Category Archives: Featured

Perez’s age has not been disclosed, but a local news report stated that she received fertility treatment in order to become pregnant.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/226419/nonomom-mexican-woman-pregnant-with-9-babies/#MZHshYc3OtdBie5l.99

Journal Gazette: Emily and Brian Herx – the Hoagland couple launched into a national religious debate this week – said Friday they just wanted to expand their family when she underwent in vitro fertilization and ultimately lost her Catholic teaching job.

USA Today: The divided response has prompted at least one public tongue-lashing. Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain, the adviser of the Vanderbilt Christian Legal Society, alleged on Twitter and in a Christian magazine that the Baptist Collegiate Ministry and the Reformed University Fellowship betrayed their faith by complying with the university

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund sent the president of Western Kentucky University a letter Thursday on behalf of a pro-life student club after an art student desecrated its display of crosses by draping them with condoms and calling it an act of art and free expression. The letter explains that university officials, including the student’s teacher, were either aware that the vandalism was going to occur, did nothing to stop it, or even condoned the student’s actions.

Denver Post: This year’s bill is expected to have a tough time again in the House, where Republicans hold a 33-32 majority.

Available for media interviews following Carmichael’s oral argument in favor of Hawaii Family Forum’s motion to intervene in Jackson v. Abercrombie, a legal attack on Hawaii’s marriage laws

Glenn Cook at the Las Vegas Review Journal (4/8): The maddening, tragic trend of children being murdered by the abusive boyfriends of their single mothers has the full attention of valley law enforcement, social workers and researchers. On Wednesday, as part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a coalition led by UNLV’s Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy launched the “Choose Your Partner Carefully” campaign. | Hat tip: IMAPP

Jonathan V. Last at the Weekly Standard (4/23): As fertility falls, populations shrink. As populations shrink, economies will sputter. Western countries will struggle to support too many retirees without enough workers, and the rest of the world (particularly places such as China and Russia) will be challenged just to maintain order as societies change in unprecedented ways: Most people will have neither brothers, sisters, aunts, nor uncles, and there will be no such thing as an extended family. This forecast may sound apocalyptic, but it’s nearly conventional wisdom among the demographers and economists who study such things . . .

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have reached a settlement with the Dysart Unified School District that will allow a Christian club to once again distribute fliers that promote their group’s activities to students.

Eugene Volokh reports at the Volokh Conspiracy: An interesting Virginia Supreme Court decision, Wyatt v. McDermott (Va. Apr. 20, 2012), recognizes this right. An excerpt (paragraph breaks added) . .

The question is whether the General Assembly may, by statute, influence the definition of the constitutional phrase “purely public charity.”

WKRN.com: A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a Christian evangelist seeking to speak at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville. | McGlone v. Bell | See also Religion Clause Blog post: 6th Circuit: Evangelist Has Standing; Campus Speaker Rule Unreasonable

ADF files lawsuit to challenge tax assessed against church but not other charitable groups

ABC: New census 2010 figures, released today, reveal that 48 percent of all households include a married husband and wife, compared with 52 percent in 2000. That’s down dramatically from the peak.

Telegraph: The Roman Catholic Church contacted its secondary schools in England and Wales asking them to enourage pupils to back the campaign against gay marriage.

The Hill: They will let House Republicans battle with Democrats over controversial language expanding special visas to illegal immigrants seeking protection from abuse, a provision specifically naming same-sex partners as eligible for domestic violence programs and another empowering American-Indian tribal authorities to prosecute abuses alleged to have happened on their reservations.

David French has an excellent article at National Review titled: “The Countercultural Language of Original Sin.” He observes how our view of “original sin” impacts our views on marriage and homosexual behavior. See also his related post: Everything But Sex; Everything But Divorce

Historically, strong views of “original sin” have been a driving force for limited government in the American Republic. Government expands as the doctrine of “original sin” diminishes while checks and balances all but disappear in a vast administrative complex of socialism.

When is the last time you heard a sermon on “original sin?”

Christian Concern: A High Court judge has upheld a ban on a Christian radio advert, ruling that it was “directed to a political end.”

LifeNews: Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Steven Aden also commented, saying, “The hard-earned tax money of Arizonans shouldn’t be funneled to groups that perform abortions. This law ensures that public funds will not be used to subsidize the activities of organizations like Planned Parenthood that have demonstrated, nationwide, that they care more about their bottom line than they do about women or the proper use of taxpayer money.”

