Category: Ruth Speaks Out

This blog is maintained by the Ruth Institute. It provides a place for our Circle of Experts to express themselves. This is where the scholars, experts, students and followers of the Ruth Institute engage in constructive dialogue about the issues surrounding the Sexual Revolution. We discuss public policy, social practices, legal doctrines and much more.

Here’s What’s Fishy about Al Franken’s Resignation and Selective Outrage.

By Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at Clash Daily on Dec. 13, 2017. Former comedian Al Franken is resigning his seat as a Minnesota senator. Multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. The most notorious incident was the photo of him groping a female journalist, while she slept. In his resignation […]

I signed under duress. We don’t discriminate.

A friend of Ruth wanted to ask his employer to make a matching donation to the Ruth Institute. He asked us to sign up with Benevity, a company which, according to their website, We make it easier for nonprofit organizations to establish their eligibility for our client’s corporate giving programs, reducing the burden on charities […]

The Medical Risks of Homosexuality and The Values Voters Summit

Sexual revolutionaries consistently change the subject away from medical risks and back to their favorite topic: the hatefulness of anyone who brings them up. By Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published on October 24, 2017, at The Stream. The breathless headlines from the main stream media announced that the nefarious Donald Trump spoke […]

Liberals mad Trump spoke at event where guests learned truth about gay STD epidemic

by Claire Chretien This article was first posted October 16, 2017, at Life Site News. WASHINGTON, D.C., October 16, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – Liberal media and LGBT activists are outraged that President Trump spoke at a conference where an exhibitor warned people of the scientifically-documented health risks of sodomy. On Friday, Trump became the first sitting […]

The Toxic Ideas that Enabled Weinstein and Others

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first posted October 26, 2017, at Crisis Magazine. The Media-Entertainment Complex claims to be “shocked, shocked, I tell you,” to learn that powerful Hollywood men like Harvey Weinstein engage in a systematic pattern of sexual assault. Those of us outside Hollywood are not the slightest bit shocked. In fact, a lot of us in Fly-Over Country are just waiting for other powerful men to be implicated. This situation gives us an opportunity to unmask the ideology that enable predators like Weinstein. One of the most revolutionary ideas of our time is that a good and decent society ought to separate sex and childbearing from each other. The Grand Narrative goes something like this: Caring for unwanted children is an unjust demand on women. Sexual activity without a live baby is an entitlement for men and women alike. People need and are entitled to sexual activity. A life without sex is scarcely worth living. Do I exaggerate? Perhaps a bit. But the United Nations makes a claim that is very nearly that stark. On its “Frequently Asked Questions” page, the United Nations Population Fund answers the question “What is Reproductive Health?” Reproductive health can be defined as a state of well-being related to one’s sexual and reproductive life. It implies, according to the ICPD Programme of Action, “that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so.” (para. 7.2) The United Nations never quite explains who has the responsibility to provide us with a “safe and satisfying sex life.” As for having the “capability to reproduce the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so”: that should not be rocket science, requiring a whole “Programme of Action.” A person who judges that the time is not right for a baby, has the option of not having sex. Pretty simple. Evidently, it is not that simple. Somehow, the United Nations does not expect people to go without sex, even tempo

Vanco Doesn’t Want My Business. Or Yours.

If you are a social conservative, big business does not want your business. By Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published on October 20, 2017, at The Stream. If you’re a social conservative, big business does not want your business. I found that out the hard way. Vanco, the company that used to process […]

Instead of ‘The Benedict Option’, Consider ‘The Marian Option’

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published July 8, 2017, at Clash Daily. The Benedict Option has taken up a lot of bandwidth in cultural conservative circles, more than it deserves, frankly. A much better book has come out: The Marian Option by philosophy Ph.D. and homeschooling mother of four, Dr. Carrie Gress. […]

On Important Issues, the Alt-Right and Life-Style Left Agree

By Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published September 2, 2017, at The Stream. The dust has settled on the clash between the Alt-Right and the Left in Charlottesville. But the labeling (or libeling) of conservatives will be back. Powerful people and organizations on the Left want to link the Alt-Right with the entire […]

Should faithful Christians do business with Vanco? Draw Your Own Conclusions

Vanco was the Ruth Institute’s payment processor for donations from 2015 until August 31, 2017. We have recorded many of the news stories as well as our press releases in this space. We want to let our friends know that we received additional correspondence from them. We record it here in its entirety, without comment. […]

Interview with Brenda Baietto, Esq.

