Daily Archives: July 29, 2010

Washington Times: “German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle appeared on Wednesday to offer support for Turkey’s stalling bid to join the European Union, saying in Istanbul that the country’s ‘direction is toward Europe.’”

Washington Times: “The U.S. Senate is derelict in its duty if it votes to confirm Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court without further investigating her legal ethics. Ms. Kagan, the U.S. solicitor general, was directly responsible for altering a key medical report in a way that stacked the deck in favor of keeping the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion legal. She then gave testimony to the SenateJudiciary Committee that appeared to veer from the actual record.”

Michael Liccione writing at First Things / First Thoughts: “At the magazine’s blog Mere Comments, Hutchens criticizes [the Manhattan Declaration] for making what he sees as [a mistaken conflation of the principles of Christianity and 'modern democracy'] . . . [The Declaration] just does give unqualified endorsement to something called modern democracy, as though the desirability of such a thing were obvious to Christians as such.”

LifeNews: “A Texas state legislator is continuing his battle to ensure no tax dollars go to the Planned Parenthood abortion business, whether to pay for abortions or for other purposes. Sen. Bob Deuell, a Republican, is seeking an opinion from the attorney general in order to clamp down on the funding it receives.”

Orange County Register: “The Medical Board of California has expanded its list of accusations against an Anaheim Hills doctor to include homicide in the death of an abortion patient last summer. The board is seeking to revoke the medical license of Dr. Andrew Rutland for the death of Ying Chen, 30. She died Aug. 3, 2009, after suffering a toxic reaction to anesthetic at Rutland’s office in San Gabriel.”

U.S. Catholic (CNS): “The British government has announced proposals to ‘hard-wire’ abortion and contraceptive services into its overseas development programs. Andrew Mitchell, secretary of state for international development, told a conference in London July 27 that the government was preparing an ‘unprecedented focus’ on family planning in the poorest countries of the world.”

Blog of LegalTimes: “Donna Coleman Gregg has been named director of the Institute for Communications Law Studies at Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. Gregg, a former senior policy adviser at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and former chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau during the Bush administration, starts on Aug. 1.”

Catholic News Agency: “The pro-life office of the Fundar Movement in Argentina is offering a conscientious objection guide to justices of the peace who are opposed to gay “marriage” and refuse to preside over same-sex ‘weddings.’”

Chicago Tribune: “A Wisconsin man can sue a former girlfriend’s insurer for the wrongful death of their fetus, which was stillborn after the woman was in a car accident, a court ruled Thursday . . . A Wood County judge had ruled that a woman has no legal duty to an unborn fetus, and therefore her insurer could not be held liable. Tesar appealed. The District 4 Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned the decision, ruling Tesar can continue his lawsuit against American Family.”

Living in Peru: “The Homosexual Movement of Lima (MHOL) has expressed its surprise about lawmaker José Vargas proposal on legalization the civil union among people of the same sex. Christian Olivera, President of the MHOL, considers that a possible approval of this initiative may prevent the future approval of gay marriage in Peru.”

Worldview Times: “A former professor at San Jose City College has received a favorable settlement of a federal lawsuit against the school. The former professor, June Sheldon, was represented by attorneys for Pacific Justice Institute as co-counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom.”

WRAL: “The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Belk Inc. on Thursday, alleging that the chain’s department store at Crabtree Valley Mall fired a woman because of her religious beliefs.”

Wicked Local: “Selectmen gave short shrift this week to an anonymous letter they received from ‘Concerned Beachgoers’ that was postmarked July 20 complaining about religious services being held at Sandy Beach.”

ADF Attorney Casey Mattox writing at The Christian Post / Advancing Religious Liberty: “[The county] has decided that there is no ‘church-state issue’ with a public school patronizing a business operated by an admitted Christian. In response to a letter sent by an ADF allied attorney, Tim Bosson, and Rob Showers, both of the firm Simms & Showers, the county’s attorneys now state that we can ‘be assured that it is not the position of the school system or Westbrook Elementary School that the personal religious references on your client’s website provides a basis for denying patronage of her business.’”

Miami Herald: “Somerset Gables Academy plans to open a 110-student charter school at University Baptist Church in Coral Gables, not the 675-student K-8 school it had envisioned . . . ‘We gave them a certificate of use for 110 and that’s the position we’ve taken,’ she said. ‘The statute is clear. You can bring in a school into a religious institution or theater or museum if it allows for it under the zoning — and the zoning allows for 110.’”

