About the Author

Brian Clowes, PhD

Dr. Brian Clowes has been HLI’s director of research since 1995 and is one of the most accomplished and respected intellectuals in the international pro-life movement. Best known as author of the most exhaustive pro-life informational resource volume The Facts of Life, and for his Pro-Life Basic Training Course, Brian is the author of nine books and over 500 scholarly and popular articles, and has traveled to 70 countries on six continents as a pro-life speaker, educator and trainer.

Is the Mainstream Media Really Biased on Abortion?

By Brian Clowes, PhD / May 17, 2019 /

The statesman is an easy man,he tells his lies by rote;The journalist makes up his liesand takes you by the throat. ― William Butler Yeats, “The Old Stone Cross.” My wife Kathy and I remember our pro-life activism in the Democratic People’s Republic of Oregon.  It didn’t take us long to become attuned to grossly…

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Can Catholics Apply the Principle of Probabilism to Abortion Decisions?

By Brian Clowes, PhD / September 7, 2018 /
ten commandments

Some baptized Catholics who support abortion use a distorted understanding of Church teaching on the “primacy” of conscience to support their views. They also frequently misrepresent theological principles regarding Catholic sexual ethics. One of the most common abuses involves probabilism, which simply means that if a definitive judgment has not yet been rendered by the…

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Has the Catholic Church Always Condemned Abortion?

By Brian Clowes, PhD / August 31, 2018 /
churches

Almost everyone knows that the Catholic Church opposes abortion.  However, few are aware of the long and rich history of the Church’s reverence and respect for human life, and fewer still can explain exactly why the Church cannot change her teachings on abortion. This article will address a number of common questions regarding the teachings…

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Why Should Celibate Priests Speak about Abortion?

By Brian Clowes, PhD / August 28, 2018 /
priestly ordination

When the battle over abortion began in earnest nearly half a century ago, pro-abortion strategists correctly identified their number one enemy as the Roman Catholic Church.  They were fully aware that, if a large number of priests began to speak forcefully and knowledgably against abortion, the Church would quickly become a mighty force for the…

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Why Do Pro-Lifers Compare Abortion to the Holocaust?

By Brian Clowes, PhD / August 24, 2018 /
child euthanasia in nazi germany

The similarities between the Nazi and abortion Holocausts go far deeper than a high body count. There are many points of similarity between the Holocausts: Deceptive language Ideology formed by doctors The speed of the murders Philosophical justification   Resistance to the “Abortion vs. Holocaust” Analogy Pro-choice adherents usually object when pro-lifers refer to an…

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The Intrinsic Racism of the Population Control Movement

By Brian Clowes, PhD / August 17, 2018 /
african girls

One of the most prominent motivations of the population control movement is racism, which has diminished over time but has not disappeared.  During the early history of the movement, this racist and eugenicist ideology was undisguised and was led by “progressive” intellectuals, just as prestigious “progressive” academics and celebrities lead the movement today.   The…

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Who are the Players?

By Brian Clowes, PhD / July 7, 2018 /
african children

Population Controllers Spent 120 Billion Dollars Spent in One Year Alone Most of us have heard about some of the headline-grabbing international abortion providers such as Women on Waves, the floating abortion mill that plies its grisly trade in the waters off the shores of pro-life nations.  Much larger groups such as the International Planned…

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Shouldn’t Women Be Able to Control Their Own Bodies?

By Brian Clowes, PhD / May 27, 2018 /
baby ultrasound

The battle captured by the slogan “my body, my choice!” is not new; it has been raging over a century. A cartoon in the May 1919 issue of Margaret Sanger’s Birth Control Review shows a woman being crushed by a giant roll of paper labeled “Laws Controlling Women’s Bodies.” Other offensive but equally common slogans…

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What is Historical Church Teaching on Contraception?

By Brian Clowes, PhD / May 3, 2018 /

“Contraception cannot be an expression of total self-giving, because in contraception, something is done to oneself to destroy the power to conceive a child.  That same selfishness that wants to prevent the child by contraception will grow until it wants to kill the child already conceived.  We must fight selfishness with a true, generous and…

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Can We Use Our Consciences on Contraception?

By Brian Clowes, PhD / April 18, 2018 /
forms of contraception

Surveys in many countries consistently show that most Catholics believe that decisions of conscience about contraception rightfully belong with those who must bear and rear children.  The legitimacy of teaching requires that it be embraced by the faithful.  Your teaching has no such legitimacy.  It is a marginalized minority view in our church, defended largely…

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