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May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review Feb. 21, 2006 / 23 Shevat, 5766

Something criminal about ‘Legal’

By Kathryn Lopez


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Those hoping to be entertained with Valentine's Day-themed programming on ABC tuned into the wrong channel, at least if they flipped to it during "Boston Legal." For those 60 minutes, you were treated to a political lecture, more like C-SPAN's late-night fare, only with prettier people. It was a prime-time hour to celebrate emergency contraception and demonize Catholic hospitals.


The Emmy-award winning show that night included the fictional story of an 18-year-old girl named Amelia who was raped and brought to a local hospital while unconscious. The writers made the hospital "Saint Mary's," which is where the political party began. Among those watching the show were "reproductive rights" supporters throughout the country, organized into "Boston Legal Viewing Part(ies)" by the likes of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and the Pennsylvania American Civil Liberties Union. Party favors were viewing guides packed with bullet points of statistics on sexual assaults and laws. The heart of the Valentine's Day show was what is popularly known as the "morning-after pill," also referred to as "emergency contraception" (EC). Emergency contraception is meant to be used, as the name suggests, in an emergency — marketed as a last-line of defense against pregnancy.


Currently, in eight states, hospitals are required to make EC available to rape victims. But the Catholic hospital where Amelia was taken did not provide her with EC or even inform her of the existence of the option. (Massachusetts, by the way, is one of the eight.) Cue to "Murphy Brown" with a Bible in the courtroom. Remember when the title character on the 1980s sitcom "Murphy Brown" wound up the topic of a national debate when then-Vice President Dan Quayle used the show to make a point about marriage and families when Candace Bergen's character had a child out of wedlock? Back then, with out-of-wedlock births at an all-time high, there was more to the cultural story than you'd get in most sound bites. Well, Bergen plays a law partner on "Boston Legal" now. Watching her, one couldn't help but wonder if there was more to tell than what the show's writers were letting viewers in on.


Sure enough.


In a key primetime moment for the activists watching, an expert witness testified that "the morning-after pill can only prevent a pregnancy." Various characters on the show would go on to laud emergency contraception's ability to lower abortion rates. The problem, which got short shrift on "Boston Legal," is that EC isn't that black and white. How it works depends on where a woman is in her menstrual cycle. This isn't exactly what you want to get into with a heart-shaped Whitman's Sampler on your lap and "Captain Kirk" on your screen (William Shatner is a "Boston Legal" star), but, EC doesn't only prevent pregnancy — it can work as an abortifacient, to end the life of a developing human embryo. So, Catholic hospitals, if they are true to their names, will want to tread carefully here.


While feeling the pain, humiliation and anger of a girl who was brutally raped, there is also the reality that Catholic hospital officials who are in the business of saving lives may not want to be accomplice to ending one. It's a concern that some would like to legislate away — fighting against "conscience clauses" that would give a St. Mary's legal protection on EC and associated fronts. In related news, for instance, on the day the show aired, the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy voted to force Wal-Mart to carry emergency contraception.


In a morning-after conversation with Richard W. Garnett, a professor at Notre Dame's law school, he suggested a middle-ground position, one that wouldn't have made the show as dramatic, but perhaps a bit more realistic. "A compromise might be to require Catholic hospitals to inform people that EC exists, and that other hospitals will provide it."


In 2003, there were more than 15.4 million Catholic emergency room visits, according to the Catholic Health Association. Catholic concerns may not have a prayer on primetime TV, but as Catholic hospitals and other healthcare professionals minister to communities, they deserve a seat at the table in any life-and-death public-policy debate.


But the atmosphere right now, as characterized by primetime and real-life politics, isn't ripe for compromise. While "Boston Legal" writers were sure to condemn the imposition of religion on the fictional rape victim, EC's advocates seem comfortable with dismissing other's views and imposing their own.


Also on the morning after the loaded episode of "Boston Legal," I talked to a "reproductive freedom" official with the ACLU in Pennsylvania. When I asked her if folks at her viewing party thought that the episode was fair and balanced, if "the show was fair to both sides," she told me "I don't think anyone thought there were two sides."


In her mind, there is only one side of the story, a victim who should have gotten emergency contraception — period. Therein is not a healthy starting point for debate.

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