The faces of evil
Jamie Hall
Ryan Anderson
A NYT editorial board opinion discusses a fake science paper, The Abortion Pill Harms Women, that the EPCC (Ethics & Public Policy Center) published. It claims that medical abortions by mifepristone are not safe. Currently, mifepristone is widely used to induce abortions. It is safe and effective. The EPCC is a radical theocratic Catholic think tank. It explicitly describes itself as applying "Judeo-Christian moral tradition" to public policy issues. Since February 2021, its president has been Ryan T. Anderson, who previously worked at the MAGA authoritarian Heritage Foundation, the source of Project 2025.
What is galling is that 22 Republican state attorneys cited this stupid paper in pressing the FDA to restrict mifepristone. In response, Dr. Brainworm (RFK Jr) said that he would conduct a review. As with vaccines, this signals that Brainworm won't let real science get in the way of policy that will harm many innocents and kill some.
Q: Is the criticism of "evil" unreasonably hyperbolic, wrong, or otherwise not rationally reasonably defensible?
In response to this evil research, and as part of my ongoing fight against the rising tide of cynical, cruel MAGA authoritarianism, I fired off this letter (lightly edited) to the EPCC, Hall and Anderson:
To the EPCC, Jamie Hall and Ryan Anderson,
As you know full well, some people believe and act on misinformation. Demagogues have known that for centuries, if not millennia. Sometimes people's actions based on misinformation lead to harm or deaths of those deceived. Sometimes others are harmed or killed by behaviors based on actions by deceived people. An obvious example is people who believe lies about COVID vaccines being harmful or ineffective. Some of those people refuse to be vaccinated. Some of those deceived unvaccinated people get infected and are seriously harmed by long COVID. A few die. Some of the deceived get infected and infect others who are then killed or suffer serious long COVID.
Most or all of the moral responsibility for all of the unnecessary harm rests with the deceivers. When their deceit harms or kills others, they are responsible.
The same logic applies to people who spread misinformation about medical abortions. Obviously, this applies to the EPCC, Jamie Hall and Ryan Anderson. Medical abortions are safe and effective. Despite that truth, you spread contrary misinformation. You deceive innocent people. Your bad faith and pseudoscience will lead some people to be harmed. A few will be killed because of you. Moral responsibility for that is on you.
Clearly, your anti-abortion arguments are too weak to convince people on the merits that they should not get abortions. Many people still want and get abortions despite your beliefs and unpersuasive arguments. You are losers on that point. Given that fact, you resort to knowingly and cynically deceiving innocent people. That is not merely moral cowardice and moral rot. When avoidable harms or deaths occur, you are evil.
Some introspection and humility on your part is more than warranted. However, given your brazed disregard for scientific truth, the welfare of other innocent people, and your arrogant self-righteousness, sincere introspection and honest humility seems highly unlikely. Evil is arrogant. It does not introspect. That's your failing, not that of anyone else.
Sincerely,
My real name, PhD, JD
San Diego, CA
NLT Bible
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