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Slippery slope argumentation features prominently in debates over assisted suicide. The jurisdiction of Oregon features prominently too, especially as regards parliamentary scrutiny of assisted suicide proposals. This paper examines Oregon's public data (including certain official pronouncements) on assisted suicide in light of the two basic versions of the slippery slope argument, the empirical and moral-logical versions. Oregon's data evidences some normatively interesting shifts in its assisted suicide practice which in turn prompts consideration of two elements of moral-logical slippage that are not widely discussed. One is slippage from an initial autonomy-based public justification for assisted suicide which does not include burden-based concerns within its operative account of voluntariness to an evolved public justification that does. The other is an expansion of a terminal illness ground to include chronic illnesses effectively rendered terminal via a refusal of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent article in this journal Michael G. Lawler and Todd A. Salzman provide an argument for recognizing same-sex civil marriages between believing Catholics as 'sacramental' in some significant sense. Their argument deals with major, perennial themes of Catholic moral theology to advance a quite novel position. Though the position's underlying rationale is interesting for a host of reasons, the present response will focus on what is, in many respects, its determinative feature: the stance taken towards the theological (in)significance of embodiment. It is argued that Lawler and Salzman overlook the nature of marriage as a one flesh union, a nature taught by Jesus and which is independently credible on philosophical grounds. By sidelining the nuptial significance of one flesh union Lawler and Salzman embark on a path which not only fails to make sense of marriage but which also has disorienting implications for various other theological issues that are likewise inextricably bound up with the question of embodiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intriguing though little noticed trend within moral theology over the last half century or so is the move towards re-conceptualising moral norms previously considered mandatory into ideals. The ideal-normative turn has been taken by official Catholic and Anglican ecclesial documents, in both cases as regards the closely related matters of marital permanence and extra/post-marital unions. Yet the turn has occurred with little or no scrutiny of the distinction at its heart, that between ideal and mandatory norms. This article applies the distinction to an analysis of New Testament moral normativity, with particular focus on teachings on marriage. Through this examination core elements of New Testament normativity are clarified and the credibility of the ideal-normative turn as it pertains to marital permanence is thereby challenged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article talks about the human right status of the unborn child in context with international human rights law. Topics discussed include conventions of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child on recognizing the right to life of unborn children in context to abortion law; examination of universal declaration of human rights; and treaty monitoring bodies established for interpreting human rights law regards the unborn child.

Husserl incorporates what may be classified as two types of faith into his writings: philosophical and theological. Philosophical faith is faith in the teleology of reason; it is necessary in order to undertake the vocation of phenomenology in the face of scientific reductionism. Theological faith, while sharing with philosophical faith belief in the teleology of reason, is of further relevance for Husserl because he envisages the task of phenomenology as extending to a treatment of faith consciousness. This article begins by examining to what extent faith is relevant to Husserl's phenomenological project and then turns attention to Marion's extension of Husserl's understanding of faith. Like Husserl Marion views (philosophical) faith as necessary for phenomenological engagement, which for Marion is engagement with givenness. And like Husserl also Marion is keen to develop a phenomenology of faith, which for him is tantamount to a saturated phenomenology of revelation. Though the compatibility of philosophical and theological faith is much more to the fore in Marion, as is the quasi-existential sense of the decideability of faith, this article argues, nevertheless, that Marion cannot be said to depart significantly from phenomenology as Husserl conceived it in terms of his understanding of faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an overview of a document titled "A Principal's Work Book," prepared by Robert Hill Lane, an assistant superintendent of schools in Los Angeles, California. It provides a detailed list of the problems which confront the school principals and the methods of meetings solving such problems. Meanwhile. the Department of Elementary School Principals of the National Education Association are carrying on studies with a view to collecting material of the type Lane has formulated.