Religion & Law

Iowa Planned Parenthood In Tailspin Over Telemed Abortions

Posted on June 08, 2010
Operation Rescue: "Plans to expand abortions via the Internet without the on-site presence of a licensed physician have been placed on hold by Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa, (PPECI), after a representative from that group prematurely told a reporter that the controversial chemical abortion scheme was slated to expand to Cedar Rapids and Dubuque ...

Charlie Crist Removes Pro-Life Section of Campaign Web Site, Rubio Complains

Posted on June 08, 2010
LifeNews: "In the latest development in the race for the open U.S. Senate seat in Florida, Governor Charlie Crist is coming under fire for removing the pro-life section of his campaign website. This comes on the day the legislature sent him a bill that would allow women to see an ultrasound of their baby before an abortion...

Wis. Asst. AG recommends audit of University?s abortion training program

Posted on June 08, 2010
Medical News Today: "In an April letter to Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen (R), the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund -- a Christian legal group -- claims that UWHCA has paid residents nearly $60,000 since 2007 for training at Planned Parenthood...

4-year debate over a book choice

Posted on June 08, 2010
Inside Higher Ed: "A legal battle set off by the selection of a book . . . came to a close on Monday -- when a federal judge rejected a former librarian's lawsuit against the university . . . The former librarian . . . was on a committee that was assigned to task of picking a book for the freshmen to read...

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IN: County to vote on additional legal council in lawsuit

Posted on June 08, 2010
Indiana's NewsCenter: "'At their legislative session, the Allen County Commissioners will consider whether to employ the Alliance Defense Fund as an additional council to the lawsuit that's been filed regarding the patient safety ordinance,' said Mike Green, spokesman for the Allen County Commissioners Office...

Canada: Groups split on whether woman should be allowed to testify wearing veil

Posted on June 08, 2010
The Globe and Mail: "A Toronto sexual assault complainant known as N.S. had no inkling last year that she would ignite a nationwide debate by asking to testify wearing a niqab . . . "

Evangelicals reject same sex partners in immigration bill

Posted on June 08, 2010
Baptist Press: "Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land has joined other evangelical leaders in opposing an immigration reform proposal if it continues to treat homosexual partners the same as heterosexual married spouses." Hat tip: Religion Clause Blog

Israel Passes New Law On Egg Donation, Allowing Religion of Donor To Be Ascertained

Posted on June 08, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "According to Haaretz, Israel's Knesset yesterday approved a bill that for the first time in Israel allows women between the ages of 20 and 35 to donate their eggs for couples having difficulty conceiving a child . . . "

?Authorities Reluctant To Interfere With Gay Exorcism Rites?

Posted on June 08, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Many who undergo these exorcisms are minors. Prosecutors and child welfare agencies are reluctant to interfere with the practice because of First Amendment religious freedom concerns."

The Obama Spending Nightmare Continues

Posted on June 08, 2010
Heritage Foundation Morning Bell: "This morning White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and budget director Peter Orszag will release a memo directing all federal agency heads 'to develop plans' to cut at least 5 percent from their budgets by 'identifying programs that do little to advance their missions or President Obama?s agenda...

EU nations vow to reduce debt, tighten controls

Posted on June 08, 2010
AP: "All but a handful of countries in the 27-nation bloc are violating EU deficit limits and their ability to reduce debt is critical to maintaining trust in their economies, keeping borrowing costs down, avoiding national defaults and restoring faith in the 16-country euro...

U.S. Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks AZ Campaign Finance Law

Posted on June 08, 2010
"The U.S. Supreme Court derailed a key part of Arizona's campaign finance system on Tuesday by at least temporarily blocking extra money for publicly funded candidates outspent by privately financed rivals or targeted by independent groups' spending."

The Link Between Porn and Trafficking

Posted on June 08, 2010
BeliefNet Blog: "According to several recent studies, there is growing evidence that the demand for sex with children is driven in part by Internet pornography. "

NH Chief Justice: We can?t afford more judges

Posted on June 08, 2010
Boston Globe: "The chief justice of New Hampshire's Supreme Court wants the governor to avoid making full-time judicial appointments for the next fiscal year, to save money."

Anglican Communion cuts US Episcopalians from ecumenical bodies for electing lesbian bishop

Posted on June 08, 2010
Canadian Business: "The Anglican Communion has suspended U.S. Episcopalians from serving on ecumenical bodies because of the election of a lesbian as a bishop in California."

Ontario Appeal Court rejects man?s artistic child porn defence

Posted on June 08, 2010
CP-24: "Ontario's top court has overturned the acquittal of a man who claimed he collected more than 600 images of child pornography for artistic purposes . . . Katigbak was acquitted in 2008 of one count of possession of child pornography. In a judgment released Tuesday, the Appeal Court set that aside and convicted him instead, referring sentencing to the trial judge...

