The Westboro Problem: Free Speech, Public Decency, and Constitutional Doctrine
A recent appellate court ruling in favor of a Westboro Baptist protester shows the decline of judicial ability to protect decency standards for public discourse.
Seven Billion Strong, and Counting
Concern about overpopulation is unfounded; rather than implement population control policies, let’s invest in the human person.
A Modest Proposal to Reduce Unnecessary Divorce
A new proposal for reducing unnecessary divorce gets to the heart of the problem: the current system seeks to meet a divorcing couple’s every need—except for time and education on reconciliation.
Human Development and Human Flourishing: Creating Capabilities Isn’t Enough
Rawlsian “public reason” approaches to human capabilities are insufficient bases for social justice.
Private Property and Human Flourishing
Private property should be preserved and protected because of its deep contribution to human well-being.
It’s a Girl
The Supreme Court’s abortion jurisprudence appears to protect a right to abortion even for reasons of sex selection. Yet this gruesome reality might provide an opening for a frontal assault on the premises of Roe v. Wade.
Sold for Sex: The Link Between Street Gangs and Human Trafficking
In order to curtail human sex trafficking successfully, we must take seriously that street gangs are a large part of the problem.
The New Singleness
The decline of manhood and norms around sex, marriage, and family produces for young women what may in fact have to be endured. But it shouldn’t be celebrated.
Healthcare, Conscience, and Religious Liberty: A Response to Linda Greenhouse
New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse refuses to see the truth about contraception, conscience, and religious liberty.
The Scientific Revolution and Contemporary Ethics
Modern science does not require us to abandon notions of nature and human nature upon which so much of traditional ethics depends.
Pornography, Public Morality, and Constitutional Rights
Every member of the community has an interest in the quality of the culture that will shape their experiences, their quality of life, and the choices effectively available to them and their children.
Punishment: Political, Not Metaphysical
The presumptive starting point in the natural law and, more specifically, Christian tradition is one of absolute opposition to intentional killing of beings created in the image of God, for which exceptions must be earned; but the traditional justifications for such exceptions fail.
Punishment, Proportionality, and the Death Penalty: A Reply to Chris Tollefsen
While not explicitly denying the principle of proportionality, Tollefsen implicitly rejects it, leaving his argument not only counterintuitive but incoherent.
Post-Kinsey: Is There Anything Normal About Pornography?
An “adaptationist” approach to pornography is dangerous because it ignores widespread research showing that pornography harms society at many levels.
Abortion, Divorce and “Same-Sex Marriage”: No Blood, No Foul?
Political legitimization of “private” sexual and marital choices causes much public harm. We have been personally harmed by the regimes of abortion and easy divorce.
Religious Liberty and the Ministerial Exception
An upcoming Supreme Court decision might give government, rather than religious organizations, the final say on who counts as a religious minister.
Down Syndrome Awareness Makes a Difference
New research on Down syndrome presents an overwhelmingly positive picture of how Down syndrome can affect individuals and families. These findings need to be shared as they will affect decisions made to accept prenatal testing and following a prenatal diagnosis.
Can Neuroscience Tell Us Anything About Virtue?
In a new bestseller, David Brooks contends that the “new sciences” point to the incredible reality and importance of old-fashioned things like education, character formation, and virtue.
Go to Jail and Get a Seminary Education?
Religious conversions can be pivotal in turning an inmate away from a life of crime, but only if the process of spiritual transformation continues outside the prison walls.
Don’t Put the Brain on Trial
Pure scientism is insufficient as a basis for criminal justice.
Reflections of a Questioner: The Palmetto Freedom Forum Revisited
The Judiciary doesn’t have the final word on the meaning of the Constitution, and Congress could step in to protect the 14th Amendment rights of the unborn.
