Religion & Law

Stem Cells: Political History

Posted on January 07, 2009
Joseph Bottum and Ryan T. Anderson write in a November 2008 First Things article that has been released to the public: It was a season of small demagogueries, a time of the easy lie and the useful exaggeration. A little shading of truth, a little twisting of facts?it was a political moment, in other words, and [...

Senate Panel Votes on Pro-Abortion HHS Secretary Tom Daschle Thursday

Posted on January 07, 2009
LifeNews.com: “Members of Congress will cast their first vote related to incoming president Barack Obama’s pro-abortion agenda on Thursday. A Senate committee will vote on confirming pro-abortion [...]

UC Berkeley Website Case Heads to U.S. Supreme Court

Posted on January 07, 2009
Pacific Justice Institute reports: “A lawsuit challenging a government-funded website that promotes the harmony of religion and evolution is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The website at the center of the controversy, operated by UC Berkeley and funded by a federal grant, is aimed at public school teachers ...

City of Charlotte refused ?festival permit? for Roe v. Wade demonstration

Posted on January 07, 2009
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4788 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY January 7, 2009 ? FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF-allied attorney available to media after hearing in N...

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Should a Trip From Illinois to Tennessee Change a Woman into a Man? : Proposal for a Uniform Interstate Sex Reassignment Act

Posted on January 07, 2009
Should a Trip From Illinois to Tennessee Change a Woman into a Man? : Proposal for a Uniform Interstate Sex Reassignment Act Alice Newlin, 17 Colum. J. Gender & L. 461 (2008) (An excerpt is below. To view the full text, please use Westlaw, Lexis, a law library or alternative source...

The Role of Precedent in Constitutional Adjudication: An Introspection

Posted on January 07, 2009
In recent years, there has been a surprising outpouring of academic literature on the proper role of precedent in constitutional cases. Although some of the commentary addresses the question of "vertical" stare decisis--the question whether and to what extent higher court precedents should bind lower courts--most observers have focused on the "horizontal" problem of the effect of a court's own precedents on its future decisions...

Clerk and Justice: The Ties That Bind John Paul Stevens and Wiley B. Rutledge

Posted on January 07, 2009
Justice John Paul Stevens, now starting his thirty-third full term on the Supreme Court, served as law clerk to Justice Wiley B. Rutledge during the Court's 1947 Term. That experience has informed both elements of Stevens's jurisprudence and aspects of his approach to his institutional role...

SC: Backers of ?I Believe? license plates vow to prevail

Posted on January 07, 2009
Greenville Online reports: It was standing room only at People’s Baptist Church in Greer on Tuesday night as more than 350 people from around the Upstate rallied to fight a federal judge’s ruling on Dec. 11 that halted the state’s sale and production of “I Believe” religious license plates ...

Arizona Commission Unanimously Approves New Choose Life License Plates

Posted on January 07, 2009
LifeNews.com reports: “Following a court order requiring them to do so, members of the Arizona License Plate Commission voted unanimously today to approve the Choose Life license plate for motorists. Now, just a few administrative steps remain before Arizona residents can order the plates and support pro-life efforts ...

Oregon: Mom sues district for allowing ?Back to the Book? classes on campus

Posted on January 07, 2009
WorldNetDaily reports: The American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of an offended parent, is suing an elementary school district for allowing its students to attend a non-taxpayer-funded religious education program that meets on campus. For the past 55 years, the Huntington County Community School Corporation of rural Indiana has permitted students in its eight elementary schools to [...

DeMint, Thune, Pence & Walden Introduce Bill to Stop Fairness Doctrine

Posted on January 07, 2009
Sen. Jim DeMint has issued this press release that begins: In an effort to prevent Democrats from suppressing the right to free speech for talk radio and other broadcasters, today Congressman Mike Pence (R-Indiana), chairman of the House Republican Conference, Congressman Greg Walden (R-Oregon), Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, and [...

Prenuptial Agreements: The Iowa Supreme Court Takes a Strong Pro-Enforcement Stance

Posted on January 07, 2009
Amy Grossman has this commentary on Findlaw that begins: “In a case of first impression, the Iowa Supreme Court has come out strongly in favor of the enforcement of prenuptial agreements ? adding to a long-term trend of greater enforceability that may or may not be wise ...

Teen birth rates up in 26 states

Posted on January 07, 2009
USA Today: “The latest data on teen birth rates shows significant increases in 26 states, according to government data out today, which suggests that the rise in teens having babies is geographically broad-based and represents most regions of the USA ...

?Obama era expected to end taboo on gays in US military?

Posted on January 07, 2009
AFP: “Sixteen years after Bill Clinton tried to end restrictions on gays in the military, the US armed forces under Barack Obama may be forced to give homosexuals the same welcome as non-gays . . . Obama has pledged to overhaul current law . . ...

Pro-lifers plan prayer vigil outside Univ. of Wis. hospital?s planned abortion center

Posted on January 07, 2009
WMTV reports on the U. of Wisconsin Surgery Center’s plan to do 2nd trimester abortions. The mp4 video is here (11mb) and runs just under two minutes. This post may be updated. Related: ADF’s press release: Univ. of Wis. Hospitals secret plan to perform second-trimester abortions unveiled Wisc...

