Support First Things by turning your adblocker off or by making a  donation. Thanks!

Not Dead Yet

From First Thoughts

News from the UK : Trapped inside their bodies, apparently switched off to the world, but still alive: they are the undead. Or so we thought. Forty per cent of patients in a ‘vegetative state’ are misdiagnosed. Now British scientists are leading the field in trying to put that right. . . . . Continue Reading »

Harriet McBryde Johnson, RIP

From First Thoughts

Christine Rosen reflects on the passing of Harriet McBryde Johnson: When Harriet McBryde Johnson died earlier this month at the age of 50 from a congenital neuromuscular disease, obituaries called her a “disability-rights activist.” This is far too narrow a description of her life. She . . . . Continue Reading »

NARAL Catholics Advising Obama

From First Thoughts

You are the Democratic candidate for president. You want to reach out to Catholics. So what do you do when the majority of the elected officials on your National Catholic Advisory Council have the seal of approval from NARAL Pro-Choice America? Bill McGurn explains in his Wall Street Journal . . . . Continue Reading »

Mystics

From First Thoughts

Nathaniel Peters has a nice review as this week’s “Book of the Week” for Books and Culture . Here’s how John Wilson, the editor of B&C, describes it: Our current Book of the Week is Mystics , by William Harmless, reviewed by Nathaniel Peters, who commends it as a lucid guide . . . . Continue Reading »

The War on Abstinence

From Web Exclusives

The Los Angeles Unified School District doesn’t want Karen Kropf talking to its students. District leaders fear that what she says isn’t “balanced” and that she’s not a certified “expert” in the field. Really, though, they just don’t like her message about teenage sexual self-control . . . . Continue Reading »