#405 Feminist Film, MLK, Eugenics in Roe - April 6, 2018

Feminist Film Our friends at member group Rehumanize International have been working on a documentary about pro-life feminism and consistent nonviolence. To help with plans, they’re asking people to view the film free (use password minusred) and afterwards answer a survey to give needed feedback.

Cool Photo Rosemary Geraghty (center) of Rehumanize International pops up into the middle of pro-abortion sign-holders outside the US Supreme Court at the hearing on NIFLA v. Becerra, the case where California wants to force pro-life Pregnancy Help Centers to advertise abortion availability.

Anniversary: Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King was cruelly taken from us by an assassin’s bullet on April 4, 1968. Best known for his work against racism in the Civil Rights Movement, he also expounded on the connections between racism, militarism, and poverty, calling them the Triple Evils. He lived most of his life at a time when abortion was a crime in the entire U.S., and it only became a major issue in public debate near the end of his life, so it’s not surprising that this major advocate of nonviolence said little on the topic. We did find one instance when he addressed it in a pastoral-counseling advice column, and it’s our Quotation of the Week below.

Sneaking in the Death Penalty by “Offering” Euthanasia Canada has shown recent experience with an idea that pops up now and then: countries that have banned the death penalty effectively restore it using the rhetoric of “medical assistance in dying” (MAID), a euphemism for euthanasia, as a “choice.” Links between the death penalty and euthanasia have a long history. The most famous advocate of euthanasia, Jack Kevorkian, in his book Medicide: The Goodness of Planned Death, recounts how he started by proposing organs of executed prisoners be preserved for use, and then built his case from there.

Latest CLN Blog Post: Eugenics in Roe v. Wade The history of eugenics is closely tied to racism, classism, and bigotry against people with disabilities. John Cavanaugh-O’Keefe wrote about this history in his book The Racism of Abortion, and we’ve selected five excerpts that give important highlights of that history, starting with ancient Greece. This week’s post is the fifth and final one from our series of excerpts from his book. Eugenics in Roe v. Wade makes connections between that decision and its origins in the mindset of the eugenics movement.

Quotation of the Week Martin Luther King, Jr.

Advice column in Ebony, June 1958, p. 118 Letter Writer: “Question: About two years ago, I was going with a young lady who became pregnant. I refused to marry her. As a result, I was directly responsible for a crime. It was not until a month later that I realized the awful thing I had done. I begged her to forgive me, to come back, but she has not answered my letters. The thing stays on my mind. What can I do? I have prayed for forgiveness." Answer from Martin Luther King: "You have made a mistake. This you admit. Your admitting this fact is very wholesome, for it is the first step in the process of repentance and personality integration. One can never rectify a mistake until he admits that a mistake has been made. Now that you have prayed for forgiveness and acknowledged your mistake, you must turn your vision to the future… Now that you have repented, don’t concentrate on what you failed to do in the past, but what you are determined to do in the future.”