Daily Archives: March 18, 2011

ADF attorney Joe Infranco appeared on the George Rice Show to discuss this: NH Supreme Court sidesteps critical religious liberty issue in homeschooler case. | MP3 audio 11:31 mins

Baptist Press: “The fertility industry has a dirty secret — young women are being coerced into selling their eggs despite the severe health risks and the lack of laws protecting them, according to a recently released movie from the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network.”

Catholic Culture: “Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the president of India and the first woman to hold the office, has expressed grave concern over reports of a steady decline in the number of young women in the country.”

CBC: “A florist in Riverview, N.B., is refusing to provide wedding flowers to a same-sex couple, according to the event’s planner.”

“The group in charge of Internet addresses on Friday opened the door for websites ending with “.xxx” but delayed deciding whether to open the floodgates for other suffixes.”

LifeSiteNews: The Italian Chamber of Deputies has begun to debate a new bill that would prohibit the starvation and dehydration of patients, even if they have completed a “living will” authorizing it, according to the French bioethics website Genethique and Italian media sources.

Catholic Culture: Aid to the Church in Need has issued its 2011 report on the persecution of Christians worldwide. | Report: Persecuted and Forgotten? (Aid to the Church in Need)

Zenit: It is said that one of the Islamic fundamentalists who assassinated Father Ragheed Ganni in 2007 screamed to his victim before killing him, “I told you to close the church. … Why are you still here?”

Zenit: The lesbian group, Kontra, filed a lawsuit against Jelena Mudrovcic for allegedly stating that “homosexuality is a sickness.”

USA Today: “The suicide rate for female soldiers triples when they go to war, according to the first round of preliminary data from an Army study.”

Deborah Sheasby writes at the Center for Arizona Policy Foundations Blog (includes video): “These incidents are occurring across the country, including right here in Arizona. That’s why CAP is supporting HB 2565, which ensures that universities and community colleges do not infringe on the rights of students to practice their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

Alfonso Aguilar writes at Fox News: Fifty-six percent of Latinos, according to a recent Pew Hispanic Center study, believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Christian Today: Legal counsel Roger Kiska, of the Alliance Defense Fund, was present at the court when the ruling was passed down today. He welcomed the decision: “The European Court of Human Rights shouldn’t overstep its authority and force a member nation to abandon traditions and beliefs that it has a sovereign right to protect if it so chooses. [more quotes by Roger Kiska]

LifeSiteNews: A top attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which had been actively involved in the case, today emphasized just how much was at stake in the case. “A loss in this case would have meant, in essence, that it would be illegal under the European Convention on Human Rights to have religious symbols in any state institution anywhere in Europe,” said ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska, who was present at the court when the decision was issued. “That would have set a dangerous example for the rest of the world.”

LifeNews: “The Oklahoma House has passed a bill that would prohibit human embryo destruction for experiments, by a vote of 86 votes in favor and 8 votes opposed.”

WDSU.com: A Dehnam Springs student has been suspended from school for not cutting his hair, despite his claims that he keeps it long for reasons related to his heritage.

CBC: “The Ontario Court of Appeal denied an appeal by the Crown in the case of a Guelph, Ont., woman convicted of infanticide after smothering two of her children. The case marks the first time a Canadian appellate court has examined infanticide provisions in the Criminal Code in detail.”

CBC: Canada might not have enough sperm donors without turning to other countries, a new report on the country’s ban on paying donors suggests. The federal government banned the sale of human eggs and sperm under Canada’s Assisted Human Reproductive Act in 2004.

Care2.net: “Lithuanian lawmakers recently introduced a draft proposal that would amend the country’s Civil Code to prohibit gender reassignment surgery, in defiance of a 2007 European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling.”