Interview with Brenda Baietto, Esq., (left) coauthor with Jennifer Johnson (right) on the American Bar Association Journal article advocating for Family Structure Equality Dear readers, I was blessed with an opportunity to coauthor an important article for the American Bar Association Journal regarding the “family structure equality” argument I make in my book, Marriage and […]

Diverse Family Structure: Reevaluating the Best-Interests-of-the-Child Standard

by Jennifer Johnson (left) and Brenda A. Baietto, Esq. This article was first published September 11, 2017, at Americanbar.org. Due to no-fault divorce and “diverse family structures,” children often experience a form of inequality that is largely ignored. With lawyers and judges focused on a liberty that is defined as adults’ happiness with their family […]

What it takes to be labeled a ‘hate group’

By Megan McArdle Posted September 8, 2017, at The Review.   In 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center designated the Family Research Council a “hate group” because of its orthodox position on homosexuality, and its occasionally incendiary defenses of that position. In 2012, Floyd Corkins showed up at the Family Research Council headquarters with a […]

Online Processor Drops Pro-Family Ruth Institute for Promoting ‘Hate’

  “The organization has been flagged by Card Brands as being affiliated with a product/service that promotes hate…” by Jim Graves This article was first published September 10, 2017, at National Catholic Register. Conservative groups, including those who support a traditional view of marriage and family life, have been increasingly complaining about attempts by major […]

From the right: Corporations Dance to SPLC Tune

By Post Editorial Board This brief was first posted September 10, 2017, at NYPost.com.   The “hate-list-generating Southern Poverty Law Center already has the media firmly in its pocket,” notes Charlotte Allen at The Weekly Standard, “and now corporate America seems to be jumping” on the bandwagon. Increasingly, companies are “trying to cut off the […]

CHRISTINE FLOWERS: Southern Poverty Law Center has lost its way

By Christine Flowers This article was first published September 19, 2017, at The Mercury and September 10, 2017, at DelcoTimes as “My problem with the SPLC,” and Daily Local as “Once Champions, Now Demons” on September 12, 2017.   The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 by Morris Dees to combat the rise in […]

Catholic Ruth Institute Targeted by SPLC, Suffers Losses

by David Nussman  This article was first published at Church Militant on September 7, 2017.   Group loses online donations processing thanks to ‘hate group’ label   LAKE CHARLES, La. (ChurchMilitant.com) – A Catholic organization lost its online donations processing on Thursday, thanks to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) labeling it a hate group. The […]

Megan McArdle on the Southern Poverty Law Center Gets Creative

Megan McArdle presents a commentary arguing that you don’t need to manufacture ersatz accountability in order to discredit the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate group tally. You just need to tell people what’s on the list. (Megan McArdle is a Bloomberg View columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.) The Ruth Institute is mentioned. Listen […]

Business shuts down donations to pro-family group for ‘promoting hate’

by Doug Mainwaring This article was first published September 1, 2017, at Life Site News. The Ruth Institute was notified Thursday that an online donation processor discontinued providing services to the pro-family, pro-children’s rights organization for promoting “hate, violence, harassment or abuse.” According to a statement released today, “The Ruth Institute learned at 2 PM […]

UK Speaker: Same-Sex Marriage Won’t Be ‘Proper’ Until Churches Can’t Opt Out

By Tyler O’Neil This article was first posted September 10, 2017, at pjmedia. John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons at a Pink News parliamentary reception to celebrate the 50th anniversary of decriminalisation on homosexuality, held at Speaker’s House in the Palace of Westminster in London. 18 Jul 2017 (Rex Features via AP Images) […]

