It is probably fair to say that the Consistent Life Ethic (CLE) is a concept better known on the far side of the Atlantic than it is here. However, it is gaining some traction in Ireland too and we at the Minimise Project are keen to advance this. The CLE is about being pro-life ‘from the womb to the tomb’: it opposes abortion, unjust war (and many proponents are fully pacifist), capital punishment, assisted suicide and euthanasia. (To find out more about proponents of the CLE, check out the Consistent Life Network.)
In keeping with last week’s review of Pride and Prejudice, this week we thought we would recommend two books on the CLE. We welcome your feedback on them!
Rehumanize International is one of the most prominent CLE organisations out there. We have featured their work here before. Now their founder, Aimee Murphy, has written a book setting out their vision. Entitled Rehumanize: a vision to secure human rights for all, it includes ‘a digestible yet systematic analysis of the ethics, history, and public policy surrounding modern issues of dehumanization, and casts a rehumanizing vision of a world beyond violence’. The book can be ordered directly from Rehumanize International. Murphy is currently on a tour of the United States to launch the book and spread the CLE to a wider audience. Details of her tour can be found here.
Another prominent proponent of the CLE is the bioethicist Charles Camosy. We recommend his book on the subject, Resisting throwaway culture: how a consistent life ethic can unite a fractured people (2019). It’s a call to move away from polarisation and culture wars, and to think more deeply about human rights. It deals with everything from abortion to environmental issues, and ties them all together in articulating a vision for a just society which values human life in all its stages. Resisting throwaway culture can be purchased from the publisher, New City Press.
Closer to home, you might also be interested to read interviews we have done with other proponents of the CLE, including Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa of New Wave Feminists and Terrisa Bukovinac of Pro-Life San Francisco (now of PAAU).
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