Letter To Doris Gordon

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Letter To Doris Gordon

W. H. Marshner

May 3, 1990

Dear Miss Gordon:

I have reviewed the material published by Libertarians for Life, including your brochure entitled, “A Wrong. Not a Right: An Atheist Libertarian Looks at Abortion,” and the one entitled “Abortion and the Question of the Person,” by John Walker. In light of these, I have reviewed the correspondence between you and William F. Buckley, Jr.

Before detailing points of contention, let me concur in Mr. Buckley’s overall commendation of the LFL material. It is lucid and deserves to be persuasive. I particularly think that your use of premises drawn from the obligation of parents toward their dependent children, combined with the fact that the existence of such children is a consequence for which the parents are responsible, represents a fresh and important line of justification for the pro-life position. Perhaps you will allow me to illustrate.
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The Case For A Two Amendment Strategy

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THE CASE FOR A TWO-AMENDMENT STRATEGY

W. H. Marshner

Abortion and slavery, Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade: how many times have we used that analogy? We have used it for the moral light it sheds on the pro-life cause. May I suggest that it also sheds historical light?

I think it illuminates our political position.

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The Right To Live!

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THE RIGHT TO LIVE!

By W.H. MARSHNER

Published by:
Moral Majority, Inc.500 Alleghany Avenue
Lynchburg, Va. 24501
copyright 1981
Wm. H. Marshner
Wm. H. Marshner is professor of Theology at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. He is a leading articulator of moral and social concerns, important to the ‘New Right’.

The pro-abortion forces and organizations in the United States suffered a bitter defeat in the summer of 1980, when the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Hyde Amendment. They suffered another defeat in the fall of 1980 when a powerful new force emerged in electoral politics, the pro-life and religious Right bloc.

Now the pro-abortionists are preparing their counterattack. A lavish campaign of full-page advertisements in major newspapers, paid for by Planned Parenthood, NOW and the ACLU, reveal the themes which these groups hope to use to demolish the pro-life cause.

The purpose of this booklet is to survey the counter-attack and to evaluate the themes and charges contained in it, as an educational service to all those interested in the abortion debate.

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The Historical Appropriateness of the Human Life Bill

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The Historical Appropriateness of the Human Life Bill (S. 158):

Evidence From the History of Anti-Abortion Policy in the United States

W. H. Marshner

BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE SEPARATION OF POWERS OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
June 1, 1981

The Human Life Bill (S. 158) will be historically appropriate legislation if three claims can be established: (1) that scientific evidence indicating a significant likelihood that actual human life exists from conception was known to physicians and state legislators from the middle decades of the 19th century forward; (2) that the passage of anti-abortion statutes by those legislators in those decades was significantly influenced and motivated by such evidence; and (3) that the medico-moral and legal climate in which the 14th amendment was ratified was therefore a climate in which it was a settled conviction that the unborn human foetus, at every stage of gestation, was a human being entitled to protection of life, and hence a climate in which absolutely no conflicting right having the character of a privacy right of a woman to abort was conceded to exist by any court or any legislature, state or federal, in this country or in any Western nation.

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Abortion Research: One Step Forward

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Abortion Research: One Step Forward

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
June 26, 1975

WASHINGTON — Rep. Paul Rogers (D., Fla.), chairman of the powerful Health and Environment Subcommittee of the House, to which all health authorization bills are referred and to which, therefore, HEW, NIH, and all the rest of Washington’s vast medical- governmental complex must come with outstretched hands — Paul Rogers went on record Thursday, June 5th, as opposing the use of family planning research monies to develop or improve abortion techniques.

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The Vatican’s Declaration On Procured Abortion

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The Vatican’s Declaration On Procured Abortion A Charter For Political Action

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
June 19, 1975

Editor’s Note: With a few notable exceptions, Catholics in this Country have given little attention to the Vatican’s Declaration on Procured Abortion, issued by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith last November. In the following commentary on this landmark document, Mr. Marshner demonstrates that the Declaration is more than a moral exhortation against abortion; it is a call for Catholics and all men of goodwill to take the offensive against all those who seek to institutionalize — in the name of the common good—this most heinous of crimes.