Examiner: According to the decision, an employer which discriminates against an employee or potential employee based on their gender identity is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination based on sex. | The Transgender Law Center has issued a press release and links to the ruling: Macy v. Holder, No. 0120120821 (EEOC, Apr. 20, 2012) | MetroWeekly also provides more details.

LifeSiteNews: The steady stream of legislation strengthening protections for unborn children and draining funds from the abortion industry has continued in recent weeks. Here are a few of the latest developments . . .

Alliance Defense Fund President and CEO Alan Sears, commenting on the passing of Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson, called him a true mentor and friend.

Baptist Press: “Elections can’t solve the problem we’ve got,” Colson said. “The problem we’ve got is that our culture has been decaying from inside for 30 or 40 years. And politics is nothing but an expression of culture. … “So it comes right back to us,” he continued. “Look in the mirror, that’s where the problem is. If we can, through the church, renew the church to really bring a healthy cultural influence, then there’s some hope we can be changed. … This is a moment when the time is right for a movement of God’s people under the power of the Holy Spirit to begin to impact the culture we live in. Desperately needed.”

Michael Gerson at Washington Post: Charles W. Colson — who spent seven months in prison for Watergate-era offenses and became one of the most influential social reformers of the 20th century — was the most thoroughly converted person I’ve ever known.

Baptist Press carries quotes from various Evangelical Leaders.

An Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney together with ADF attorneys have filed a brief with the Colorado Court of Appeals in defense of a Douglas County voucher program that pays for students who attend “private school partners” rather than government-run schools.

Cathi Herrod at AZ Republic: And children raised in an environment with a married mom and dad have the best opportunity to succeed and learn personal responsibility, meaning they are less likely to grow up and depend on government programs. The link between strong families and a strong economy is inseparable — you can’t have one without the other.

A Lexington T-shirt company cannot be forced to help promote a message it doesn’t agree with, according to a response filed by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys Thursday with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission.

Available for media interviews following oral arguments in Sherley v. Sebelius, a lawsuit challenging an Obama administration policy that authorized the National Institutes of Health to fund additional research projects that destroy human embryos even though a federal law known as the Dickey/Wicker Amendment specifically prohibits such funding.

Des Moines Register: Senate Democrats this afternoon narrowly rejected a Republican proposal that would prohibit poor Iowans from having a taxpayer-paid abortion in cases of rape or incest.

Personhood USA at the Christian Newswire: “We are not surprised that there are a few Republicans such as Representative Doug Cox and House Speaker Steele, who wish to suppress life-affirming and pro-family legislation such as the Personhood Act,” commented Keith Mason, Personhood USA President. “However, it is surprising that these Republicans can be allowed to do everything in their power to kill a bill and then blame the entire Republican caucus. It is not too late – truly pro-life Oklahoma Representatives can still call for a vote and pass SB 1433.”

Reuters: State Representative Randy Terrill, a conservative Republican, called the announcement of the bill’s failure “stunning” and complained the speaker “threw the caucus under the bus.” “There was no vote in the caucus,” he complained. Instead, there was a private “whip count” in which party floor leaders polled fellow Republicans on the matter, Terrill said.

In order to retain recognition, the group was told it must eliminate the requirement that leaders have a “personal commitment to Jesus Christ.” The university dictated that the following sentence be substituted instead:

Religion Clause Blog: Americans United announced yesterday that it has filed a formal complaint (full text) with the Internal Revenue Service alleging that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Illinois . . . Bishop Daniel R. Jenky (later reprinted in The Catholic Post) in which Jenky compares President Obama’s attitude toward churches with those of Hitler and Stalin . . .

Religion Clause Blog: In London Christian Radio Ltd. v. Radio Advertising Clearance Centre, (EWHC, April 20, 2012), Britain’s High Court (Queen’s Bench Division) for England and Wales held that the ban on political advertising on radio broadcasts imposed by Communications Act 2003 (Secs. 319 and 321) does not infringe a Christian radio station’s free expression rights . . .

Minnesota Post: On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court declined to review a case brought by three same-sex couples who claiming the Minnesota Defense of Marriage Act discriminates against them and against the son of one of the pairs.

