fbpx

Pillar: <span>Sexuality & Family</span>

Sexuality & Family

The second pillar of a decent society is the institution of the family, which is built upon the comprehensive sexual union of man and woman. No other institution can top the family’s ability to transmit what is pivotal—character formation, values, virtues, and enduring love—to each new generation.

Post
October 31, 2020November 2, 2020Abortion, Feminism, Sunday Long Reads, Voices of Reason

Erika Bachiochi on the Future of Pro-Life Feminism

By and

The question that divides us is how we ought to respond to reproductive asymmetry: the reality that women carry disproportionate burdens due to our special role in human reproduction. What makes one a feminist is the view that this basic inequality at the heart of reproduction is one that deserves, in justice, an affirmative cultural response. We wish not only for maternity to be celebrated for the true privilege it most certainly is, but also for women to be encouraged and supported in other contributions they make. This requires that the burdens of childbearing ought to be shared not only within the family, but also across the wider society too.

Learn more about Sexuality & Family: get your free eBook today!

Post
October 29, 2020October 29, 2020Abortion

Seeing beyond Roe

By

Now that Roe v. Wade is on the brink of being overturned, we need to have conversations across the partisan divide and heal our nation’s wounds.

Post
October 27, 2020October 27, 2020Marriage, Religion, Sexuality

Pope Francis, Civil Unions, and Moral Truth

By and

More deeply understanding the truth about marriage and human sexuality will help all of us flourish. And that is what a pastor like Pope Francis desires. We can understand—indeed we share—the frustration of our fellow Catholics with the ways in which the Holy Father conducts interviews and the ways in which the media distorts them, but we must not do anything to undermine the truth that sets us free.

Post
October 15, 2020October 15, 2020Art, Culture, Literature, Marriage, Religion

The Beauty of Self-Giving Love in Anna Karenina

By

If we combine the beauty of art and the power of narrative with rational argument, we can convince people of the worthiness of marriage and family life more effectively than by argument alone. Anna Karenina is an example of how to do this. It beckons the reader to choose the better path, contrasting the destructive adultery of Vronsky and Anna with Levin and Kitty’s enchanting journey into the life of married love.

Post
October 6, 2020October 2, 2020Conscience Protection, Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Liberalism, Marriage, Politics, Public Discourse, Religion and the Public Square

Suing for Peace in the Wedding Vendor Wars

By

Andrew Koppelman surely is correct that a same-sex couple must find it humiliating and embarrassing to be turned away from a wedding vendor. He is also right that the costs of using public law to remedy such indignities are significant, especially for the conscientious owners whose livelihoods are at stake. So, what to do? What we need is an institution that is capable of resolving these fraught disputes on a case-by-case basis. Fortunately, the common law provides such institutions.

Post
October 5, 2020October 5, 2020Abortion, Conscience Protection, Human Dignity, Parental Rights, Politics, Religion and the Public Square

The Threat to Life and Liberty from the United Nations’ Abuse of Human Rights

By

Individuals who are victims of abuses against their fundamental human rights can and should be defended and protected using existing human rights laws and norms, regardless of their race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or any other distinguishing characteristic. UN member states and human rights advocates alike should work to promote and protect fundamental, natural human rights, not redefine or eliminate rights based on their particular policy preferences.

Post
October 2, 2020October 2, 20202020 Election, Abortion, Politics, Voting

Why Voting for Biden Isn’t Necessarily a Sin—And Why That Matters

By

While I do not intend to vote for Biden, I am adamant that a Christian may in good conscience vote for him so long as it is not because of the evils he supports. Recognizing this fact is crucial for those who care about Christian witness in a fallen world. When our moral witness becomes entirely tied to prudential political judgments, we swap our faith in a transcendent redeeming God who offers us salvation for a politician or party who promises to create heaven on earth.

Post
September 20, 2020September 21, 20202020 Election, Abortion, Bioethics, Voting

The 2020 Election: A Clear Distinction on Abortion

By

While both presidential candidates have changed their views on abortion over the past decades, their actions in recent years clarify the direction that they would likely take while in office. President Trump has maintained a consistent pro-life record in office that affects the regulations of various executive agencies and American leadership on the world stage. On the other hand, former Vice President Biden has moved to support his party’s current position of actively promoting federal funding for the abortion industry and cementing abortion as a constitutional right.

Post
September 15, 2020September 15, 2020Culture, Marriage

Christianity’s Global Marriage Problem

By

In an era of new options, more choices, greater temptations, high expectations, consistent anxiety, and endemic uncertainty, nothing about the process of marrying can be taken for granted—even among those belonging to a faith that has long encouraged it. In an era of independence, intentionally becoming interdependent seems increasingly risky.

Post
September 13, 2020September 14, 2020Bioethics, Healthcare, Science, Sexuality, Transgender

Correction: Transgender Surgery Provides No Mental Health Benefit

By , , and

The American Journal of Psychiatry has issued a major correction to a recent study. The Bränström study reanalysis demonstrated that neither “gender-affirming hormone treatment” nor “gender-affirming surgery” reduced the need of transgender-identifying people for mental health services. Fad medicine is bad medicine, and gender-anxious people deserve better.

Post
August 30, 2020August 30, 2020Culture, Sexuality

Why WAP Matters

By

The record-smashing success of WAP is a warning to parents. You need to know what your kid is listening to. You need to have the courage to limit your kid’s exposure to the most noxious elements of American culture. You need to find a healthier, brighter, truer culture to share with your daughter or your son.

Post
August 26, 2020August 26, 2020Abortion, Bioethics, Constitutional Law, Hadley Arkes, Human Dignity, Natural Law, Politics, Supreme Court

Josh Hawley and the Advantages of Jujitsu

By

Senator Hawley should turn the tables during confirmation hearings and force Democrats to defend their abortion extremism. What’s more, he should act on precedents stemming from the days of Lincoln down to our own, precedents involving the authority of the political branches to counter at times and limit the holdings of the Supreme Court.

Post
August 20, 2020August 20, 2020Bioethics, Healthcare, Human Dignity, Marriage, Parental Rights, Politics, Public Discourse, Science, Sexuality, Surrogacy, Technology

Poly Parenting and the Value of the Family

By

The emerging discussion about in vitro gametogenesis and other types of multi-parent technologies demands renewed attention to why children do well with only two parents, and why those parents do best to procreate in the ordinary way, even with all its inefficiencies, burdens, and failures.

Post
July 12, 2020July 12, 2020Abortion, Constitutional Law, Culture, Healthcare, Politics, Religion, Religion and the Public Square

Religious Liberty Is Important, But It’s Not Enough

By

The religious liberty triumphs of the past several days are important, but they’re not enough. Not nearly so. We need to contend about the truth of the matter. Through legislation and litigation, we need to make it clear that it’s lawful to act on the convictions that we are created male and female and that male and female are created for each other. Privacy and safety at a shelter, equality on an athletic field, and good medicine are at stake for everyone—religious or not.

Post
July 6, 2020July 6, 2020Natural Law

On the First Principles of Moral Reason

By

No natural lawyer in the classical natural law tradition derives an ought from an is because, when it comes to practical reason, natural lawyers do not derive ought. Rather, they begin with the first principles of practical reason, which are underived. They then use these principles together with an understanding of the nature of the thing at hand to arrive at moral conclusions.

Subscribe to Public Discourse!