?In the Red, but Going Green? White House attempts to bypass Congress

Posted on June 08, 2010
FRC Washington Update: "When it was obvious that Congress didn't have the votes to move the cap-and-trade bill, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved on to Plan B: bypassing the House and Senate altogether. Instead of waiting on Congress, agency officials decided on the next best thing--imposing the emission rules without any input from Capitol Hill...

FPPC proposes to fine Mormon church for Prop. 8 donations

Posted on June 08, 2010
The Sacramento Bee | Capitol Alert: "California's political watchdog agency is proposing to fine the Mormon church $5,539 for contributions to help pass the state's gay-marriage ban two years ago. The Fair Political Practices Commission is scheduled to act on the proposed fine at a public meeting Thursday...

Judge issues closing questions for Prop. 8 trial

Posted on June 08, 2010
"The federal judge presiding over a trial on California's Proposition 8 issued a list Tuesday of 39 wide-ranging questions to be answered in closing arguments in San Francisco next week . . . "

Britons link Islam with extremism, says survey

Posted on June 08, 2010
BBC: "Most people in the UK associate Islam with extremism and the repression of women, a survey has suggested. The online YouGov poll found 58% of those questioned linked Islam with extremism while 69% believed it encouraged the repression of women."

China government defends Internet censorship laws

Posted on June 08, 2010
JURIST: "The Chinese government on Tuesday defended its Internet censorship laws in a report detailing Internet usage within the country. China reported that nearly 30 percent of its population currently has access to the Internet and that they expect that number to increase to nearly 50 percent in the next five years...

British Columbia rejects request for abortion info

Posted on June 08, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The British Columbia Office of Information and Privacy has rejected an attempt by pro-life activists to gain access to information on abortions at the province?s hospitals. In a Monday ruling, senior adjudicator Celia Francis rejected applications from pro-life researchers John Hof and Ted Gerk for information on the abortions conducted at Vancouver General Hospital and Kelowna General Hospital...

CT: St. Luke?s drops Crusaders mascot after 40 years

Posted on June 08, 2010
The New Canaan Advertiser: "[W]hen alumni of St. Luke?s School were told last week the school mascot, the Crusader, was being retired this month, many objected . . . 'In the process of reviewing all that data, one of the things that we discovered that was unique about the school was that sense of community...

David Hacker: A setback for Scott Savage and academic freedom

Posted on June 08, 2010
ADF Attorney David J. Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "[F]ormer ADF client Scott Savage . . . gave up a big city desk job to become a plain Christian and eventually took a job as a reference librarian at The Ohio State University Mansfield campus, only to be ousted because of his Christian and conservative beliefs ...

Lawsuit: Specialist for NASA mission demoted for sharing intelligent design views

Posted on June 08, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "'Employees shouldn?t be threatened with termination and punished for sharing their opinion with willing co-workers just because the view being shared doesn?t fit what?s politically correct,' said ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco. 'Mr...

Trouble for the International Criminal Court

Posted on June 08, 2010
Brett D. Schaefer writing at National Review Online: "How is the International Criminal Court getting along? To answer that question, the Review Conference for the ICC was convened in Kampala, Uganda, on May 31 and is scheduled to last through June 11...

Cato Institute and Center for American Progress: ?Marriage equality for all couples?

Posted on June 08, 2010
John D. Podesta, founder and president of the Center for American Progress, and Robert A. Levy, chairman of the Cato Institute, writing in the Washington Post: "43 years after Loving, the courts are once again grappling with denial of equal marriage rights -- this time to gay couples...

?Incarcerated Transgender Woman Can Pursue Case for Medical Care?

Posted on June 08, 2010
GLAD: "A U.S. district court judge in Massachusetts has denied the government?s request to dismiss the case of Vanessa Adams, a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmate with gender identity disorder (GID). For years, the BOP denied Ms. Adams treatment for her serious medical condition...

Demoted employee for NASA mission fights discrimination

Posted on June 08, 2010
Christian Post: "An amended complaint was filed Monday in a lawsuit against a NASA laboratory in California on behalf of an employee who was demoted for discussing his beliefs about intelligent design . . . Coppedge?s attorney, William J. Becker, Jr., who is part of the Alliance Defense Fund, argues, 'Discussing the origins of the universe with willing co-workers is not punishable just because it doesn?t fit a prevailing view at JPL' ...

New abortion fight brewing ? military

Posted on June 08, 2010
UPI: "An amendment to a defense policy bill approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee late last month would lift the military's long-established ban on abortions at overseas military hospitals, The Washington Times reported Tuesday."

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