Religion & Law

China: The Real Story of the Uighur Riots

Posted on July 10, 2009
Rebiya Kadeer writes at the Wall Street Journal: "When the Chinese government looks back on its handling of the unrest in Urumqi and East Turkestan this week, it will most likely tell the world that it acted in the interests of maintaining stability. It will most likely forget to explain why thousands of Uighurs risked everything to speak out against injustice, or why hundreds of Uighurs are now dead for exercising their right to protest...

Not Just Another DOMA Suit

Posted on July 10, 2009
Dale Carpenter writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: "The federal complaint in Commonwealth v. HHS was filed yesterday by Massachusetts, which is asking for federal recognition of its same-sex marriages, not for the invalidation of all state laws limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples...

?Rockstar Energy Drink to Donate $100K+ to LGBT Orgs & Bloggers?

Posted on July 10, 2009
The Bilerico Project reports: "Rockstar will be donating $100k to three LGBT organizations and has agreed to make a significant donation to the LGBT Bloggers Initiative as well." Radio talkshow host Michael Savage is mentioned in the article.

?Who?s afraid of billions of people??

Posted on July 10, 2009
". . . the core belief in ?too many people? . . . really shows that this is a political outlook in search of a social or scientific justification. It is an already-existing prejudice, held by certain kinds of people . . . "

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FDA approves new permanent contraceptive

Posted on July 10, 2009
Kristina Fiore reports in MedPage Today: "The FDA has approved Adiana, a noninvasive, permanent contraception system intended to serve as an alternative to tubal ligation, according to manufacturer Hologic."

The Importance of Family Meals

Posted on July 10, 2009
Rebecca Hagelin writes at Townhall: "It makes sense when you think about it. When your children know that your being with them is a priority for you, they feel valued and loved. They also begin to understand that the sacred bonds of family will sustain them through any challenge life throws at them...

WI: State health program will give men ?family planning? options

Posted on July 10, 2009
Stacy Forster reports in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Family planning services available through state health programs will be offered to men, under a provision in the two-year budget signed by Gov. Jim Doyle last week that included a handful of changes to family planning policies...

Guttmacher Institute calls for repeal of Hyde Amendment

Posted on July 10, 2009
Guttmacher Institute Press Release: "'In his recent budget proposal, President Obama had the option of calling on Congress to end the funding restrictions imposed by the federal Hyde Amendment. We are disappointed that he did not do so,' says Heather Boonstra, a Guttmacher senior public policy associate...

New poll shows more Americans moving toward pro-life position

Posted on July 10, 2009
PR Newswire: "The American people continue to move to the pro-life perspective on abortion according to the latest Moral Compass survey by the Knights of Columbus and Marist Poll . . . 86% of Americans would significantly restrict abortion . . . 60% of Americans would limit abortion to cases of rape, incest or to save the life of a mother - or would not allow it at all...

WV: Morgan County seeks to restrict strip clubs

Posted on July 10, 2009
Associated Press: "The County Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve a new ordinance that prohibits adult 'arcades, cabarets and theaters' from being with 2,000 feet of churches, schools, daycare facilities, public parks, restaurants, hotels, campgrounds, residential dwellings or businesses with liquor licenses...

National Law Journal compilation of coverage of the Sotomayor nomination

Posted on July 10, 2009
"The National Law Journal's ongoing coverage of the confirmation process of Sonia Sotomayor as U.S. Supreme Court Justice . . . compilation of news and commentary from around the Web on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court."

U.S. House Passes Resolution Calling for Motto To Be Added To Visitor Center

Posted on July 10, 2009
http://religionclause.blogspot.com/2009/07/house-passes-resolution-calling-for.html">Religion Clause Blog: "The House of Representatives yesterday, by a vote of 410-8, passed H. Con. Res. 131, directing the Architect of the Capitol to engrave the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Motto, 'In God We Trust,' in the Capitol Visitor Center ...

Canadian FLDS Faces Property, Polygamy Prosecution, Issues

Posted on July 10, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "While the U.S. media have given a good deal of attention to the FLDS Church members living in the twin towns of Colorado City, AZ and Hildale, UT, there is also a group of FLDS members in the Canadian town of Bountiful, in British Columbia...

8th Circuit: Attorney Can?t Discharge $360,000 Student Loan Debt

Posted on July 10, 2009
Leigh Jones writes at the National Law Journal (Law.com): "The two lower courts had found that repaying the 'shockingly immense' debt would create an undue hardship for Jesperson. But the appeals court on Wednesday determined that his 'self-imposed limitations,' which resulted in a gross income of $48,000, were no excuse for nonpayment...

UK: £6m drive to cut teen pregnancies sees them DOUBLE

Posted on July 10, 2009
Daily Mail: "A multi-million pound initiative to reduce teenage pregnancies more than doubled the number of girls conceiving. The Government-backed scheme tried to persuade teenage girls not to get pregnant by handing out condoms and teaching them about sex...

