Religion & Law

Abortions for soldiers at US military bases?

Posted on July 21, 2010
Christian Science Monitor: "In late May, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved an amendment that could create significant changes for pregnant servicewomen, especially those stationed overseas. Sen. Roland Burris (D) of Illinois added language to the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act that would allow US military health facilities to provide abortions for servicewomen...

Europe?s fear of the burqa: Religious provocation or woman?s right?

Posted on July 21, 2010
Spiegel Online: "Many believe that those who hide their faces are rejecting Western values along with integration and participation in the society in which they live. And, worst of all, those who hide their faces reject Europe's most precious birthright: Respect for the individual...

Opposing view on religious freedom: Stop the mosque

Posted on July 21, 2010
Peter Gadiel writing at USA Today: "The proposed mosque near the site of the 9/11 mass murder is a continuation of Islam's violent history, which promotes destroying prior cultures and building on the ruins."

Spain predicts thaw in US and EU ties with Cuba

Posted on July 21, 2010
Associated Press: "Spain's foreign minister predicted Wednesday that Cuba's release of dozens of political prisoners could eventually lead to a thaw in U.S. relations and the lifting of a decades-old embargo against the Communist-run island."

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Canada: University of Victoria pro-life club wins back club status

Posted on July 21, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The embattled University of Victoria pro-life club, Youth Protecting Youth (YPY), is declaring victory after reaching a settlement last week with UVic?s student society (UVSS) that reinstates the club?s status and funding. ... YPY filed a lawsuit with the BC Supreme Court in May, but UVSS opted to settle out of court...

Inside story of Savage ban reveals UK?s gutless, suicidal political correctness

Posted on July 21, 2010
Ben Shapiro writing at Big Journalism: "This week, we found out that the supposedly conservative government of David Cameron is upholding the ban. Savage?s lawyers initiated a review of the ban by sending a letter to new Home Secretary Theresa May. In it, they lay forth the full history of the case, a selective prosecution which is mind-blowing in its moral blindness and suicidal impulse to kowtow to radical Islam ...

Interview: Bus driver fired for refusing to drive woman to abortion clinic

Posted on July 21, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The native Texan told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that CARTS officials abruptly terminated him for declining to drive a woman to Planned Parenthood's South Austin facility, after he discovered that the facility performed abortions. ... Graning said that no protocol for orders to drive people to abortion clinics had ever been discussed...

Hawaii Democratic primary for governor splits over same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on July 21, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "In Hawaii, new battle lines have been drawn in the Democratic primary for governor now that Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann has announced that he would have vetoed the civil unions bill rejected by outgoing Republican governor Linda Lingle...

Mass. judge who wrote same-sex ?marriage? ruling retires

Posted on July 21, 2010
Associated Press: "Massachusetts Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, who wrote the landmark ruling making the state the first to legalize gay marriage, said Wednesday she's retiring to spend time with her husband, who has Parkinson's disease."

Michigan abortions decrease 13.9%

Posted on July 21, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "A total of 22,357 abortions were reported in Michigan in 2009. This is a 13.9% decrease since 2008 and a 54.4% decrease since 1987, which saw the greatest recorded number of abortions in Michigan. 'We are extremely grateful for the continuing decrease in Michigan abortions despite the hard economic times we've faced in Michigan,' said Right to Life of Michigan President Babara Listing...

Homosexualist group side-steps normal UN procedure to gain NGO status with U.S. help

Posted on July 21, 2010
"In June, when an Egyptian delegate in the NGO Committee asked whether one of IGLHRC's positions on 'gay rights' could threaten the rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression, the U.S. delegate forestalled examination of the group by calling for an immediate vote to accredit it...

Pro-life women?s group endorses in Alabama, Arkansas, Minnesota, Nevada

Posted on July 21, 2010
LifeNews: "The national pro-life women's group Susan B. Anthony List issued a round of endorsements today for pro-life candidates in Alabama, Arkansas, Minnesota, and Nevada. SBA List backed two women and two men who face opposition from pro-abortion women in their races for Congress...

The great firewall of Australia: Political concerns

Posted on July 21, 2010
NCPA: "Despite strong opposition, the Australian government continues to support mandatory filtering of the Internet, seeking to establish a 'Great Firewall of Australia.' If filtering is implemented, all internet service providers (ISPs) would have to scan their Internet traffic in real time, blocking access to sites that appear on a government blacklist, says Chris Williams-Wynn, a recent honors graduate of the University of Melbourne...

China?s dubious energy accolade

Posted on July 21, 2010
National Center for Policy Analysis: "News that China consumed more energy than the United States last year will be taken by many as another sign that a new epoch is upon us. Indeed, that's how the International Energy Agency, source of the data, described its findings Monday...

JournoList members discussed whether the government should shut down Fox News

Posted on July 21, 2010
The Daily Caller: "The very existence of Fox News, meanwhile, sends Journolisters into paroxysms of rage. When Howell Raines charged that the network had a conservative bias, the members of Journolist discussed whether the federal government should shut the channel down...