Jeremy Tedesco on Reality Check Radio: AZ vouchers for disabled kids and other cases

Posted on January 07, 2009
ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on Reality Check with Mike Monokian to discuss the ACLU’s attack on Arizona vouchers for special needs children. The mp3 is here and runs just under 23 minutes.  There were some problems with the radio stream at a few points during the recording...

?Washington?s oath of office: Was ?So help me God? in it??

Posted on January 07, 2009
USA Today carries this report that begins: George Washington myth bites the dust: There’s no eyewitness documentation he ever added “So help me God” to the end of his constitutionally prescribed oath of office. The oath is in the news now that California atheist activist Michael Newdow ? last seen in the headlines trying to [...

Matt Bowman responds to William Saletan: Catholic Moral Theology and Emergency Contraception or Abortion

Posted on January 07, 2009
"Drugs known as ?emergency contraception? have three possible functions: inhibiting sperm migration to the ovum, preventing ovulation by preventing the surge of luteinizing hormone, and preventing implantation of the newly formed human embryo into the uterine wall.

Google apologizes to China for porn links

Posted on January 07, 2009
AFP reports: Google and other major Internet sites apologized on Wednesday after the Chinese government accused them of failing to police links on their web pages that could lead to pornographic material. Google said it had deleted all links to vulgar material from its search indexes, “which may have had a negative effect on web users”, [...

Arkansas Public School?s Promotion Of Religion Violates Constitution, Says Americans United

Posted on January 07, 2009
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has issued a press release that reports: A public school in Arkansas violated the U.S. Constitution by arranging construction of a special meeting room for a Christian student group, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State...

ACLJ Assists Pro-life Activists in Securing Significant 1st Amendment Victory at the Obama Presidential Inaugural Parade

Posted on January 07, 2009
ACLJ reports: The Christian Defense Coalition has been issued a permit to conduct a pro-life vigil and display along the parade route during the Presidential Inauguration. The permit was issued after discussions between the American Center for Law and Justice, who is representing the Christian Defense Coalition, and the National Park Service and the Secret Service ...

Virginia Pro-Life Group Working to De-Fund Pro-Abortion Planned Parenthood

Posted on January 07, 2009
LifeNews.com reports: A Virginia pro-life group says the prospects of de-funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business could be better in 2009 than they have been in years. The Family Forum [...]

Legal Writings of SG Nominee

Posted on January 07, 2009
The ABA Journal carries this report that begins: The legal writings of Harvard law dean Elena Kagan don?t provide many clues about her positions on terrorism issues that vexed the Bush administration. The New York Times examined the writings of Kagan, who is Barack Obama?s nominee for solicitor general, and found them to be ?dense, hedged and [...

Canada: Transwoman ordered to serve time in male prison

Posted on January 07, 2009
365Gay.com report: “A transsexual Quebec inmate who hasn?t physically completed the transformation to a woman has created an incarceration quagmire for federal corrections officials after being transferred into a men?s prison. . . “ Visit Site » Share This

Hearing Reveals Tiller/Planned Parenthood Conspiracy to Break the Law

Posted on January 07, 2009
Operation Rescue has issued this press release on the Christian Newswire. It begins: The hearing in a motion to suppress evidence against late-term abortionist George R. Tiller resumed today after a six week break. Tiller is charged with 19 counts of having committed illegal late-term abortions...

Proposed S.C. bill sets stage for abortion fight

Posted on January 06, 2009
Seven S.C. House lawmakers have prefiled a bill that would require women seeking abortions to be given a list of clinics and other facilities that provide free ultrasounds. That list could include pregnancy crisis centers ? many run by antiabortion groups ? that actively discourage abortion and encourage women to choose other alternatives.

Disagreeing with the Vatican about Plan B

Posted on January 06, 2009
Bottom line: The perceptive analytical framework established by Dignitas Personae, combined with the best scientific evidence and analysis, clearly implies that morning-after pills are contraceptives, not interceptives. Therefore, from the standpoint of respecting embryonic life, you may take them in good conscience.

Maryland: Transgender decision tightens referendum rules

Posted on January 06, 2009
The Court of Appeals issued the 63-page opinion after ruling in September that a referendum proposed by a conservative group seeking to overturn the county's new law that bans discrimination against transgendered people could not go on the Nov. 4 ballot.

?Obama names gay man as director of Office of Management and Administration?

Posted on January 06, 2009
GayPolitics.com: “Brad Kiley has been named as the director of the Office of Management and Administration by President-elect Barack Obama. Kiley, who is openly gay, is currently the director of operations for the Obama-Biden Transition Project and was a former vice president at the Center for American Progress ...

Democrats debate methods to end ban and fund embryonic stem cell research

Posted on January 06, 2009
The NY Times reports: “Thwarted by President Bush in their efforts to expand federal spending on embryonic stem cell research, Democrats are now debating whether to overturn federal restrictions through executive order or by legislation when they assume full control of the government this month ...

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