Religion & Law

British Court Rejects Criminal Charges Against Christian Hotel Owners

Posted on December 10, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: The charges brought under Section 5 of the Public Order Act (1986) charged that Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang had made threatening, abusive or insulting remarks about Islam to hotel guest Ericka Tazi

UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2009: Non-Discrimination ?At The Heart of Human Rights?

Posted on December 10, 2009
United Nations: "The concept of non-discrimination lies at the heart of human rights. For this reason, it has been designated the official theme of this Human Rights Day, which occurs every year on the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948...

9th Circuit Oral Arguments: In Mt. Soledad Cross Case

Posted on December 10, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "Yesterday the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Jewish War Veterans v. City of San Diego. (Recording of full arguments.) The case is part of the 20-year long series of lawsuits challenging the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California, and the large Cross that is part of the memorial...

Resolution To Protect Sanctity of Christmas Introduced Into House

Posted on December 10, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "On Tuesday, South Carolina Congressman Henry E. Brown, Jr. introduced H. Res. 951 which urges protection of the symbols and traditions of Christmas."

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Austrian parliament OKs ?gay? civil unions

Posted on December 10, 2009
AP: "The bill, slated to become law Jan. 1., will give same-sex couples a series of rights enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts . . . "

?Irish judges: Gay sperm donor should see his son?

Posted on December 10, 2009
"The Irish Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a gay man who donated his sperm to a lesbian couple should be permitted to see his 3-year-old son regularly - in part because Ireland's constitution doesn't recognize the lesbians as a valid family unit."

The Explosion of Charter Schools in America

Posted on December 10, 2009
US News and World Report indicates that 11 states still don't have any charter schools, but as the map reveals there is definitely an explosion of charter schools across the country. Does your state support school choice?

Spanish gov?t to change abortion bill

Posted on December 10, 2009
Findlaw (AP): "The Spanish government will amend its proposed abortion bill to oblige girls aged 16 and 17 to inform one of their parents if they want to end their pregnancy."

Pro-Life Ideology Split in Two: Subtle Distinctions Expose Fundamental Divide

Posted on December 10, 2009
Sherry F. Colb writes at Findlaw: "In particular, I will focus, in this column, on that community's preference for condemning and restricting those who support the practice of abortion ? by performing the procedure or by financing it ? rather than condemning and punishing the women who seek to terminate their pregnancies...

Greg Baylor, Vikram Amar, and Ethan P. Schulman on KQED Public Radio in San Francisco: CLS lawsuit against UC Hastings

Posted on December 10, 2009
Greg Baylor of the Alliance Defense Fund, Professor Vikram Amar of the UC Davis School of Law, and Ethan P. Schulman of Crowell and Moring appeared on KQED Public Radio in San Francisco to discuss this: U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear lawsuit against UC-Hastings...

High stakes in Europe?s ?Roe v. Wade?

Posted on December 10, 2009
OneNewsNow: "'Two of [the women] had claimed that they had illnesses that required them to receive an abortion because the pregnancy was a threat to their health,' Kiska explains. 'The third [woman] had said that she did not have the financial resources to obtain an abortion abroad -- but none of the three women provided even a single document of evidence supporting any of their claims...

Judges review Soledad cross issues

Posted on December 10, 2009
San Diego Union-Tribune: "Joe Infranco, a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund, which has sided with the government and wants to keep the cross, said after the hearing it was 'very hard to tell' if the judges were leaning in any direction. But he seemed encouraged by the court?s focus...

CA: Alameda Board of Education votes to phase out ?gay-friendly? curriculum

Posted on December 10, 2009
Associated Press: "The five member school board voted 4-1 to replace the controversial curriculum with more generic lessons that promote tolerance."

Federal judges deciding fate of mountaintop cross

Posted on December 10, 2009
WorldNetDaily: "Joe Infranco is a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal group that filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the American Legion Department of California. He told WND that after 45 minutes of arguments in 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, it was difficult to tell which way the three-judge panel was leaning...

