Written by Matthew Archbold.
In a heavily promoted event that is already sold out, Santa Clara University will host a dialogue between the Dalai Lama—who in the past has advocated abortion and population control—and the CEO of Dignity Health, who stripped the organization of any links with the Catholic Church after a hospital performed an abortion and was criticized by Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted.
The event entitled “Business, Ethics, and Compassion: A Dialogue with the Dalai Lama” is cosponsored by Santa Clara’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.
The Dalai Lama was quoted in the New York Times in 1993, approving of birth control and abortion in cases of fetal abnormalities or economic difficulties. He reportedly said:
When I was in Lithuania a few years ago, I visited a nursery and I was told, ‘All these children are unwanted.’ So I think it is better that that situation be stopped right from the beginning — birth control. Of course, abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances. If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception. I think abortion should be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance.
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