Center for Reproductive Rights: The briefing paper examines the many barriers that women and young people face when trying to obtain family planning information and services—from high service costs to physical inaccessibility to discriminatory treatment by healthcare providers. It demonstrates that this lack of access has serious consequences for women’s and adolescents’ lives and health and violates a full range of human rights. Furthermore, it outlines states’ obligations under international human rights law to ensure that family planning information and services are available, accessible, acceptable, and of good quality, and illustrates how human rights principles form the basis of effective, evidence-based family planning policies and services. The Center and UNFPA will officially launch the briefing paper on Wednesday, March 23 at UNFPA’s offices in New York. Download the full briefing paper to learn more about family planning and human rights.

Center for Reproductive Rights: “In a recent decision in the case of Lakshmi Dhikta v. Nepal, the Supreme Court of Nepal ruled that the country’s government must guarantee access to safe and affordable abortion services. Specifically, it affirmed the need for a comprehensive abortion law and emphasized the government’s obligation to ensure that no woman is denied a legal abortion just because she cannot pay for it.”

NJ.com: “Cofsky says that’s discrimination. Under the state’s parentage laws, a husband is always presumed to be the father of a baby even if his sperm isn’t used for conception, he said. But a wife who doesn’t use her egg or her body for the pregnancy is never the presumed to be the mother. Instead, she has to adopt the baby, a process that can take months and cost up to $6,000, he said.”

Des Moines Register: The public face of the effort will be Jeff Angelo, a Republican former state senator from Creston who sponsored a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Iowa five years ago.

Metro Weekly: “The two main pieces of legislation that advocates such as the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) have been pushing are the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) and the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA). The SSIA would amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to include bullying- and harassment-prevention programs, including ones based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The SNDA, modeled after Title IX, would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal education nondiscrimination law.”

LifeNews: Planned Parenthood of Central Texas is closing two of its centers that make abortion referrals to its main location. The affiliate of the national abortion business did not give any reasons for closing the locations in Groesbeck and Marlin, Texas

Baptist Press: Though the horrific murders of three employees of a Bible publishing firm in Malatya, Turkey, in 2007 have not been replicated, a report by the Turkish Association of Protestant Churches contends that harassment continues to be a daily problem for Protestant Christians and churches in the country.

Baptist Press: Three prominent Southern Baptist leaders are publicly opposing a proposed Nashville law that would require city contractors to add non-discrimination policies based on “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

LifeNews: “Today, the chamber approved HB 213, the Late-Term Abortions sponsored by Rep. Tim Jones — a measure that prohibits abortions on unborn children after viability.”

TheLocal.se: A US-based Jewish group has issued a travel warning urging Jews to exercise “extreme caution” when traveling in southern Sweden.

Reuters: “The Arizona Senate on Thursday rejected five immigration bills, placing a major stumbling block in the way of state conservatives’ hopes to pass more laws cracking down on illegal immigrants.”

KC Star: “Among the four abortion-related bills being heard in the committee is one that includes restrictions that would make abortions illegal after 22 weeks of gestation, the age at which a fetus could survive outside of the womb.”

Washington Post: “Now, 53 percent say gay marriage should be legal, marking the first time in Post-ABC polling that a majority has said so.”

QC Times: “U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said Thursday that Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal is right to block a vote in the state Senate on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.”

Discovery News: “The Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada, plans to make another option easier: the donation of frozen embryos to other couples through an anonymous embryo donation program at its Center for Fertility and Reproductive Health.”

Christian Institute:

Religion Clause Blog discusses today’s ruling.

Christian Institute: Roger Kiska of the Alliance Defense Fund said: “The European Court of Human Rights shouldn’t overstep its authority and force a member nation to abandon traditions and beliefs that it has a sovereign right to protect if it so chooses.” He added: “A loss in this case would have meant, in essence, that it would be illegal under the European Convention on Human Rights to have religious symbols in any state institution anywhere in Europe”.

Crosses will continue to remain in Italy’s classrooms as a result of a judgment issued Friday by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. The court reversed a lower chamber’s 2009 ruling in favor of an “offended” parent who wanted crucifixes removed from the country’s public schools but did not prevail in Italian courts.