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An End To Federal Abortion Research?

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An End To Federal Abortion Research?

By W.H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
April 10, 1975

As soon as Congress returns from the Easter recess, pro-life forces on Capitol Hill will introduce an amendment to the Family Planning and Population Research Act of 1975 (S. 66 and H.R. 4925). This amendment will bring economic hardship to mad scientists all over America and save the lives of human babies who would otherwise perish in the course of “research.”
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Helms Rejects NC News Story

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Helms Rejects NC News Story

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
Our Second Century of Lay Apostolate
April 3, 1975

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Jesse Helms (R., N.C.) has moved to dispel what he called “a number of erroneous impressions” created by a National Catholic News Service (NC) story disseminated on March 10th. The story dealt with Helms’ oral testimony on that date before the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments, which is currently holding hearings on anti-abortion measures.

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Bartlett Changes His Amendment: A New Action Imperative

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Bartlett Changes His Amendment: A New Action Imperative

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
April 3, 1975

Sen. Dewey Bartlett (R., Okla.), on March 11th, 1975, introduced an anti-abortion amendment to the Family Planning and Population Research Act of 1975 (a part of S. 66 — see The Wanderer, March 20th, p. 4). As a result of criticism from colleagues, however, Bartlett decided to abandon that amendment in favor of a new, more specific one.

The older amendment has not been withdrawn but will not be called up for a vote. The new amendment was introduced on March 26th, with the cosponsorship of Sen. Jesse Helms (R., N.C.).

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New Slant In Bayh Hearings

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New Slant In Bayh Hearings

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
March 27, 1975

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senate hearings on the human life amendments resumed Monday, March 10th, under the gavel of Sen. Birch Bayh (D., Ind.), and under the shadow of the Edelin verdict. Bayh, who has been studiously noncommittal throughout the yearlong inquest, dropped hints for the first time that an amendment protecting fetal life “after viability” would probably enjoy his support. Reference to the Edelin case was made by all five of the morning’s witnesses: Senators Buckley (R., N.Y.), Packwood (R., Ore.), and Helms (R., N.C.), followed by lawyers Robert Byrn and Harriet Pilpel.

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Time To Close An Abortion Loophole

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Time To Close An Abortion Loophole

By W.H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
March 20, 1975

Did you ever hear of the Dingell Amendment? It prevents Federal funds from being used by HEW to pay for abortions under the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act, to which it was attached in 1970. It is still on the books. It says, ‘‘None of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”

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Hugh Scott Moves To “Restrict” Abortion

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Hugh Scott Moves To “Restrict” Abortion

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
March 13, 1975

WASHINGTON – Hugh Scott (R., Pa.), Minority Leader of the Senate since 1969 and one of the most powerful allies of Planned Parenthood in Washington, has begun drafting a constitutional amendment to “restrict” abortion.

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March For Life A Massive Success

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March For Life A Massive Success

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
Our Second Century of Lay Apostolate
January 30, 1975

WASHINGTON, D.C. — More of everything — more people, more roses, more eminent speakers — marked the second “March for Life,” Jan. 22nd, 1975, as a massive success. On the western steps of the U.S. Capitol, it was part politics, part revival, and part hootenanny, as an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people sang, clapped, and shouted this single message: “Give Life a Chance.”

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Arlington Diocese Mobilizes For Life

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Arlington Diocese Mobilizes For Life

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
January 23, 1975

ARLINGTON, Va. – Mobilized through the vigorous and effective leadership of their Bishop, Most Reverend Thomas J. Welsh, the Catholic people of the Diocese of Arlington are preparing a comprehensive and continuing program on behalf of the innocent unborn who are the victims of the abortion plague sweeping the Country.

