Jay Richards

For some, questions of religious liberty seem abstract. For us and our families, they are deeply personal. I (Arina Grossu Agnew) taught at an Archdiocese of Washington school for a year, the very school where my young son was later accepted for admission. As Catholics committed to raising him in the faith, my husband and I assumed he would attend. Instead, we ultimately declined his acceptance because the Archdiocese does not recognize religious objections to its vaccination policy, even though the state of Maryland does. We enrolled him in a secular private school that respects Maryland’s religious exemption and our sincerely-held convictions. My experience is not unique. My co-author, Jay Richards, has faced similar choices with his family. Catholic schools Read More ›

In a post-COVID world, families are asking harder questions about vaccines and those questions deserve serious, ethical answers. In this episode of Bioethics Babe, I’m joined by Jay Richards, Vice President of Social and Domestic Policy and the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation, where he also chairs the Restoring American Wellness initiative. He is also a senior fellow at Discovery Institute. We explore how families can think clearly and ethically about vaccines after COVID. This conversation covers informed consent, risk-benefit analysis, parental responsibility, the updated CDC childhood immunization schedule, and the growing crisis of trust in public health institutions. This episode is for parents, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and anyone Read More ›