Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1698

Five Doctors Explain Why They Provide Abortion Services

A group called Physicians for Reproductive Health just put out this neat video featuring five doctors explaining why they’re abortion providers.

They’re not nearly as evil as pro-lifers would have you believe…

The last man in the video (in the picture above) is Dr. Willie Parker, a devout Christian who was profiled in Esquire last year. His is a fascinating story.

But the overall message is an important one: These doctors were called to provide the procedure because it’s a way of advancing compa...

Audience Applauds Jehovah’s Witness Couple Who Admit to Shunning Their Own Child

When doing the right thing comes in conflict with following the doctrine of your religion, what should you do?

It’s an easy question if you’re a Jehovah’s Witness. You have to please God no matter what, even if it means cutting ties with your own children because they no longer believe as you do. It’s a process called disfellowshipping and it’s as awful as it sounds.

At a recent JW conference, Robert and Brenda Sutton spoke about how one of their children had “questionable association” (whateve...

Nothing: Beats the Power of Prayer

Justice Antonin Scalia Suggests Humanity Is Only 5,000 Years Old

On Thursday night, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spoke at the high school graduation ceremony for the students at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart (where his granddaughter attends).

While most of it was uneventful, this comment was eyebrow-raising:

Class of 2015, you should not leave Stone Ridge High School thinking that you face challenges that are at all, in any important sense, unprecedented. Humanity has been around for at least some 5,000 years or so, and I doubt that the basi...

Bill Maher Explains Why Christianity’s Not Under Attack from Liberals

On last night’s Real Time, Bill Maher asked the question of why Republicans are so quick to jump on the “liberal media” for “attacking” Christianity when no prominent liberal (other than himself) ever seems to do anything of the sort:

This idea that everybody on the Left is plotting against Christianity and wants to wipe out religion is offensive — to me! ‘Cause I’m the only media figure with a show, week in and week out, that says that! And I’ll be damned if the credit’s gonna go to the entir...

Why God Hates Sex (as Told in Sign Language)

Why do religion and sex seem so incompatible?

Justin Vollmar of the “Virtual Deaf Church” explains in this excellent video.

(Added bonus: You get to learn a lot of dirty sign language!)

When You Put It That Way, “Militant Atheist” Sounds Pretty Good!

Thanks for educating us, Mrs. Betty Bowers!

Sarah and Bristol Palin: The Media is Crucifying the Duggar Family

Sarah Palin took to her Facebook page with a rambling rage-post Thursday that started with a stuck Caps Lock key and went downhill from there.

Combining her ideas on how we’re missing the real scandal of the Josh Duggar molestation story with plugs for her daughter Bristol‘s blog and, weirdly, a mention of Caitlyn Jenner, the post appeared to be gleaned from trending hashtags and recycled conservative talking points.

Palin is incensed by what she sees as the media “crucify[ing]… an entire famil...

One Conversion Therapy Story: “I Was Told Every Other Gay Person on Earth Had Been Executed”

The fight over anti-LGBT conversion therapy is heating up and, as a result,we’re seeing more and more personal accounts emerging from LGBT people who have actually had to endure the practice. It seems like each story is more vile than the one before it, but this next retellingmight take the cake.

Sam Brinton (below) is a spokesperson for the National Center for Lesbian Rights who speaks often about his childhood experience with conversion therapy.Cracked (stay with me here) recently featured h...

Criminal Charges Filed Against Minnesota Catholic Archdiocese Over Mishandling of Sex Abuse Claims

Twin Cities (Minnesota) Archbishop John Nienstedt (below) spent years arguing against LGBT rights. In 2007, he wrote that “those who actively encourage or promote homosexual acts… formally cooperate in a grave evil and, if they do so knowingly and willingly, are guilty of mortal sin.” He condemned Brokeback Mountain when it came out. And he spent $650,000 of the Church’s money trying to convince Minnesota voters to pass an amendment banning same-sex marriage — an amendment that ultimately fai...