Religion & Law

?Anti-abortion group questions UW, Planned Parenthood relationship?

Posted on April 20, 2010
The Badger Herald: "A Wisconsin anti-abortion group is questioning the legality of using state funds to train state-employed physicians at Planned Parenthood, saying it violates state law because training involves performing abortions . . . 'UWHCA appears to be violating the law by using [the funds of an agency of the state of Wisconsin] to pay residents for activities at Planned Parenthood that include their performance of abortions,' Matt Bowman from the Legal Counsel of Alliance Defense Fund said in the letter to Van Hollen...

Tennessee AG Opinion Says ?Jesus Is Lord? Plates Violate Establishment Clause

Posted on April 20, 2010
"Tennessee Attorney General Opinion 10-52 (April 15, 2010) concludes that the state's issuance of a specialty license plate carrying the motto "Jesus is Lord" would violate the Establishment Clause . . . "

Neb. fetal pain law could be game-changer

Posted on April 20, 2010
Baptist Press: "In the same way America's views on abortion were transformed by the debate over partial-birth abortion, a first-of-its-kind Nebraska law spotlighting unborn child pain could further change hearts and minds and eventually lead to a gutting of Roe v...

Jordan Lorence on the Janet Mefferd Show: CLS v. Martinez

Posted on April 20, 2010
ADF attorney Jordan Lorence appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. The MP3 runs approximately 14 minutes.

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Mike Johnson on the radio with Roland Letner: National Day of Prayer Litigation

Posted on April 20, 2010
ADF attorney Mike Johnson appeared on the radio with Roland Letner to discuss the recent court decision holding that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. The MP3 runs approximately 23 minutes.

KY: Beshear considering charter schools for special session agenda

Posted on April 20, 2010
Bluegrass Politics: "A potential compromise that would allow charter schools in Kentucky is gaining momentum in the Capitol, and could even help resolve an impasse over the state budget."

MA: Some social conservatives may sit out election

Posted on April 20, 2010
The Daily News Transcript: "Social conservatives ? abortion foes, gay marriage opponents, transgender rights critics ? may sit out the 2010 election, a Massachusetts hard-line conservative activist said Tuesday, arguing that no statewide candidates for office have championed their views...

Right argument wins the day for British Catholics

Posted on April 20, 2010
Gerald J. Russello writing in the National Catholic Register: "[S]ecular bureaucracies can be relied on to interpret rules to favor their own mission, rather than respect the rights of religious institutions. The Charity Commission could have exempted religious institutions from the Equality Act, but doing so would have permitted them to operate according to their own beliefs ...

Group wants Franklin Graham Pentagon event canceled

Posted on April 20, 2010
AP: "The Military Religious Freedom Foundation said Tuesday that Muslims who work at the Pentagon objected to evangelist Franklin Graham's planned appearance . . . "

TN: Lord?s Prayer recital draws spirited crowd in response to legal threat

Posted on April 20, 2010
Knows News: "There was a tent-revival feel in the atmosphere Monday evening as an estimated 500 people heeded the call to gather at the historic Sevier County Courthouse to show their disdain for a threatened lawsuit aimed at ending the County Commission practice of reciting the Lord's Prayer to open its regular meetings ...

Steve Aden on the Bob Dutko Show: Embryonic stem cell funding suit

Posted on April 20, 2010
ADF attorney Steven H. Aden appeared on the Bob Dutko Show to discuss this: ADF providing support to lawsuit defending law that prohibits federal funding of embryo destruction | The mp3 runs just under 6 and a half minutes.

Group sues over exclusion from Mont. charitable program

Posted on April 20, 2010
First Amendment Center (AP): "A conservative Montana group [contends] its exclusion from a state employee charitable-donation program is discriminatory because it?s based on the group?s religious views . . .'Government officials are denying state employees the opportunity to give to one group, while allowing them to contribute to groups with other views and activities that the state is more fond of,' said [Nate Kellum], senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund...

Christian Institute launches election briefing

Posted on April 20, 2010
Christian Today: "The Christian Institute has launched an online election briefing to help Christians understand the policy positions of the main parties and cast an informed vote in the upcoming general election." | www.christian.org.uk/election

Nepal Christians begin vigil for new constitution

Posted on April 20, 2010
Nepal News: "For the first time in Nepal's history, its minority Christian community Tuesday joined the socio-political process, beginning a 'vigil' to ensure that the new constitution would be enacted in time and guarantee religious freedom to all."

