One year after state voters surpassed expectations with 57-percent in support of State Question 788, the number of people taking advantage continues to surprise many. “Oklahoma’s been ready. I think they’ve been waiting for the medical marijuana to pass,” said Straiin medical marijuana dispensary co-owner Anthony Lemos. Adrienne Rollins, director of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana…Read More
One year after state voters surpassed expectations with 57-percent in support of State Question 788, the number of people taking advantage continues to surprise many. “Oklahoma’s been ready. I think they’ve been waiting for the medical marijuana to pass,” said Straiin medical marijuana dispensary co-owner Anthony Lemos. Adrienne Rollins, director of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana…Read More
As the Democratic Governor of Wisconsin vetoed Friday four bills regulating abortion, Catholics in the state expressed disappointment with the decision. The Republican-controlled state legislature sent Gov. Tony Evers four bills June 20. They would have imposed criminal penalties on doctors who do not provide medical attention to babies born after a failed abortion; bar…Read More
A vacant Oklahoma Supreme Court seat has drawn seven applicants, six of them sitting judges on state courts. The vacancy is in a nine-county district in northern Oklahoma and was created when John R. Reif retired from the court. Gov. Kevin Stitt will ultimately choose the next justice — the first of his administration —…Read More
A vacant Oklahoma Supreme Court seat has drawn seven applicants, six of them sitting judges on state courts. The vacancy is in a nine-county district in northern Oklahoma and was created when John R. Reif retired from the court. Gov. Kevin Stitt will ultimately choose the next justice — the first of his administration —…Read More
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that new Title X rules, that prohibit funds from going to clinics that perform abortions or provide abortion referrals, can go into effect. The June 20 decision, issued from the bench in San Francisco, means that Planned Parenthood will stand to lose about $60 million in…Read More
New York Democrats kicked off 2019 by passing the most radical abortion bill in U.S. history, which erased the state’s limitation on abortion of 24 weeks, allowing abortion up until birth to protect the mother’s health, including mental health, and entirely removed abortion from the penal code. Other blue states are now following suit with…Read More
The House of Representatives passed a combination appropriations bill on Wednesday afternoon that renews the Hyde Amendment, preventing federal Medicaid funds from being used for abortions. The bill passed by a vote of 226-203 on June 19 and contains funding for four separate spending areas, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the…Read More
Oklahoma Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh resigned abruptly last week, leaving political responsibility for the state’s overcrowded, underfunded prison system squarely in the lap of Gov. Kevin Stitt. Allbaugh deserves the state’s thanks for 3½ years of work in a largely thankless task. Without enough money or people, working with antiquated facilities and under constant pressure…Read More
Oklahoma Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh resigned abruptly last week, leaving political responsibility for the state’s overcrowded, underfunded prison system squarely in the lap of Gov. Kevin Stitt. Allbaugh deserves the state’s thanks for 3½ years of work in a largely thankless task. Without enough money or people, working with antiquated facilities and under constant pressure…Read More
An Oregon bakery whose owners declined to make a cake celebrating a same-sex commitment ceremony will get another chance in court, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 17 ruling ordered lower courts to reconsider a massive fine and other penalties in light of a similar Colorado case. “The Constitution protects speech, popular or not, from…Read More
Before the month is out, the US Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision in an establishment clause case with the potential to create a new standard for dealing with problems related to religious liberty, religious symbols, and the relationship between religion and public life. The case, The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, hinges…Read More
The “Save Chick-fil-A” bill was signed into law on Monday by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. As Christian Headlines previously reported, the bill – SB 1978 – will protect businesses from being discriminated against by government entities because of their “membership in, affiliation with, or contribution, donation, or other support provided to a religious organization.” The…Read More
Illinois governor JB Pritzker signed the nation’s most permissive abortion bill into law Wednesday, as part of an effort to make abortion a “fundamental right” in the state. The legislature passed the sweeping abortion bill last month in a whirlwind session that saw massive tax hikes and huge expansions in government in addition to this…Read More
Jack Phillips, a Christian cake baker based in Colorado, is being sued for a third time for declining to make a cake that expresses messages contrary to his religious beliefs. Phillips is the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo., a Denver suburb. Last year, he won a six year legal battle that led all…Read More
Three senators, led by Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), have introduced a bipartisan bill to make adoption more affordable for families across the country. Blunt, Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) announced the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act, legislation that makes the current adoption tax credit fully refundable. In a news release Monday, the three lawmakers…Read More
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee June 4 praised the U.S. House for passing a measure that gives permanent legal protection to “Dreamers” and those covered by the Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure programs in the United States. “Dreamers” are young people who qualify to remain in the country under the Deferred…Read More
A bill legalizing assisted suicide in Maine moved to the governor’s desk on Tuesday after both houses of the state’s legislature narrowly passed the legislation. The so-called “Dignity With Dying” bill passed the state House of Representatives by a single vote on June 3, before making it through the senate Tuesday by a 19-16 margin.…Read More
Lawyers representing Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia are appealing to the Supreme Court after the agency was stripped of its contract to provide foster care services for the city for refusing to place children with same-sex couples. Although the Supreme Court declined to hear the case last year, Lori Windham, senior counsel at the Becket…Read More
The Little Sisters of the Poor are expected back in court Thursday to ask for protection against a lawsuit seeking to end the religious order’s exemption from the HHS contraception mandate. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra have each filed lawsuits saying that the sisters should not receive a religious…Read More
Through the Whole Person Care Initiative, all the Catholic bishops of California, the California Catholic Conference and the Alliance of Catholic Health Care have come together to create a statewide commitment to transform palliative and end-of-life care overall. The initiative has already been presented during a conference at the Vatican, and the Diocese of Orange,…Read More