Archive for Andrew Sullivan
Empathy for “Entities”?
The controversy continues, as it must. I recently explored the issue of late-term abortions through a sort of thought experiment, asking whether anencephalics were “human” in any meaningful sense. A couple of posts later, and after a discussion about the point here at home and an internet-mediated exchange with Andrew Sullivan (see here, here, here, [...]
Anencephalics, Humanity, and Respect
For awhile, I wish I’d never written on anencephaly. My first clue should have been that I didn’t know how to describe these unfortunate children, born without most of their brains. Since one of my points was to raise the issue of what counts as humanity, I didn’t want to answer my own question by [...]
Certainties? If Only
Responding to my first post on the subject of late-term abortions, Andrew Sullivan takes issue with me on anencephalic fetuses (i.e., those whose brains will not develop to enable cognition, and most of whom will die shortly after birth). In the context of questioning his opposition to late-term abortions even in such cases, I had [...]
Asylum for Malawi Couple in the U.S.?
Considering the dismal future and potential asylum request of the recently pardoned Malawi couple, Andrew Sullivan says:
“Come to America.”
Is he serious? Is this really the best place for them to seek asylum? Tiwonge Chimbalanga identifies as a trans-woman. They won’t be able to marry here, either. In many places, neither of them will have protection [...]
The Kagan Kerfuffle is More than That
“Elena Kagan, are you a lesbian?”
I can’t imagine that question being asked directly by any of the Senators at her confirmation hearing, but how would she respond if it were? In that context, of course, the only appropriate response would be something like:
“I don’t see how that’s relevant to my qualifications to sit on the [...]
Not Just for Gays: Hospital Visits and Respect for Autonomy
Last night’s surprise action by President Obama was a heartening and welcome development. In a two-page memo to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Obama requested that the Secretary promulgate rules that will increase the chances that the wishes of lesbian and gay hospital patients respecting visitation and decision-making will be respected rather than ignored. From the [...]
What, Exactly, Will Maggie Gallagher and Andrew Sullivan be Discussing?
Tomorrow’s event at the Cato Institute seems like an intriguing cage-match between Andrew Sullivan, a sort-of-lapsed [small c]onservative and the Ultra-Right wing, virulently anti-gay Maggie Gallagher. The stated topic is whether there’s a place for gays in conservatism and the conservative movement. A more perspicacious question might convert the “and” to “or”: Is there a [...]
Do Constitutions Matter?
A reader of the Daily Dish corrected Andrew Sullivan’s statement that African nations don’t offer constitutional protection to gays and lesbians, citing the Constitution of South Africa. That aspirational document, as the reader noted, specifically lists sexual orientation as an impermissible ground for discrimination, and the nation’s constitutional court has implemented the guarantee comprehensively (most [...]
2009: A Year of Blogging Obsessively (300 Posts and Counting)
Well, I have a few minutes before family and friends return to sweep me away in a haze of New Year’s Eve partying. (Of course, with young children “a haze of partying” ends well before midnight. We can do a faux countdown with them.)
To all of the readers — regular and occasional — who have [...]
Tearing Down Robert P. George’s Scaffold (Part Two)
I’d planned on doing another longish post, continuing to take apart Robert George’s natural law arguments for “traditional marriage.” But shortly after I entered my first post on George, Andrew Sullivan took effective aim at some of the central problems I’d planned on discussing. There’s no sense repeating what he said, but I do want [...]