Bishop Peter Libasci of Manchester welcomed Thursday the New Hampshire legislature’s override of a veto by the governor on capital punishment repeal. “I welcome the vote by the New Hampshire Senate today that repeals the death penalty. As a citizen of New Hampshire, I offer my deep appreciation and sincere empathy to the members of…Read More
The Louisiana House of Representatives has passed a fetal heartbeat bill, making it the latest state to move towards adopting such legislation. The bill passed the house with bipartisan support on May 29, by a margin of 79-23 in favor. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has previously spoken in favor of the bill. Following its…Read More
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s decision invalidating part of Indiana’s abortion law on the disposal of fetal remains, allowing it to go into effect. But the court declined to take up a challenge to a provision blocking abortions on the basis of sex, race or disability, avoiding a major ruling on abortion for the time being.…Read More
An important update from Tony Lauinger, State Chairman, Oklahomans for Life The last of the pro-life bills Oklahomans For Life has worked to have enacted during this session has now passed the Oklahoma legislature and gone to Governor Kevin Stitt for his signature. He has indicated his support for the bill. A two-million-dollar appropriation for…Read More
Bail reform failed in the Oklahoma legislature this week, but another major criminal justice reform initiative is on its way to the governor. The Senate passed House Bill 1269 on a 34–11 vote. It will extend the reclassification of several drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors to people convicted before voters passed State…Read More
An important update from Tony Lauinger, State Chairman, Oklahomans for Life The last of the pro-life bills Oklahomans For Life has worked to have enacted during this session has now passed the Oklahoma legislature and gone to Governor Kevin Stitt for his signature. He has indicated his support for the bill. A two-million-dollar appropriation for…Read More
Bail reform failed in the Oklahoma legislature this week, but another major criminal justice reform initiative is on its way to the governor. The Senate passed House Bill 1269 on a 34–11 vote. It will extend the reclassification of several drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors to people convicted before voters passed State…Read More
The House of Representatives passed the controversial Equality Act on Friday, amid heated opposition from those who argue it would pose serious threats to critical constitutional freedoms. “This bill undermines human dignity by threatening the fundamental freedoms of speech, religion, and conscience that the First Amendment guarantees for every citizen,” said Kristen Waggoner, senior vice…Read More
A “retroactivity” bill considered a key piece of criminal justice reform legislation moved from the House to the Senate on Thursday as lawmakers rush to complete the 2019 session before the Memorial Day weekend. In its current and presumably final form, much-amended House Bill 1269, by Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City, allows for an accelerated…Read More
The Missouri Senate has passed a bill that would ban most abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy. Legislators responsible for the bill have said that, unlike recent measures in other states, the bill is specifically designed to pass scrutiny under legal appeal. After passing a senate vote on May 16, the measure now moves to…Read More
A “retroactivity” bill considered a key piece of criminal justice reform legislation moved from the House to the Senate on Thursday as lawmakers rush to complete the 2019 session before the Memorial Day weekend. In its current and presumably final form, much-amended House Bill 1269, by Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City, allows for an accelerated…Read More
Earlier this week, the state of Alabama passed legislation to make abortion a felony. The measure is the nation’s strongest prohibition on abortion. It directly contradicts Roe v. Wadeand is intended as a challenge to the Supreme Court case that established a nationwide “right to abortion” in 1973. The Alabama law has generated serious controversy,…Read More
Several states are considering new abortion measures, as the nation-wide trend of legislatures passing new laws to restrict or entrench access to abortion continues. On May 14, Michigan lawmakers are set to vote on a bill to prohibit an abortion technique called “dilation and extraction.” This technique is used during the second trimester of a…Read More
Legislators in Vermont have passed new measures to enshrine unrestricted abortion access in to law at any time for any reason during a pregancy. The legislature also advanced a measure that would make abortion a constitutional right. As of Friday, H. 57, “An act relating to preserving the right to abortion,” passed both the state…Read More
Christians should prepare to be persecuted for their beliefs, Vice President Mike Pence told graduates during a commencement address at Liberty University on Saturday. “It’s become acceptable, and even fashionable to ridicule and discriminate against people of faith,” said Pence during his speech on May 11. The Vice President cited the case against the Little…Read More
A new proposal from the Trump administration would change the way the national poverty threshold is calculated, potentially leading millions of low-income Americans to lose federal assistance. Earlier this week, the Office of Management and Budget announced a proposal to change the inflation measure used to calculate the poverty line in America. The proposed formula…Read More
The Arizona legislature has passed a resolution declaring pornography a public health crisis and a danger to mental and physical health. House Concurrent Resolution 2009 was approved 16-13 by the state senate May 6. It was passed by the Arizona House Feb. 25. The measure does not ban adult material, but rather makes a public…Read More
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the “heartbeat” bill into law Tuesday morning. Kemp kept his campaign promise in signing the bill, HB 481, technically called the “Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, that will prohibit abortions in the state after a heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. The law allows exceptions…Read More
The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make performing an abortion a Class A felony offence. The Human Life Protection Act would mean doctors who perform abortion could face years in prison. The bill was carried in the House by a margin of 74-3 on April 30. It must now be…Read More
Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday rolled out a new criminal justice reform package. “With only a few weeks remaining in the legislative session, I am keenly focused on ensuring significant movement is made on criminal justice reform,” Stitt said. Lawmakers must adjourn by 5 p.m. May 31 but could finish earlier. “Oklahomans and community leaders…Read More
The Trump administration will require hospitals and health organizations to do more to shield medical workers with moral or religious objections to medical procedures such as abortion, assisted suicide or sterilization. A rule released Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services significantly broadens the agency’s enforcement ability and strengthens protections for health care…Read More
A federal judge in Oregon has issued a temporary nationwide injunction against the Trump administration’s requirement that recipients of Title X family planning funds be separate from abortion facilities. U.S. District Judge Michael McShane of Eugene, Oregon, blocked the changes from taking effect. In his Monday ruling, he called the new regulation “a solution in…Read More
Over one percent of all deaths last year in Canada were the result of euthanasia, a new government report has revealed. The Fourth Interim Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada, released this month by Health Canada, showed that from January to October of 2018, a total of 2,613 people in Canada received “medical…Read More