Author: Ruth Institute

Language Control is thought control

One of my facebook buddies (actually one of our Ruth Institute alumni) is going back and forth about my post on the Washington Archdiocese from a couple of days ago. I posted a reply to them, but thought regular ruth readers might be interested in this issue. Here is the quote from my original post: […]

The Pro-Life advantage

Susan B. Anthony List reports that the pro-life Democrats who are holding up health care over abortions are making the politically astute judgment. The public does not want federal funding of abortions. At least three-in-five voters in these eight congressional districts agreed that “Abortion and abortion funding have no place in healthcare legislation.” Additionally, more […]

A big deal, or not?

Yesterday, I posted about the impact of redefining marriage on the District of Columbia. Some of the comments about my post and others on this topic around the web, seem to say that if only the Catholic Church would stop being so stubborn and get with the program, they wouldn’t have these problems. These are […]

Are you really better off, Gay America?

Here is my NOM colleague and friend, Maggie Gallagher, referring to the unintended consequences of same sex marriage in DC. (I posted on this yesterday: the Catholic diocese discontinues health care for spouses; the words “bride” and “groom” are removed from the city’s marriage licenses; Catholic Charities out of foster and adoption city contracts.) What […]

Discount Sex?

People who have heard my lectures may remember me referring to Discount Sex. I explain the concept of Discount Sex, or WalMart Sex in this video clip.

Here’s the study on IVF and Stillbirths

Betsy linked to a story about a study showing that women using IVF have a 4 times greater chance of having a stillbirth than women who conceived naturally. Here is the link to that study. I’m continually amazed at how lightly people take these risks.

More unintended consequences of same sex marriage

In the wake of the District of Columbia’s new same sex marriage policy, these changes have happened. Item #1: In DC, the Catholic Archdiocese discontinued offering health care benefits to spouses.

For San Diego County only

Here is a little something for my readers in San Diego County. Better Courts Now is an innovative way to get better judges elected at the county level. If we could get good judges at the lower levels, we have a better chance of getting better judges for the higher courts, such as the 9th […]

Hazards of egg donation

My friend, and Ruth Institute Board member, Jennifer Lahl pointed me to this article by the mother of a woman who died of colon cancer at the age of 31. Colon cancer in a person this young, with no family history of colon cancer, is most unusual. The mother’s hypothesis? I’ll let her tell: As […]

Ruth Institute You-Tube channel

I’m excited: the Ruth Institute team is busily putting up videos on our new Ruth Institute You Tube channel! Check it out! There are clips from our same sex marriage affects everyone series, as well as from my Fox News program last week.

Regarding the CA Human Rights Amendment

I collected some signatures for the CHRA at a Tea Party last weekend. You can help too. Go here, for more info about the California Human Rights Amendment. “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” Thank you, Dr. Seuss. and, thanks to Ruth Eastwood Photography for the pictures!

Domestic partnerships do the job…

I am often told that we must redefine marriage to be the union of any two persons, in order to protect the interests of the children of same sex couples. Putting aside the important question of how a same sex couple acquires a child in the first place, my answer has always been that domestic […]

Introducing our newest guest blogger

Leland has been attending Ruth Institute since our founding. He came to our Same Sex Marriage Affects Everyone series (now up on our You-Tube channel, and available for sale.) I asked him to start posting for us, because he kept sending me interesting news clips, too many for me to post myself! So, he has […]

Quebec Policy Against Homophobia

I have blogged about this Quebec Policy Against Homophobia when the document first appeared. I pointed out that the Quebec government has written itself a blank check: they plan to wipe out homophobia and heterosexism. Now, heterosexism is the view that heterosexuality is normal. News flash: heterosexuality is normal for our species. It is simply […]

Dump the term Pro-Life? change it to Pro-Person?

This article in the New Oxford Review follows nicely on my posts about the CA Human Rights Amendment. After going on about the inconsistency of some people in the pro-life movement, (an argument I haven’t got time for, frankly), he makes this observation: It could be called the Personhood Movement. It would have a very […]

Catholic Mormon cooperation….

This recent clip from the Vatican news service reminds me of our Ruth Institute conference coming up next week at BYU. The president of the U.S. episcopal conference drew an unusually large crowd at the Mormon Brigham Young University, telling his audience that Catholics and Mormons have to unite to defend common values. Cardinal Francis […]

CA Human Rights Amendment

I am totally on-board with the CA Human Rights Amendment. I have been deeply influenced by the Rev Walter Hoye, African American pastor of Oakland, and tireless defender of the unborn. To me, in this essay, Rev Hoye sounds like William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist of the 19th century and editor of The Liberator. I […]

Is Christianity Compatible with Capitalism?

