Religion & Law

LA: ?Right to die? bill passes through House committee

Posted on May 13, 2010
WAFB: "A bill to expedite the right to die passed out of a Senate committee Tuesday. The bill provides notification to convicted death penalty defendants of their right to waive their appeals." | SB 774

DE: Lawyers spar over killer?s ?right to die?

Posted on May 13, 2010
The News Journal: "Shannon Johnson is 26 and wants to die. This puts him on the same side as Delaware prosecutors, the jury that voted unanimously in favor of it and the Superior Court judge who ordered it for the 2006 slaying of Cameron Hamlin. At that trial, Johnson also was convicted of shooting his ex-girlfriend -- the mother of his son and the only witness to the homicide...

UK: ?Anti-ageing drugs will fuel euthanasia?

Posted on May 13, 2010
Telegraph: "People will simply choose to end their own lives in the future, when anti-ageing drugs that could extend lifespans by many years become commonplace, according to an expert on longevity. But birth rates might also have to be centrally controlled to cope with rising numbers of old people, Dr David Gems of the Institute of Healthy Ageing at University College London said...

Pro-life rally hails Canada?s new foreign-aid stand

Posted on May 13, 2010
Toronto Star: "Heartened and emboldened by Canada?s new anti-abortion stand on foreign aid, thousands of pro-life campaigners flooded in unprecedented numbers to Parliament Hill on Thursday, daring to hope that Prime Minister Stephen Harper?s government will take further steps against abortion at home as well as abroad ...

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Canada: Thousands gather for anti-abortion rally on Parliament

Posted on May 13, 2010
CTV.ca: "Thousands of activists rallied on Parliament Hill on Thursday calling for an end to abortion, with Tory MPs urging them to reopen the bitter debate on the issue . . . "

Calif. bill could jail parents if kids miss school

Posted on May 13, 2010
AP: "Sen. Mark Leno, a Democrat from San Francisco, says SB1317 is a public safety measure because children who do poorly in school or drop out are more likely to commit crimes."

AP: ?Kagan courts converts, gains favor on Capitol Hill?

Posted on May 13, 2010
AP: "Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan won praise from skeptical senators in both parties Thursday, building momentum toward what for now appears a smooth road to confirmation this summer."

KS: Former deputy AG to have ethics hearing over abortion provider investigations

Posted on May 13, 2010
Associated Press: "A former deputy Kansas attorney general is facing questions about his actions during investigations of abortion providers. Eric Rucker was scheduled for a hearing Thursday before a three-member panel of the state's attorney discipline board...

Colleges across California grapple with free-speech zones

Posted on May 13, 2010
The Oakland Tribune: "The Peralta Community College district is considering guidelines to limit where and how groups can speak on campus, prompting outrage from employees and students who say the proposed rules would restrict free speech . . . Peralta is only the latest district to consider the so-called free-speech zones, which have riled academics around the country ...

Canada: B.C. group wants abortion stats to be public

Posted on May 13, 2010
CBC: "The organization Campaign Life Coalition B.C., which opposes abortions, is demanding the hearing so it can challenge provincial legislation that prevents hospitals from releasing information such as how many abortions they perform each year."

Russia: Case against Jehovah?s Witnesses investigated in Chelyabinsk

Posted on May 13, 2010
Interfax: "Investigative bodies of Russia's Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor's Office for the Chelyabinsk Region initiated a criminal case on illegal activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses local branch."

Kyrgyz NGOs demand secular state definition in new constitution

Posted on May 13, 2010
Interfax: "Non-governmental organizations (NGO) in Kyrgyzstan have criticized the exclusion of the definition of a secular state from the new constitution being drafted by the interim authorities."

Council of Europe opposes French veil ban

Posted on May 13, 2010
Yemen News Agency: "The Council of Europe, one of the principal watchdogs for human rights on this continent, said Tuesday that its parliamentary Commission on Culture, Science and Education had adopted a text in Istanbul on Monday opposing a proposed ban in France on the wearing of the niqab or the burqa, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)...

Australia: Tax status of charities, religions under review

Posted on May 13, 2010
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has proposed a test which asks groups to demonstrate whether their activities are of public benefit or cause harm before being granted tax exempt status. The inquiry was sparked by allegations of serious abuses within the Church of Scientology...

UK: Wellington Town Council rejects calls to ban prayers at meetings

Posted on May 13, 2010
CCFON: "Wellington Town Council has rejected a controversial motion calling to scrap the traditional saying of prayers at the start of its meetings . . . UKIP councillor Dennis Allen, who was at the meeting where the decision has been made, said: 'We're in a Christian area, most of us are Christians...

Nigeria swears in new Christian president

Posted on May 13, 2010
The Gospel Herald: "Nigeria swore in its new president, a Christian, this week after months of leadership confusion while its elected president was receiving medical treatment. Goodluck Jonathan, who has been Nigeria?s acting president since February, officially became president of Nigeria on Thursday...

