As the controversial House Bill 125 — also known as the “Heartbeat Bill” — is debated at the state level, Amherst College’s Hadley Arkes will bring the topic to Ohio University Monday.
Continuing the George Washington Forum’s reputation for presenting contentious topics, Arkes will present “Natural Rights and the Right to Choose.”
“The thesis or argument (of the book) was that as people talk themselves into the ‘right to choose’ — the right to choose abortion — they talk themselves out of the logic of ‘natural rights,’ ” Arkes said. “In doing that, they strip the "right to abortion" of the moral logic that attaches to the most serious rights.”
Arkes will discuss the connection between natural rights and people’s idea of the right to choose. He will also share his experience in drafting the proposal of the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which he said is “the most modest first step” in legislating on abortion.
The act extends legal rights to infants who survived an abortion. Arkes was the chief advocate and drafted the original proposal for the act. He described it as one that could find a common ground between partisan sides and begin a conversation.
OU history professor, Robert Ingram, founded the Washington Forum in 2009 as a civic education initiative.
Through conferences and lectures such as this one, the forum attempts to tie American history with current issues and introduce students to scholars and new schools of thought, Ingram said.
“It’s trying to find a way so that students can come and hear ideas that they will not hear in their classes, and that they can debate people, some of whom they’ll find objectionable,” Ingram said.
He said he hopes that the event will not only provide an opportunity to augment education but also a forum to debate a contentious concept in a civil manner.
Associate history professor and one-time student of Arkes Paul Milazzo described Arkes as “a very engaging speaker.”
“It’s a unique opportunity for students to hear him voice a perspective on law and dealing with controversial issues like abortion,” he said.
gm220908@ohiou.edu
IF YOU GO
What: George Washington Forum present Hadley Arkes, "Natural Rights and the Right to Choose"
When: 7:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Baker Center Ballroom
Admission: free
