Religion & Law

Ukraine: Opposition calls on president to stop discriminating against churches

Posted on January 18, 2011
Kyiv Post: "MPs of two opposition factions, Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense and BYT-Batkivschyna, as well as 50 independent MPs, have called on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to stop the government discriminating against Ukrainian churches, in particular, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate...

Tenn. man faces rare assisted suicide charge

Posted on January 18, 2011
NECN: "A former Tennessee firefighter faces a rare charge of illegal assisted suicide, as well as first-degree murder, in the August 2009 death of his wife."

Law student suggests changes to ?sexting? laws

Posted on January 18, 2011
Daily Iowan: "University of Iowa third-year law student Elizabeth Ryan is trying to prevent the life-altering destruction sexting can have on the lives of teens and young adults. Ryan hopes her article . . . will bring attention to an issue she said has become more prevalent as technology continues to develop...

Nebraska Senator introduces bill to stop webcam abortions

Posted on January 18, 2011
LifeNews: "Lincoln Sen. Tony Fulton has introduced his bill to ensure the controversial practice of telemed abortions don?t cross state lines from Iowa to Nebraska." LB 521 | Introduced Copy

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Philippines eyes easier marriage annulment

Posted on January 18, 2011
BBC: "A bill has been put forward in the Philippine Congress aimed at making it easier for poor people to get their marriages annulled."

Ohio Supreme Court denies law license for grad with $170,000 in student loans

Posted on January 18, 2011
ABC: "The Ohio Supreme Court on January 11 said Griffin lacked a 'feasible plan to satisfy his financial obligations.' Griffin's debts include $150,000 from law school, $20,000 from his undergraduate studies and $16,500 in credit card debt."

Sweden: More effective and better protection is needed for children online

Posted on January 18, 2011
University of Gothenburg: "A national Swedish evaluation study has highlighted the need for a chain of interventions to offer children who have experienced violence against their mother the right level of support to work through their experiences. There is also frequently a lack of structured risk assessments for identifying children who are at continued risk of exposure to violence, reveal researchers from the universities of Gothenburg, Karlstad, Uppsala and Örebro...

CA: Lake Forest to consider ?In God We Trust?

Posted on January 18, 2011
Orange County Register: "Councilwoman Marcia Rudolph on Tuesday night will ask her colleagues to consider displaying 'In God We Trust' in the City Council chambers."

Congressman attempts to block DADT repeal

Posted on January 18, 2011
CNN / politicalticker: "Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California, is drafting a bill that would change how - and possibly if - the repeal is implemented. The repeal law passed in December requires the president, defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to certify that the military is ready for the change...

Eric Holder?s dirty secret: Child Pornography inaction

Posted on January 18, 2011
Grier Weeks writing at The Daily Caller: "A 2006 law that requires the U.S. Justice Department to deploy a high-tech system for catching child pornographers has identified hundreds of thousands of criminal suspects ? and collected extensive evidence pointing to the locations of their child victims...

Kenya: Counselors raise alarm over youth addiction to pornography

Posted on January 18, 2011
The Standard: "Professional counselors are calling for immediate action to tackle increasing cases of addiction to internet pornography among Kenyan youth."

ADF Allied Attorney Success Stories: January 2011

Posted on January 18, 2011
Congratulations to allied attorneys Cara Putman, Dan Dalton, Deborah Dewart, Tami Fitzgerald, Julee Flood, Keith Williams, Jim Henderson, Trent Garmon, Jamie Anderson, James Rouse, Rick Nelson, Thomas Brandon, and The Christian Institute for their recent accomplishments and successes listed below...

Berkeley set to offer sex-change employee benefit

Posted on January 18, 2011
San Francisco Chronicle: "While other cities are slashing employee benefits, Berkeley is slated to add one more: paying for sex-change operations. The City Council is poised to vote tonight to set aside $20,000 annually for city workers' gender-reassignment surgery...

The Organization of the Islamic Conference?s religious freedom double standard

Posted on January 17, 2011
Joseph Mchangama writing at National Review Online: "The OIC?s efforts as the international defender of Islam are probably an attempt both to appease domestic religious extremism and to counter what is perceived as increasing hostility toward Muslims in the West ...

Pakistan: Ulema to probe abuse of blasphemy laws

Posted on January 17, 2011
Daily Times: "Former federal minister Haji Hanif Tayyab said on Saturday that a 10-member committee would be formed to look into the cases pertaining to the misuse of blasphemy law."

IL: DuPage zoning panel opposes plan for mosque near Willowbrook

Posted on January 17, 2011
Chicago Tribune: "The county is also holding hearings over a controversial proposal to prohibit religious facilities in unincorporated residential areas, though pending projects would not be subject to the new ordinance, if it is adopted . . . On Thursday, the Zoning Board voted 5-2 to recommend rejecting the request by the Muslim Educational Cultural Center of America (MECCA) for a proposed mosque, school and recreation center in a residential area near Willowbrook...