Another ruthless attack on a pro-family group

Corporate America flexes its muscle to enforce conformity Interview of Jennifer Roback Morse by Mercatornet.com on September 4, 2017. A few days ago, Dr Jennifer Roback Morse, a frequent contributor to MercatorNet, learned that credit card donations to her organisation, the Ruth Institute, had been cut off. Vanco Payment Solutions – “unlock the power of […]

To Vanco, from Fr. Thomas Loya

Vanco, I was shocked and deeply disappointed that Vanco chose to render a verdict on the integrity of the Ruth Institute and cut them off from Vanco without Vanco even attempting to first familiarize itself with the actual mission and work of the Ruth Institute. The work of the Ruth Institute is dedicated to strengthening […]

More support for Ruth!

Here’s another letter of support for Ruth sent to Vanco: Dear Sir or Madam, It has come to my attention that you have cut off services from a Louisiana-based Christian ministry, the Ruth Institute, because you mistakenly follow the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Hate Map,” which accuses the Ruth Institute of promoting “hate, violence, harassment […]

A letter to Vanco from a supporter

Please consider writing one of your own using Vanco’s contact page. I was surprised to read today online that Vanco had canceled its arrangement with the Ruth Institute, calling it a group that promotes hate and violence. I have heard many hours of podcasts with their founder, Jennifer Roback Morse, and read several of her […]

The Ivory Spires of the SPLC “Poverty Palace”

The Southern Poverty Law Center keeps millions of dollars in offshore accounts and pays lavish salaries – in the name of defending the poor by Jacob Grandstaff   This article was first published September 11, 2017, at Capital Research. The Washington Free Beacon exposed the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a self-appointed hate group monitor […]

Pro-family group blacklisted after being labelled ‘hateful’

This article was first published September 11, 2017, at Christian.org.uk. A group helping children suffering from the effects of family breakdown has been axed by its online payments provider after political activists accused it of being a “hate group”. The Ruth Institute is on a ‘hate map’ alongside 900 other US organisations such as the […]

Donation Processor Drops Pro-Family Group Over ‘Hate’ Label

by Rachel del Guidice This article was first published September 1, 2017, at Daily Signal. The founder of a nonprofit dedicated to repairing families says she thinks being incorrectly labeled a “hate group” prompted the company that processed donations to drop her organization. Ruth Institute’s biblical stance on issues such as gender identity and same-sex […]

Charity That Helps Families May Be Latest Victim of SPLC ‘Hate Map’

by Dale Hurd This article was first published September 12, 2017, at CBN.com. Ruth Institute, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to helping families, thinks that being labeled a “hate group” is the reason a company that processed its donations has severed ties with the organization.   Vanco Payment Solutions, which processed Ruth Institute’s online donations, emailed […]

A letter to Chase by one our supporters

Chase Bank executives, I’m appalled by the fact that you have donated $1 million to the discredited anti-Christian hate group, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). I am currently a Chase customer in two different ways, but am strongly considering yanking my business from your organization due to this misguided decision.   SPLC is left-wing […]

To Make a Family: an Interview with Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse

