Pro-life leaders have asked the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove the abortion pill from the U.S. market, in a letter sent on Tuesday. The letter was signed by nearly two dozen pro-life leaders. They urged FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn to exercise statutory authority and classify the abortion pill mifepristone as…Read More
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has offered its support for a new school funding bill, as Catholic schools grapple with the effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The School Choice Now Act would provide one-time funding to scholarship-granting organizations, who would be authorized to allocate those funds to parents. The funds could be…Read More
A controversial state question that would reform the state’s criminal justice system has qualified for November’s general election ballot, supporters say. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that State Question 805 qualifies for the Nov. 3 ballot because supporters gathered enough signatures. Also, the initiative petition didn’t face any challenges within the prescribed window. Supporters…Read More
A controversial state question that would reform the state’s criminal justice system has qualified for November’s general election ballot, supporters say. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that State Question 805 qualifies for the Nov. 3 ballot because supporters gathered enough signatures. Also, the initiative petition didn’t face any challenges within the prescribed window. Supporters…Read More
America’s Catholic schools have been called a “national treasure,” yet not everyone is willing to help preserve them with tax dollars. Opposition to federal aid for such schools likely will arise as Congress prepares the next coronavirus stimulus package. President Donald Trump has asked that it include funds for scholarships to pay tuition for private…Read More
Pro-life leaders are sounding the alarm against efforts in the House to undermine pro-life protections in federal spending bills. On Friday, the House passed a “minibus” bill outlining funding of various federal agencies, including the State Department and foreign operations. Pro-life groups, however, have warned that the legislation would undermine the Mexico City Policy, which…Read More
By a 5-4 vote on Friday the Supreme Court upheld Nevada’s coronavirus regulation that limits attendance at indoor religious services to 50 persons. Some businesses in the state, such as casinos, may admit 50% of their capacity. Chief Justices John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan decided July…Read More
The Oklahoma Education Association’s national parent, the National Education Association, is known for bizarre actions like working to give boys access to girls’ bathrooms and endorsing Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. Recently the OEA added to the bizarre by trying to give the impression that public schools are receiving only half of Oklahoma’s education-related federal…Read More
The Oklahoma Education Association’s national parent, the National Education Association, is known for bizarre actions like working to give boys access to girls’ bathrooms and endorsing Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. Recently the OEA added to the bizarre by trying to give the impression that public schools are receiving only half of Oklahoma’s education-related federal…Read More
A new abortion study has revealed the complexity of Americans’ views on abortion, and an openness to discussion. But among the report’s key findings was a unanimous agreement that abortion is not a “desirable good.” The interview study “How Americans Understand Abortion” was published on Monday by the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for…Read More
A Catholic hospital in Maryland faces a lawsuit from a person who presents as a transgender man because it would not perform a hysterectomy on the person’s healthy uterus. The lawsuit, whose backers have for decades opposed Catholic ethics in Catholic-run hospitals, cites a 2020 Supreme Court decision that holds employment discrimination on the basis…Read More
The New York affiliate of the nation’s largest abortion provider said Tuesday it will remove the name of its founder, Margaret Sanger, from its Manhattan building because of her support for eugenics. “The removal of Margaret Sanger’s name from our building is both a necessary and overdue step to reckon with our legacy and acknowledge…Read More
In an announcement that gained praise from national education leaders, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Friday he will use millions of dollars in federal COVID funds to increase educational opportunity across Oklahoma, boosting financial resources for students, families, and schools across the state. Among other things, Stitt’s plan will boost online course offerings in rural schools,…Read More
In an announcement that gained praise from national education leaders, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Friday he will use millions of dollars in federal COVID funds to increase educational opportunity across Oklahoma, boosting financial resources for students, families, and schools across the state. Among other things, Stitt’s plan will boost online course offerings in rural schools,…Read More
A federal appeals court has lifted an injunction that temporarily blocked the first federal execution scheduled since 2003. The Sunday ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a Friday decision from a lower court that put a hold on the execution of 47-year-old Daniel Lewis Lee. The former white supremacist, who was…Read More
The revocation of restrictions on payday lenders by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exposes poor and vulnerable persons to ‘predatory and abusive lending practices’, the US bishops’ conference said last week. On July 7 the CFPB removed requirements that lenders ensure borrowers can repay a loan before issuing it, and limited how many successive loans…Read More
A federal judge ruled against an Indiana law requiring medical providers to inform the state if they treat any complications connected to a prior abortion. U.S. District Judge Richard Young ruled Wednesday that the law was “unconstitutionally vague.” He said the legislation was unclear about how and when doctors should report potential complications, as well…Read More
Several U.S. bishops, along with clergy and religious brothers and sisters from around the country, have signed a statement opposing federal executions that are scheduled to resume this month. Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Bishop William Medley of Owensboro, Kentucky, Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City, Bishop Thomas Zinkula of Davenport, Iowa, and Bishop Richard Pates…Read More
Catholic leaders and religious liberty advocates have welcomed the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Little Sisters of the Poor on Wednesday, calling it a victory for freedom of conscience and the freedom of religious people to serve the poor. “We are overjoyed that, once again, the Supreme Court has protected our right to…Read More
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of two California Catholic schools today, finding that the government cannot control a church school’s decision about who teaches its religion classes. In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James Catholic School v. Biel, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty defended two Catholic elementary schools…Read More
The White House plans to ask Congress to earmark money in the next stimulus bill for scholarship programs for private and religious schools, which the administration is promoting as a way to help families affected by COVID-19 pay their children’s tuition this fall. President Donald Trump will ask for a “one-time, emergency appropriation” for a…Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to review an appeals court decision that overturned the death sentences of an Oklahoma City man who killed his wife and her four children. Without comment, the high court rejected a request from Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter to review the case. Hunter’s office argued that the 10th…Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to review an appeals court decision that overturned the death sentences of an Oklahoma City man who killed his wife and her four children. Without comment, the high court rejected a request from Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter to review the case. Hunter’s office argued that the 10th…Read More
The city of Somerville, Massachusetts, has broadened its definition of domestic partnership to give polyamorous relationships the same rights as a married couple. Someone who is polyamorous is in a relationship with more than one domestic partner. City councilor J.T. Scott, quoted in the New York Times, said that he believes this to be the…Read More
The Supreme Court is deciding major life and religious freedom cases this term, but one less-recognized ruling could impact billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid. In USAID v. Alliance for Open Society International, the court ruled on Monday in a 5-3 decision that foreign entities of international humanitarian organizations do not have free speech…Read More
Oklahoma voters narrowly approved a state question to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income residents. With all precincts reporting Tuesday, State Question 802, which asked voters to expand Medicaid, passed by 6,488 votes. The question will enshrine Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma’s constitution — effectively preventing Oklahoma’s GOP-controlled Legislature and Republican governor from limiting or undoing…Read More
When the Supreme Court announced June 29 that it would not hear an appeal by federal death-row inmates challenging the method to be used in their upcoming executions, a longtime advocate against capital punishment said the court “abdicated its legal and moral responsibilities.” “This means that the federal government will likely execute four people” starting…Read More
Oklahoma voters narrowly approved a state question to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income residents. With all precincts reporting Tuesday, State Question 802, which asked voters to expand Medicaid, passed by 6,488 votes. The question will enshrine Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma’s constitution — effectively preventing Oklahoma’s GOP-controlled Legislature and Republican governor from limiting or undoing…Read More
The Supreme Court delivered a major victory Tuesday to parents seeking state aid for their children’s religious school education. The court’s conservative majority ruled that states offering scholarships to students in private schools cannot exclude religious schools from such programs. The decision was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who has joined the liberal justices in…Read More