The on-line journal Public Discourse, under the brilliant editorship of Ryan Anderson, has become a key site for people interested in the rigorous analysis of contemporary disputes about ethics and morally-charged questions of law and public policy. Its editorial policy is unabashedly and unambiguously pro-life, but it provides a forum for the airing of disagreements within the pro-life family.
Over the past week, Public Discourse has published an important exchange of opinions between two leading pro-life philosophers---Christopher Tollefsen and Christopher Kaczor---on the legitimacy of lying in the fight against grave injustices, such as the taking of innocent human life. Rick Garnett has already called attention to this debate. Its occasion is the "sting" operation carried out by pro-life activist Lila Rose and her organization Live Action, which has profoundly damaged the credibility and reputation of Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, by exposing the willingness of some of its employees to aid and abet those whom they were led to believe were involved in the sex trafficking of underage girls.
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