by Marcia Segelstein This article was first published at Salvo Magazine in September 2012. While her academic credentials are impressive enough to be intimidating, Jennifer Roback Morse’s demeanor is anything but. She manages the not-so-simple task of being warm and genuinely friendly while speaking boldly and knowledgably about some of the most hot-button issues of the day. Morse earned her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Rochester, spent a postdoctoral year at the University of Chicago, and taught economics for fifteen years at Yale University and George Mason University. She’s the author of two books: Love and Economics, recently reissued with a new subtitle, It Takes a Family to Raise a Village, and Smart Sex: Finding Lifelong Love in a Hook-Up World. She is the founder and president of the Ruth Institute, which seeks “to promote lifelong married love to college students by creating an intellectual and social climate favorable to marriage.” To that end, Morse is a regular contributor to National Review Online, National Catholic Register, and TownHall, is a frequent speaker on college campuses and at other venues, and maintains a topical and engaging website at the Ruth Institute (ruthinstitute.org). She played a key role in the Proposition 8 battle to uphold the legal definition of marriage in California and continues to be on the front lines of the fight for natural marriage. Dr. Morse spoke to Salvo about what changed the trajectory of her life, whether she’s optimistic or pessimistic about the future, and what keeps her awake at night. One of your published biographies says that the experience of infertility brought you back to the practice of the Catholic faith after several years away from it. How did that happen? Infertility was the first time in my adult life when I couldn’t get what I wanted by trying harder, and being smart, and following all the rules. When it came to something that really mattered to me, I just couldn’t make it happen. And that made it clear to me in a way that nothing el

Corporate America Dances to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Tune

By Charlotte Allen This article was first published September 09, 2017, at the Weekly Standard.   The “hate list” generating Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) already has the media firmly in its pocket. If the SPLC calls, say, Bell Curve and Coming Apart author Charles Murray a “white supremacist,” why, so will the Washington Post. […]

When the Pope Praises You and the World Puts You on a “Hate” List

by Justin McClain This article was first published at the NCRegister on September 7, 2017. Ultimately, who determines what is hateful, and who determines what is loving? The word “hate,” one of the strongest in the English language, risks losing its actual potency when it is misapplied. To be clear from the outset, there are […]

SPLC ‘Hate Map’ Targets Christians, Pro-Family Groups

  The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Alliance Defending Freedom and other Christian organizations as ‘extremist,’ and they have decided to fight back. by Joan Frawley Desmond This article was first published at NCRegister on August 31, 2017. Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, answers questions at a news conference in […]

Did this group lose its fundraising page because of its view on marriage?

September 07, 2017 – By Catholic News Agency A non-profit group dedicated to studying and explaining the effects of the sexual revolution claims that its ability to process donations online was cancelled because of its views on sexuality. “The Ruth Institute’s primary focus is family breakdown and its impact on children: understanding it, healing it, […]

Do Progressives Really Believe in Public Accommodation?

By George Yancey This article was first published September 4, 2017, at Patheos.com. Last year I offered progressives an opportunity to show their ideological consistency. Many of them had affirmed that Christians have a right to be free in their own churches as long as they stayed out of the public square. I do not […]

Wells Fargo may be linked to persecution of pro-family groups over ‘hate’ accusation

by Doug Mainwaring This article was first published September 6, 2017, at LifeSiteNews. The pro-family, pro-children Ruth Institute was notified Thursday that its online donation processor had cut off services because it promotes “hate, violence, harassment or abuse.” Correspondence suggests that there is a line leading directly to banking giant Wells Fargo and the Southern […]

Southern Poverty Law ‘hate map’ label proves costly to pro-family Ruth Institute

Catholic nonprofit dropped by online donation service over listing, fights ‘hate’ label   By Valerie Richardson- The Washington Times – Tuesday, September 5, 2017   Southern Poverty Law Center “hate map” has come under heated criticism on the right for lumping mainstream conservative organizations with the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. (SPLC)   Being classified […]

Southern Poverty Law Center Gets Creative to Label ‘Hate Groups’

Principled conservatives are lumped together with bigots. By Megan McArdle   This article was first posted September 7, 2017, at Bloomberg. This is an actual hate group. It shouldn’t be lost in a list of 900. Source: Hulton Archive, via Getty Images In 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center designated the Family Research Council a […]

SPLC’s McCarthyism Knifes Catholic Non-Profit

By Rod Dreher This article was first posted September 1, 2017, at The American Conservative. One more small but significant step in making it hard for orthodox Christians to buy and sell in America: Vanco Payment Solutions has cut off services from a Louisiana-based Christian ministry, citing the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Hate Map,” which […]

