The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of an appeal from the State Question 805 campaign, requiring the Secretary of State’s office to accept the group’s initiative petition signatures despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary of State Michael Rogers must accept the roughly 260,000 signatures in the next 10 days and begin the counting…Read More
As many in the bioethics movement push various schemes to ration health care based on “quality of life” — such as the odious QALY (quality adjusted life year) system beloved of the New England Journal of Medicine — some are pushing back and insisting that health-care coverage and treatment public policy be predicated on the…Read More
The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic for those living and working in jails, prisons, and detention centers are severe. Reports show more than 25,000 people inside have tested positive for the virus; hundreds have died. As Catholics, we are called to respect the dignity of all human life—regardless of the harm one has suffered or caused.…Read More
Longtime critics of religious freedom protections, among them the American Civil Liberties Union, have formed a partnership to oppose the Trump administration policies and actions that aim to protect several Catholic institutions. But for Matthew Franck, a Princeton University politics lecturer and senior fellow at the Witherspoon Institute, this course will advance conflict and coercion,…Read More
As Congress considers additional COVID relief efforts in the coming weeks, it should focus especially on the needs of the poor and vulnerable, said the head of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. “As Congress turns once more to considering additional relief related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus should be…Read More
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of an appeal from the State Question 805 campaign, requiring the Secretary of State’s office to accept the group’s initiative petition signatures despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary of State Michael Rogers must accept the roughly 260,000 signatures in the next 10 days and begin the counting…Read More
As many in the bioethics movement push various schemes to ration health care based on “quality of life” — such as the odious QALY (quality adjusted life year) system beloved of the New England Journal of Medicine — some are pushing back and insisting that health-care coverage and treatment public policy be predicated on the…Read More
U.S. Senators James Lankford and Jim Inhofe were upset last week because of what they say were improper COVID-related Small Business Administration loans to Planned Parenthood. On Friday, Lankford joined 32 Republican senators and more than 90 Republican House members in demanding an investigation into how 37 Planned Parenthood local affiliates were approved for $80…Read More
The preliminary hearing for undercover journalist David Daleiden began Tuesday in California with Planned Parenthood admitting that it harvested aborted babies’ body parts and supplied them to human tissue procurement companies, according to the Center for Medical Progress. Daleiden and Sandra Merritt face 15 felony charges for invasion of privacy because they exposed the abortion…Read More
Legislation was signed into law Thursday to hold physicians who perform fraudulent abortions solely liable for the wrongful death. Senate Bill 1728, by Sen. David Bullard, creates the Unborn Person Wrongful Death Act and modifies provisions related to awarding damages resulting from such wrongful deaths. The Durant Republican said the bill will allow parents and…Read More
By Nicole Gaudiano 05/19/2020 07:25 PM EDT Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said on Tuesday that she would “absolutely” work to provide funding for private schools in a new coronavirus relief package. Speaking on SiriusXM’s Catholic Channel radio station, she also said she hopes the Supreme Court will strike down so-called Blaine Amendments when it issues…Read More
One hundred years ago on May 18, Emilia Wojtyla gave birth to her second son, Karol, after a difficult and life-threatening pregnancy. The child would grow up to be St. John Paul II. In a new book published in Poland, Milena Kindziuk describes how St. John Paul II’s mother was advised to get an abortion.…Read More
Bishop David O’Connell of Trenton lamented Thursday that the U.S. Congress’ latest coronavirus relief bill would bar private schools’ access to financial relief. The New Jersey Catholic Conference is encouraging Catholics to ask their senators and representatives to include aid for private school families in the stimulus. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions…Read More
Oklahoma could launch a pilot program to conduct marijuana breathalyzer tests to determine if people are driving under the influence. Oklahoma’s Legislature passed legislation last week to require the Department of Public Safety use $300,000 to pay for a medical marijuana pilot program to test out marijuana breathalyzers. Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, said Oklahoma could…Read More
Oklahoma could launch a pilot program to conduct marijuana breathalyzer tests to determine if people are driving under the influence. Oklahoma’s Legislature passed legislation last week to require the Department of Public Safety use $300,000 to pay for a medical marijuana pilot program to test out marijuana breathalyzers. Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, said Oklahoma could…Read More
One of the most bizarre legislative sessions in state history ended — maybe — Friday night as lawmakers adjourned but left open the possibility of returning if something (such as more vetoes by Gov. Kevin Stitt) comes up. “It has been a very unusual session, and thank you all for working as hard as you…Read More
With the vote on a state question to expand Medicaid looming, Oklahoma’s GOP-controlled Legislature passed legislation to fund Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Medicaid expansion plan. Republicans in the House passed Friday a bill to increase a fee on some Oklahoma hospitals to bring in about $134 million to pay for most of the state’s share of…Read More
A bill headed to the governor’s desk would reduce how much public school districts get to charge charter schools in fees. The state Senate approved House Bill 3369 with a 38-7 vote on Tuesday before the House approved the final version of the bill on Friday with a vote of 84-5. Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma…Read More
With the vote on a state question to expand Medicaid looming, Oklahoma’s GOP-controlled Legislature passed legislation to fund Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Medicaid expansion plan. Republicans in the House passed Friday a bill to increase a fee on some Oklahoma hospitals to bring in about $134 million to pay for most of the state’s share of…Read More
A bill headed to the governor’s desk would reduce how much public school districts get to charge charter schools in fees. The state Senate approved House Bill 3369 with a 38-7 vote on Tuesday before the House approved the final version of the bill on Friday with a vote of 84-5. Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma…Read More
