Religion & Law

Pro-life advocates: Montana ?assisted suicide? decision could have been worse

Posted on December 31, 2009
LifeNews: "Jeff Laszloffy of the Montana Family Foundation told LifeNews.com, 'Definitely not what we wanted, but not as bad as it could have been. While we would have preferred an outright reversal of the lower court's decision, this ruling is a partial victory,' he explained...

Utah legislator will promote bill helping women see ultrasound before abortion

Posted on December 31, 2009
LifeNews: "A Utah state legislator will promote legislation in the next session to help women be able to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before an abortion. When used in pregnancy centers, ultrasounds are credited with helping more than 80 percent of women to reconsider a decision to have an abortion...

OneNewsNow: Year in review ? Legal 2009

Posted on December 31, 2009
OneNewsNow: "A disappointment came to warriors against pornography, especially that which victimizes children as the high court refused to revive the Child Online Protection Act, which is designed to protect children from sexual material and other objectionable content on the Internet...

Montana Supreme Court upholds ?physician-aided suicide?

Posted on December 31, 2009
NPR: "The Montana case has drawn wide national attention, with advocates for physician-assisted suicide weighing in on the side of Baxter and his doctors. Meanwhile, conservative groups like the Alliance Defense Fund and the Family Research Council sided with Montana's attorney general against physician-aided suicide...

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Judge delays Oklahoma plan to post abortion details online

Posted on December 31, 2009
ABC News: "An Oklahoma judge Friday put off until Feb. 19 any decision about an anti-abortion law that critics have said is 'like undressing a woman in public.' The law, which was to have gone into effect on Nov. 1, requires doctors performing abortions to ask the patient 37 questions -- from her age to her marital status and financial condition -- which would then be posted on a public website...

Supreme Court to decide soon on Ref. 71 signature case

Posted on December 31, 2009
Seattle Times: "The U.S. Supreme Court will decide by mid-January whether to consider the thorny issues surrounding public release of 138,000 signatures collected this summer as part of Referendum 71."

Coquille same-sex marriage law takes effect

Posted on December 31, 2009
The Oregonian: "A Coquille Indian Tribe law allowing same-sex marriage took effect this week, and two women plan to marry Sunday on the tribe's Coos Bay reservation. Tribal member Kitzen Branting, 26, and her partner, Jeni Branting, 28, who now live in Edmonds, Wash...

Fiduciary fires back in polygamous sect?s property battle

Posted on December 31, 2009
Salt Lake Tribune: "The fiduciary who oversees a polygamous sect's property trust is asking a Utah judge to hold sect leader Warren S. Jeffs, a dozen sect members, FLDS firms and the community's local governments in contempt for trying to intervene in the 4-year-old court case...

SC: Authorities close illegal strip club

Posted on December 31, 2009
The Times and Democrat: "An 'alcohol inspection' of a bar in Santee resulted in multiple charges against the owners and others early Thursday morning for illegal operation of an adult entertainment business and drug and liquor law violations."

Montana Supreme Court makes state third to allow unlimited ?assisted suicide?

Posted on December 31, 2009
LifeNews: "The high court did not determine if the Montana constitution guarantees a right to assisted suicide but said nothing in state law or the precedent of the court prevented assisted suicide . . . The Montana Supreme Court received 19 amicus briefs, including one from attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, a pro-life group who filed their brief in April...

Reid?s health care bill: A fine mess

Posted on December 31, 2009
James C. Capretta & Yuval Levin writing in The Weekly Standard: "In the Democrats' rush to pass some kind of health care legislation before public opposition overwhelms them, tactics have long since overtaken substance. Their only remaining goal is to pass a bill, any bill...

KS Senator pushes Planned Parenthood defunding

Posted on December 31, 2009
WIBW: "A Kansas State Senator announced he still plans on trying to eliminate state funding for Planned Parenthood. Sen. Tim Huelskamp (R-Fowler) called such efforts a way to establish a responsible threshold for spending public dollars."

Chicago outreach to Katrina victims wins 7th Circuit decision against city

Posted on December 31, 2009
"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit issued an order Wednesday rendering a favorable decision to a Christian ministry that was blocked by the city of Chicago from using its property to help displaced Hurricane Katrina victims. ADF-allied attorney John Mauck represented the outreach in the lawsuit against the city and secured a ruling to claim its right protected by the U...

D.C. same-sex ?marriage? vote presents problem for archdiocese

Posted on December 31, 2009
National Catholic Register: "In the district, Georgetown University now provides benefits to one other member of an employee?s household, an attempt to avoid explicit approval of same-sex unions. That policy ? dubbed the 'San Francisco option' ? has already been quietly adopted by at least one Catholic health-care provider in the district...