UK report: Cohabitation, marriage, and child outcomes

Posted on April 20, 2010
Cohabitation, Marriage, and Child Outcomes The Institute for Fiscal Studies, Alissa Goodman and Ellen Greaves, April 2010 "We have shown that the children of married parents do better than the children of cohabiting parents in a number of dimensions, particularly on measures of social and emotional development at the ages of 3 and 5...

Another same-sex ?marriage? nullified in Argentina

Posted on April 20, 2010
Latin American Herald Tribune: "A judge on Friday voided the marriage last week of two women in this capital, the first union of its kind in Argentina, judicial officials said. Argentine Norma Castillo and Uruguay?s Ramona Arevalo, who are both 67 and have been a couple for the past three decades, married on April 9 after getting the go-ahead from Judge Elena Liberatori...

More nations saying ?I do? to same-sex ?marriages?

Posted on April 20, 2010
Jakarta Globe: "Today seven countries, five US states and several Latin American cities have legalized same-sex marriage. The Netherlands ushered the way in 2001, the first nation to permit same-sex couples to marry legally. This historic decision marked a turning point, with demands for equality reverberating across borders...

Chinese lawyer gets religious liberty award

Posted on April 20, 2010
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission: "Fan Yafeng, a Chinese human rights lawyer and religious liberty advocate, has received the 2009 John Leland Religious Liberty Award for his defense of persecuted Christians in China. Richard Land, president of Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, presented the award during an April 14 ceremony at the U...

No hooking up, no sex for some coeds

Posted on April 20, 2010
CNN: "The hook-up culture on campuses may seem more pervasive than ever, especially as media outlets, books and documentaries rush to dissect the subject, but some college women and men are saying no. Some, like Boyle, experimented with hooking up and quit...

UK: Sharp rise in GP surgeries offering early abortions

Posted on April 20, 2010
The Christian Institute: "The number of NHS trusts planning to or already offering early term abortions in GP surgeries has tripled in the past year, and pro-lifers fear this will fuel a surge in abortions. A publication for doctors, GP magazine, has revealed that 17 health trusts are either offering or are planning to offer abortions for women up to nine weeks pregnant...

UK: Church hustings rising rapidly ahead of election

Posted on April 20, 2010
The Christian Institute: "One in three constituencies will now be holding church hustings ahead of the upcoming General Election. More than 220 churches have now signed up to hold hustings, meaning that hundreds of parliamentary candidates will be grilled over their stances on a variety of moral and religious issues...

UK: Ethics group consults on paying public for organs

Posted on April 20, 2010
The Christian Institute: "The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is examining the ethical issues surrounding donations of organs and other 'body parts', including embryo donation, in a public consultation, preceding any official change."

UK: More stores to review ?sexy? clothes for kids

Posted on April 20, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Several high street stores have pledged to review their product lines after they were accused of stocking clothes that sexualised children."

Obama talking to possible court picks

Posted on April 20, 2010
AP: "President Barack Obama has begun conversations with potential Supreme Court nominees . . . "

Yemen: Islamic lawmaker decries child marriage ban as part of ?Western agenda?

Posted on April 19, 2010
LA Times: "The recent death of 13-year old Yemeni child bride Elham Assi, who reportedly bled to death last week after being tied down and forced to have sex with her 23-year-old husband, has sparked outrage among rights activists in Yemen. They are now stepping up their lobbying efforts to push for the implementation of a child marriage ban...

UK: Girls saved from forced marriage

Posted on April 19, 2010
BBC: "It has emerged that two girls living in Northern Ireland have been made the subject of a court order to stop them being forced into marriage in Pakistan."

Dustup Over Elena Kagan Could Reveal Obama?s Intention for Supreme Court Nominee

Posted on April 19, 2010
LifeNews: "A dustup over one of the names on President Barack Obama's short list for president has one political observer thinking Elena Kagan may become Obama's pick to replace retiring pro-abortion Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. The aggressive posture of the White House in defending Kagan may reveal Obama's intention...

UK: Unions boycott national curriculum tests

Posted on April 19, 2010
Independent: "Two of Britain's largest teachers' unions have voted in favour of boycotting this year's national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds . . . Both unions claim the 'high stakes' nature of the tests ? which are used to compile primary school league tables ? have led to too many primary schools teaching to the test in the final year of primary school, making lessons dull for pupils ...

National Day of Prayer ruling ?flawed?

Posted on April 19, 2010
One News Now: "Attorney Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law & Justice says Crabb's decision is 'flawed.' 'The Establishment Clause is to mandate the federal government from establishing a national church, to say that you have to read a specific Bible or to say a specific prayer,' he clarifies...

Advocates push for stillborn birth certificates

Posted on April 19, 2010
One News Now: "Pennsylvania lawmakers are again considering a bill to provide birth certificates for stillborn babies."

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