What a difference a year makes. This time last year, Gov. Kevin Stitt was standing between the leaders of Oklahoma’s House and Senate as the three Republican officials announced a joint budget deal. On Wednesday, the Legislature successfully voted to overturn Stitt’s veto of the $7.7 billion state budget legislators crafted for the upcoming fiscal…Read More
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop Paul Coakley, and Bishop David Konderla recently wrote to U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, asking him to vigorously enforce the obscenity laws. They also called upon him to launch an “investigation of pornography producers and website owners for criminality.” “The current…Read More
What a difference a year makes. This time last year, Gov. Kevin Stitt was standing between the leaders of Oklahoma’s House and Senate as the three Republican officials announced a joint budget deal. On Wednesday, the Legislature successfully voted to overturn Stitt’s veto of the $7.7 billion state budget legislators crafted for the upcoming fiscal…Read More
Supreme Court justices on Monday heard arguments for and against extending the Civil Rights Act’s “ministerial exception” to Catholic schools when they fire teachers of religion. “There is no reason for government to get in the business of teaching religion,” stated Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket who argued the case on behalf of…Read More
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister announced on Monday that nearly $145 million in emergency federal relief is headed to Oklahoma school districts. The funds are Oklahoma’s portion of the $13 billion Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) designated for states after the CARES act was signed into law in March. Like…Read More
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister announced on Monday that nearly $145 million in emergency federal relief is headed to Oklahoma school districts. The funds are Oklahoma’s portion of the $13 billion Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) designated for states after the CARES act was signed into law in March. Like…Read More
This week’s Supreme Court argument in the Little Sisters of the Poor case featured an impassioned statement by Justice Ginsburg about contraception. Several times during the argument, she claimed that the federal regulations offering religious freedom for the Little Sisters and others “tossed to the wind” congressional intent to provide women free contraception. She invoked…Read More
It was an unusual call, but, then, these are unusual times. President Trump met recently — virtually, of course — with top leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States to discuss the survival of Catholic schools. Catholic schools make up the largest system of private schools in this country and they are facing massive…Read More
This week, the Supreme Court will hear a series of oral arguments in a number of cases via telephone, due to the coronavirus outbreak. One of the cases on the docket, to be heard tomorrow morning, is Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, the latest iteration in a series of cases considering whether religious groups…Read More
Attorneys for a group of Oklahoma death row prisoners say the state hasn’t finished its revisions to a plan for carrying out executions, as required by a 2015 legal agreement that suspended capital punishment in the state. Their challenge will be considered at a federal court hearing on Tuesday. The argument is the latest in…Read More
Leaders of Oklahoma’s Legislature have agreed to a $7.7 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year that includes cuts of 4% for most state agencies. Under the budget proposal, public schools face a funding cut of $78 million, or 2.5%, that legislators say can be fully filled with $200 million in federal funding for common…Read More
Attorneys for a group of Oklahoma death row prisoners say the state hasn’t finished its revisions to a plan for carrying out executions, as required by a 2015 legal agreement that suspended capital punishment in the state. Their challenge will be considered at a federal court hearing on Tuesday. The argument is the latest in…Read More
Leaders of Oklahoma’s Legislature have agreed to a $7.7 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year that includes cuts of 4% for most state agencies. Under the budget proposal, public schools face a funding cut of $78 million, or 2.5%, that legislators say can be fully filled with $200 million in federal funding for common…Read More
Four U.S. Catholic bishops called on government officials to consider the role and plight of U.S. migrant farmworkers during the coronavirus pandemic and made recommendations that include free testing and care should the workers test positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. “We would like to express our sincere gratitude and prayers for…Read More
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure that vaccines developed to combat coronavirus are not “morally compromised” by any connection to cell lines created from the remains of aborted babies. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities,…Read More
When Oklahoma legislators return to the state Capitol on Monday, the building will be open to the public, with some conditions. Legislators will return to the building for an unspecified amount of time to pass a state budget for fiscal year 2021 and vote on a handful of legislative priorities. After being closed to the…Read More
When Oklahoma legislators return to the state Capitol on Monday, the building will be open to the public, with some conditions. Legislators will return to the building for an unspecified amount of time to pass a state budget for fiscal year 2021 and vote on a handful of legislative priorities. After being closed to the…Read More
Some United States lawmakers are pulling for businesses to be immune from liability if someone gets sick after being at the facility. The immunity would be an incentive for businesses to open, boosting the economy. One Oklahoma attorney said he’s concerned it would also be an incentive to get lax with protocol. If someone got…Read More
White House officials told Fox News on Thursday that steps were taken to ensure Planned Parenthood is excluded from the Paycheck Protection Program, which was set up to provide coronavirus relief funds to small businesses. “Through the Paycheck Protection Program, President Trump is delivering vital relief to help small businesses keep employees on payroll,” a senior…Read More
Some United States lawmakers are pulling for businesses to be immune from liability if someone gets sick after being at the facility. The immunity would be an incentive for businesses to open, boosting the economy. One Oklahoma attorney said he’s concerned it would also be an incentive to get lax with protocol. If someone got…Read More
More than 130 members of Congress are asking the Supreme Court to allow states to defund Planned Parenthood. In an amicus brief filed at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, 108 representatives and 29 senators argued that states should have the flexibility to determine qualified Medicaid providers. They urged the Supreme Court to hear South Carolina’s…Read More