“A Wisconsin judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday blocking the state’s new and contentious collective bargaining law from taking effect, a measure that drew tens of thousands of protesters to the state Capitol and sent some Democrats fleeing to Illinois in an attempt to block a vote on it.”

Vancouver Sun: Canada’s anti-polygamy law offends fundamental freedoms protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, argues the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.”

CNET: “Apparently, hell hath no fury like a woman bigamized. So you will be stunned into a permanently single life when I tell you that Barton Jr. has been charged with polygamy. Michigan, unlike certain areas of Utah, tends to look down on polygamy. The maximum sentence is four years (and/or a $5,000 fine . . . ”

LifeSite News carries this roundup and report on the various states.

LifeSiteNews: The annual UN women’s commission ended a week late with opposite sides forming over how to treat gender. While the theme of the meeting was the non-controversial issue of women in science and technology, negotiations were unexpectedly fraught with ideological disagreements over the concept of gender, and the usual debate over issues related to sexuality.

LifeSiteNews: Parents, not the government, are the ones ultimately responsible for making educational choices for their children, and jailing them for standing on this universal right is simply unconscionable,” said ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska in a press release. “Irene Wiens was well within her rights under the European Convention of Human Rights to opt to teach her children a view of sexuality that is in accord with her own religious beliefs, instead of sending them to four days of classes and an interactive play that she found to be objectionable.”

Baptist Press: Joseph Infranco, senior counsel for ADF, said, “Although we strongly disagree with the court’s decision for this family and do not believe the trial court should have considered religion as it did, we appreciate that the Supreme Court limited its decision to the facts of this case. This decision cannot be used as a battering-ram against religious liberty or homeschooling, and ADF will be vigilant to make sure that it’s not.”

Washington Times: That is why the court should uphold Act 1, a 2008 voter-passed law that excludes cohabiting heterosexual and homosexual couples from being foster or adoptive parents, said Byron J. Babione, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund. Cohabitation is associated with risks and instability for children, and even biological parents in Arkansas who split up cannot have custody of their children if they are cohabiting with someone, said Mr. Babione, who represented Family Council Action Committee, a major backer of Act 1.

Gazette.net: Matt Bowman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, said he believed the pregnancy center would prevail. “We will show that the county has no facts to justify the idea that any signs are needed except the ideological complaints of abortion activists,” he said. “There are no facts, no examples of a pregnancy center doing anything but offering real help to women.”

BeliefNet: “The lower court held the Christian faith of this mother and daughter against them,” said Simmons, who is affiliated with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. “Unfortunately, the Supreme Court bypassed this issue and wrote this off as a `parent versus parent’ issue without recognizing the very real underlying threat to religious liberty.”

Current-Movie-Reviews.com: “The Day of Dialogue is scheduled for April 18, 2011 on high school campuses across America . . . Countering the Silence, the Day of Truth began in 2005. The Alliance Defense Fund launched the event with the goal of supporting students of faith who wanted to peacefully engage in a free exchange of ideas and respectfully share a Biblical perspective when issues like homosexuality are brought up and celebrated in their public school. Focus on the Family became the events sponsor in late 2010. Changing the name to The Day of Dialogue (which makes more sense to me), Focus hopes to encourage peaceful, student-initiated conversation and ensure there is a safe space for different perspectives and viewpoints, including faith-based ones.” | Day of Dialogue

One News Now: “Although we were disappointed with the outcome, we think at least the [New Hampshire] Supreme Court got the message and did not say anything in the decision in any way that would harm either home schooling or the religious considerations of a parent in schooling their children,” he explains. “So I think in a sense, although it was a loss, at least the court recognized the dangers and avoided those.” Infranco adds that “this decision cannot be used as a battering-ram against religious liberty or home schooling — and ADF will be vigilant to make sure that it’s not.”

