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FP: How is the abortion issue working for the GOP?
Frum: In the past, it worked well. Only a small minority of Americans cared intensely about abortion, and of that minority a majority were prolife. I worry however that this may be about to change. If the prolife movement pushes ahead of the national consensus, which remains broadly prochoice, it could provoke a backlash just as Roe v. Wade once did. In the end, abortion will be reduced in much the same way as the US reduced alcohol abuse: by persuasion and education. Over-reliance on legal sanctions will not only fail, but will likely prove counter-productive – and not only for prolifers, but for the whole conservative movement. That’s what happened in the Terri Schiavo case.
FP: What is the place of environmentalism in future Republican politics?
Frum: It will have to be near the center – because it will be near the center of national politics. When you think of environmentalism, don’t think only of the favored headline issues of the big name enviro groups. Voters are at least as likely to be thinking of the town dump and six-lane highways when they refer to “the environment” as they are to global warming and biodiversity. It may be that our party’s first responders on these issues will be local and state officials. Practical successes to small scale problems can do a lot to rehabilitate our party’s image of unconcern....................................................
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LONDON, February 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After three years of investigations and disputes, Cormac Cardinal Murphy O'Connor has asked the entire board of directors of a London Catholic hospital to resign in order to facilitate the implementation of a Catholic ethics code that would preclude abortion referrals, IVF and contraception.
A spokesman for the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, who is patron of the hospital and the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, is quoted by the Guardian saying, "In light of recent difficulties and challenges the cardinal asked the board to resign their office.".............
Cardinal asks for Resignation of Entire London, England Hospital Board
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