Free Republic

Classic flick about the clash between emotional anti-gun war widow and a WW2 veteran (Sterling Hayden) who is sheriff of a small town where the POTUS is set to pass through. A psycho (Frank Sinatra) is planning to beat the odds and take him out. Grand old character actor James Gleason plays the lady's father-in-law, and has the honor to deliver the line: "When the old boys wrote those words 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,' they sounded mighty nice -- but they wouldn't've been worth a plug nickel if somebody hadn't made 'em stick."

A state appeals court Wednesday declined to sanction an Englewood abortion clinic that was accused of filing a frivolous lawsuit against an antiabortion group. Metropolitan Medical Associates -- known for dramatic protests it attracted in the 1990s -- sued the Legal Center for Defense of Life two years ago, saying the group organized pickets who intimidated patients and blocked public access to the clinic. The clinic also sued the city for not enforcing ordinances against obstructive sidewalk activities, and sought a protest-free buffer zone around the Engle Street facility. A state Superior Court judge in Hackensack dismissed the lawsuit, saying...

In April 2004, a nurse named Abby* made an appointment with Richard Collier of the Legal Center for Defense to tell him of an incident she thought violated the Born Alive Infants Protection Act.  Abby worked in the labor and delivery department of a major regional hospital in New Jersey. Abby told Collier about a baby boy who was aborted alive there earlier that year and placed in the "dirty room" until he died several hours later.  The attending nurse was so disturbed she described the event to Abby.The boy was between 20-23 weeks old and aborted after a doctor...

Washington, Jan. 04 (CWNews.com) - An American pro-life leader has charged that liberal politicians are engaging in "Catholic-bashing" in their opposition to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. Father Thomas Euteneuer, the president of Human Life International, denounced "the unrelenting campaign waged by many Senate Democrats, some of whom claim to be Catholics themselves, against Catholic judicial nominees." Father Euteneuer charged that groups such as People for the American Way, Moveon.org, and the Alliance for Justice have adopted a strategy of attacking the Catholic faith as a means of rousing opposition to the Supreme Court appointment. This strategy, he said, "is...

The following is an interview I did recently with Richard Collier for our radio show “The American View.” Mr. Collier is president of the Legal Center for the Defense of Life in New Jersey. He was also a lawyer in the 2000 case on late-term abortions – John Lofton, Editor, TheAmericanView.com. JL: Mr. Richard Collier is on the line, he’s a lawyer in New Jersey. We’re going to talk about exactly why we’re talking to him today, but first I want to praise you for not rolling over and playing dead and for not becoming a Republican Party “cheerleader” for...

WASHINGTON His mother may know best, but conservatives do not share her certainty that Samuel Alito would overturn abortion rights. Alito's independent streak is complicating what might otherwise be an easy call as people on both sides of the abortion divide try to figure out his likely course if he were confirmed by the Senate for the Supreme Court. The nominee's 90-year-old mother, Rose Alito, has said of her Catholic son that "of course, he's against abortion." But that is her personal understanding, which is not always an accurate indicator of how a justice would vote. "If you asked me...

"I don't know what his personal views are, but I know that he has ruled on pro-life cases four times and he has ruled against pro-life positions three times. And the fourth was a split decision," said Richard Collier, president of the Legal Center for the Defense of Life, based in Morristown, N.J. "If you look at the paper trail, it is all negative." SNIP In one case, he voted with the majority to overturn a Pennsylvania law that would have required poor women seeking federally paid abortions after rape or incest to have first reported the crime to police....

Bush's Second Chance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hadley Arkes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 2005 First Things 152 (April 2005): 13-19. Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety (Henry IV, Part 1). The sense of relief, felt so deeply in the pro-life community on November 3, 2004, seems to have drifted away in the weeks and months since the presidential election. It is already easy to forget how great a threat the election posed: even the most sober observers of the political scene recognized that a Kerry presidency would mark the end of any prospects for the pro-life cause in Congress or...