Malaysia Christian leader: We?re not fighting for ?Allah?

Posted on May 13, 2010
The Gospel Herald: "Christian Federation of Malaysia Chairman Ng Moon Hing stressed that the Malay word for God is as much a part of the languages of indigenous Christians as it is a part of the language Muslims use. 'Native Malaysians have been using 'Allah' for centuries and now you are saying they cannot any longer,' he said to The Christian Post on the sidelines of a recent meeting of Anglican archbishops in Singapore...

UK: Pupil labelled ?truant? for refusing visit to mosque

Posted on May 13, 2010
The Christian Institute: "A 14-year-old Roman Catholic school girl has been branded a truant by teachers for refusing to dress like a Muslim and visit a mosque. Amy Owen, who attends Ellesmere Port Catholic High School in Cheshire, was told that she would have to cover her head and wear trousers or leggings for the visit to the Al-Ramah mosque...

Suit seeks names of SEC workers disciplined for viewing pornography on the job

Posted on May 13, 2010
Washington Post: "A Denver lawyer is suing the Securities and Exchange Commission for the names of agency workers disciplined in the past five years for viewing pornography on government computers. Kevin D. Evans filed suit in federal court in Denver on Friday, accusing the agency of violating federal law by not disclosing the names of 33 current and former employees and contractors who viewed pornographic images while on the job...

MA: ?Adult zone? approved in Middleton

Posted on May 13, 2010
Wicked Local (Tri-Town Transcript): "Middleton Town Meeting voters approved an adult entertainment zone overlay Tuesday night, which was proposed to limit the areas in town where adult entertainment businesses can establish."

British Asians aborting girls under pressure from family

Posted on May 13, 2010
The Christian Institute: "British Indian women are going abroad to abort their baby girls because of pressure on them to have boys, a journalist has warned. Kishwar Desai pointed to statistics from the University of Oxford which estimate almost 100 baby girls are 'disappearing' from British Indian families every year...

Russia: ?Gays in St. Petersburg hope to mark international day against homophobia?

Posted on May 13, 2010
Interfax: "Gays in St. Petersburg intend to conduct an action entitled rainbow flash mob to mark the international day against homophobia on May 17, the organization Vykhod, which campaigns for the rights of gays and lesbians, told Interfax on Thursday...

New Zealand University Pro-Life Club Overcomes Discrimination to Gain Official Status

Posted on May 12, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The University of Auckland pro-life group, Prolife Auckland, today announced their successful affiliation at the University of Auckland. The announcement comes on the heels of the group's recent overturning of a policy discriminating against pro-life groups at the university ...

Sasketchewan Court Considers Legislation Protecting Conscience Rights of Marriage Commissioners

Posted on May 12, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) will appear before the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal Thursday, May 13 and Friday, May 14 in a case involving proposed legislation that would allow the province's marriage commissioners to refuse to perform same-sex "marriages" because of sincerely held religious beliefs ...

Planned Parenthood Endorses Elena Kagan Nomination for Supreme Court

Posted on May 12, 2010
LifeNews: "Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion business, has endorsed President Barack Obama's nomination of pro-abortion Solicitor general Elena Kagan for the open Supreme Court spot. Its endorsement was less reserved than those of NARAL and NOW ...

?How President Obama is bringing real education reform to Colorado?

Posted on May 12, 2010
David Kopel writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: "Today is the final day of the 2010 Colorado legislature, and cautious optimists are looking forward to final passage of Senate Bill 191, a dramatic reform of Colorado?s tenure system for public school teachers...

Mass. Catholic school won?t admit lesbians? son

Posted on May 12, 2010
AP:  "A Roman Catholic school in Massachusetts has withdrawn its acceptance of an 8-year-old boy with lesbian parents, saying their relationship was "in discord" with church teachings, according to one of the boys' mothers." Related: Denver Archbishop discusses denial of enrollment to children of same-sex couples

Erik Stanley: Pelosi to Catholic Bishops: Talk about politics from the pulpit

Posted on May 12, 2010
ADF Attorney Erik Stanley writing at speakupmovement.org/church: "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spoke last week at the Catholic Community Conference and urged Catholic priests and bishops to talk up immigration reform from their pulpits. Pelosi reportedy stated, 'The cardinals, the archbishops, the bishops that come to me ? say, "We want you to pass immigration reform," and I said, I want you to speak about it from the pulpit...

EU Commission: Estonia can adopt euro in 2011

Posted on May 12, 2010
BBC: "The Baltic republic of Estonia, a country of 1.3 million people, is on course to adopt the euro in January 2011, the European Commission says . . . The Commission's assessment covered: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden...

Andrew Kern: The Arts of Freedom

Posted on May 12, 2010
Andrew Kern writes at the Quiddity Blog: A community can be free only to the extent that it remains committed to being free and defending their freedom. When they choose prosperity, security, or even peace over freedom (i.e. when they renounce Patrick Henry?s declamation), they have inevitably forfeited the right to be free...

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