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Matthew Schmitz is a former senior editor of First Things. 

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Babies Happen

From First Thoughts

Christopher White points out that contraception is not the most powerful way to promote maternal health: What about those women and girls in Africa who, as Kristof mentions, “have never heard of birth control”? Won’t they be faced with unwanted pregnancies and possibly die during . . . . Continue Reading »

David Frum is Wrong About Abortion

From Web Exclusives

Is the fight to protect the unborn as misguided”and ultimately as passing”as the push for Prohibition? So suggested David Frum in a recent column for CNN. After I objected to his column, Frum said that I, along with all pro-life advocates, should be willing to accept a regime where abortion is safe, legal and rare … Continue Reading »

Gay Marriage as New Coke

From First Thoughts

In an interview with Utah’s Deseret News,  New York’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan expresses hope in the wake of the New York marriage defeat: If traditional marriage advocates can find the right tone in making their case, Archbishop Dolan believes they will ultimately come out on top, . . . . Continue Reading »

Carter Snead to Head ND Center

From First Thoughts

Good news today out of South Bend. Carter Snead is the newly appointed head of Notre Dame’s Center on Ethics and Culture. The center takes up the central truths of Catholic moral and social teaching in order to build a culture where, “the dignity of human life is respected, the . . . . Continue Reading »

More Rubbish

From First Thoughts

Regarding the recent Vatican document on the financial crisis,  David Gibson writes: “Conservative Catholics continue to trash the Vatican’s new document calling for global financial regulation: “Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish,” says George Weigel. But . . . . Continue Reading »

Vatican Doc Reax

From First Thoughts

The recent note on the financial crisis from the Vatican’s Council on Justice and Peace offers us yet another chance to reflect on the Church’s longstanding social teaching. It is the kind of document that is meant to advance a conversation rather than settle questions, and it will no . . . . Continue Reading »

Frank Gehry’s Black T-Shirt

From First Thoughts

Frank Gehry’s proposed design for an Eisenhower Memorial—-featuring large screens surrounding a statue of Eisenhower as a barefoot boy—-has drawn a great deal of controversy. This came to a head in a recent public meeting when Gehry was confronted by an audience member. From . . . . Continue Reading »

Public Discourse

From First Thoughts

If you haven’t already noticed,  Public Discourse , the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute, has had a banner week: Robert P. George on pornography and law, William Carroll on science and ethics, Helen Alvaré firing back at Linda Greenhouse, Maggie Gallagher bringing some . . . . Continue Reading »