A leading stem cell research organization has called for scientists to lift a long-held ethical rule against growing and experimenting on embryonic human beings beyond 14 days of gestation. The Illinois-based International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) made the suggestion in a new set of guidelines published this year for consideration by governments, research…Read More
Florida State University has agreed to a settlement with a Catholic student who sued the school last year over his removal from the student senate for private religious statements. Jack Denton, a Catholic member of the university’s class of 2021, was removed from his position as president of the student senate last June after comments…Read More
One pro-life leader is “confident” that Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (W.Va.) – a key swing vote in the U.S. Senate – will oppose efforts to fund abortions in the coming fiscal year. With President Joe Biden expected to release the details of his budget request for the 2022 fiscal year next week, one long-standing federal…Read More
Catholics and others challenging South Carolina’s Blaine Amendment are right to argue that the amendment was “born of bigotry and prejudice, based on race and religion,” two scholars say. The state’s Blaine Amendment – a constitutional ban on public funds for private religious schools – was enacted amid efforts by those schools to educate freed…Read More
It has been hard to keep up with the number of school choice programs state legislatures have created so far in 2021. As sessions across the country wrap up, it is worth pausing to underscore just how massive the wins for the educational choice movement have been this year. Education savings accounts, or ESAs, are…Read More
Appearing before dozens of children who will benefit from policy changes approved this year, Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislators declared 2021 the “Year of Oklahoma’s Education Turnaround” during a press conference. “When the legislative session began, we crafted policies to give you the best chance to get the best education, because we knew that education…Read More
Appearing before dozens of children who will benefit from policy changes approved this year, Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislators declared 2021 the “Year of Oklahoma’s Education Turnaround” during a press conference. “When the legislative session began, we crafted policies to give you the best chance to get the best education, because we knew that education…Read More
Governor Kevin Stitt today signed legislation that lowers income taxes on individuals and businesses as well as increases investment in education. House Bill 2962 cuts individual income tax rates by 0.25%, lowering the top rate from 5% to 4.75% and House Bills 2960 and 2963 reduce the corporate income tax from 6% to 4%. Both…Read More
May 19 marked the final date Americans could submit public comments on a new rule of “Proposed Priorities — American History and Civics Education,” set forth by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, a division of the U.S. Department of Education. This priorities document will be used in future years to award grant money…Read More
Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives have passed a significant expansion of a school-choice program that has benefited thousands of low-income students, sending the measure to Gov. Kevin Stitt to be signed into law. “These opportunities are real,” said House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, “and they change the trajectories of peoples’…Read More
Catholics are asking the governor of Texas to halt an execution scheduled for Wednesday evening. Quintin Jones, 41, who was sentenced to death in 2001 for the 1999 murder of his great-aunt, is scheduled to be executed at the state’s Huntsville unit at 6 p.m. local time Wednesday evening. Jones was convicted for the murder…Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott, R-TX, signed into law legislation protecting unborn children as soon as a heartbeat can be detected. The law sets the cutoff for legal abortions at about six weeks after conception. While Texas is often considered a conservative state, passing pro-life legislation in the Lone Star State has proven difficult. Pro-life leaders said…Read More
Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives have passed a significant expansion of a school-choice program that has benefited thousands of low-income students, sending the measure to Gov. Kevin Stitt to be signed into law. “These opportunities are real,” said House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, “and they change the trajectories of peoples’…Read More
A Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma who supports the death penalty is seeking an independent investigation into the conviction of a death row inmate. State Rep. Kevin McDugle says he believes new evidence suggests the now 58-year-old Richard Glossip may be innocent. McDugle says several of his GOP colleagues have agreed to sign on to the…Read More
Planned Parenthood affiliates have continued to be approved for emergency small business loans in 2021, despite protests by senators who say they should be ineligible for the loans. The office of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said last week that it had once again sought an explanation from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as to…Read More
South Carolina on Monday became the fourth state to officially sanction the use of the firing squad as a method of execution. Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed into law a bill allowing the state to execute death row inmates by electrocution or firing squad, if the drugs used for lethal injection are not available. Previously,…Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a Mississippi case that represents a major challenge to abortion rights and could allow Oklahoma and other states more latitude in restricting access to abortion. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, who joined 17 other states last year in urging justices to take the case, applauded the…Read More
A significant school-choice measure has won overwhelming approval from the Oklahoma Senate and is now one vote away from Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk. Senate Bill 1080 increases the size of the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act, which provides tax credits to those who donate to organizations that provide private-school scholarships. “Other than affirming life,…Read More
A Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma who supports the death penalty is seeking an independent investigation into the conviction of a death row inmate. State Rep. Kevin McDugle says he believes new evidence suggests the now 58-year-old Richard Glossip may be innocent. McDugle says several of his GOP colleagues have agreed to sign on to the…Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a Mississippi case that represents a major challenge to abortion rights and could allow Oklahoma and other states more latitude in restricting access to abortion. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, who joined 17 other states last year in urging justices to take the case, applauded the…Read More
A significant school-choice measure has won overwhelming approval from the Oklahoma Senate and is now one vote away from Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk. Senate Bill 1080 increases the size of the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act, which provides tax credits to those who donate to organizations that provide private-school scholarships. “Other than affirming life,…Read More
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will review Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, taking up a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade just a few months after its newest conservative justice joined the bench. The Mississippi ban, which has been blocked by lower courts since it was enacted in 2018,…Read More
