Wild Goose Board members Julia Smucker and Lisa Stiller staffed the Consistent Life table at last weekend's Wild Goose Festival, a large Christian gathering with a social justice bent. We had many friendly interactions, from enthusiastic to curious, as well as one small niche of abortion advocates whom we were able to engage constructively through common ground on other issues. We hope we sparked some thought on the connections. Our buttons (against abortion, war, and the death penalty) and several bio cards generated a lot of enthusiasm.
Julia Smucker and Lisa Stiller
Pro-life Caterpillar
A Follow-Up on Kavanaugh and Abortion We commented last week on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s positions on our issues, and we got this note from Richard Doerflinger: “When Kavanaugh said ‘we’ must follow the Supreme Court's precedents on abortion, ‘we’ meant he and his fellow judges on the DC Circuit Court of Appeal. And that was correct as a matter of law: No court except the Supreme Court can reverse Supreme Court precedent; until that happens, its rulings are, well, ‘supreme’ over the rulings of other courts. Within the bounds set for him by that higher court, he came to the most pro-life conclusion he could. When he sits on the Supreme Court, he will be in a different position.” More information that’s cause for hope: Rolling Stone worries with Here’s What Brett Kavanaugh Has Said About Roe v. Wade. More information that’s cause for concern: Along with Neil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh was a co-author of a book on the importance of precedent.
E-mail Exchange about Planned Parenthood Rachel MacNair received this e-mail: “I caught you on NPR this morning and decided to make a donation to Planned Parenthood in your name . . . For such an educated person, your general characterization of PP as “car salesman” hawking their best seller (abortion) is shockingly uninformed. It is obvious that you only want to cause controversy and focus on one facet of the PP service offering.” Rachel responded: “I wasn't on NPR this morning, nor have I been recently, and I don't recognize the quotes you attribute to me as things I’ve ever said. I’ve certainly made negative remarks about Planned Parenthood, but not those. You have me mixed up with someone else. If it was my friend Abby Johnson, for example, then she was a former director of a Planned Parenthood affiliate in Texas, and so would know what she was talking about. In any event, I commend you for taking action on your principles. The main problem with this issue, as with all issues of social justice, is not that people have differing opinions so much as that people are apathetic and doing nothing. I so much prefer people who consult their consciences and do something.” Planned Parenthood did send a nice card acknowledging the gift; we picture it with a pen over the name and postal address of the donor.
If anyone would like to get in on the spirit of this by using the occasion to make a donation to the Consistent Life Network, we’re always cheerful about accepting donations.
Latest CLN Blog Post Because of her family history, Lisa Stiller relates personally to the plight, under current U.S. policy, of refugees fleeing violence: Would My Grandparents Have Died in the Pogroms?
Quotation of the Week The Dalai Lama People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.
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