My debate at Stanford, with Yaron Brook, president of the Ayn Rand Institute, has just been put on our podcast page. Pretty fun debate, pretty friendly debate, too, especially compared with some of my encounters on same sex marriage. I especially like the Q&A at the end of this debate. Enjoy!

Is Capitalism Compatible with Christianity?

(February 2, 2010) Dr J travels to Stanford University, where she and Yaron Brook (of the Ayn Rand Institute) debate the question "Is Capitalism Compatible with Christianity?&quot, Some of the issues they explore include the definitions of reason and faith, human nature, individualism, freedom, Catholic teaching over a period of several centuries, the definition of capitalism, and the phenomena of love and altruism.

The Always Intelligent Lee Harris

has an intelligent and down to earth analysis of Joe Stack, the suicide flyer who flew his plane into a federal building. Lee Harris points out that the chattering classes have rushed to try to pin Mr. Stack on their ideological enemies. But Harris observes that this just betrays their own biases. Ordinary Americans by […]

Debate at Columbia Law School

Here is a podcast of my debate at Columbia Law School on same sex marriage. Listen for my opponent’s dismissal of the feelings of the Donor Conceived Persons. I can tell you: a chill went through the room when she said that. Even students who generally support ssm were surprised and I sensed, dismayed, by […]

British reports on why marriage matters

Writing at the Vatican News Service, Fr. John Flynn summarizes a series of recent reports from British think tanks on the benefits of marriage. On Feb 9th, the English think tank, the Relationships Foundation published “Counting the Cost of Family Failure,” and the following day “Why Does Marriage Matter?” In the first briefing the foundation […]

British Parents Nudged Out of Kids’ Education

There is more to this story from the UK than may first meet the eye. British religious schools receive some taxpayer funding. Therefore, this program will apply to all schools, including religious schools that have a very different view of human sexuality, and of the relationship between children, parents and the state. Britain’s House of […]

Why We Cannot Redefine Marriage

Further response to the Good As You readers: I suspect the issue that bothers you the most is why won’t the Church recognize a same sex union as a valid marriage? The answer is that we believe that we do not have the authority or power to redefine marriage. Some things can be defined and […]

Defending Bishop Cordileone

To readers from the Good As You blog, thanks for dropping in. I am responding to this post about Bishop Cordileone, originally posted over there. I thought this was a little much for the “comments” section. So thanks for coming over. In the first place: Bishop Cordileone has as much right to participate in the […]

Introducing a New Ruth Institute blogger:

Hi everyone. Let me introduce a friend, who will be posting on the ruthblog from time to time. Actually, I’ll let him introduce himself. Here is Arlemagne1, in his own words:

A response to Socrates in the City

One of my facebook friends is now a Real (not virtual) Friend: he came to Socrates in the City last night, and I got to actually shake his hand! Anyhow, he wrote me this thoughtful letter after the event. I thought I would share it with Ruth Readers, as it will give you an idea […]

Socrates in the City

Last night, I had a very successful event, lecturing at Socrates in the City.  The event was very well attended, and we had a lively discussion after my talk.  My talk was called, “Can We Talk? Why the Same Sex Marriage debate has become so toxic.” Regular Ruth Readers will be familiar with some of this […]

Trip to NYC: surprises!

My trip to NYC has been very successful, which I will tell about in a future post. However, for now, I have to tell you this: I’m stuck in the blizzard!  I was supposed to leave early this morning, fly to St. Louis for an EWTN taping, and then fly home. Instead, I will be lucky to […]

Is Marriage Equality Possible?

(February 9, 2010) Columbia University’s Federalist Society hosts a debate between Dr J and Professor Katherine Franke based on the question "Is Marriage Equality Possible?&quot, About an hour of audio includes opening position (Dr J), arguments (Prof. Franke), and rebuttal (Dr J), as well as a brief question-and-answer period.

Vatican news service discovers Pat Fagan

Regular Ruth readers already know about Pat Fagan’s article about the pernicious effects of pornography. Now, Legionary Father John Flynn summarizes his report. The impact on wives increases when the husbands become addicted to porn. One study cited by Fagan revealed that 40% of such sex addicts lose their spouses. There has not been a […]

Tim Tebow Ad

I just saw the (a?) Tim Tebow ad on the SuperBowl. What the heck is teh big deal?  There was nothing there about abortion. You would have to know the back-=story to have a clue that that’s what they were talking about.  NOW needs to get a life. But then, they have needed a life […]

Stunning Hypocrisy from the Princeton Administration

Regular Ruth Readers know that I have been supportive of the students of the Princeton University Anscombe Society, and their efforts to obtain a center to support abstinence and chastity on campus. Their efforts have been smacked down by the University adminstration, for a variety of extremely lame reasons.  But now, the Christian Union, housed at […]