SAN FERNANDO, Calif.—Catholic schools across the country are struggling to keep the doors open, after a pandemic year that left many families unable to pay tuition and the church without extra funds to cover the difference. At least 209 of the country’s nearly 6,000 Catholic schools have closed over the past year, according to the…Read More
States continued a nationwide trend of enacting pro-life laws in 2021, with the Texas legislature passing a “heartbeat” bill this week, and Montana enacting funding restrictions on abortion providers. The Texas state Senate on Thursday passed a ban on abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, which can occur as early as six weeks…Read More
In his 2017 book The Strange Death of Europe, Douglas Murray remarked on an odd phenomenon. Despite steep demographic decline, he observed, most British women—and many Europeans—indicated a desire for more children than they were having. In fact, in some nations, population declines could be reversed simply by women having the children they claimed to…Read More
State leaders touted a “historic” investment in education in the proposed budget. Common education will see a $178 million increase in funding, which will trigger a provision in state law that caps class sizes for kindergarten and first-grade students. In total, the budget would appropriate $3.2 billion for common education. “After such a very challenging…Read More
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday would not acknowledge an existing federal ban on “partial-birth abortion.” During a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health, Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) asked HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra if he agreed that partial-birth abortion is illegal. Becerra answered that “[t]here is no…Read More
Diocesan Respect Life coordinators and the Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops are encouraging Catholics to speak out against the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, legislation which bans federal Medicaid funding of abortions. “It is so important for people in our parishes to learn about the Hyde Amendment and the life-saving, conscience-protecting…Read More
The Louisiana state legislature last week passed a resolution recognizing Jan. 22, 2022, the 49th anniversary of legalized abortion throughout the United States, as a “Day of Tears.” “This week we passed a resolution calling for a Day of Tears in Louisiana,” state Sen. Beth Mizell (R), who introduced the resolution, said May 10 in…Read More
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-FL, signed a school choice bill Tuesday, allowing families to use public education tax dollars to send children to private schools, to homeschool, or to employ private tutors. Wealthy parents “can make whatever decisions they want” and “have the world as their oyster,” DeSantis said at a televised signing ceremony held at…Read More
The Food and Drug Association (FDA) is reviewing its restrictions on the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone, according to a May 7 court filing in a suit challenging the regulations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is bringing suit against the FDA’s current rules restricting the drug, celebrated the agency’s decision in a statement Friday: “The…Read More
Some Catholic doctors and medical ethicists have raised concern about possible forthcoming changes to the legal definition of brain death used in most U.S. states. The issue of whether family consent should be required for brain death testing is of particular importance, especially since a determination of brain death can allow for patients’ organs to…Read More
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Edmond, talked on Thursday about faith, family and the issues facing the U.S. Congress at the Assembly of Catholic Professionals in downtown Oklahoma City. Bice, who was elected in November to represent Oklahoma’s 5th District, said her freshman year in Congress has been a whirlwind, including being chosen president of the…Read More
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Edmond, talked on Thursday about faith, family and the issues facing the U.S. Congress at the Assembly of Catholic Professionals in downtown Oklahoma City. Bice, who was elected in November to represent Oklahoma’s 5th District, said her freshman year in Congress has been a whirlwind, including being chosen president of the…Read More
Here is one demonstrable fact about the difference between Catholic and public schools: Students who study at Catholic schools do better in reading and math. We know this because students who attended Catholic elementary schools in 2019 tested better in mathematics and reading than students who attended public schools. The latest issue of the Digest…Read More
Iowa lawmakers have laid the groundwork for a proposed state constitutional amendment to prevent recognition of abortion as a legal right, countering a state Supreme Court decision. The main questions now are whether the legislation will pass as soon as possible, and whether voters will back the amendment on a statewide ballot as early as…Read More
One of Oklahoma’s largest faith-based universities is among 25 higher education institutions named in a federal class-action lawsuit recently brought against the U.S. Department of Education. Filed by the nonprofit Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP), the lawsuit, Elizabeth Hunter, et al. v. U.S. Department of Education, is being brought against the department on behalf of…Read More
One of Oklahoma’s largest faith-based universities is among 25 higher education institutions named in a federal class-action lawsuit recently brought against the U.S. Department of Education. Filed by the nonprofit Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP), the lawsuit, Elizabeth Hunter, et al. v. U.S. Department of Education, is being brought against the department on behalf of…Read More
The U.S. total fertility rate fell to its lowest-recorded level last year and the number of births was the lowest in 42 years, new federal data published on Wednesday revealed. According to provisional data of the National Vital Statistics System published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the total fertility rate in the…Read More
House Republicans confronted the Centers for Disease Control this week after newly-released emails revealed the CDC quietly “partnered” with leading teachers unions while crafting the latest school reopening guidelines. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-WA, Morgan Griffith, R-VA, and Brett Guthrie, R-KY, of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a strongly-worded letter to CDC Director…Read More
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Tuesday praised the Biden Administration for its decision to raise the refugee ceiling. “As a nation of immigrants, we have a moral obligation to help our brothers and sisters around the world who are in need. The updated refugee admissions cap is a step in the right direction…Read More
If you adapted the old advertising slogan for the American company known for its jams, jellies, and preserves, “With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good,” to the American Civil Liberties Union, it might read something like, “If the ACLU labels your action one of the ‘most extreme’ in the nation, it has to…Read More
President Joe Biden on Monday raised the refugee admissions cap for the current fiscal year, more than quadrupling the current limit. In a White House statement on Monday afternoon, Biden said he was raising the limit on U.S. refugee admissions to 62,500 from 15,000, for the 2021 fiscal year. The raise comes as the White…Read More
At age 16, Alanna Smith, competed in a regional track and field competition in which she took third place. A boy who identified as a girl won first place. “It was really upsetting,” Smith said in 2020. “We all already knew who was going to win and take the top spots before we even started.”…Read More
When the next school year begins, all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York will be open for in-person learning for the full school week because new health directives mean the schools can operate without needing hybrid or remote classes for students. “My goal and that of the Health and Safety Task Force is…Read More