The Christian Institute: “A mother who was given a life sentence for the ‘mercy killing’ of her brain damaged son is appealing against her conviction for murder. Frances Inglis killed her son Thomas by injecting him with a lethal dose of heroin in November 2008 after a previous attempt to kill him failed.”

The Christian Institute: “Doctors at the Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine (GCRM) claim that the genetic screening of IVF embryos would lessen the risk of miscarriage and conditions such as Down’s syndrome which are more likely for babies carried by older women.”

Boston Herald: “The network is also adding gay characters to a few of its shows. GLAAD recently gave the network a failing grade for its portrayal of gays. ‘We’re very disappointed in our track record so far,’ Tassler said. Alicia’s gay brother will be introduced on ‘The Good Wife,’ a recurring gay character will pop up on the William Shatner comedy ‘S#*! My Dad Says,’ and Jeff and Audrey will pick a lesbian surrogate on ‘Rules of Engagement.’”

MSU News Service: “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is not happy with the intrusion of politics into the selection process of justices for the Supreme Court, nor does he feel that he and his fellow jurists are any ‘more qualified to decide cases involving the leading moral questions of the day than medical doctors, engineers or even Joe Six-Pack.’”

Law.com: “A federal judge has refused to strike down recent amendments to the federal Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act that require photographers and filmmakers — both professional and amateur — to maintain records that verify the age and identity of anyone depicted in a sexually explicit film or photograph.”

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Minnesota’s restrictions on fundraising and endorsements by judicial candidates violated their free speech rights, overturning parts of the state code of judicial conduct. A sharp dissent warned that the change could threaten public trust in impartial courts.” | See How Appealing for more information

The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana confirmed to Alliance Defense Fund attorneys Thursday that it will once again allow popular professor Dr. Kenneth Howell to teach on Catholicism after recently firing him for explaining the Roman Catholic Church’ position on human sexual behavior to members of his class.

The Hill: “The House ethics committee announced 13 charges Thursday against Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who is accused of breaking House rules as well as federal statutes.”

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.”

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.’”

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.”

C-FAM: “A United Nations (UN) treaty committee notorious for its promotion of abortion and ideological positions not supported by UN treaties, concludes its session this week after launching attacks on motherhood and traditional gender roles, while calling for an ever-expanded array of new sexual and reproductive ‘rights.’ The session was especially notable for the statement by the Russian Federation, which reported that decreasing abortion rates were helping to decrease the overall maternal mortality rates in that country.”

C-FAM: “A recent gathering of Latin America’s top economic commission issued a document praising secularism, condemning ‘lesbophobia,’ calling for redistributive social systems, and liberally promoting sexual and reproductive rights.”

The Hill: “Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) will introduce legislation Thursday placing a permanent ban on the federal funding of abortion . . . The Smith/Lipinski bill would permanently solidify the funding ban across all federal agencies.” | Related: Rep. Chris Smith to introduce “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”

The Hill: “A new regulation issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday clearly prohibits state high-risk pools from covering elective abortions.”

National Review Online Editorial: “The judge twists facts and logic to support the Justice Department’s claim that the state law preempts the federal immigration scheme. To do so, she accepts Justice’s implicit argument that it’s not the letter of the federal law that matters, but what parts of the law the executive decides to enforce. If her reasoning stands, we will basically cut Congress out of immigration policy and the states out of enforcement. Instead, our immigration system will entirely depend on executive discretion at a time when the executive has little interest in enforcing the law.”

Haaretz: “‘Jews with homosexual orientations or same sex-attractions should be welcomed as full members of the synagogue and school community,’ reads the statement, which goes on to say that Jewish law ‘sees heterosexual marriage as the ideal model and sole legitimate outlet for human sexual expression. The sensitivity and understanding we properly express for human beings with other sexual orientations does not diminish our commitment to that principle.’” | Statement of Principles

WSJ Blogs / Real Time Economics: “A new report from the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania lays out a stark picture of an Amish population boom. The Amish population — a religious group that limits its member’s access to conveniences like telephones and electric lights — is growing at an estimated 5% a year and now stands at 249,500.”