Maggie weighs in on the abstinence studies…

Maggie Gallagher did her syndicated column on the new abstinence studies. (Regular Ruth readers already know something about this controversy. See our posts here, here,  and here and our podcasts here .) The release of this new study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine this week is weirdly timely. …It’s just the gold standard for […]

Another reason to worry about IVF

Babies conceived through IVF are at higher risk for disorders.  For my libertarian friends who read this blog, please notice the Hayekian strain to this issue.  Not only are there unintended consequences of human action, as F.A. Hayek warned. First, look at the physical problems of IVF, that no one anticipated: Scientists have discovered that the […]

Donor conceived perspective

A donor conceived person tells her story.  My comments are in italics. The concept of egg and sperm donation, donors procreating with the intention of not assuming any responsibility or feelings towards the person they have helped create, is a curiously artificial construct conjured by the infertility treatment industry. which has a financial stake in […]

Redefining parenthood

Readers interested in how accomodating lesbian parents will impact the definition of parenthood should take a careful look at this post, by Julie Shapiro and the discussion in the comments.   She is referring to the Santa Cruz case, in which a woman who conceived twins with a known sperm donor, left the lesbian relationship

This is your brain. This is your Brain on Porn.

Pornography is addictive.  I’ve been pretty sure of that for some time.  Now there is neuroscience on this point: William M. Struthers of Wheaton College explains, “Men seem to be wired in such a way that pornography hijacks the proper functioning of their brains and has a long-lasting effect on their thoughts and lives.”Struthers is […]

Bump+

The Internet TV show, Bump+ is up and running. The Party reveals more about Hailey, Katie, and Denise, and follows their individual stories as they struggle to make a decision about their unintended pregnancies.  New episodes will follow every Monday and Thursday through March 15, 2010.  And of course, the conversation between viewers continues around the […]

German Homeschooling Family Granted Asylum in the US

A US judge granted political asylum to a German homeschooling family that is in danger of losing their children to the state. Immigration Judge Lawrence O. Burman, of Memphis, Tennessee, said: “We can’t expect every country to follow our constitution. The world might be a better place if it did. However, the rights being violated […]

Abstinence Only program, delays sexual activity

I wonder why we haven’t heard anything about this study from the University of Pennsylvania Med School? Sixth and seventh grade African American students were randomly sorted into a control group, an abstinence only class, a safer-sex class and a combined abstinence plus safer sex class. an abstinence-only intervention for pre-teens was more successful in […]

Speaking at Stanford tomorrow

On February 2, 2010, I will be at Stanford, debating the topic, “Is Christianity Compatible with Capitalism? Altruism v. Egoism.”  My debate opponent will be Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute.  The debate is jointly sponsored by the Objectivists of Stanford and the Catholic Community at Stanford. The debate will begin at 7:30, and […]

Reengineering the Family

Heather MacDonald has an outstanding article in National Review on the impact of artificial reproductive technology on the family. Every time a homosexual couple conceives a child, there is another parent offstage somewhere whose sperm or egg has allowed conception to occur (and, in the case of male homosexuals, whose womb has allowed gestation to […]

Dr J’s podcast on Oprah and Bristol

Oprah was dumbfounded by Bristol Palin’s abstinence pledge.  I analyze both women in this new podcast.  You and I know that if Bristol had said, “I want to be president of the US,” Oprah would not have said, “Aren’t you setting yourself up for failure?”  But that is exactly what she said when Bristol voiced […]

Maggie weighs in on the new study…

Maggie Gallagher reacts to the new study purporting to show that the gender of parents doesn’t matter to the well-being of children. Back in the 1990s, when I went into the public square and said, “Marriage really matters because children need a mom and a dad,” I wasn’t permitted to rest my case on vague […]

Politics Illustrated: Social and Fiscal Conservatives

David Boaz at Cato and Ramesh Ponnuru at NRO are going back and forth on whether social conservatives or fiscal conservatives are more significant to the general conservative coalition and Republican Party.  (I guess that is the sub-text.)  I have a couple of things to add: 1. Social conservatives in Congress tend to be more reliable […]

Same Sex unions less monogamous: NYT

No, this headline did not come from me, or NOM, or any other advocate of natural marriage. The NYT, well-known social conservative mouth-piece, reported: When Rio and Ray married in 2008, the Bay Area women omitted two words from their wedding vows: fidelity and monogamy….