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Bartlett Amendment Dropped From HEW Bill

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Bartlett Amendment Dropped From HEW Bill

By W. H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
December 5, 1974

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of HR 15580, the appropriations bill for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, without the anti-abortion language proposed in an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dewey Bartlett (R., Okla ).
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Metaphysical Personhood And The IUD

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Metaphysical Personhood And The IUD

By W.H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
October 3, 1974

This paper attempts a correlation between biological data and philosophical terminology with respect to the earliest stages of human embryonic development. The purpose is to assist people active in the right-to-life (RTL) movement to meet certain philosophical objections, ancient and modern, to their position. It is not claimed that RTL should incorporate this or any other philosophical correlation into its public argumentation (which is necessarily scientific in character); it is merely argued that the present correlation will protect the movement’s public argumentation from ambush by other philosophical positions, such as those of Dr. James Diamond or Fr. Joseph Donceel.

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NRLC Vows To Fight Rockefeller

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NRLC Vows To Fight Rockefeller

W. H. Marshner

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
Our Second Century of Lay Apostolate
AUGUST 29, 1974

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Right to Life Committee, Inc. (NRLC), which began a campaign against Nelson Rockefeller’s selection as Vice President as soon as President Nixon resigned, has pledged to continue the campaign by lobbying Congress throughout the confirmation process.

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Wisconsin’s Pro-Life Representative

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Wisconsin’s Pro-Life Representative

W. H. Marshner
C.R.C.M.

THE WANDERER
August 1, 1974

In Wisconsin’s eighth district, Cong. Harold Froehlich (R.) faces a stiff battle to retain his seat this Fall. Wanderer readers will remember that Froehlich was the sponsor of the successful anti-abortion amendment which was adopted onto the omnibus Community Services Act (HR 14449). Froehlich has been active on the right to life issue since he arrived in Congress two years ago and has sponsored and co-sponsored and amended appropriate legislation to represent the pro-life point of view.

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Abortion: The Chickens Come Home

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Abortion: The Chickens Come Home

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
July 11, 1974

From the very beginning of the anti-abortion movement, long before there was a Supreme Court decision, two camps vied for leadership. One stressed the need for national action (include here The Wanderer Gang); the other preferred to work primarily at the State level (include here Msgr. James T. McHugh).

Then came Black Monday, Jan. 22nd, 1973. The two camps changed focus to some extent, but essentially the same leadership struggle went on. The same quarrel — over effective national action — remained central. It is still central.

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Balance Improves In National Right To Life Committee

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Balance Improves In National Right To Life Committee

W. H. Marshner

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
June 20, 1974

WASHINGTON — The second annual convention of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), held at the Shoreham Hotel, June 7th through 9th, produced a slight but possibly crucial shift in the balance between hard-line and not-so-hard-line forces within this sprawling and at times chaotic organization. The shift was in favor of the hard-liners.

The difference of opinion between the two sides concerns the language which, they say, ought to be used in a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion.

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Froelich Amends Community Services Act

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Froelich Amends Community Services Act

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
June 6, 1974

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Harold Froelich (R., Wis.) has succeeded in attaching an anti-abortion amendment to the mammoth Community Services Act of 1974 (HR 14449). This act, passed by the House on May 29th, by a margin of 331 to 53, would resuscitate all of the old OEO anti-poverty programs, including Family Planning and Legal Services, by transferring them to a new agency to be created in HEW and to be called the Community Action Administration.

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A Chronicle Of The Abortion Hearings (Part II)

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A Chronicle Of The Abortion Hearings

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
March 28, 1974

(PART II)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the hall filled on March 7th, the second day of anti-abortion hearings before Sen. Birch Bayh’s sub- committee, a sprinkling of familiar faces appears in the audience. Russell Shaw, Bill Ryan, Bishop James Rausch, Msgr. James McHugh — a whole row of brass from the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC). This is their day in the electronic sun, the day on which four U.S. Cardinals will be filmed and photographed telling Congress to outlaw abortion.
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Cardinals Reject Section Two Of Buckley Ammendment

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Cardinals Reject Section Two Of Buckley Amendment

W. H. Marshner

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
March 21, 1974

WASHINGTON – Four U.S. Cardinals, testifying before Sen. Birch Bayh’s Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments, rejected the language of section two of Sen. James Buckley’s proposed Human Life Amendment, in open hearings on March 7th.

The section in question reads as follows: “This article shall not apply in an emergency when a reasonable medical certainty exists that continuation of the pregnancy will cause the death of the mother.”

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