Quote(s) of the Week (March 30, 1997)

On the Right to Entitlements...

"There was a time when Americans knew the difference between rights and entitlements. A right used to be understood as a claim in justice, our concept of which flowed from tradition and natural law…. Our republican tradition informs us that God, not the state in the source of rights. The state’s role, then, is not to bestow rights, but to protect them by enacting laws consistent with a common tradition of justice and by enforcing those laws impartially."

--Douglas D. Dewey, president of the National Scholarship Center, writing in the November-December issue of Policy Review. Washington Times for March 24, 1997. Page A2.

On How Many Falsehoods Can Be Packed into a Paragraph...

"Opponents of reproductive choice impute ‘personhood’ to fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses, though this view has little support from history, rather mixed support from religion and none from science. To assign personhood to fetuses before 28 weeks or so, when the cerebral cortex begins to have the ability to function, is to reduce humanness to mere biology."

--Edd Doerr, executive director for Americans for Religious Liberty, in a letter to the editor arguing against the partial-birth abortion ban. Washington Times for March 28, 1997. Page A18.

 

[Editor’s note: This one really makes my blood boil. In addition to being wrong on the counts of history, religion and science, deeming that life begins at "28 weeks or so" is frustratingly absurd.]

On Freedom of Religion...

"Why do we protect freedom of religion? The common sense answer, which I think hits close to the truth, is that we protect it because religion is important. That simple answer creates serious problems for liberal theory, however, so it is seldom discussed or defended by legal writers."

--John H. Garvey, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Law School, in an article excerpted from his book " What Are Freedoms For?" in the March issue of First Things. Washington Times for March 27, 1997. Page A2.

On Fair-Weather Feminism...

"If the president actually did proposition her, one could disapprove…. But [Paula Jones] said 'no.' She wasn’t killed. She wasn’t harassed. She wasn’t fired."

--Feminist Betty Friedan, defending {resident Clinton, accused of exposing himself to Jones and propositioning her in 1991. During the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas debate that same year, Friedan lambasted then-Sen. Alan Simpson for questioning Hill’s credibility. The Washington Times, Feb 2, 1997. From Focus on the Family’s Citizen magazine for March 24, 1997. Page 8.