Coburn outlines vote against Kagan

Posted on July 21, 2010
Tulsa World: "U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn said Tuesday he voted against the Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan because of her position on what the Oklahoma Republican has defined as natural or God-given rights. 'Without natural law, so-called "progressives" would take us back to the 17th century, when rights emanated from the state or the king rather than the creator,' Coburn said in a written statement following a committee vote for confirmation...

Grassley votes no on Kagan nomination, says her answers were vague

Posted on July 21, 2010
Des Moines Register: "Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley voted against the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, describing her testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee as evasive. 'Because she has no previous judicial experience, candid answers were essential for us to ascertain whether she has the appropriate judicial philosophy...

An Oklahoma abortion law raises new and different rights questions

Posted on July 21, 2010
Sherry F. Colb writing at FindLaw: "One of [Oklahoma's new abortion] laws prevents a patient from suing her doctor for failing to reveal the presence of a fetal abnormality. The structure of this law is different in kind from that of other abortion restrictions, and it accordingly calls for a separate analysis...

Schwarzenegger to pick Cantil-Sakauye as chief justice

Posted on July 21, 2010
The Sacramento Bee: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will nominate Tani Cantil-Sakauye, a Republican appellate court justice with a reputation as a moderate, to be chief justice of the California Supreme Court ... Cantil-Sakauye, 50, of Sacramento is a former prosecutor and Sacramento Superior Court judge...

Graham explains Kagan vote

Posted on July 21, 2010
Washington Times: "[I]t wasn't a total shocker that the 13-6 tally included a yes vote by a lone Republican - Sen. Lindsey Graham, who on occasion has reached across the partisan aisle to work with the majority. But what wasn't expected was the South Carolina lawmaker's unusually blunt explanation for his vote, saying he was obligated to support a 'qualified' Obama administration nominee because 'the last election had consequences...

Wichita City Council says prayers will continue

Posted on July 21, 2010
Associated Press: "The Wichita City Council says it will continue opening meetings with a prayer after taking heat for the tradition Tuesday night." | From yesterday's issue of the ADF Alliance Alert: Wichita Council debates prayer before meetings...

RI: Cranston board mulls demand to remove school prayer

Posted on July 21, 2010
Providence Journal: "With a packed agenda -- from contract negotiations to a request from the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union to take down a school prayer from the Cranston High School West auditorium -- School Committee members huddled in the teachers' lounge at Hope Highlands Elementary School as the public filed into the auditorium...

10th Circuit: Rocky Mountain Christian Church wins again in expansion ruling

Posted on July 21, 2010
The Longmont Times-Call: "A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld its own ruling that a federal jury had enough evidence to support its decision that the Boulder County commissioners violated a federal law in 2006 when they denied the church?s request to expand...

American Jewish Congress suspends operations after financial loss

Posted on July 21, 2010
The Jewish Week: "News this week that the American Jewish Congress has suspended activities due to financial problems is depressing, though not unexpected. The once-proud organization, founded in 1918, and long the voice of liberal Jewish activism, lost much of its distinctiveness in recent years...

WI: Court refuses to enjoin graduation ceremonies in church building

Posted on July 21, 2010
Religion Clause: "In Does 1, 7, 8 and 9 v. Elmbrook Joint Common School District No. 21 [PDF], (E.D. Wis., July 19, 2010), a Wisconsin federal district court refused to permanently enjoin a Wisconsin school district from holding graduation ceremonies in a church...

More than 170 leaders from 21 countries sign World Congress of Families Kenya pro-life petition

Posted on July 21, 2010
ChristianNewsWire: "In less than a week, the Congress gathered signatures from more than 170 pro-life and pro-family leaders in 21 countries. ... Organizations whose leaders are represented include: ... Alliance Defense Fund ..."

Despite letter from UI, religion instructor doesn?t expect to teach this fall

Posted on July 21, 2010
The News-Gazette: "A letter from the University of Illinois says controversial Professor Kenneth Howell could be back in the classroom this fall, pending a review by a faculty senate committee. But Howell said that's not what he's been told. ... The UI attorney told [ADF] that legal action is 'unwarranted' at this time, and that the UI respects Howell's First Amendment rights...

Ultimatum to Illinois over Catholic Studies instructor

Posted on July 21, 2010
Inside Higher Ed: "The Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Kenneth Howell in the controversy over his teaching at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has given the institution an ultimatum: either assure in writing that Howell will teach his regular courses in Roman Catholic studies in the fall, or he will sue...

Gregory S. Baylor: A report from FIRE?s Campus Freedom Network Conference

Posted on July 21, 2010
ADF Attorney Gregory S. Baylor writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "Last week, I had the great pleasure of attending a conference sponsored by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education's Campus Freedom Network. Along with Greg Lukianoff (FIRE?s President), Adam Kissel (the Director of FIRE?s Individual Rights Defense Program), and Professor Daphne Patai (a member of FIRE?s board of directors), I participated in a panel discussion entitled, "The Philosophical and Practical Underpinnings of Academic Liberty...

Heather Gebelin Hacker: Update on the University of Illinois and Professor Kenneth Howell

Posted on July 21, 2010
ADF Attorney Heather Gebelin Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "Late Thursday, we received a letter from the University stating that they are 'suspending' the decision of his department chair pending review by the committee. While this is a nice step, this does not resolve the issue...

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