Given the increasingly important debate about the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, it’s worth recalling, for those who don’t, the author and driving force behind it.
Hadley Arkes, Edward N. Ney Professor in American Institutions at Amherst College and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, was the person who made the case for it in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and eventually, by the force of his logic, won over supporters in the pro-life movement. Those of us who know Hadley can still recall him arguing, with references to Lincoln, about the important of “planting premises.” He did, and because he did, the radical position of Barack Obama on this issue has been exposed.
Hadley is a delightful man, a powerful thinker, and an elegant writer. He is also, thankfully, persistent and indefatigable. All honor is due him.