Helen Alvare: 'Birth Control's Worst Enemy' 'Feminine Genius' Champion

The National Catholic Register ^ | 9/11/12 | Christopher White

[marshmallow]

Her new book challenges the ‘war on women’ rhetoric.

WASHINGTON — During an election year dominated by a partisan drumbeat heralding a “war on women", Helen Alvaré will provide a welcome reprieve: She is the editor of a new book of essays — stories by Catholic women that challenge the assertion that unrestricted access to contraception is essential to women’s happiness and well-being.

Currently a professor at George Mason Law School, Alvaré has dedicated her life’s work to the defense of the unborn and making a public case for traditional marriage. Her involvement in pro-life and pro-family causes has been a tour de force — beginning with work at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (which would later become the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops), then eventually in academia and, now, as a leading voice challenging the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring Catholic institutions to provide insurance for contraception and abortifacients.

Richard Doerflinger, the bishops’ conference’s chief lobbyist on life issues, describes Alvaré as “one of the most knowledgeable and effective advocates for life and marriage I have ever known, an ideal combination of style and substance. … She is a leading spokeswoman for Catholic pro-life feminism and a model for many young women emerging as leaders in the Church today.”

Now, Alvaré is gearing up for the release of her new book, Breaking Through: Catholic Women Speak for Themselves, a book-length compilation of stories from Catholic women of all backgrounds, which will be released on Sept. 20. She edited the stories and also provided additional commentary.

The emerging religious-liberty battle, fueled by the federal contraception mandate, has offered her a fresh opportunity to tackle the arguments presented by the mandate’s supporters. Just maybe the book’s readers will find their own worldview shaken up — and they will see.....

[Ann Archy]

Helen Alvare is FABULOUS!!! Haven’t seen her in YEARS.

[yldstrk]

Excellent. Wish I could find a similar position. Marriage and kids is the ultimate happiness.

The idea that worry free sex is the ultimate happiness for women is just bankrupt and laughable.

[Sergio]

bkmk

[Lorianne]

Thank you for posting this!

[MDLION]

In the debate about contraception,the liberals keep saying that conservatives don’t care about women’s health. And yet both artificial contraceptives and abortion are tied to elevated risks of breast cancer. The press won’t cover this information and the Republicans won’t say anything about it and so few women seem to know they are actually endangering their health through contraception and abortion.

[philly-d-kidder]

I would Pay for Her to take on Cecile Richards Naral and Sandra Fluke

[boatbums]

What the National Organization for Women would like EVERY woman to believe is that abortion and contraception help them to succeed in life. What they would like every woman AND man to ignore is that the early feminists were staunchly Pro-Life. Jane Addams, Louisa May Alcott, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Blackwell, Pearl S. Buck, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and dozens more were against abortion and viewed it as a cowardly remedy promoted by men to escape the consequences of their lusts and that destroyed both the woman as well as her child. The website Feminists for Life goes into to extensive detail about what these early forbears REALLY believed and how modern day feminism is nothing at all what they wanted to see happen.

Hats off to women today who will stand up for what they know in their hearts is the truth and who seek to make our world a more welcoming one for ALL.