Religion & Law

Ban of human-animal hybrids sought in Congress

Posted on July 23, 2009
Baptist Press: "Sen. Sam Brownback, R.-Kan., has introduced legislation to prohibit the creation of human-animal hybrids. If enacted, the Human-animal Hybrid Prohibition Act, S. 1435, would bar the creation of beings made from the genetic material of both people and animals...

Three federal lawsuits aim to force ?gay marriage? on U.S.

Posted on July 23, 2009
Michael Foust reports at Baptist Press: "'There's obviously a desire on behalf of the homosexual activists to take down the federal definition of marriage because it stands in the way of their ultimate goal, which is to impose same-sex marriage on the entire country,' Brian Raum, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which opposes 'gay marriage,' told Baptist Press...

Marriage amendment defended in Wisconsin

Posted on July 23, 2009
CitizenLink: "Wisconsin Family Action, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), has taken the extraordinary step of filing a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court to stop the governor and Legislature from violating the state's marriage amendment ...

MA: Salisbury strip club owner guilty of tax charges

Posted on July 23, 2009
Associated Press: "The owner of a Salisbury strip club has pleaded guilty to federal charges of filing four years worth of false tax returns for not reporting some cash proceeds from the club."

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USAID audited for funding ?inherently religious activities?

Posted on July 23, 2009
Colum Lynch reports at On Faith (Washington Post): "The U.S. Agency for International Development funded programs that rebuilt Iraqi mosques and used biblical lessons to promote sexual abstinence in Africa, despite a prohibition on the use of taxpayer funds to support 'inherently religious activities,' according to a new audit by the agency's inspector general...

Scotland: ?Bible defaced for gay art exhibition?

Posted on July 23, 2009
The Christian Institute: "Obscene and offensive messages have been scrawled over a Bible at a taxpayer-funded exhibition in Glasgow."

Canada: Public officials must perform same-sex ?marriages,? despite religious objections

Posted on July 23, 2009
Patrick Book reports at CJME: "Now Court of Queen's Bench Justice Janet McMurtry has denied Nichols' appeal, which was filed on the basis his right to religious freedom should have been protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In a 39-page decision, McMurtry dismisses that argument...

Wisconsin: Lawsuit filed against domestic partnerships

Posted on July 23, 2009
Andrew Beckett reports at Wisconsin Radio Network: "The group is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund in the lawsuit. Attorney Brian Raum says the domestic partnership law challenges the will of Wisconsin voters, who passed a clear Constitutional amendment defining marriage and preventing any similar legal status...

Poll shows abortion harms women

Posted on July 23, 2009
CitizenLink: "Fifty-three percent of respondents to a recent Marist College Poll said abortion harms women, while about a quarter (26 percent) said it improves a woman's life."

?Some see polyamorous marriage as next civil rights movement?

Posted on July 23, 2009
"We are the next generation after the gay and transgender communities."

The male/female problematic and out-of-wedlock births

Posted on July 23, 2009
Helen Alvare writing at the Culture of Life Foundation: "In the most complete narratives revealing the minds of single mothers or unmarried parent-couples, there is very little said about the decision to engage in sex with the other parent. It is almost as if it is not worthy of discussion or debate...

?The Passion? producer speaks about faith and the art of entertainment

Posted on July 23, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "In a Wednesday evening conference call Steve McEveety, producer of movies such as 'The Passion of the Christ' and 'Bella,' spoke about his Hollywood career, his faith, and how aspiring filmmakers can advance in the entertainment industry...

Indiana man convicted for transportation and possession of child pornography

Posted on July 23, 2009
PR Newswire reports: "William Travis Brown, 39, of Sellersburg, Ind., was convicted today by a federal jury in Indianapolis of transporting and possessing child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U...

Non-embryonic stem cells pass major hurdle in mice

Posted on July 23, 2009
Associated Press: "Two teams of Chinese scientists have made a major advance in mice in the development of a new kind of stem cell that doesn't involve destroying embryos."

FL: Gov. Crist appears to soften stance on same-sex adoption

Posted on July 22, 2009
Jim Ash reports in the Tallahassee Democrat: "Now a candidate for U.S. Senate, Crist hinted today that he might support lifting the ban. At first, Crist said it would be the Legislature's responsibility to change the law. When pressed on whether he would support the effort, Crist said, 'I'd have to think about it...

New legislation protects religious freedom at Arizona schools

Posted on July 22, 2009
"After that incident, Governor Jan Brewer signed the Students' Religious Liberties Act (H.B. 2357) last week. . . . The bill still allows parents and students to file a lawsuit, but only after following first an administrative remedy through the school principal and district superintendent...

