Kmiec's Inquiry

A blog that is ostensibly about tomato gardening is an odd place for Douglas Kmiec to be making an inquiry into the life of the unborn. But the blog’s name is a biblical allusion to God sorting out the good and bad in the Church, so I suppose it’s as an appropriate place as any.

Wheat & Weeds blogsite featured the excellent post Kmiec on Kmiec back in October.

Today, the site notices that Kmiec commented, late in the game, on that post. Wheat & Weeds posts his comments today as “Professor Kmiec Responds”:

“Thank you for this thoughtful exchange,” wrote Kmiec. “I would continue to make the natural law argument, though I would ask for an assist from those with greater wisdom on this site how, without faith, we convince those who in their separate religious traditions do not ascribe personhood to the zygote. I DO think that argument possible as a matter of reason, I would just like to see it elaborated by the Church and our best Catholic scientists and ethicists as to why personhood is associated with the zygote, as distinct from a point of earlier or later development be it viability or birth.”

It will be interesting to watch that unfold.

It combines two controversies that played out in the Register.

First, the ensoulment controversy. Father Tad Pacholczyk, pro-life superstar, published a Register piece called “The Wisdom of the Church is in Her Silence, Too,” about one aspect of it.

Last week, Susan Wills piece “When Does Human Life Begin?” weighed in on another aspect of it.

The other was the Kmiec controversy. In the wake of Kmiec’s endorsement of Obama and the confusion it caused, we provided pro-life clarity.

The Register, you’ll recall, was where Father Richard John Neuhaus published his “Response to Kmiec”.

Tom McFeely interviewed Kmiec for a news story. The result was subheaded: “Leaders Weigh In On Kmiec Controversy.”

We were also the place where Princeton Professor Robert George published the shorter version of his “Obama’s Abortion Extremism”.

We’ll update you on any developments on Kmiec’s inquiry about life as we hear them.

— Tom Hoopes