Wall Street Journal (includes video): Ms. Romine’s $900-a-month loan payments eat up 60% of the paycheck she earns as a bank teller in Beaufort, S.C., the best job she could get after graduating in 2008. Her fiancé Dean Hawkins, 31, spends 40% of his paycheck on student loans. They each work more than 60 hours a week . . . Ms. Romine, now 26, also works a second job, as a waitress. She is making all her loan payments on time. They can’t buy a house, visit their families in Ohio as often as they would like or spend money on dates. Plans to marry or have children are on hold, says Ms. Romine

LifeSiteNews: Homosexual groups are seeking the prosecution of a Spanish bishop after he gave a sermon repeating the Catholic Church’s teaching associating the gay lifestyle with the suffering of hell, and then an interview in which he endorsed psychological treatment for homosexual behavior.

LifeNews: The Irish Dáil has defeated a bill pro-life groups strongly opposed that would legalize some abortions and potentially imprison pro-life advocates who provide women with abortion alternatives counseling.

The HIll: “I want them to take a bigger look,” Boehner said at a Wednesday press conference. “And the bigger look is, if we don’t make decisions, these programs won’t exist, and then they’ll really have something to worry about.”

Ryan Messmore at the Heritage Foundation: Ryan believes his federal budget plan helps accomplish that goal. In a letter last year to then-Archbishop (now Cardinal) Timothy Dolan of New York, Ryan stated that his proposed budget better targets assistance to those in need, repairs the social safety net, and fulfills the mission of health and retirement security for all Americans.

The Washington Post reports the results in chart form.

LifeNews: One such state is Oregon, which has paid for abortions for women receiving public assistance pursuant to court order since 1984.[i] According to the Oregon 2012 Petition Committee, one third of all abortions in Oregon are funded by taxpayers.

Star Tribune: If a woman is going to take an abortion pill like RU-486, she should do it in the presence of a doctor, the House voted Wednesday.

Reuters: A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ruled Arizona may require voters to show identification at the polls, a ruling likely to add fuel to the fiery debate about voting rights in a presidential election year.

Findlaw: A California appellate court has clarified that a sperm donor who is not married to a designated recipient mother does not have to pay child support.

LIfeSiteNews: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) filed a notice of appeal April 17, asking a federal appeals court to vacate a decision by a Massachusetts federal judge declaring that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) violated the First Amendment in its contract with USCCB to provide case management services to victims of human trafficking, because the contract did not require USCCB to facilitate abortion and contraception.USCCB has also requested a stay of the lower court’s decision until the appeals court can rule.

Alan E. Sears at Townhall: The government cloaks its anti-church legal maneuverings as enforcement of the imaginary “separation of church and state” clause that the Left likes to pretend is in the Constitution. But it’s hard not to believe that the state’s real objection to Christian charity is that every church committed to social service eliminates that much more need for government bureaus and subsidies and commissions and tax-payer funded initiatives. Ultimately, a more active church erodes the need for bigger government … and to the Left, nothing is more important than bigger government.

Meg Jay at the Ruth Institute: These negative outcomes are called the cohabitation effect. Researchers originally attributed the cohabitation effect to selection, or the idea that cohabitors were less conventional about marriage and thus more open to divorce. As cohabitation has become a norm, however, studies have shown that the effect is not entirely explained by individual characteristics like religion, education or politics. Research suggests that at least some of the risks may lie in cohabitation itself.

Columbus Dispatch: House Republicans added a provision to the mid-biennium review today that would significantly cut or eliminate federal funding to Planned Parenthood.

ADF-allied attorney files complaint with state pharmacy board on behalf of NH Right to Life

Every innocent life deserves to be protected. Instead, Brazil’s high court has approved of slaughtering the country’s most vulnerable people, the severely disabled.

Teresa Collettt at Public Discourse: All citizens should support Pain-Capable Child Protection Acts because the unborn can feel pain prior to birth, and laws protecting them from pain are constitutional.

Reuters: A U.S. appeals court on Monday revived a lawsuit brought by members of the adult entertainment industry which challenges federal laws requiring pornography producers to report the ages of all performers.
| Free Speech Coalition v Attorney General, No. 10-4085 (3rd Cir. April 16, 2012) (Before SCIRICA, RENDELL, and SMITH, Circuit Judges. )

LifeNews: Abortion advocates complained the state of Texas would leave women high and dry without access to a women’s health program now that the state has decided to revoke taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

LifeNews: The governor of Mississippi has signed a bill that would make the state the first in the nation to be without an active abortion business if the only one in the state can’t comply with the sensible new law he signed.

