Maria McFadden Maffucci

On May7, New York Assemblywoman Melissa “Missy” Miller (R, Atlantic Beach) held a virtual press conference about the continued—and inexcusable—neglect of the rights of the state’s disabled population and their loved ones. She appealed directly to Howard Zucker, Commissioner of... Read More →

A New York Times op ed (April 17) declares in its headline: “I’m Head of Planned Parenthood. We’re Done Making Excuses for Our Founder.” And yet, Alexis McGill Johnson, president and chief executive of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America,  spends much of her column doing... Read More →

  The Reason I Jump is a remarkable film, a powerful documentary directed by Jerry Rothwell, that invites viewers to experience autism—from the inside. How is this possible? The idea for the film came from a groundbreaking book of the same name by a 13- year-old severely... Read More →

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, issued a pastoral letter on the Feast of St. Joseph (“After the Worst of the Coronavirus: Fostering a Culture of Life as a People of Hope,” March 19) that exhorts Catholic New Yorkers to stand up against the assisted... Read More →

This past Sunday, March 21, was World Down Syndrome Day, celebrated widely on social media, even with a new original song from celebrity Sting. My thoughts turned to the scientist and physician who discovered the genetic cause of Down syndrome, Dr. Jérôme Lejeune, a heroic... Read More →

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This day brings fond memories of many happy celebrations at the McFadden’s New York City apartment, which was next to the parade route. My parents welcomed family and friends for what was truly a multi-cultural event: German food, because my Dad’s mom was... Read More →

Welcome to Insisting on Life, where I will be greeting you weekly with news, commentary, great links and special guests. The name is the title we gave to our collection of essays by the late, great journalist and Review contributor Nat Hentoff, whom we honored in 2005 as our... Read More →

  January 6, 2021, would have been my brother Robert’s 61st birthday. He died of cancer on December 28, 1994, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, at age 34. Always at this time of year, Robert is present in the minds and hearts of his family and friends—we share memories, eat... Read More →

  WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN: THE CASE FOR THE BODY IN PUBLIC BIOETHICS O. Carter Snead (Harvard University Press, 2020. Hardcover, pp. 336. Also available on Kindle.) Reviewed by Maria McFadden Maffucci O. Carter Snead’s What It Means to Be Human: The Case for the Body in... Read More →

Mom advocates for disabled adults amid Cuomo nursing home scandal Feb. 24, 2021 – 5:43 – Human Life Review Editor-in-Chief Maria McFadden Maffucci calls out Gov. Cuomo’s nursing home cover-up scandal and argues the New York State government has ‘no plan’ to protect... Read More →