“Morality Play” in Salon.com

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From Rebecca Trasker’s article “Morality Play” in Salon.com:

Sanger said that on many levels, he has been pleased that politicians have begun to rethink the approach to abortion rights. “There is no question in my mind that we, the pro-choice movement, ought to be leading the way to reframing how we talk about abortion,” he said. “So if various leaders of the Democratic Party are beginning to have this discussion that is all to the good.” But he warned, “We have to differentiate between the pro-choice movement and Democratic Party.” What the politicians are saying may be sound, but their strategy may be suspect. “The Democrats are looking for a scapegoat for the loss in November, and they’ve picked the wrong one [in abortion].”

About Clinton, Sanger said: “Her speech was vintage Planned Parenthood for 98 percent of it. She was talking about prevention, and this is something we’ve been talking about for the last 90 years.” On the other hand, he said: “I was disappointed that the value Hillary led off with is that abortion is bad. I don’t believe we are ever going to win over the American public unless we make the case that abortion is a moral decision.”

To read the rest of the story (there are many quotes and interesting perspectives), visit: http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2005/02/09/choice/.

(Salon.com members will be able to read the story without any problems. For people who aren’t members, choose the “Site Pass” option and after viewing a couple advertisements you’ll be able to read the story in full.)

Young at Heart, Part 2

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The U.S. Supreme Court today handed down its ruling in Roper v. Simmons and held, in a 5-4 decision, that the death penalty could not constitutionally be applied to juvenile offenders age 16 and 17. I discussed the potential implications of this case for parental consent laws a week ago in my post of February 23. The Supreme Court has now confirmed in its majority opinion the concerns that I raised last week. Continue reading →

Young at Heart

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At some point in the near future the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in the case of Roper v. Simmons, a case which questions whether adolescents ages 16 and 17 convicted of capital crimes can constitutionally be subject to the death penalty. The Supreme Court has already ruled that convicts 15 years old and younger may not be, nor may those older than 15 who are mentally deficient. There are numerous issues in the case, including whether the criminal justice system, in particular the jury system, functions properly and in an unbiased manner for accused adolescents, whether adolescents can receive a fair treatment from arrest through trial and whether execution of adolescents is “cruel and unusual” punishment. Continue reading →

Article in the Beaufort Gazette

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Click here for a recent article by Jason Ryan in the Beaufort Gazette (excerpted below).

Birth control advocate speaks at Planned Parenthood event

Planned Parenthood advocate Alexander Sanger spoke Wednesday night at The Arsenal about women’s reproductive rights and the importance of changing the perception of planned parenthood services.

Sanger, chairman of the International Planned Parenthood Council and grandson of birth control activist Margaret Sanger, told about 50 people that Planned Parenthood advocates must alter the semantics of the reproductive debate.

“(We must) move away from the negative of preventing unwanted pregnancies,” Sanger said. “Let’s talk about the positive … that men and women want to reproduce successfully.”