Donation Processing Company Cancels Christian Group’s Service Because SPLC Labeled It a “Hate Group”

by Steven Ertelt This article was first published at Life News on September 1, 2017. A company that processes online donations for organizations cancelled its service with a Christian organization after the pro-abortion Southern Poverty Law Center labeled it a “hate group” over its conservative political views. This action highlights longstanding concerns pro-life conservatives have […]

Christian Group Dropped by Online Payment Service Over SPLC ‘Hate’ Map

By Brandon Showalter This article was first published in the Christian Post on September 1, 2017. Vanco Payment Solutions has cut off services from a Louisiana-based Christian ministry, citing the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Hate Map,” which accuses the ministry of promoting “hate, violence, harassment and/or abuse.” Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of the […]

Target of the SPLC’s Notorious ‘Hate List’ Speaks Out

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at The Stream on August 23, 2017. I categorically condemn the Alt-Right, white supremacy, racism, Nazism and all violent totalitarian political movements. But I am a bit confused. I thought I was supposed to be a member of the Alt-Right, or a racist, or a Nazi, […]

But What About Abusive Marriages?

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was originally posted at Crisis Magazine August 3, 2017. When people learn that I oppose no-fault divorce, some will say, “You have forgotten about abusive marriages.” When the Ruth Institute, the organization that I lead, describes itself as “The World’s Only Campaign to End Family Breakdown,” we hear again, […]

Euthanizing the Unhappy: The Urgent Need for Love

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at Public Discourse on November 7th, 2013. The case of a Belgian woman who committed physician-assisted suicide after a sex-change operation reveals that we must not only look more closely at the causes of gender dysphoria, we must also offer all people the love that they […]

Recognizing Propaganda for Divorce

An excerpt from “The Sexual State,” a forthcoming book by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse At the heart of the Divorce Ideology is one simple idea: kids are so resilient that they do not really need their own parents. This idea salves many a guilty conscience over making these choices. This is the idea that allows […]

101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person

A chat with one of the authors. by Tamara El-Rahi This article was first posted at Mercatornet on December 5. 2016. Betsy Kerekes is Director of Online Publications at the Ruth Institute and co-author with Dr Jennifer Roback Morse of a new book: 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person: Helping Singles Find Each Other, […]

Recognizing the rights of children in the fight for marriage

by Leslie Fain This article was first published at Catholic World Report on July 7, 2017. In cases of divorce as well as same-sex marriage, our culture is more concerned about sexual happiness for adults than about what happens to kids. (Left) The Ruth Institute’s Jennifer Johnson; (right) the cover of her new book, “Marriage […]

The Children of Divorce Speak Out

by Rachel Lu This article was first published July 18, 2017, at Crisis Magazine. “As a kid I was always sad and always trying to keep everyone else happy. I felt like I had to be one person when I was with my dad and another when I was with my mom.” So says an […]

Beauty and the Beast’s Obeisance to the Big Gay Machine

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published April 17, 2017, at Crisis Magazine. My son and I saw the new Beauty and the Beast. It was lovely, magical, following the 1991 cartoon, almost scene for scene, song for song. This is the story everyone wants to hear: darkness and evil and selfishness transformed […]

Young Americans Cheat on Spouses Less Often Than Older Americans, Study Finds

By Brandon Showalter, CP Reporter This article was first posted July 5, 2017, at Christian Post. Marriage requires more than just the rings and the vows. Younger Americans are less likely to cheat on their spouses than older Americans are, and although culture has become much more accepting of loose sexual norms, adultery is still […]

Ruth Institute Survey Results

Our main objective with this survey was to see if our audience has a basic understanding of our mission. I’m pleased to see that, yes, you do! More than 90% of you agree that the list of issues we tackle are indeed related. The second question was like the first. We asked people to identify […]