Sotomayor Was Part of Legal Group that Argued Abortion is a ?Fundamental Right?

Posted on July 10, 2009
CNSNews: "The right to an abortion is not different than any other 'fundamental right,' according to a legal brief issued by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF), in a case regarding Missouri state funding restrictions on abortion from 1988 when attorney Sonia Sotomayor was a member of the group?s governing board...

One child a week is being murdered in Britain

Posted on July 10, 2009
The Independent reports: "One child a week is being murdered in Britain, in cases which echo the horrific death of Baby Peter, because clear warning signs that they live with a potential killer are being ignored or go unreported by key public service workers from police officers to GPs, according to new figures...

Embryonic Stem Cells versus Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: 10 Myths and Facts

Posted on July 10, 2009
Bioethics Defense Fund: "With an outline of 10 Myths and Facts, Bioethics Defense Fund, neurobiologist and stem cell researcher Dr. Maureen L. Condic and Fr. Thomas Berg of the Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person submitted official comments to the Obama NIH regarding the 'Draft NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research...

PCWV to testify before WV Legislature on need for Marriage Protection Amendment

Posted on July 10, 2009
A joint committee of the West Virginia Legislature will hear testimony Tuesday on the need for an amendment to the West Virginia Constitution defining marriage as one man and one woman.

Wesley J. Smith: Ruling means WA pharmacists must dispense ?assisted suicide?

Posted on July 10, 2009
Wesley J. Smith writing at Secondhand Smoke (First Things): "A three panel Court of Appeals panel reversed an injunction and sent the case back to the trial court for further consideration. But in finding that Washington regulations requiring pharmacists to carry and dispense all legal drugs and medications is a rule of general applicability?thus precluding religious conscience-based exemptions?it also means that all pharmacists in the state must dispense death to terminally ill patients in Washington who receive lethal prescriptions...

Abortion clinic buffer law upheld

Posted on July 10, 2009
Martin Finucane reports in The Boston Globe: "'The government cannot single them out for punishment simply because they want to share their message with people entering the clinic,' Chandler said in a statement. 'The government simply cannot create censorship zones where the First Amendment does not apply in order to silence a particular viewpoint...

Rutherford Institute, others: Virginia Jail Ban On Biblical Passages Unconstitutional

Posted on July 10, 2009
Rutherford Institute: "The Rutherford Institute, in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, Prison Fellowship, the Friends Committee on National Legislation and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, has demanded that officials at the Rappahannock Regional Jail immediately end their illegal practice of censoring religious material sent to detainees...

Montana: Strip club owner arrested in prostitution sting

Posted on July 10, 2009
Great Falls Tribune: "Great Falls police arrested former Mayor and Cascade County Commissioner Gayle Morris on Thursday afternoon on charges that he promoted prostitution at his Sun Prairie strip club."

?ACLU of Texas Demands Inquiry on Reported Anti-Gay Discrimination in El Paso Restaurant?

Posted on July 10, 2009
ACLU: "The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Thursday called for an official investigation of the El Paso Police Department response to a June 29 incident when a group of men were reportedly ejected from Chico?s Tacos, an El Paso restaurant, apparently because two of the men kissed each other...

Ind. Courts ? ?ACLU Lawsuit Claims Indiana Law Examiners Violate the ADA?

Posted on July 10, 2009
The Indiana Law Blog: "The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has launched a class action against that state's board of law examiners, asserting that inquiries into the mental health of those seeking a law license violate federal disabilities law...

U.S. Senate video: Healthcare reform or abortion agenda?

Posted on July 10, 2009
"Yesterday . . . Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) introduced an amendment . . . to forc[e] taxpayers to pay for abortions for the first time in 30 years."

Discourse in the Dusk: the Twilight of Religious Freedom

Posted on July 09, 2009
". . . the theological framework has given way to a secular one, and the debate over jurisdictions has been replaced by a debate over justice."

CA: Group asks Tracy to drop religion from invocations

Posted on July 09, 2009
Mike Martinez reports in the San Joaquin Herald: "A Wisconsin group acting 'on behalf of concerned Tracy residents' is asking the Tracy City Council to stop beginning its meetings with prayers that often reference Christianity and invoke the name of God...

Jeffery Ventrella on WallBuilders Live: The Blackstone Fellowship for Law Students

Posted on July 09, 2009
ADF attorney Jeffery Ventrella appeared on WallBuilders Live to discuss the Blackstone Fellowship for law students. The MP3 runs just under twenty minutes.

Steve Aden on the Dave Ross Show: Yesterday?s 9th Circuit ruling lifting enjoinder of the abortion pill mandate on Wash. pharmacists

Posted on July 09, 2009
ADF attorney Steve Aden appeared on the Dave Ross Show to discuss yesterday's ruling in Storman's v. Selecky. The mp3 runs just over 11 minutes. See also: 9th Circuit: Lower court erred when it blocked Wash. rules mandating sale of ?morning-after? pills

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