Three Legal Architects of the Infant Pro-life Movement: Robert Byrn, John Noonan, and Charles Rice
Millions of Americans carry the pro-life torch into the next generation, yet most are unaware of the pioneers who founded the movement fifty years earlier. This paper looks at three pro-life scholars from the pre-Roe v. Wade era: law professors Robert Byrn, John Noonan, and Charles Rice. All three w...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
American Catholic Historical Society
[2020]
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| In: |
American catholic studies
Year: 2020, Volume: 131, Issue: 4, Pages: 53-78 |
| RelBib Classification: | CG Christianity and Politics CH Christianity and Society KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KDB Roman Catholic Church NCH Medical ethics XA Law |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Millions of Americans carry the pro-life torch into the next generation, yet most are unaware of the pioneers who founded the movement fifty years earlier. This paper looks at three pro-life scholars from the pre-Roe v. Wade era: law professors Robert Byrn, John Noonan, and Charles Rice. All three were life-long Catholics and arrived at their pro-life convictions through the prism of their faith. Each constructed legal arguments by which abortion could be rejected. Citing court cases, the history of English common law, the historical underpinnings of the Fourteenth Amendment, and evidence from science and medicine, all three carved out solid positions opposing abortion. There were differences among them though, primarily over the link between artificial birth control and abortion. Yet, all three made succinct critiques of the Roe decision. Regrettably, while they endorsed a constitutional human life amendment as the only means to protect the unborn, they mistakenly believed that appealing to science and American law would sway members of Congress. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-8534 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American catholic studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/acs.2020.0068 |