Religion & Law

Breaking: Dr. Howell reinstated by U. of Illinois

Posted on July 30, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney who represented Howell in the case expressed cautious gratitude at the reversal. ADF had sent a letter to the University demanding that the school reverse the decision, or else face legal action...

Joel Oster: Churches not considered desirable or necessary

Posted on July 30, 2010
ADF Attorney Joel Oster writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: "[A] recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of appeals in River of Life Kingdom Ministries v. Village of Hazel Crest, Illinois, threatens to gut the protections of RLUIPA . . . According to the court, the town was justified in discriminating against the city because 'commerce and industry' are 'necessary and desirable elements of the community'...

Fired professor will teach again

Posted on July 30, 2010
National Catholic Register: "According to the Alliance Defense Fund, which has been representing Howell in the matter, 'the University of Illinois Office of University Counsel admits no wrongdoing on the part of the university but states, "The School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics will be contacting Dr...

Another pro-life voice at the UN as ADF gains consultative status

Posted on July 30, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "'No person ? anywhere - should be punished simply for holding to Christian beliefs. Receiving special consultative status at the U.N. is a major advancement for ADF and our global legal efforts to protect and preserve religious freedom,' said ADF Director of Global Activities and Strategic Alliances [Benjamin Bull]...

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Unconstitutional ordinance stops Ga. church from meeting on leased property

Posted on July 30, 2010
Restrictions in the ordinance, many of which do not apply to non-religious organizations, have forced the small congregation to stop meeting on its leased property and relocate to various inferior locations, resulting in plummeting attendance and causing cancellation of numerous ministries, outreaches, and functions.

Planned Parenthood, ?a black hole for babies and bucks?

Posted on July 30, 2010
Rita Diller writing in the Washington Times: "Where's the money? That's the question on everyone's mind after reading the recently released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The GAO numbers on money paid out to Planned Parenthood between 2002 and 2008 reveal an unaccounted-for $1...

ADF files opening brief with U.S. Supreme Court in Ariz. school choice suit

Posted on July 30, 2010
"The brief asks that the suit be dismissed because the opponents have not proven that they have suffered any legal injury that would give them standing to sue over the state?s tuition tax credit program."

Crist holds small lead in Fla. US Senate contest

Posted on July 30, 2010
Associated Press: "If Greene gets the Democratic nomination, the poll shows Crist with 37 percent, Rubio with 32 percent and Greene with 17 percent. If U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek is the Democratic nominee, Crist receives 39 percent, Rubio 33 percent and Meek 13 percent...

Democrats plan Kagan vote next week, may limit debate

Posted on July 30, 2010
LifeNews: "Senate Democrats plan a vote next week on the nomination of abortion advocate Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. They also plan to severely limit the amount of debate and discussion about Kagan's nomination on the Senate floor, which is prompting an outcry from Republicans...

Ben Nelson first Democrat to vote ?no? on Kagan

Posted on July 30, 2010
Washington Post / 44 Politics and Policy: "Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) announced his opposition Friday to the Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan, becoming the first Democrat to declare a 'no' vote on President Obama's second nominee to the highest court in the nation...

NH Sen. Gregg is fifth Republican to support Kagan

Posted on July 30, 2010
Associated Press: "Republican Sen. Judd Gregg says he plans to vote to confirm Elena Kagan as a Supreme Court justice."

Sen. Hutchison to vote against Kagan confirmation

Posted on July 30, 2010
Dallas Morning News / Trail Blazers Blog: "Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced today that she will vote against confirming Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination when it comes before the Senate likely next week."

UK: New rules on universal jurisdiction

Posted on July 30, 2010
Ministry of Justice: "The Government is proposing new rules about how courts in England and Wales deal with people accused of serious human rights violations . . . 'The Government has concluded, after careful consideration, that it would be appropriate to require the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions before an arrest warrant can be issued to a private prosecutor in respect of an offence of universal jurisdiction...

Ginsburg: OK to look to foreign law for good ideas

Posted on July 30, 2010
Associated Press: "Ginsburg told a meeting of international lawyers Friday that American judges can learn from their foreign counterparts when seeking solutions to 'trying questions.'"

Planned Parenthood plans to spend $1 million to save pro-abortion Barbara Boxer

Posted on July 30, 2010
LifeNews: "Carly Fiorina, the pro-life Senate candidate in California, is presenting pro-abortion Sen. Barbara such a tough challenge that Planned Parenthood says it plans to raise and spend $1 million attempting to save the seat of its closest ally in the Senate...