Attorney General urged to enforce obscenity laws

Posted on July 22, 2009
North Caroline Family Policy Council: "The proliferation of pornography in the United States is endangering children and families, and federal efforts to combat it need to be expanded, according to the hundreds of pro-family advocates who sent a letter to U...

The cost of low fertility in Europe

Posted on July 22, 2009
The Cost of Low Fertility in Europe: "We analyze the effect of fertility on income per capita with a particular focus on the experience of Europe."

Religious cleansing in Iran

Posted on July 22, 2009
J. K. Choksy and Nina Shea write at National Review Online: "Thus Iran?s Zoroastrians, Jews, Mandeans, Christians, and Bahais are subordinated and indeed treated as a fifth column by the revolutionary Islamic Republic. No matter that most of these religious groups were established in Iran before Islam arrived there; none are accepted by Iran?s Shiite rulers as fully Iranian...

Does Roe permit abortion-on-demand throughout pregnancy

Posted on July 22, 2009
Matthew J. Franck writes at Public Discourse: "Millions of Americans believe that states can prohibit abortion in the third trimester, yet current Supreme Court jurisprudence has manufactured a right to unfettered abortion right up to the time of the child?s birth...

CA: ?Porterville councilmen waver on new gay marriage bill?

Posted on July 22, 2009
Jenna Chandler reports in the Porterville Record: "At their regular city council meeting, former mayor Cameron Hamilton proposed that they show adamant opposition to a bill circulating among state senators. The bill, No. 54, proposes that same-sex couples married outside the state and before the passage of Proposition 8, are warranted the equal recognition as married spouses in California...

Networks? assault on marriage

Posted on July 22, 2009
Colleen Raezler reports at the Culture and Media Institute: "More weddings take place in June, July and August then at any other time of the year. It provides networks a perfect hook from which to hang feature stories about long-married couples in rewarding relationships, and what it takes to form a successful, satisfying and strong union...

?Hate crimes? bill threatens the innocent

Posted on July 22, 2009
Gail Heriot, law professor at the University of San Diego and member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, writes in The Philadelphia Inquirer: "The proposal's most significant effect would be to allow federal authorities to reprosecute defendants who have already been acquitted in state courts...

School district keeps parental permission rules for students seeking services like abortion

Posted on July 22, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "Another California school district has voted to preserve a policy requiring students to have parental permission to leave campus for any reason. Changes to the policy would have allowed students to leave campus for any reason, including ?confidential medical services? such as abortion...

NY nurse threatened, forced to assist in late-term abortion

Posted on July 22, 2009
"Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit Monday against Mount Sinai Hospital on behalf of a Catholic nurse who was forced to participate in a late-term abortion under the threat of disciplinary action, including possible termination and loss of her license...

Abortion opponents ask Houston leaders to regulate procedure

Posted on July 22, 2009
Lee McGuire reports at KHOU: "A group of 30 women, many of whom have had abortions, went to city hall Tuesday. They asked the mayor and council to pass an ordinance that would toughen restrictions on abortion providers."

Poll: New Hampshire voters oppose ?gay marriage? law

Posted on July 22, 2009
Michael Foust reports at Baptist Press: "The poll shows that by a margin of 49-41 percent, New Hampshire likely voters disapprove of the law that made the state the sixth nationwide to legalize "marriage" for homosexual couples. Ten percent are undecided...

UK: Culture Secretary urges promotion of homosexual agenda in Middle East

Posted on July 22, 2009
PinkNews reports: "Following the condemnation of British ambassadors for promoting gay rights in eastern European countries such as Poland and Bulgaria, openly gay Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw has suggested those in Arabic and Asian countries should follow suit, PinkNews...

Mexican gov?t distributes contraceptive info to public school children

Posted on July 22, 2009
LifeSiteNews reports: "The Mexican government is distributing millions of pamphlets to children and adolescents in public schools, informing them of their 'right' to receive the abortifacient "morning after pill," after sexual intercourse."

UK: ?Gay lobby?s media crusade revealed?

Posted on July 22, 2009
LifeSiteNews reports: "A British journalist and activist has come under fire from a homosexualist activist for revealing the names of key figures involved in a deliberate long-term plan that resulted in the success of Britain's "gay rights" movement. Nicholas De Jongh, a theatre critic, playwright and homosexualist activist, accused journalist Matthew Parris of 'blowing' the confidentiality enjoyed for four decades by a small cadre activists who brought the movement to its maturity in late 1980s Britain...

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