Statement from Andy Pugno

The Catholics for the Common Good website reports this statement from Ron Prentice and Andy Pugno: “What may be lost in all the sensationalism of the past two and a half weeks of trial is that the burden of proof to invalidate Prop 8 lies squarely with the plaintiffs. They cannot win unless they prove […]

Walking and Thinking about Abortion and Marriage

At this past weekend’s West Coast Walk for Life, I got to think about the connection between the abortion issue and the marraige issue.  I have long thought that the life issues and the marriage issues are related, deeply connected at the philosophical level.  The handful of protestors made the connection with their little chant: “Racist, […]

“Bump:” resolving unplanned pregnancies

“Bump” is a new internet reality show that follows three women through their decision-making around unplanned pregnancies.  This series is being produced by students at John Paul the Great Catholic University in San Diego.  Some of these students have been involved in Ruth INstitute activities. Check it out!

A (slightly) nerdy explanation for the economic downturn

Fear the Boom and Bust: A Hayek v Keynes rap anthem My friends know I’m an economics nerd, so they’ll forgive me for going (slightly) off-topic. Full disclosure: one of the producers of this vid is Russ Roberts, a friend of mine, going back to my post-doc days at the University of Chicago!

Which is the Advocate and Which is the Journalist?

Read these two accounts of the same day in the courtroom of the Prop 8 trial.  See if you can tell which one is on record as the advocate for one side, and which one is an “independent” professional journalistic account. Is this the objective account?

From Bad to Worse, according to Dale Carpenter

Dale Carpenter is a very sensible gay man, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, and an advocate of same sex marriage.  He offers this analysis of the likely outcome of the Prop 8 trial.  For my readers who are not regular court watchers, or trained in the law: Prof Carpenter’s analysis highlights the […]

Prop 8 Trial Report from Alliance Defense Fund

Here is the report from ADF today. As we moved into the third week of the trial, there was a sense that the winds were about to shift and, shortly before noon on the 10th day, the winds did change. After two weeks of emotional appeals, persecution of religious beliefs, and experts who were unraveled […]

Why are women having fewer babies?

I did my interview with Relevant Radio on this story.   We should have podcasts up in a few days.  We talked about the Demographic Winter and Demographic Bomb DVD’s.  Full disclosure: I am among the experts interviewed in the Demographic Bomb.

Oprah disses Bristol ….

Oprah gives Bristol a “chance to recant” her heretical belief system that marriage, sex and childbearing belong together. Don’t you just love how Oprah disses Bristol’s choice for abstinence?!?! If she were “choosing” to abort a baby, Oprah would never allow herself to say, “you know, you may regret that someday.” If Bristol were saying, […]

Teen Pregnancy Rate Up: I wonder why…

I note with interest that Reuters interviewed representatives of the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the research wing of Planned Parenthood. “Its all the fault of those Big Bad Social Conservatives.”  Oddly enough, Reuters did not interview anyone from the abstinence education movement. I wonder why? Perhaps they dont’ know where to find Leslee Unruh at the […]

Putting the pastors on the stand….

The last “witness” for the plaintiffs in the Prop 8 trial was a video of a simulcast done at Pastor Jim Garlow’s Skyline Church.  As you read this AP story, you will see that the point of showing the tape was to try to discredit Pastor Garlow.  What the story doesn’t tell you is that […]

The Curious Case of the Incurious Economists

I just found out that I have been published over at The American Thinker. I’m very excited, as they have very intelligent readers over there.  Here is the beginning of the article. Normally, economists and libertarians take pride in tracking the changes in incentives as far through society as possible. Yet on the subject of […]

Speaking of Maggie Gallagher

Her column today is really good. Do we Care about Boys? she wonders. every sign that boys or men are hurting gets determinedly turned around into a happy news story of female success. The disconnect between the happy headlines and the reality underneath will only be solved by women. The irony of men is that […]

The Great Debate Goes to Colorado

My friend and colleague Maggie Gallagher will be debating same sex marriage at the University of Colorado. She will be debating Jonathan Rauch. The debate will take place on Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Cristol Chemistry building on the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder, hosted by the Catholic Campus Ministry […]

If sexual orientation is the same as race…

If sexual orientation is the same as race, why don’t we ever hear about African Americans renouncing blackness and embracing whiteness? Or some other race?  (see previous post.) Just wondering.

The Miller Jenkins case

The judge in the Miller Jenkins custody case has given Lisa Miller 30 days to appear in court. A judge gave a Virginia woman at the center of a long-running lesbian custody dispute 30 days to appear in court with her 7-year-old daughter or face possible arrest. Judge William Cohen of Vermont Family Court made […]

children raised by same sex couples

Judith Stacy and Timothy Biblarz have a publication coming out in February, claiming that children raised by same sex couples do as well as those raised by opposite sex couples. No, I have not seen the study yet. I’ll let you know what I think, once the study has been published and I’ve had a […]

West Coast Walk for Life!

Note the “Berekeley Students for Life” sign!  We are very excited about participating in the West Coast Walk for Life in San Francisco on Saturday.  I will be driving up from San Diego with a vanload of college students from Southern California. I hope the weather cooperates for our long drive tomorrow! This photo came […]