Irish abortion ban challenged in European Court of Human Rights

Posted on December 10, 2009
Digital Journal: "However supporting the ban on abortion [in] Ireland are members of the anti-abortion movement in the U.S. and they have been permitted to present their arguments in favor of the ban to the European Court. It appears to be the Alliance Defense Fund that is organizing the effort in the U...

Tangipahoa Parish prayer policy has new wording

Posted on December 10, 2009
Associated Press: "The Advocate reports the board's attorney in the federal case, Mike Johnson of the Alliance Defense Fund, requested the changes Tuesday."

Experts Report on the State of Marriage

Posted on December 10, 2009
Citizen Link: "The research was co-sponsored by the Institute for American Values and the National Marriage Project (NMP) at the University of Virginia (UVA) . . . Read the study."

The Privatization of the First Amendment: The Nomination of Chai Feldblum

Posted on December 10, 2009
Mario Diaz writes at Townhall: "No matter what your political party, no matter your religion or if you have none at all, we should all be concerned about loosing our most cherished liberties. It is those liberties that lie at the foundation of everything we believe as a nation...

Dorinda C. Bordlee: Abortion and Healthcare Legislation Update

Posted on December 10, 2009
Dorinda C. Bordlee of the Bioethics Defense Fund has this report on the healthcare legislation at National Review.

Senators await price tag and details on health bill

Posted on December 10, 2009
The Hill: "Liberal and centrist senators at the center of the healthcare debate bought themselves more time Wednesday, saying they would decide how to vote after they saw the bill?s final price tag."

Destination Denmark: Political scuffle breaks out over Pelosi?s delegation

Posted on December 10, 2009
The Hill: "A political scuffle has broken out about which lawmakers will be allowed to go to Copenhagen, Demark, on a congressional delegation led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) . . . "It?s really a question of whether they are excluding someone who has a different opinion than ?Isn?t this wonderful?,?? Issa said, noting that there is still a possibility that he would be allowed on the trip...

Ark. ACLU sues state for rejecting Capitol display

Posted on December 10, 2009
Pine Bluff Commercial: "The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says it's suing the state for rejecting a group's proposed 'winter solstice' display at the Capitol."

CA: Corning council quashes prayer

Posted on December 10, 2009
Corning Observer: "The Corning City Council meeting will no longer begin with an invocation . . . According to Mayor Gary Strack, the decision was based on information the city received from the League of California Cities concerning exposure to litigation...

Fast-growing Christian churches crushed in China

Posted on December 10, 2009
"The closure of what may be China's first mega-church is the most visible sign that the communist government is determined to rein in the rapid spread of Christianity, with a crackdown in recent months that church leaders call the harshest in years."

Full UMass board gives nod to law school plan

Posted on December 10, 2009
Boston Globe: "The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees this morning approved a plan to open the state's first public law school."

Judge finds Pentagon in contempt in Gitmo case

Posted on December 10, 2009
Boston Globe (AP): "A federal judge on Thursday ruled the Defense Department in contempt of court for failing to videotape the testimony of a Guantanamo Bay detainee so that the public and the news media could see it."

North Kansas City Council drops prayer from meetings

Posted on December 10, 2009
Sun Tribune: "The City Council recently dropped the long standing tradition of reciting the Christian Lord?s Prayer at the start of every council business session. Requests from a national organization to remove the prayer from the meeting agendas citing the illegality of the recital of such a prayer led to immediate removal from future meetings...

Milwaukee School Board committee votes for free condoms

Posted on December 10, 2009
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "Shakia Rayford, a sophomore at Milwaukee High School of the Arts, was one of many teenagers who whooped and hugged friends early Wednesday when a Milwaukee School Board committee voted 5-0 in favor of allowing for the limited distribution of male condoms in some city high schools...

Indian court considers ?legalising prostitution?

Posted on December 10, 2009
AFP: "India's Supreme Court suggested legalising prostitution as a solution to the rampant sex trade that has flourished despite a raft of laws, a report said Thursday."

Italy allows abortion drug RU-486 in hospital

Posted on December 10, 2009
FOX News (AP): "Italy has given a final go-ahead to the abortion drug RU-486, capping years of debate and defying opposition from the Vatican."

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