October Respect Life Webinars

Sponsored by the Archdiocese of San Francisco and
the University of Notre Dame McGrath Institute

About the Series

Each October the Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month. As Catholics, we are called to cherish, defend, and protect those who are most vulnerable, from the beginning of life to its end, and at every point in between.

During the month of October, the Church asks us to reflect more deeply on the dignity of every human life. For this reason, the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Human Life and Dignity, wants to help bring awareness to an important study and its findings during this month.

We want to highlight the Study: “How Americans Understand Abortion: A Comprehensive Interview Study of Abortion Attitudes in the U.S.” and address the findings from this study. To download this report, download it on this link here

The McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame partnered with sociologist Tricia Bruce to produce this in-depth report. The study is a must-read for anyone committed to understanding not only what Americans believe about abortion, but also how they think about it. For this reason, we partnered with the Notre Dame Office of Life and Human Dignity within the McGrath Institute to bring you a three-part series with speakers that address the educational gaps found in those interviewed. This is an opportunity to bring light to those gaps.   Sign up at the end of the page!

Kristin Collier MD, FACP

Tuesday 10/5 12:30pm PST – Prenatal Development 

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made; Prenatal development through the stages

Kristin will walk us on the fetal development and address some of the gaps of information and knowledge found. 

Kristin Collier MD, FACP is an assistant professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School where she practices general Internal Medicine.

She serves as an Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program and is the Director of the Program’s Primary Care Track. In addition, she is the Director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health Spirituality and Religion.

Dr. Collier is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School and she completed her internal medicine residency and chief medical resident year at the University of Michigan Health System. Her special clinical interests include preventative medicine, primary care, depression and heart disease. She enjoys cooking, sports and spending time with her husband and sons.

Catherine Short Esq

Tuesday 10/12 12:30 PST – What is Legal?

Demystifying California Abortion Law: What is Legal?

Catherine will walk us through what is legal in the United States, but with a focus on California. We will learn what is really legal and what is not. 

Catherine Short Esq., graduated from Thomas Aquinas College in 1980 with a B.A. in Liberal Arts. She received her Law degree from Boalt Hall, U.C. Berkeley, in 1983.   In 1989, she participated in establishing Life Legal Defense Foundation, which she now  serves as Vice President of Legal Affairs.  In her years with Life Legal, Ms. Short has written numerous briefs for state and federal courts, including petitions for certiorari and amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court and California Supreme Court. She also co-authored the text of Proposition 73, Proposition 85, and Proposition 4, all of which were California ballot initiatives attempting to establish a law requiring parental notification before a minor can receive an abortion. She was counsel of record in  People’s Advocate v. ICOC (challenge to Proposition 71, California’s embryonic stem cell funding initiative),  Hoye v. Oakland (First Amendment challenge to restriction on speech outside abortion clinics), and  Pro-Life Mississippi v. Vance (seeking injunction against police harassment of pro-life sidewalk counselors).   Ms. Short is married to fellow Thomas Aquinas College graduate William Short and has nine children.

She is married to fellow Thomas Aquinas College graduate William Short and has nine children.

Melissa Moschella

Tuesday 10/19 12:30 PST – The Ethics

The Ethics of Abortions: Misconceptions and Challenges

Melissa will address the moral reasonings around abortion and address misconceptions and challenges

Melissa Moschella is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, and a Visiting Scholar at the Heritage Foundation’s B.K. Simon Center for American Studies. Her research and teaching focus on natural law, bioethics, and the moral and political status of the family. She is the author of To Whom Do Children Belong? Parental Rights, Civic Education and Children’s Autonomy (Cambridge University Press, 2016), and of numerous articles published in scholarly journals as well as popular media outlets, including Bioethics, The Journal of Medical Ethics, The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, The Journal of Law and Religion, The American Journal of Jurisprudence, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Public Discourse. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, received a Licentiate in Philosophy summa cum laude from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and received her Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Princeton University.

Registration

Name