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Baylor conference on Human Dignity and the Future of Health Care

I just saw the schedule for the 2010 Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture. The Symposium, which will be held October 28-30, will address the topic of “Human Dignity and the Future of Health Care.” The line-up of speakers looks quite impresive. See http://www.baylor.edu/ifl/index.php?id=75356 Richard M.

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Pennsylvania court decision on medical care for the disabled

On August 17, 2010, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a guardian for a mentally disabled person is not permitted to refuse life-saving  medical treatment when the disabled person is not suffering from an end-stage medical condition or is not permanently unconscious. Here is a link to the opinion. http://oldsite.alliancedefensefund.org/userdocs/HockenberryOpinion.pdf The Court found that Pennsylvania […]

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No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act

The “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”  (H.R. 5939) was introduced by Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL) in late July 2010. http://chrissmith.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=201572 The Act would permanently ban taxpayer funding of abortion. Here is information about a letter supporting the bill written by Cardinal DiNardo, who is the Archbishop of Gaveston/Houston and the Chariman of the Committee […]

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Alaska voters approve parental notice law

On Tuesday, August 24, voters in Alaska approved a law requring parental notice 48 hours before a teenager under age 18 has an abortion. Here is report from the National Right to Life Committee, http://www.nrlc.org/News_and_Views/Aug10/nv082510.html , and one from LifeNews.com, http://www.lifenews.com/state5372.html Richard M.

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Human embryos Stem cell research Uncategorized

Federal Judge enjoins Obama Administration funding of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

A federal district court judge has enjoined the Obama Administration’s effort to fund embryonic stem cell research. The judge found that such efforts are prohibited by the Dickey-Wicker Amendment. Here is a report from the New York Times.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/health/policy/24stem.html Here is a report from LifeNews.com, http://www.lifenews.com/bio3145.html , and one from the Bioethics Defense Fund.http://bdfbuzz.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/victory-federal-court-strikes-down-obama-embryonic-stem-cell-funding-guidelines/  Richard M.

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Sam Calhoun’s recent article on Carhart II

At the 2008 UFL conference at Marquette, Sam Calhoun presented a critique of the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v. Carhart. An expanded version of that paper has just recently been published in the Mississippi Law Journal. The article is entitled “”Partial-Birth Abortion’ is Not Abortion: Carhart II’s Fundamental Misapplication of Roe” and it is […]

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The Becket Fund to defend Catholic hospitals from pressure to perform abortions

On the Mirror of Justice blog, Rick Garnett has an interesting post on the Becket Fund’s threat to sue HHS if it succumbs to pressure from the ACLU to push Catholic hospitals to perform abortions. See http://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2010/08/the-becket-fund-stands-up-to-aclu-for-catholic-hospitals.html Richard M.

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health care right to conscience update

Wesley Smith has a good post on the continuing controversy over pharmacists and conscientious objection in the state of Washington. See  http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2010/08/06/protecting-pharmacist-conscientious-objectors-in-washington/ Washington’s law requiring pharmacists to dispense prescriptions, including Plan B contraceptives (the so-called morning after pill), was challenged in federal court. The Ninth Circuit (in Storman’s Inc v. Selecky) upheld the constitutionality of the law and rejected […]

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the fate of Nebraska’s new abortion laws

Apparently, Nebraska’s Attorney General has decided not to appeal an injunction issued against enforcement of a Nebraska law requiring health screenings for women seeking abortions. The AG believes that there is little prospect of successfully defending the law. Nebraska’s other new law banning abortions after 20 weeks based on the view that such a ban […]

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Abortion Clinic regulation Constitutionality Court cases Ultrasound Uncategorized

Louisiana ultrasound law challenged

Louisiana recently passed The Ultrasound Before Abortion Act, which requires ultrasounds before abortions are performed but doesn’t require that the woman view the ultrasound images. The Bioethics Defense Fund helped draft the law. For more information about the law, see http://bdfbuzz.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/ultrasound-bills-touted-in-wash-post-column/  On August 6, 2010, the law was challenged in federal court. For reaction to the lawsuit, see  http://www.lifenews.com/state5330.html UPDATE: The […]