As early as 1974, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted with an overwhelming majority to communicate its opposition to the death penalty. More recently, in 2015, Pope Francis addressed a joint session of U.S. Congress, saying that his conviction to defend human life at every stage has led him “to advocate at different levels…Read More
In mid-January, SB20-100, a bill which would repeal the death penalty in Colorado, was introduced to the Colorado State Senate. This bill marks the legislature’s sixth attempt in recent years to repeal the death penalty. So far, it has passed the Senate, and is also expected to pass the Democratic-majority House of Representatives and to…Read More
The Senate on Tuesday failed to pass two pro-life bills to protect unborn babies who can feel pain, and babies who survive abortion attempts. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) would ban abortions after 20 weeks gestation, around the time babies in utero can feel pain. Sen. Ben Sasse’s…Read More
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the Trump administration’s policy adjustments to the Title X program can stay, meaning that Planned Parenthood will continue to lose out on about $60 million in federal funding. On Feb. 24, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 7-4 to uphold the “Protect Life Rule,” which changed eligibility…Read More
Facing the threat of major cuts to federal HHS funds, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has said the state will not back down from its ban on health insurance plans that exclude abortion, even after federal authorities have sided with Catholic nuns who object to the ban. The attorney general has accused the federal government…Read More
The Tulsa World recently published a piece by a leader of the teacher walkout a few years ago predictably opposing Governor Stitt’s proposal to expand the Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program. There is much to take issue with in the piece, which is full of disinformation, but perhaps the most preposterous claim is the following: You’ve…Read More
The Supreme Court has agreed to take a case that will clarify the role of faith-based agencies in the foster and adoption system. In Fulton v. Philadelphia, Philadelphia foster moms Sharonell Fulton and Toni Simms-Busch are defending the faith-based agency that brought their families together. Starting in 2018, the City of Philadelphia began targeting and threatening to shut down Catholic Social Services unless it violates its sincere beliefs. Sharonell Fulton has fostered more than 40 children over…Read More
The Florida bishops applauded Thursday the passage through both houses of the state legislature of a bill requiring parental consent for minors seeking to procure abortion. The governor has said he intends to sign the bill. The Florida House of Representatives passed SB 404 by a 75-43 vote Feb. 20. It had cleared the Senate…Read More
The State of Oklahoma recently announced its intention to reinitiate capital punishment via lethal injection. To defend their decision, officials declared that we have waited long enough to achieve “justice for the families”. But this defense underscores the profound lack of answers to essential questions about the legitimacy of the death penalty. First, why does “justice for the families”…Read More
Due to Loopholes in the Mexico City Policy, U.S. Groups that Perform or Promote Abortion are Still Receiving Foreign Aid Money from the Government In 2006, in the west African country of Ghana, five organizations from the United States and the U.K. formed a coalition with the singular mission of expanding access to abortion and…Read More
A group of Covington Catholic High School students are suing CNN, NBC, the Washington Post, nine media personalities and a New York doctor regarding commentary about the incident at the Lincoln Memorial last year. The group of 12 students filed four separate federal lawsuits and one suit in Kenton County Circuit Court Wednesday. The federal lawsuits against…Read More
The State of Oklahoma recently announced its intention to reinitiate capital punishment via lethal injection. To defend their decision, officials declared that we have waited long enough to achieve “justice for the families”. But this defense underscores the profound lack of answers to essential questions about the legitimacy of the death penalty. First, why does “justice for the families”…Read More
California could lose federal funds for requiring employer health plans to cover elective abortion, federal officials have said. But the Missionary Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit, the Catholic consecrated women whose legal complaint helped trigger the threat, only want their voice heard and their conscience clear. “They have a ministry that works closely with the…Read More
The governor of Tennessee has denied a clemency request for a condemned prisoner described as a “model inmate,” clearing the way for his execution on Thursday, February 20. The decision was made despite appeals to spare his life from the family of one of his victims, and from prison officers. Nicholas Sutton, 58, was sentenced…Read More
An Oklahoma Senate committee on Monday passed a bill that would ban abortion when a fetal heartbeat or brainwaves are detected. The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services passed Senate Bill 1859 in a 7-4 vote. The bill, authored by Sen. Paul Scott, would amend language in the Heartbeat Informed Consent Act that currently…Read More
An Oklahoma Senate committee on Monday passed a bill that would ban abortion when a fetal heartbeat or brainwaves are detected. The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services passed Senate Bill 1859 in a 7-4 vote. The bill, authored by Sen. Paul Scott, would amend language in the Heartbeat Informed Consent Act that currently…Read More
Catholics in the US are pushing for a national, bipartisan bill that would limit the interest rate on payday and car title loans. “Payday lending is modern day usury. These short-term, high-interest loans prey on the financial hardship of poor and vulnerable consumers – all for the sake of big profits, which only come when…Read More
OKLAHOMA CITY — Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, Archbishop of Oklahoma City, issued the following statement on the announcement by Attorney General Mike Hunter of the State of Oklahoma’s intent to reinstitute lethal injection: “We need to stop spending taxpayer money to kill human beings. We deserve justice for these heinous crimes, but we don’t…Read More
