Politics

July 20, 2019

“Do No Harm”: Not As Simple As It Sounds, Stephanie Barclay

By Stephanie Barclay, Public Discourse - The “Do No Harm” Act would gut the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by removing religious liberty protections that result in “harm” to others. That would be a mistake. Protection of any First Amendment rights inherently involves balancing competing harms on both sides of the ledger… This spring, members of Congress introduced a bill called the “Do No Harm Act,” which would remove statutory religious liberty protections for actions that result in “harm to others.”

July 20, 2019

Health Care Is a Right, But That Gets Sanders Only So Far, by James C. Capretta

By James C. Capretta, The Catholic Thing - The right to medical care is not found in the Constitution, but that’s true of other rights. Sanders veers off course, however, when he says that his preferred solution – “Medicare for All” – is the only way to ensure that all citizens and residents have ready access to needed care… That’s certainly not the position of the Catholic Church. The Church has no expertise in how the particulars of a health system should operate. And there are many ways the state can carry out this responsibility….

July 19, 2019

FOX NEWS: House Chaplain Prays to Exorcise ‘All Spirits of Darkness … At Play In the People’s House’

By Gregg Re, Chad Pergram, Fox News - After several chaotic and historic days on Capitol Hill, the chaplain of the House of Representatives opened the legislative day Thursday with a prayer to cast out “all spirits of darkness from this chamber.”.. “This has been a difficult and contentious week in which darker spirits seem to have been at play in the people’s House," the Reverend Pat Conroy began… Then, in a dramatic moment, Conroy raised both hands and said, "In Your most holy name, I cast out all spirits of darkness from this chamber. Spirits not from You. I cast out the spirit of discouragement which deadens the hope of those who are of goodwill.

July 19, 2019

Wall Street Journal: A Coup at Planned Parenthood (‘Insufficiently Political’)

By The Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal - Progressives are hurtling to the left so fast that even liberals in good standing are casualties of the tornado. Witness the coup this week at Planned Parenthood, which is a tacit reminder that the group is less a health-care outfit than a political lobby… The Planned Parenthood board defenestrated president Leana Wen, a physician who had been on the job for less than a year. What happened? By Dr. Wen’s account she was pushed out because she wasn’t radical enough on abortion.