Religion & Law

Idaho panel rules against school?s Bible plan

Posted on August 20, 2009
KXnet.com (AP): "An Idaho charter school's plan to teach about the Bible has been blocked . . . The Alliance Defense Fund, which represented the school, argued that the writers of Idaho's Constitution 'sought assurances that the right of public schools to use the Bible as a teaching tool would be protected...

NY college scraps ban on ?religious services?

Posted on August 20, 2009
Christian Post: "According to the Alliance Defense Fund's announcement on Tuesday, attorneys reached a favorable settlement with Broome Community College on behalf of North Pointe Church. The church can now access campus facilities. 'Churches shouldn?t be discriminated against for their beliefs,' said ADF Litigation Counsel Daniel Blomberg...

In face of Planned Parenthood attack, USCCB official insists abortion is not health care

Posted on August 20, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, has criticized the U.S. Catholic bishops? work to exclude abortion coverage from health care legislation. In response, an official with the conference insisted that taking human life is not health care and warned that pro-abortion politics are endangering the entire proposal...

2nd Circuit: Visual cues must distinguish facility?s postal usage from its use as a church

Posted on August 20, 2009
This case raises an Establishment Clause challenge to religious displays in a contract postal unit operated by a church in Manchester, Connecticut.

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More forgo clergy-led funerals for those by secular ?celebrants?

Posted on August 20, 2009
USA Today: "John Reed Sr., president of the National Funeral Directors Association, says 50% of Americans today say they don't belong to a church and don't see value in a religious funeral. But 'they still want ceremony and celebration at the end of life...

AP: ?Male or Female? Gender tests are not always easy?

Posted on August 20, 2009
AP: "About 1 percent of people are born with some kind of sexual ambiguity, sometimes referred to as intersexuality."

?Loser pay? setup might discourage ACLU

Posted on August 20, 2009
One News Now: "One of the most conservative members of the U.S. Senate believes that a system in which the loser pays in civil suits would go a long way to dissuade organizations like the ACLU from intimidating Christians and conservative groups."

Sen. Kennedy seeks change in law for interim successor

Posted on August 20, 2009
AP: "Text of a letter from Sen. Edward Kennedy to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray asking they change state law to allow a speedy replacement if it becomes necessary for him to surrender his seat ...

3rd Circuit Appeal Challenges Judge?s Outside Research in Bench Trial

Posted on August 20, 2009
NJ Law Journal: "A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the verdict, saying the research was for "informational" purposes only and was not the basis for Shwartz's decision."

IIAF asks S. Africa to gender test rising track star

Posted on August 20, 2009
NY Daily News: "The IAAF has given new meaning to the term 'governing body.' The organization, which oversees track and field internationally, has asked the South African athletics federation to conduct a gender verification exam on the nation's running sensation, Caster Semenya, who Wednesday won the 800-meter event at the World Championships in Berlin...

Maggie Gallagher: No Justice for Marriage

Posted on August 20, 2009
"This is is not some kind of weird side argument drummed up by folks who don't like gay people. It has been at the heart of America's marriage tradition . . . Dozens of courts have ruled that procreation is a key purpose of marriage . . . "

?Lutherans move toward more open view on gays?

Posted on August 20, 2009
"This church . . . acknowledges that consensus does not exist concerning how to regard same gender committed relationships . . . We do not have agreement on whether this church should honor these relationships . . ."

San Diego Internet Crimes Unit receives federal grant

Posted on August 20, 2009
10 News: "A local law enforcement agency that fights online sexual exploitation of minors will receive a $708,000 federal grant, city officials announced Thursday."

In reducing abortions, House bills diverge

Posted on August 20, 2009
Baptist Press: "Two proposals in Congress are being promoted as abortion-reduction measures, but one actually would increase the number of unborn children killed by the procedure in the United States, according to major pro-life organizations."

Huffington Post: Why The Harvard Law Review Comment Defending Campus Speech Codes Matters

Posted on August 20, 2009
Greg Lukianoff writes at the Huffington Post: "But the final reason why the HLR comment was so frustrating to us was that it relied on shoddy, unforgivably incomplete research to reach a conclusion that limits the rights of their fellow students. That is more than ironic, it's more than frustrating; frankly, it's unworthy of such a venerable publication...

