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Steven Waldman

Advocates of abortion “common ground” seem to believe that reasonable debate would eschew infammatory tactics such as displaying huge photos of aborted fetuses (as we saw aplenty at the Notre Dame commencement). But if you believe most abortions ought to be legal, you’re implicitly saying, it should be up to the woman to hear the…

Watching the Notre Dame speech I was reminded: this man has been blessed with good enemies Instead of people focusing almost entirely on the remarkable fact that the head of the US Catholic Bishops Conference opposed the invitation, the media instead focused much attention on Randall Terry, Alan Keyes and a bunch of hecklers.

In terms of actual abortion policy, the key phrase in Obama’s Notre Dame speech (full text here) was not inspiring or poetic. It was his specific call to “reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies.” In the past, Obama has rhetorically sided with pro-choice activists in saying he wanted to reduce…

Thank you, Father Jenkins, for that generous introduction. You are doing an outstanding job as president of this fine institution, and your continued and courageous commitment to honest, thoughtful dialogue is an inspiration to us all. Good afternoon, Father Hesburgh, Notre Dame trustees, faculty, family, friends and the class of 2009. I am honored to…

One of the frustrating things about the Notre Dame controvesy is that we’ve settled back into the same terms of debate we’ve had for years: whether one is “pro-life” is determined entirely by one’s position on the legality of abortion. Pro-life Obama supporters during the campaign argued that this approach hasn’t served to reduce abortions…

In his explosive essay on torture, Colin Powell’s former chief of staff, Lawrence Wilkerson made this comment in passing: “More Americans were killed by terrorists on Cheney’s watch than on any other leader’s watch in US history. So his constant claim that no Americans were killed in the “seven and a half years” after 9/11…

Diane Winston of the USC Media and Religion program asks this about the Carrie Prejean controversy: “How do more modestly clad Southern Baptists feel about having a piece of Donald Trump arm-candy cast as the spokesperson for their movement?” And… Does James Dobson feel that her nude photography makes her a less compelling role model…

In response to my “In Defense of ‘Fundagelicals'” post, two former “fundagelicals” have told their stories: Excerpts from New Age Cowboy: I grew up “Fundagelical”. My father and two older siblings are the remaining Fundagelicals in my immediate family. My father still gets mailings from folks like Dobson; my older sister attends a conservative Missouri…

Whether American officials violated the law to justify torture is a hugely important moral issue. Whether American officials launched a war under false pretenses is a hugely important moral issue. What if it turns out that the two are connected, that torture was used in order generate a false pretext for the war? Here’s what’s…

Will Saletan at Slate responded to my latest “Safe, Legal, Early” defense: “Morally, my feelings differ from Steve’s. I’m more uncomfortable with early abortions than he is. At the same time, I’m more uncomfortable with government interference in late abortions than he is. Steve is right that earlier is better. But pointing out that truth,…
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