The Franciscan Way

 Guests:  Gregory Joseph - National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP)  Headquartered in Washington, DC, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) is the nation's oldest organization dedicated exclusively to the abolition of the death penalty.  Their website says they provide strategic policy and legal analysis and leadership to a national movement fueled by more than 100 affiliate organizations, thousands of advocates and volunteers, murder victim’s family members, and prominent civil and racial justice organizations, which are committed to repealing the death penalty state by state.  Rep. Frank Ryan, (R-PA)  Pennsylvania District 101 (co-sponsoring a bill to end death penalty in PA with Rep Christopher Rabb) According to ThoughtCo (ThoughtCo.com), the debate between pro-life and pro-choice (pl/pc) typically is whether an individual believes abortion should be banned or not. However, they go on to say that it, in actuality, is more than that! What exactly is the pro-life movement? Someone who is "pro-life" believes that the government has an obligation to preserve all human life, regardless of intent, viability, or quality-of-life concerns. A comprehensive pro-life ethic, claims ThoughtCo, is one that prohibits abortion, euthanasia/assisted suicide, death penalty, and war. What’s interesting is that when talking about being pro-life in regards to abortion and assisted suicide one is considered conservative and in regards to death penalty and war it’s a liberal agenda. What is the pro-choice movement? Pro-choice advocates believe that individuals have unlimited autonomy when it comes to their own reproductive systems, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the autonomy of others. ThoughtCo posits that a comprehensive pro-choice position posits the following should be legal: celibacy/absitnence, contraception use, emergency contraception use (the morning after pill), abortion, and childbirth. Under the Partial Birth Abortion Ban passed by Congress and signed into law in 2003, abortion became illegal under most circumstances in the second trimester of pregnancy, even if the mother's health is in danger. Individual states have their own laws, some banning abortion after 20 weeks and most restricting late-term abortions.  The pro-choice position is perceived as "pro-abortion" to some in the U.S. The purpose of the pro-choice movement is to ensure that all choices remain legal. If someone is pro-life but is not anti-death penalty are they really pro-life? If someone is pro-life but is not in favor of ensuring adequate health care, food, housing for all then are they really pro-life? In a recent article by The Cut, it’s reported that “obstetricians say the term “fetal heartbeat” is misleading, and that this scientific misunderstanding.” Robyn Schickler, an OB/GYN, is reported as saying that fetuses do not have heartbeats because they don’t have hearts. She is quoted as saying that what is heard is “cardiac activity”. She says that the “heartbeat” is actually the communication between a group of cells that will eventually become the heart. The article goes on to say that basing viability on a single organ (i.e. the heart) is inaccurate and unscientific because it takes multiple organs working together to ensure a person is able to be “alive”.  

In this inaugural episode, Brother Tomas Elias introduces himself and a little history of the Franciscans. He also talks about what to expect from The Franciscan Way.