Court: Mont. law allows ?doctor-assisted suicide?

Posted on December 31, 2009
"The Supreme Court disagreed that the Montana Constitution guarantees the right. But it said in an opinion Thursday that 'we find nothing in Montana Supreme Court precedent or Montana statutes indicating that physician aid in dying is against public policy...

Mexico City enacts region?s 1st same-sex ?marriage? law

Posted on December 31, 2009
Associated Pressa: "Mexico City enacted Latin America's first law recognizing gay marriage Tuesday and said it hopes to attract same-sex couples from around the world to wed."

Hong Kong to strengthen laws against same-sex domestic violence

Posted on December 31, 2009
Xinhua: "The Domestic Violence (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 will enable a party to a cohabitation relationship, whether of the same sex or opposite sex, to apply to the court for an injunction order against molestation by the other party."

Religion Clause: Top 10 church-state, religious liberty developments in 2009

Posted on December 31, 2009
Religion Clause: "Here are my nominations for the 2009 Top Ten Developments in Church-State Separation/ Free-Exercise of Religion. The choices are based on the long-range implications of the developments on legal doctrines and on future of relations between government and religion ...

?Clock?s running out for action on NJ gay marriage?

Posted on December 31, 2009
Associated Press: "The push to legalize gay marriage in New Jersey could fail without a vote being cast by in the Legislature. While the likelihood of a vote has yet to be determined, opponents of gay marriage are preparing to declare the measure dead while advocates insist there's still time to pass a law before the governor switch next month...

13 Republican Attorneys General threaten lawsuit over health care

Posted on December 31, 2009
Associated Press: "Republican attorneys general in 13 states say congressional leaders must remove Nebraska's political deal from the federal health care reform bill or face legal action, according to a letter provided to The Associated Press Wednesday...

Court vacancies erode our system of justice

Posted on December 31, 2009
Carl Tobias, Williams Professor at the University of Richmond Law School, writing at My San Antonio: "[T]he judiciary has 99 openings out of the 858 appeals and district court judgeships. These vacancies, which are 11 percent of the positions, erode the delivery of justice...

Prop. 8 campaign documents ruling reaffirmed

Posted on December 31, 2009
"The [9th Circuit had ruled] 3-0 that their disclosure might discourage participation in future campaigns and inhibit strategists from speaking candidly."

New Jersey judge calls surrogate legal mother of twins

Posted on December 31, 2009
"The ruling gives the woman, who carried the babies in an arrangement with her brother and his male spouse, the right to seek primary custody of the children at a trial in the spring."

Chinese Muslim region adopts law on national unity

Posted on December 31, 2009
Associated Press: "The government of a restive Chinese Muslim region rocked recently by ethnic strife said Thursday it has adopted what appeared to be a sweeping law barring the spread of views deemed to threaten national unity."

Christianity may put American in danger in NKorea

Posted on December 31, 2009
Associated Press: "A Korean-American missionary believed detained in North Korea walked into the country carrying a Bible, intent on preaching Christianity in a country that bans illegal worship - a bold move that may put him at greater risk of harsh punishment...

What Ben Nelson didn?t tell Nebraskans

Posted on December 31, 2009
James Pethokoukis, Reuters: "The act would reduce Medicare spending on hospital stays by $245 billion from 2010-2019, while increasing tax revenue by $113 billion. So on paper, Medicare?s hospital insurance trust fund would be some $358 billion to the better, boosting its long-term solvency...

MN: Fired Muslim workers denied unemployment benefits

Posted on December 31, 2009
Religion Clause: In Osman v. JFC, Inc., (MN App., Dec. 29, 2009), the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of unemployment benefits to 22 Somali Muslims who were fired from their jobs at a poultry processing plant after they refused to comply with the company's break policy.

?Ariz. tuition-credit practices may violate federal tax laws?

Posted on December 31, 2009
Arizona Republic: "Many taxpayers will recommend that their money go to specific students as scholarships; many tuition groups will honor those wishes. But these taxpayers, and the school tuition organizations that give out the scholarships, may be running afoul of federal tax law...

Malaysian court strikes down ban on Catholic use of ?Allah?

Posted on December 31, 2009
Wall Street Journal: "Malaysia's High Court Thursday ruled that local Roman Catholics can resume referring to God as Allah in Malay-language publications, in a decision that appeared to partially halt the steady Islamization of the majority-Muslim nation in recent years ...

Christian Examiner: Year In Review 2009

Posted on December 31, 2009
Christian Examiner: "The [Manhattan Declaration] was drafted by a group of Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical Christians to make a common statement on the sanctity of human life, marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman, and religious liberty and freedom of conscience...

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