Religion & Law

Scientists: Synthetic cell is not a new form of life

Posted on May 24, 2010
The Christian Institute: "The US biologist who created the world?s first synthetic cell has not created life, according to scientists . . . David Baltimore, a geneticist at California Institute of Technology, warned: 'To my mind Craig has somewhat overplayed the importance of this'...

Lawmakers divided on ?don?t ask, don?t tell? as votes near

Posted on May 24, 2010
The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to vote by the end of the week . . . The House is expected to vote on a similar measure this week . . .

David Cortman on the Hugh Hewitt Show: Idaho?s censorship of the Great Books in public charter schools

Posted on May 24, 2010
ADF attorney David Cortman appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss Idaho's censorship of the Great Books in public charter schools. | MP3 - 7:37 mins | ADF Media information page

Erik Stanley: Freedom of religion ? don?t ever take it for granted

Posted on May 24, 2010
ADF Attorney Erik Stanley writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: "I had the distinct pleasure to recently hear Dr. Ajai Lall from Central India Christian Mission speak. Dr. Lall started CICM many years ago as a church-planting and evangelistic outreach to India and the surrounding countries...

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Catholic nurse?s suits allege abortion violated her rights

Posted on May 24, 2010
Today's Catholic: "Cenzon-DeCarlo is being represented in the case by attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based Christian legal alliance dedicated to defending religious liberty, sanctity of life, marriage and the family. 'Pro-life nurses shouldn?t be forced to assist in abortions against their beliefs,' said [Matt Bowman], the defense fund?s legal counsel, in a report from Catholic News Service...

Rules punish pro-life clinics

Posted on May 24, 2010
OneNewsNow: "Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has filed suit against Montgomery County, Maryland, charging discrimination against pro-life pregnancy centers . . . 'The government can't create special speech rules just because people want to talk about pregnancy, and it absolutely can't target pro-life speakers with these special requirements and fines,' [Casey Mattox] contends...

Cortman: No reason to censor religious books

Posted on May 24, 2010
OneNewsNow: "A federal judge's decision to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Idaho Public Charter School Commission's ban on the use of religious texts in its curriculum may not be the last word . . . 'There is no legitimate educational reason to censor such amount of large religious books just because they're religious,' contends ADF attorney [David Cortman]...

Limited services pregnancy center sues county over truth in advertising law

Posted on May 24, 2010
RH Reality Check: "Centro Tepeyac Women's Center, which is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, claims that the disclaimer forces a set of 'special speech rules' that only pro-life speakers have to adhere to, where as pro-choice speech remains 'unregulated...

Md. agencies kick off benefits enrollment for same-sex couples

Posted on May 24, 2010
Washington Examiner: "Maryland agencies have started letting state employees with same-sex spouses enroll for health benefits . . . The change will likely cost the state, said [Austin R. Nimocks], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal team that supports opposite-sex marriage...

SD: Pastors divided over Howie?s pulpit challenge

Posted on May 24, 2010
Rapid City Journal: "One Rapid City pastor has accepted gubernatorial candidate Gordon Howie's challenge to defy federal tax law and endorsed Howie from the pulpit . . . Federal courts have upheld those tax-exempt conditions about political activity, most recently in 2000...

Candi Cushman warns parents about deceptive ?safe schools? programs

Posted on May 24, 2010
CitizenLink: "TrueTolerance.org . . . is designed to assist parents who are faced with promotion of homosexuality in their local schools ? and to empower them to defend their parental rights and protect their children . . . You can use the site, for instance, to counteract bad policies by offering a legally sound alternative that doesn't politicize the issue ? a model anti-bullying policy crafted and researched by the Alliance Defense Fund...

Suit challenges regulations hitting crisis pregnancy centers

Posted on May 24, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit this Wednesday against Maryland's Montgomery County on behalf of the Centro Tepeyac Women's Center . . . ADF Legal Counsel [Casey Mattox] said that Montgomery Council's practices were unconstitutional...

PA: ?New system to track student data from preschool to career?

Posted on May 24, 2010
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Now the state is in the midst of developing a sophisticated data system that will track students from preschool to elementary and secondary education to postsecondary education to the work force . . . "

UK bans doctor who linked autism to vaccine

Posted on May 24, 2010
AP: "Britain's top medical group ruled Monday that a doctor who claimed autism was linked to a childhood vaccine can no longer practice in the U.K . . . In a statement then, Wakefield said the medical council's investigation was an effort to 'discredit and silence" him to "shield the government from exposure on the (measles) vaccine scandal...

Kenya court rules Islamic courts are illegal

Posted on May 24, 2010
BBC: "Kenya's Islamic courts are illegal and discriminatory, a panel of judges has ruled. The three judges said the Islamic 'Kadhi' courts favoured Islam over other faiths, and that this was unconstitutional as Kenya was a secular country."