David Cortman on the Michael Medved Show: School Choice for Special Needs Children

Posted on August 20, 2009
ADF attorney David Cortman appeared on the Michael Medved Show to discuss school choice for special needs children. The MP3 runs just over 33 minutes.

Court order to purge religious displays from part of church-run store reversed

Posted on August 20, 2009
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has reversed a federal judge?s order to remove all religious displays from a church-run contract postal unit in Manchester, Conn.

Ohio: No cash? Elyria High students can pay with their finger

Posted on August 20, 2009
Chronicle-Telegram: "With the start of the new school year well under way at the high school, a new lunch system is being piloted that will use student fingerprints instead of cards or personal identification numbers to access lunch accounts."

D.C. Parents Demand School Vouchers at Protest

Posted on August 20, 2009
Washington Post: "Classes in D.C. public schools start Monday, and 216 students are hoping they won't have to go back. About 70 parents, children and activists joined Thursday in front of the U.S. Department of Education to encourage Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to award vouchers to help the students pay for private school...

Judge: SD doctors must say abortion ends life

Posted on August 20, 2009
"A federal judge upheld part of a South Dakota law that requires women to be told abortion ends a human life, but struck down disclosures that the procedure increases the likelihood of suicide and that they have an existing relationship with the fetus...

Court rules against Paterson?s lieutenant gov appointment

Posted on August 20, 2009
Newsday: "Gov. David A. Paterson 'simply does not have the authority' to name a lieutenant governor, a four-judge Appellate Division panel said Thursday, voiding last month's appointment of Richard Ravitch to the post."

Janet M. LaRue: Obama has a ?pony? for you

Posted on August 20, 2009
Jan LaRue writes at Townhall: "Obama on the Second Amendment, marriage, and health care?it all makes sense if you?re into plastic ponies and cardboard trucks."

Obama tells religious leaders health care is a moral issue

Posted on August 20, 2009
Wall Street Journal Washington Wire blog:"President Barack Obama joined a health care conference call with religious organizations just past 5:30 p.m. this evening, and didn?t waste a moment before putting the debate onto a higher plane: . . . 'It is a core ethical and moral obligation that we look after each other...

Mayo Clinic Doctor Admits Abortions Hurt Women, Cause Premature Births

Posted on August 20, 2009
LifeNews: "A physician who works for the prestigious Mayo Clinic has written a new factsheet that admits abortions harm women. Roger W. Harms, M.D., a Mayo Clinic obstetrician and medical editor-in-chief, also says abortions can cause women problems with subsequent pregnancies...

Vermont Right to Life sues over state campaign finance law

Posted on August 20, 2009
Vermont Right to Life has filed suit to strike down three Vermont campaign finance laws which violate the First Amendment by regulating VRLC as a political committee, requiring identification on electioneering communications, and requiring reporting of mass-media activities.

Pornography: The drug that taps into the brain and body

Posted on August 20, 2009
Independent Online: "Studies suggest that as many as 80 percent of men watch porn on TV or the Internet, and many of them are so addicted to it that it's been called the new cocaine. Why is it so powerful? Pornography taps into intense emotional, biological and chemical connections throughout the brain and body...

Gynecologists in Spain plan to choose jail before performing an abortion

Posted on August 20, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "Dr. Esteban Rodriguez, spokesman for the organization Right to Life (Derecho a Vivir) in Spain, responded yesterday to comments by the country?s Minister of Justice, Francisco Caamano, who said there was no room for a conscience clause in the new law on abortion...

WV pastors continue to unite for marriage

Posted on August 19, 2009
Nathan Cherry writes at The Engage Family Blog of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia: "The West Virginia Ministries of the Church of God passed a resolution Friday affirming marriage as the union between one man and one woman. The resolution also committed the denomination?s supportfor efforts to legally protect marriage in the West Virginia Constitution...

AARP Health Care Debate Gets Rowdy In Brevard

Posted on August 19, 2009
WFTV.com: "More than 300 Brevard County residents packed the Senior Resource Center in Viera. A resounding majority of them told the AARP they did not want the so-called 'public option,' where the federal government provides an insurance plan to compete with the private sector...

Will ACORN receive health care money to monitor your diet?

Posted on August 19, 2009
CNSNews: "The health care reform bill approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) would provide federal grants to state and local governments and a 'national network of community-based organizations' to 'promote healthy living and reduce disparities' and to monitor people's weight, eating, exercise habits and other individual behaviors that affect health at the community level ...

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