Public Discourse

Contributing editor Serena Sigillito interviews a recent Public Discourse author, Dixie Dillon Lane, Ph.D., about her article "Free-Range Kids and the Parental Compass." https://lnkd.in/g6_63r7y

There is significant confusion on the morality of Assisted Reproductive Technology, including IVF. More than a few people who consider themselves “pro-life” on abortion consider IVF “pro-life” since it allows “people to start their family or add to their family if they want to,” in the?words?of Senator Josh Hawley. The desire to have a child is understandable, praiseworthy, and infertility is too often a cause of frustration, sadness, and pain. We can sympathize with a couple’s desire to have a child and their delight at a procedure that allows for this, and we certainly view each and every person, however they were conceived, as having dignity, worth, and value equal to all other people. At the same time, the morality of IVF is not self-evident, and there are multiple issues and problems to consider. https://lnkd.in/eZx766DA

"Why is it impossible for a baptized Catholic (even one who does not believe in Catholicism, does not currently practice, or even one who was baptized as an infant but was never raised Catholic) to enter into a natural, non-sacramental marriage in the eyes of the Catholic Church without the bishop’s permission? Wouldn’t that mean that every baptized Catholic who marries outside the Church without permission is technically living in a sinful relationship?" Read Chris Tollefsen's answer here: https://lnkd.in/eCFf7zbq

The American experience with assisted suicide should persuade Great Britain and other countries that the slippery slope to broader killing is disturbingly genuine. https://lnkd.in/gUzusmES

Our postmodern academy is never going to bring back traditional prosody on its own, so we should probably be thinking hard about how to use the Internet to bring the traditional tools of English poetry back to the people. https://lnkd.in/eY_crC8c

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The British Conservative Party suffered a landslide election defeat because it abandoned its historic commitments to prudence, moderation, and competence. Jamie Boulding https://lnkd.in/eP4XtJpj

R. J. Snell joins John J. Miller on the Great Books podcast to discuss Aquinas’s Summa: https://lnkd.in/eK9wUvBj

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