Lambda Legal joins Philadelphia in suit versus Boy Scouts

Posted on May 24, 2010
Lambda Legal: "The Boy Scouts are entitled to their beliefs, but they have no right to make the city of Philadelphia's taxpayers foot the bill for their harmful discrimination against gay people."

Americans United for Life seeks Kagan hearing delay

Posted on May 24, 2010
U.S. News & World Report: "One of the nation's most prominent anti-abortion groups is seeking a delay in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan in order to provide the Clinton library time to find and make public her key writings while a White House lawyer and later domestic policy aide...

Dispute about Prague?s cathedral ends, Klaus, Duka sign agreement

Posted on May 24, 2010
CTK: "Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Prague Archbishop Dominik Duka, the Catholic Church primate, agreed that court disputes about the ownership of St Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle would not continue, in an agreement on joint care of the cathedral they signed in the church today...

Law and family in Malaysia

Posted on May 24, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "Shamala Sathiyaseelan has spent the better part of her children's youth fighting for the right to raise them. A Malaysian woman of Hindu descent, she was married to her husband, Jeyaganesh, in a Hindu ceremony in 1998. In 2002 Jeyaganesh secretly converted to Islam...

NY: ACLJ joins school rosary case

Posted on May 24, 2010
Times Union: "The American Center for Law and Justice sent a letter to Schenectady school officials demanding Raymond Hosier be allowed to wear the beads to Oneida Middle School to honor his dead brother and uncle, and is featuring Raymond's story prominently on its website today...

UK: No charges in West Yorkshire assisted death case

Posted on May 24, 2010
BBC: "A man who helped his wife to kill herself by placing a bag over her head will not face charges, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said. The CPS said there was sufficient evidence to charge Michael Bateman, 63, of Birstall, West Yorkshire, but it was not in the public interest to do so...

Finland: Raseborg school forced to back down on Muslim scarf ban

Posted on May 24, 2010
Helsingin Sanomat: "A ban imposed on the wearing of Muslim headscarves in class has had to be rescinded at a school in Raseborg [Raasepori in Finnish*], west of the capital Helsinki."

European Parliament blasts religious intolerance in Pakistan

Posted on May 24, 2010
Catholic Culture: "Recalling that 'it was blasphemy accusations that triggered anti-Christian mob violence in Gojra and Korian in summer 2009, leaving eight dead and at least 100 houses destroyed,' the European Parliament passed a resolution on May 20 condemning religious intolerance in Pakistan ...

Pornography harms briefing: What Congress can do to enforce existing laws

Posted on May 24, 2010
The Coalition for the War Against Illegal Pornography is sponsoring a briefing on June 15th. More details here. Hear recognized experts outline: The four leading harms of pornography; How existing law can and should be enforced against illegal material; What Congress can do to protect and prosecute

Malta: ?Church: Cohabiting couples cannot receive Communion?

Posted on May 24, 2010
Times of Malta: "Cohabiting couples should not receive Holy Communion, the Bishops of Malta and Gozo said in a joint statement today . . ."

Baby Gap: Germany?s Birth Rate Hits Historic Low

Posted on May 24, 2010
TIME: "Germany is shrinking ? fast. New figures released on May 17 show the birth rate in Europe's biggest economy has plummeted to a historic low, dropping to a level not seen since 1946. As demographers warn of the consequences of not making enough babies to replace and support an aging population, the latest figures have triggered a bout of national soul-searching and cast a harsh light on Chancellor Angela Merkel's family ...

Landmark Status Could Stop Mosque Near Ground Zero

Posted on May 24, 2010
CNSNews: "New York City officials say a plan to tear down a building and put up a mosque near the World Trade Center site will need the approval of a commission that protects landmarks . . . "

Obama?s Nominee to Run Medicare: ?Please Don?t Put Your Faith in Market Forces?

Posted on May 24, 2010
CNSNews: "Dr. Donald Berwick, nominated by President Barack Obama to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that runs Medicare, published an article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), advising leaders of Britain?s socialized health care system: 'Please don?t put your faith in market forces...

Second Wave of Deportations Hits Foreign Christians in Morocco

Posted on May 24, 2010
Christian Post: "The latest deportations bring the number of Christians who have had to leave Morocco to about 105 since early March. Christians and expert observers are calling this a calculated effort to purge the historically moderate country, known for its progressive policies, of all Christian elements ? both foreign and national...

?Kids caught in gay splits: Inseminated mother disputes ex-partner?s shared custody?

Posted on May 24, 2010
Norwalk Reflector: "Madison smith has two mothers ? or at least two women willing to hire a small army of lawyers to establish or slap down maternity claims. Madison, 6, lives in northeastern Columbus with the one woman who is indisputably her mother: Julie Smith, a 44-year-old deputy director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services ...

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