David J. Rusin at Islamist Watch (also at National Review): Presidential candidate Rick Santorum got jeered for comparing the legalization of same-sex marriage to that of polygamy, but, whether or not the comparison is rationally sound, thoughts of the former’s facilitating the latter bring a smile to many Islamists. If the definition of marriage can evolve in terms of gender, some Muslims ask, why not in terms of number?

Orin Kerr posts excerpts of the opinion at the Volokh Conspiracy Blog (Judges Brown and Sentelle Urge the Supreme Court to End Rational Basis Review of Economic Regulations): America’s cowboy capitalism was long ago disarmed by a democratic process increasingly dominated by powerful groups with economic interests antithetical to competitors and consumers. And the courts, from which the victims of burdensome regulation sought protection, have been negotiating the terms of surrender since the 1930s . . . The hope of correction at the ballot box is purely illusory . . . | Hettinga v. United States

Philadelphia Inquirer: For the first time, a Pennsylvania appeals court has confronted the complex question of who gets custody of embryos, ruling this week in favor of a Chester County woman who hopes to give birth using frozen embryos that her estranged husband wants destroyed . . . The three-judge Superior Court panel affirmed and quoted the trial court’s reasoning: “Because Wife cannot achieve genetic parenthood otherwise, we conclude that Wife’s interest in biological procreation through the use of these pre-embryos outweighs Husband’s professed interest against procreation.” | Opinion: Reber v. Reiss | Hat tip: How Appealing

LifeNews: House members passed the bill by a 37-22 vote and abortions after that time period would not be allowed except in very rare cases of medical emergency. The bill also requires abortion facilities to allow women to have an ultrasound of their unborn baby at least 24 hours prior to having the abortion

Text at the Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom

Wall Street Journal: Following a meeting in Washington, the statement of the G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting Chair said: “The ministers reaffirmed that human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all individuals, male and female, including lesbian, gay, bisexual …

LA Times: This year’s study says the average stay-at-home mom’s compensation would total $112,962 a year. (Romney would probably earn more because she was raising a larger-than-usual family of five boys.)

Charlotte Observer: Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers compared North Carolina’s proposed anti-gay marriage amendment to the South’s old racist Jim Crow laws during Friday remarks to a Charlotte business group. Responding to a question from the floor about his views on Amendment One, Rogers told about 300 business executives at the Hood Hargett Breakfast Club that he would answer personally, not as head of the Charlotte-based utility.

Baltimore Sun (includes video): Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain is encouraging Catholics to gather signatures and sign petitions to overturn the state’s new gay marriage law.

Robert L. Ehrlich at the Baltimore Sun: A likely result: a coalition of Catholics, African-Americans, Hispanics and conservatives from both sides of the aisle send the measure to a decisive defeat. (Such a result would make Maryland the 32nd state to defeat a gay marriage referendum.)

LifeNews: The South Carolina House overwhelmingly passed the BAIPA in 2011 and the Senate voted in favor of the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act on a 27-3 margin.

NOM: “The American people are entitled to know how a confidential tax return containing private donor information filed exclusively with the Internal Revenue Service has been given to our political opponents who also happen to be co-chairing President Obama’s reelection committee.”

VPR: The Vermont Senate has rejected legislation that would allow terminally ill people to get a physician’s help in ending their own lives.

Telegraph: The European Court of Human Rights has upheld a German court’s conviction of a man for an incestuous relationship with his younger sister, with whom he had four children.

ADF asks Indiana Supreme Court to uphold state’s Choice Scholarship Program

NY Times: President Obama disappointed and vexed gay supporters on Wednesday with his decision, conveyed to activists by a senior adviser, not to sign an executive order banning discrimination by employers with federal contracts.

Seattle Times: Judge Edward Shea of the Eastern Washington Federal District Court ruled that the North Central Regional Library (NCRL) is not violating the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by filtering some adult Internet content on library computers. | Related ACLU Information Page

AP: Planned Parenthood sued Texas on Wednesday for excluding the group from participating in a program that provides contraception and check-ups to women. | Complaint: Planned Parenthood v. Suehs (W.D. Tex.)

LifeNews: House members passed the bill by a 37-22 vote and abortions after that time period would not be allowed except in very rare cases of medical emergency. House members passed the bill by a 37-22 vote and abortions after that time period would not be allowed except in very rare cases of medical emergency.