OKLAHOMA CITY — Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, Archbishop of Oklahoma City, issued the following statement on the announcement by Attorney General Mike Hunter of the State of Oklahoma’s intent to reinstitute lethal injection: “We need to stop spending taxpayer money to kill human beings. We deserve justice for these heinous crimes, but we don’t…Read More
Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat said this week the Senate is prepared to increase the cap on Oklahoma’s tax-credit scholarship program, throwing his support behind a proposal highlighted by Gov. Kevin Stitt in his State of the State address. “Where there are kids that lack opportunity, my heart pains for them,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma…Read More
Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat said this week the Senate is prepared to increase the cap on Oklahoma’s tax-credit scholarship program, throwing his support behind a proposal highlighted by Gov. Kevin Stitt in his State of the State address. “Where there are kids that lack opportunity, my heart pains for them,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma…Read More
In Oklahoma as elsewhere, there is no upper limit to demands for more money from a government school system that has consistently squandered regular spending increases. It’s been the same story year after year, for decades. However much we spend, it’s never enough; however big the spending increase is, it’s still so small that expecting…Read More
In Oklahoma as elsewhere, there is no upper limit to demands for more money from a government school system that has consistently squandered regular spending increases. It’s been the same story year after year, for decades. However much we spend, it’s never enough; however big the spending increase is, it’s still so small that expecting…Read More
An Oklahoma County District Court judge on Friday refused to temporarily halt state laws that say only physicians can perform abortions in Oklahoma, and they can’t do so using telemedicine. Judge Natalie Mai quashed two motions for temporary injunction challenging longstanding Oklahoma laws. Oklahoma City’s Trust Women clinic, which was represented in court by attorneys…Read More
An Oklahoma County District Court judge on Friday refused to temporarily halt state laws that say only physicians can perform abortions in Oklahoma, and they can’t do so using telemedicine. Judge Natalie Mai quashed two motions for temporary injunction challenging longstanding Oklahoma laws. Oklahoma City’s Trust Women clinic, which was represented in court by attorneys…Read More
Should rural and small-town Americans be reduced to serfdom? The American Founders didn’t think so. This is one reason why they created checks and balances, including the Electoral College. Today that system is threatened by a proposal called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, or NPV. Rural America produces almost all our country’s food, as…Read More
A California state university has this week agreed to revise its policies and pay more than $240,000 in fees after a federal court last summer found that the university had discriminated against a student pro-life group and had used mandatory student fees to fund only university-favored views. In 2017, legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)…Read More
On Thursday, Feb. 6, members of the Oklahoma State House of Representatives approved House Bill 1182, a bill that would direct the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to revoke the license of a medical doctor who performs an abortion in Oklahoma, for a period of one year. Seventy-one members of the House voted…Read More
On Thursday, Feb. 6, members of the Oklahoma State House of Representatives approved House Bill 1182, a bill that would direct the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to revoke the license of a medical doctor who performs an abortion in Oklahoma, for a period of one year. Seventy-one members of the House voted…Read More
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has released videos to inspire prayer and action in political life and to help Catholics apply the Church’s teaching as handed down by Pope Francis. The scripts for the videos were approved by the full body of bishops at their November General Assembly in Baltimore. The videos complement…Read More
Stitt is looking to increase the tax credit cap for the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship, which he hopes will encourage more individuals and businesses to contribute to non-profits providing scholarships. He wants to raise the cap from $5 million to $30 million. … Stitt emphasized his recently announced plan to expand Medicaid using a…Read More
When her son, Sincere, attended public school in Tulsa, Alegra Williams recalls he was receiving Cs and Ds, “more Ds than Cs.” “I thought he had a learning disability,” she said. Williams had her son tested, and school officials soon placed him on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for children with learning challenges. Then, thanks…Read More
Gov. Stitt called for a massive increase in the cap on private donations to Tax Credit Scholarships during his State of the State Address on Monday. But this begs the obvious question for some: what’s a tax credit scholarship? Here’s a simple video that explains the program:
Stitt is looking to increase the tax credit cap for the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship, which he hopes will encourage more individuals and businesses to contribute to non-profits providing scholarships. He wants to raise the cap from $5 million to $30 million. … Stitt emphasized his recently announced plan to expand Medicaid using a…Read More
A statewide poll of registered voters in Oklahoma conducted by Amber Integrated (AI) shows general dissatisfaction with K-12 public education. At 51 percent, a majority of voters say they disapprove of “the job K-12 public education is doing,” with 29 percent of all voters saying they “strongly” disapprove. Just 36 percent of voters say they…Read More
A statewide poll of registered voters in Oklahoma conducted by Amber Integrated (AI) shows general dissatisfaction with K-12 public education. At 51 percent, a majority of voters say they disapprove of “the job K-12 public education is doing,” with 29 percent of all voters saying they “strongly” disapprove. Just 36 percent of voters say they…Read More