In otherwise tolerant Malaysia, Shiites are banned

Posted on January 17, 2011
Associated Press: "In this Muslim-majority country, it's OK to be Christian, Buddhist or Hindu. But not Shiite. Malaysian religious police raided a three-story shop-house last month and detained more than 100 Shiites who had gathered to mark the death of one of their most beloved saints, Prophet Muhammad's grandson, who was killed in the year 680...

Turkey: Alevis to file mass lawsuits against compulsory religious courses

Posted on January 17, 2011
Hurriyet Daily News: "A decision at Sunday?s Grand Alevi Congress will lead to mass lawsuits against compulsory religious education in Turkey and Alevi congresses being held abroad, the heads of leading Alevi organizations have said."

NY: Lawsuit filed in Hamptons religious symbol fight

Posted on January 17, 2011
Wall Street Journal: "A long-simmering controversy over whether Orthodox Jews can place a religious symbol on utility poles in a Hamptons community on eastern Long Island appears headed to court. Attorneys for the East End Eruv Association have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit claiming officials in the town of Southampton and villages of Westhampton Beach and Quogue are intentionally infringing on their religious freedom by not allowing the placement of an 'eruv...

Conservatives form movement to draft Rep. Mike Pence for president

Posted on January 17, 2011
The Hill: "Two prominent conservatives have joined forces in an attempt to get Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) into the race for president. A Draft Pence for President movement launched Monday, led by conservative former Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kan.) and Ralph Benko, who served as an adviser to President Reagan...

Study: 24% of California babies are aborted

Posted on January 17, 2011
"The abortion rate in California has declined sharply over the last two decades, but remains higher than the nationwide rate, according to a new study from the nonpartisan Guttmacher Institute."

Archbishop Dolan: Defense of unborn is the ?premier civil rights issue?

Posted on January 17, 2011
EWTN: "Three days after he called attention to an alarming 41 percent rate of abortion in New York City, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York extolled the work of both religious and secular pro-life activists, praising them for their commitment to 'the premier civil rights issue of our day...

When babies die, dads often suffer in silence

Posted on January 17, 2011
Sun-Sentinel: "It's so easy perhaps to think of the impact of miscarriage in terms of how it affects the woman who must endure both the physical and emotional damage, we forget in most cases there's also a dad trying to come to grips with the pain, disappointment and uncertainty himself ? all while trying to be strong for his reeling wife...

Clinton proves that feminist foreign policy is possible

Posted on January 17, 2011
Mail & Guardian: "She is the most powerful politician to advance an explicitly feminist agenda. Even in that most delicate and crucial relationship with China -- on which the world's attention will be fixed this week for the Chinese president's visit to the US -- Clinton has gone out of her way to press feminist issues...

GA: Cherokee County school board set to decide on using church for grad. ceremonies

Posted on January 17, 2011
Cherokee Tribune: "The Cherokee County school board is expected to take one of its most anticipated votes in recent years on Thursday. The board is scheduled to consider whether to continue using First Baptist Church of Woodstock for the Cherokee County School District's high school graduation ceremonies...

?Morning-after? pill blamed for upswing in abortions

Posted on January 17, 2011
OneNewsNow: "The American pro-life community is looking to future challenges after a recent Guttmacher report on abortion . . . Jeanne Monahan of the Family Research Council tells OneNewsNow that RU-486, the abortion pill, played a role in the totals...

Porn: The root of trafficking

Posted on January 17, 2011
OneNewsNow: "With last week's recognition of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, one group is encouraging people to stay involved in the battle, especially in the area of child trafficking and pornography. Though human trafficking mainly involves women and children, males are also impacted...

Man sentenced to death for killing Coptic Christians in Egypt

Posted on January 17, 2011
Christian Post: "Mohamed Ahmed Hassanein, also known as Hamam el-Kamouny, was sentenced to death by an Egyptian state security court on Sunday for his part in the 2010 killing of Coptic Christians."

Abortion: An issue of the unborn?s civil rights

Posted on January 17, 2011
OneNewsNow: "Joseph Parker, pastor of two African-Methodist-Episcopal churches in Mississippi, says today's culture often overlooks the critical questions and issues related to life and the unborn. Instead, he says, people tend to avoid pushing their moral views on others or agree that it is up to a woman to decide what she should do with her body...

Ohio bill would ban late-term abortions

Posted on January 17, 2011
The Columbus Dispatch: "Legislation that would ban late-term abortions is among the priority bills rolled out last week by the Ohio House Republican leadership. The measure is the only bill among the initial offerings sponsored by a Democrat: Rep. Lorraine Fende of Willowick...

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