“The lawsuit, being filed today in Circuit Court, asks the court to step in where the Legislature did not and reverse the effect of Lingle’s veto.”

The Sydney Morning Herald (AFP): “Officials in the Swiss city of Basel have fined five Muslim families for refusing to allow their daughters to attend compulsory swimming classes in school, Swiss news agency ATS reports.”

Telegraph: “Dr Tali Argov says she was overlooked for promotion, stripped of her privileges and cold-shouldered at social gatherings . . . Eventually she claims she was made redundant from her post at the prestigious Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies, despite offering to take on new roles . . . Dr Argov told the hearing, where she is claiming unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, that she and her husband, Eran, were raised in the Jewish faith and lived in Israel until he was offered a place at Brasenose College, Oxford, to write a doctoral thesis.”

Telegraph: “The Education Secretary said he would be ‘interested’ to look at proposals for non-religious schools from figures such Professor Richard Dawkins. Prof Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, said last month that he approved of the idea of setting up a ‘free-thinking’ school. The comments follow the publication of Coalition plans to give parents’ groups, teachers and charities powers to open their own schools at taxpayers’ expense.” | Via Religion Clause

The Jewish Chronicle: “New Zealand’s small Jewish community has begun mounting a legal case against the nation’s centre-right government in a bid to overturn a ban on the kosher slaughter of meat.” | Via Religion Clause

The Columbus Dispatch: “The family of a boy who said his eighth-grade science teacher burned a cross on his arm with an electric lab instrument and taught Christian doctrine in the Mount Vernon classroom has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit against the teacher.” For more information, see Religion Clause.

The Financial Express: “The verdict also restored in the 2nd paragraph of the Preamble of the original Constitution the words ‘Pledging that the high ideals of nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism’ which inspired our heroic people to dedicate themselves to, and our brave martyrs to sacrifice their lives in, the national liberation struggle, shall be the fundamental principles of the Constitution.”

Committee on Financial Services Press Release: “Today, the House Financial Services Committee passed legislation to enable Americans to bet online and put an end to an inappropriate interference with their personal freedom. H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act of 2009 would establish a federal regulatory and enforcement framework under which Internet gambling operators could obtain licenses authorizing them to accept bets and wagers from individuals in the United States. The legislation comes in response to the enactment of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which restricted the use of the payments system for Americans who gamble online.”

“What, in Kagan’s view, is the role of the court in this experiment? When it comes to questions of religious liberty and church-state relations, does she think a justice should show vigilance or deference?”

Leonard Link: “The Alliance Defense Fund, which brought the case as part of its new anti-gay offensive seeking to create exceptions to sexual orientation discrimination policies for religious objectors, will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Ward v. Wilbanks, No. 09-CV-11237 (E.D. Mich.) . . . This case is reminiscent of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Christian Legal Society case, where the Alliance Defense Fund was arguing that its client was entitled to an exemption from the Law School’s non-discrimination policy as a matter of free exercise of religion.”

First Amendment Center (AP): “[ADF Attorney David French] said, ‘Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for holding to their beliefs. When a public university has a prerequisite of affirming homosexual behavior as morally good in order to obtain a degree, the school is stepping over the legal line. Julea did the responsible thing and followed her supervising professor’s advice to have the client referred to a counselor who did not have a conscience issue with the very matter to be discussed in counseling.’”

Washington Examiner / Beltway Confidential: “Now a court has upheld the expulsion of a Christian student at a public university in Michigan over her personal beliefs on homosexuality: . . . ‘It’s a very dangerous precedent,’ Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told FOX News Radio.”

The Layman Online: “An attorney from the Alliance Defense Fund, which is helping defend Howell, has said that the university could be sued for violating the professor’s First Amendment rights.”

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: “A story from Asia News relates that the Indonesian Police recently demolished a house for no other reason than that it contained a home church that met regularly. The Narogong Pentecostal Church in the village of Limusnunggal, Cileungsi sub-district, regularly met in the house for worship. The report also stated that ten people were detained, questioned and released.”

Beliefnet: “Monday’s ruling could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views. ‘It’s a very dangerous precedent,’ said [Jeremy Tedesco], attorney for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. ‘The ruling doesn’t say that explicitly, but that’s what is going to happen.’”

OneNewsNow: “[David French], senior counsel for ADF, argued last month before the U.S. District Court that ‘Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs.’”