The decision is in and the coverage – what there was of it – is done. A jury in Philadelphia found Dr. Kermit Gosnell guilty on three counts of first-degree murder. He was charged with killing four babies and a patient, but was acquitted of killing the fourth baby. The jury also found Gosnell guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the patient’s death. The 41-year-old woman died from an overdose of drugs given to her by members of Gosnell’s untrained staff. The jury also found Gosnell guilty for performing illegal, third-term abortions and failing to comply with a state law that requires a 24-hour waiting period before performing an abortion.
“Now We Know Her”
May 15, 2013 By 1 Comment
“My dear girl, the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient. If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don’t interrupt to say: ‘You said the same thing a minute ago’… Just listen, please. Try to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep.”
The aged mother has Alzheimer’s disease. Will Daughter take care of Mother? Will she deal with her kindly? I first saw this endearing note when my friend Diane posted it on her daughter Delaney’s facebook wall. It’s a sweet sentiment. It speaks volumes about the structure of life, parent-child relationships, and the family bonds that tie one generation to the next. The sweetest thing was Delaney’s response, which spoke volumes about her love for her mother.
But there was something really ugly behind this that neither Diane nor Delaney saw. [Read more...]
The Strange Story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell and the National Press (Part 3)
May 1, 2013 By 1 Comment
The press (news media) is very good at covering big stories. News managers decide what stories are big enough to warrant extended coverage with multiple reporters bringing a wide variety of angles to the stories. Notice the words – “news managers decide.” That’s a key to understanding why the national press has decided not to cover the Gosnell trial as a BIG story.
Desperate Human Beings: The Walking Dead and Ethics
April 28, 2013 By 2 Comments
“Horror is not a glimpse into someone’s dark imagination, but a bridge into corners of everyday life most of us would rather not think about.” – Tauriq Moosa
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The Walking Dead and Philosophy brings together a number of philosophers and ethicists to analyze ethical dilemmas as highlighted in AMC’s incredibly popular series “The Walking Dead.” Season Three has recently wrapped up, so this seems like a good time to wrap up my series based on both the show and the book. (If you would like to read the previous entries, click here for a quick link to all of them ). While the book addresses many intriguing issues, the core essays address a foundational question: Where do we ground any discussion concerning ethics and morality? [Read more...]
The Strange Story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell and the National Press (Part 2)
April 26, 2013 By 1 Comment
While the murder trial of abortion provider Dr. Kermit Gosnell is receiving a little more national media attention than when the trial began, the press is still missing the point of the story. Abortion is not an issue of the cleanliness of the clinic or the safety of the women undergoing the abortion or the qualifications of the people assisting Dr. Gosnell in performing abortions. It is the issue of basic humanity.
The Strange Story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell and the National Press
April 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment
“Why isn’t the national press reporting about the Gosnell trial?”
Several of my friends on Facebook asked that question recently. Here was my quick response to one of them.
The Gosnell Trial and Destroying the Image of God
April 13, 2013 By 1 Comment
Kirsten Powers’ recent article on the trial of abortion “doctor” Kermit Gosnell, 
which ran in the April 11th edition of USA Today, is something not to be missed. Powers rightly calls out the odd suppression and, in some cases, revisionism being practiced by the media where the current Pennsylvania abortion trial is concerned. Her concerns are echoed by others such as Jon Healey in the Los Angeles Times.
Crossing the Most Dangerous Line: How some bioethicists undermine human value
March 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Our point is only that there is nothing bad about death or killing other than disability and disabling. (Sinnott-Armstrong and Miller, cited below)
The authors also do not agree with the term euthanasia for this practice [after birth abortions] as the best interest of the person who would be killed is not necessarily the primary reason his or her life is being terminated. In other words, it may be in the parents’ best interest to terminate the life, not the newborn’s. (Klimas, emphasis mine, cited below)
Nazis, Eugenics and Relativism
February 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I was reading an article last week and it hit a nerve! It might not seem like much but for me it was one article too many promoting injustice in a positive light.
Is Pro-Choice Really Pro-Life?
February 5, 2013 By 2 Comments
I am currently reading the book “True Reason” by Tom Gilson and others (the book’s official website can be found here). This isn’t a traditional apologetics book per se. Rather, it is a collection of essays by authors responding to the new atheists’ cooption of the term “reason” to describe their worldview. The contributors are not so much concerned with making an affirmative case for Christianity as they are illustrating how so many of the techniques used by the new atheists can be described as anything but reasonable.
In surfing Facebook recently, I came across this picture attempting to present an argument in favor of the pro-choice movement. As I read it, I could not help but see some parallels between the issues raised in “True Reason” and the tactics employed by those advocating in favor of abortion.
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