It's not very often that we post something related to pro-life issues, but Robert George's summary of a pro-life event at Princeton caught my eye.
Ramesh wowed an audience of 300 at Princeton last night with a devastating critique of the lies, falsifications, and distortions contained in the famous Brief of 281 historians submitted in the case of Webster v. Reproductive Health Services in a successful effort in 1989 to persuade the Supreme Court not to reverse Roe v. Wade. The Roe opinion itself, written by Harry Blackmun, relied heavily on an account of the legal history of abortion which turned out to be profoundly flawed. The "pro-choice" historians--including some of the most distinguished people in the field--stepped in to shore it up when Roe when it appeared to be about to fall.
George is no hack, nor is Ponneru, but these are strong claims. But wait, there's more!
Also appearing on the evening's program was Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the abortionist and co-founder of NARAL, who gave a chilling account of the lies he and his colleagues told in their effort to legalize abortion in the late 1960s and early 70s. He told the audience about disseminating false polling data, falsifying statistics about illegal abortions and maternal death rates, and engaging in many other appalling acts of dishonesty. "We believed our lies were justified in what we regarded as a good cause," he confessed.
Wow. That's strong stuff. Good thing the Princeton Pro-Life group that hosted the event now has streaming video of the panel on their website. I haven't watched it yet to confirm George's account, but I'm planning on it.
Matthew Lee Anderson
Matthew Lee Anderson is an Associate Professor of Ethics and Theology in Baylor University's Honors College. He has a D.Phil. in Christian Ethics from Oxford University, and is a Perpetual Member of Biola University's Torrey Honors College. In 2005, he founded Mere Orthodoxy.