Democrats pursue religious left

Posted on July 30, 2010
Religion and Ethics Newsweekly: "In a July 28 roundtable discussion on Capitol Hill with religion reporters, Democratic senators acknowledged the involvement of faith communities in debating moral and social issues such as health care reform and economic recovery, but they also questioned whether there are limits to the role religious groups can play when it comes to what Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar called 'dealing with the nitty gritty' of partisan politics...

UK: GP Howard Martin accused of ending the lives of more patients

Posted on July 30, 2010
Telegraph: "The investigation into Howard Martin, the disgraced GP who admitted hastening the deaths of some of his patients, has taken a new turn as two more families have come forward to claim that he had shortened the lives of their loved ones as long as 32 years ago...

?Assisted dying? debate reopens in the Isle of Man

Posted on July 30, 2010
BBC: "A lively evening of debate is expected at a future meeting of the Positive Action Group in the Isle of Man."

Churches may face fines for wireless mics

Posted on July 30, 2010
Baptist Press: "Churches could face six-figure fines if they continue to use wireless microphones that operate within a spectrum the Federal Communications Commission has set aside for public safety entities. 'Certain wireless microphones have operated in frequencies that are needed for public safety...

Ireland: Marriage redefinition is Green Party?s goal

Posted on July 30, 2010
Irish Times: "Gay marriage is a goal of the Green Party, Minister for the Environment John Gormley told an event in Dublin to mark the passing of the civil partnership legislation."

UK: Over 80,000 suspensions for violence at school

Posted on July 30, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Tens of thousands of school pupils were suspended from English schools last year for attacking their teachers or classmates, according to shocking new statistics. Almost 17,000 of these suspensions involved primary school pupils aged 11 and under, and over 63,000 of them involved children in secondary schools...

Scots police force to ramp up ?hate crime? work

Posted on July 30, 2010
Christian Institute: "A Scottish police force has launched a campaign to clamp down on ?hate crimes? and ?hate incidents?. But critics are concerned that ?hate crime? initiatives are straying into issues of civil liberty by confusing disagreement with hatred...

Public Discourse: The new path to pro-life health care reform

Posted on July 30, 2010
Public Discourse Editorial: "We?re hardly happy with our assessment of the new health care law?s treatment of abortion. It would indeed be nice if the claims advanced by Commonweal and Jost were true and the position held by Alvaré and every major pro-life group was false...

A concluding argument about abortion in health care

Posted on July 30, 2010
Helen Alvaré writing at Public Discourse: "In a new twin set of pieces in Commonweal, legal scholar Timothy Jost and the magazine?s editors have responded to my Public Discourse essay on abortion and health care. Reasonable people can disagree, but the repeated refusal or inability of Professor Jost and Commonweal to acknowledge the basic facts of the case is enough to arouse suspicion...

Michael J. New: The ?new abortion providers?

Posted on July 30, 2010
Michael J. New writing at National Review Online: "One unheralded success of the pro-life movement is that it has convinced many Americans that abortion is wrong. Now, obviously, not everyone wants to see abortion banned. Some individuals see abortion as a necessary evil; others think that keeping abortion legal reduces the amount of misery and suffering in the country...

Hawaii: Civil union opponents regroup after suit filed

Posted on July 30, 2010
Star Advertiser: "A major opponent of a civil unions bill is considering its next move after a lawsuit was filed yesterday challenging the governor's veto of the controversial legislation. 'We're formulating that (plan) right now,' said Francis Oda, chairman of the Hawaii Family Forum, which was vocal in objecting to House Bill 444 throughout the legislative session...

Abortion groups caught off guard by pro-life response to abortion coverage in high-risk insurance pools

Posted on July 30, 2010
Politico: "Planned Parenthood and NARAL didn't publicly petition HHS until after the new ban was imposed. And it took sympathetic Democrats on the Hill a full 10 days to write a letter expressing disappointment with the HHS ? and even then, they were so squeamish about the issue that they never even used the word 'abortion' in their protest...

Malta: Case for divorce already rejected by European Court of Human Rights

Posted on July 29, 2010
Times of Malta: "A 24-year-old judgment by the European Court of Human Rights may dampen lawyer Lynn Zahra?s hopes of getting the Strasbourg court to 'force' Malta to introduce divorce since it was not deemed to be a human right."

Pro-life billboard causing buzz in Dehli, OH

Posted on July 29, 2010
WCPO: "As drivers make their way up Delhi Pike, the Cincinnati organization, Protecting Black Life, put up a billboard saying 'Abortion the #1 Killer of African Americans.'"

Northern Ireland: Pro-lifers cautious over new abortion consultation

Posted on July 29, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Pro-lifers have expressed a guarded welcome to a new consultation on abortion laws in Northern Ireland (NI). The consultation has been released by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and is the latest in a long-running legal battle over the issue...

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