poll on the moral acceptability of various behaviors. Specifically, this poll asked people about the morality of over 15 specific issues including abortion, gambling, and polygamy. What was most interesting was the sharp increase in the percentage of people who found doctor assisted suicide “morally acceptable.” In 2013, only 45 percent of Americans found doctor assisted suicide “morally acceptable.” Last week’s poll indicated that percentage had risen to 56 percent. Continue Reading »

A Temporary Setback in Alabama

From First Thoughts

Today, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled an Alabama law requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals is unconstitutional. In his ruling Thompson stated that the law posed an undue burden on women’s right to abortion. Planned Parenthood and a group of abortion centers in Alabama sued to block the law, arguing that it would close three of the five abortion centers in Alabama. Continue Reading »

Little Change in Abortion Attitudes

From Web Exclusives

Much of the mainstream media coverage of Roe v. Wade’srecent forty-year anniversary indicated that grassroots abortion rights activists are pessimistic about the future. However, in the days before the March for Life many pro-choice commentators expressed optimism. They claimed that recent polling data indicates that public opinion is shifting in a direction more sympathetic to legal abortion… . Continue Reading »

Michael Schwartz, RIP

From First Thoughts

Pro-lifers were saddened to learn that long time pro-life activist Michael Schwartz succumbed to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) this past weekend. Schwartz was a behind-the-scenes strategist for pro-life efforts on Capitol Hill. He is probably best known for serving as the Chief-of-Staff to . . . . Continue Reading »

An Open Letter To Pro-Lifers

From Web Exclusives

To my Pro-life Friends and Allies: The results of Tuesday’s presidential election were certainly disappointing. We knew the next president might get the opportunity to appoint as many as four new judges to the U.S. Supreme Court. We also knew that the 2012 election marked our best opportunity to repeal Obamacare. We were running against an incumbent president who very openly and aggressively supported legal abortion. We knew the stakes were high, and we responded admirably. In the end, our efforts came up a bit short… . Continue Reading »