Man in threesome marriage: ‘This should be the future of relationships’

by Fr. Mark Hodges   AUSTIN, Texas, May 22, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — Two bisexual women and one man proclaim threesome marriage “should be the future of relationships” and that their threesome parenting is “setting a good example.” Adam Lyons, 36, lives openly with two women, 28-year-old Brooke Shedd — with whom he has a two-year-old […]

The Double-Edged Sword of Infertility

by Betsy Kerekes This article was first published May 26, 2017, at CatholicLane.com. The pain of infertility or impaired fertility comes in more than one form. The first is the obvious suffering of the couple who wants so badly to have a child but, for whatever reason, is unable to. The second is the judgment […]

DIVORCE ENABLERS: The Liberal Fantasy World Is Wrecking Children’s Lives

This article was published June 3, 2017, at ClashDaily.com. By Jennifer Roback Morse The Divorce Ideology is one of the linchpins of the Sexual Revolution. Kids are resilient. Parents who don’t get along do their kids no favor by staying married. Everyone has a right to be happy, which means the right to change sex […]

Family diversity and its children: the next equality debate

Changes in marriage and family life result in inequality for children. by Jennifer Johnson This article was first published March 14, 2017, at Mercatornet.com. Marriage, family and sexual equality are subjects that have all been extensively aired. Ironically, the discussion is often led by people who are creating another form of inequality, that foisted upon […]

The Half-Made Bed and the More Excellent Way

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first posted at Crisis Magazine on May 2, 2017. “The Personal is Political” was a slogan engineered by Marxist feminists of the 1960s and 1970s. Few people realized at the time exactly what that slogan entailed. “The personal is political” should have telegraphed loud and clear that these […]

A Child of Divorce Speaks Out on the Importance of a Family

A Child of Divorce Speaks Out on the Importance of a Family “No-fault divorce is like abortion,” says the Ruth Institute’s Jennifer Johnson.   by Jim Graves    This article was first posted April 10, 2017, at ncregister.com.   Jennifer Johnson is Director of the Children of Divorce Project at the Ruth Institute. She is […]

The myth of ‘economic man’: How love holds society together

by Joseph Sunde at Acton.org on February 14, 2017 Despite the predictable flurry of sugary clichés and hedonistic consumerism, Valentine’s Day is as good an opportunity as any to reflect on the nature of human love and consider how we might further it across society. For those of us interested in the study of economics, […]

Retreat offers hope and healing for survivors of family breakdown

by Leslie Fain First posted on Catholic World Report December 29, 2016 When we think of the “least of these,” whom Jesus exhorted us to defend and aid, several groups easily come to mind: the poor, the unborn, the disabled. One often overlooked group is adult children of family breakdown. The non-profit Ruth Instituteis striving […]

Dear Dr. J: My niece is expecting twins with her same sex partner.

Dear Dr. J, What do I say to a same-sex married lesbian niece whose mother (my sister-in-law) just left a phone message saying they “are expecting twins”? Congratulations just doesn’t seem right but it’s not the children’s faults. It doesn’t seem right to create a family rift over this but neither can I be happy […]

Change Your Marriage For The Better Today

A book review from TampaMeditations.com on 12/21/2016 you can start to change your own marriage today, simply by making a decision to be more generous: by being the first to forgive; by making allowances; by admitting you were wrong. These are an antidote to self-righteousness, the belief that “it’s not my fault”. There are other […]

Divorce Reform: Take your stand

by Jennifer Roback Morse Representative Matt Krause of Texas has introduced a bill to limit no-fault divorce in that state. Ruth Readers: it is time to put up or shut up about family breakdown. We have a petition that anyone can sign. It just says we support Rep Krause’s effort to limit no-fault divorce. You […]

Press Release: ‘Go to Confession’ Campaign

  For immediate release: “Families don’t just ‘break down.’ Marriages don’t just ‘fall apart.’ Somebody sins! So, go to Confession!” –Ruth Institute President, Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse Ruth Institute launches ‘Go to Confession’ Campaign (March 14, 2017, Lake Charles, LA) During this season of Lent, The Ruth Institute has launched an online and billboard campaign […]