It’s been almost one year since the state of Illinois passed the Reproductive Health Act on June 12, 2019. Supportive legislators applauded, and the governor grinned as he signed the bill that implicitly allows abortion up until birth*, and explicitly declares that a fetus has no rights. In the zero-sum …
Here in Illinois we’re nine weeks into the COVID-19 mandated shutdown, and by all objective measures, I am doing well. I’ve had disappointments and frustrations. I’ve felt restless and bored. I miss many features of my pre-virus life. But I am not suffering—not even close. I’ve been buffered from the …
Michigan is being hit hard by COVID-19. Governor Whitmer must make decisions using incomplete and imperfect information, because there are so many things no one yet understands about this virus. The stakes are literally life and death. And yet, scientists are reasonably confident about several aspects of the disease. 1. …
Twenty years ago today our family hiked along the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China. A couple of days earlier, we had flown to Beijing from Hong Kong. Our good friends, Doug and Becky, who were living in Beijing with their four children, graciously hosted us in their …
The shark fin soup incident occurred twenty years ago today. As I wrote in a previous blog post, I learned many things as a result of our family trip to Hong Kong and China in March of 2000. But the lesson of the shark fin soup lunch remains to this …
Twenty years ago this week, my husband and I took our three young sons—ages five, nine, and eleven—to China for spring break. We had enjoyed family vacations all around the country, and our kids were good travelers. But a one-week trip to China was an audacious choice. It began with …
I recently watched a documentary that caused me to re-examine one of my firmly held beliefs–that churches shouldn’t be in the business of prescribing certain legislative action in the civic realm. Countless times I have heard ordained clergy advocate for a particular legislative fix to solve a deeply rooted social …
Recently this cheery subject line appeared in my email inbox: Yes, Jennifer. There’s an easy way to screen for colon cancer and get a $25 Amazon gift card! The idea of an email solicitation—with a gift card incentive—for colon cancer screening seemed ludicrous. I deleted the email, and didn’t think …
A gay man was fired from his teaching job at a Catholic high school because he got married. This was the subject of the July 14th Erasmus column of religion and policy in The Economist, which went on to explore where the line lies between religious freedom and secular anti-discrimination. …