Quad-City Times: The only way you can impeach a Supreme Court justice is by a charge of malfeasance,” he said, adding that in his opinion, that justices are guilty of that if they go beyond their constitutional limits. One of the justices, David Wiggins, is up for a vote to retain in 2012, Vander Plaats said. Justices Brent Appel, Darryl Hecht and Chief Justice Mark Cady are up for retention in 2016, he added.

St. Petersburg Times: “House Speaker Dean Cannon’s bold plan to overhaul the Florida Supreme Court gathered steam Thursday, as a Republican-controlled House committee endorsed the proposed changes and Democrats opposed them, as did the Florida Bar and some judges.”

The Globe and Mail: “The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear the case of a woman who wanted to wear a niqab while testifying.”

Daily Mail: “A survey reveals that 40 per cent of 11- to 14-year-olds have used their mobile phones or computer to send pictures of themselves or receive naked or topless images of friends.”

The Commercial Appeal: “A federal judge from Memphis who has been nominated to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals breezed through her confirmation hearing before a congressional panel on Wednesday.”

Religion Clause Blog: “In Malaysia yesterday, the High Court (Appellate and Special Powers) upheld the requirement that only Muslims can practice as Syariah lawyers.”

Janice Shaw Crouse writes at Townhall: “The federal government deems it too expensive to track marriage and divorce data; instead, turns its attention to tracking data about sexual activity, behavior, attraction, and identity of teens and adults.”

The Hill: “Not a single House Democrat voted with the majority Thursday on a bill to ban all federal funding for National Public Radio, but seven House Republicans did opt to vote against the measure.”

The Hill: “Sixty senators – 29 Democrats and 31 Republicans – called for the expanded talks to a letter to Obama.”

Public Discourse: “An anti-bullying program’s political slant leads one mother to reflect on the real meaning of diversity and dignity.”

SCOTUS Blog: “Briefing has now been completed on the plea by same-sex couples in California for the Ninth Circuit to clear the way for gay marriages to resume in the state.”

SCOTUS Blog: “A federal judge refuses to order the federal government to provide health insurance for the same-sex spouse of a court employee, but invites a constitutional challenge to the government’s denial of that benefit.”

AP: “These days, inflation is much lower. Yet to many Americans, it feels worse now. And for a good reason: Their income has been even flatter than inflation.”

AP: “The disclosure came a day after the Group of Seven major industrialized nations pledged in a statement to join in a coordinated effort to weaken the Japanese yen.”

Jillian T. Weiss, The First Amendment Right to Free Exercise of Religion, Nondiscrimination Statutes Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and the Free Exercise Claims of Non-Church Related Employers, 12 Fla. Coastal L. Rev. 15 (2010)

Shulman, Jeffrey, Introduction to ‘Who Owns the Soul of the Child?: Religious Parenting Rights and the Enfranchisement of the Child’ (February 18, 2011). Georgetown Public Law Research Paper No. 11-20. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1763854

Engle, Gregory, An Unholy Union? The Use of Religion in the Courtroom (December 3, 2010). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1767653

Phillip Kim, Navigating the Maze of End-of-Life Decisions Regarding the Rejection of Life Sustainin Treatment, Medical Futility, Physician-Assisted Death, and Abortion, 14 SMU Sci. & Tech. L. Rev. 127 (2010)

Jennifer Rothman, Getting What They Are Owed: Restitution Fees for Victims of Child Pornography, 17 Cardozo J.L. & Gender 333 (2011)

Ashutosh Bhagwat, Associational Speech, 120 Yale L.J. 978, 1030 (2011)

Huseina Sulaimanee, Protecting the Right to Choose: Regulating Conscience Clauses in the Face of Moral Obligation, 17 Cardozo J.L. & Gender 417 (2011)

Kenneth B. Orenbach, The Religiously Distinct Director: Infusing Judeo-Christian Business Ethics Into Corporate Governance, 2 Charlotte L. Rev. 369 (2010)

Kelli Stout, Tent Cities and RLUIPA: How a New Religious-Land-Use Issue Aggravates RLUIPA, 41 Seton Hall L. Rev. 465 (2011)