That’s the title of a new article (link to an abstract below) by Mark Rienzi (Catholic U). Rienzi argues that there is a federal due process right not to be forced to kill. The right arises in a variety of contexts–military operations, capital punishment, assisted suicide, abortion, and self-defense or defense of others. Rienzi doesn’t enter […]
Category: Conscience protection
Here is a link to an article on the recent decision from the Court of Session in Edinburgh rejecting the arguments of 2 midwives who claimed a right to conscientiously object to being forced to supervise the carrying out of abortions. http://www.sconews.co.uk/latest-edition/16846/forced-to-supervise-abortions/ I have not been able to find a copy of the decision but the descriptions […]
Here is a link to the federal district court opinion in the Storman case. http://www.becketfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Stormans-Opinion-from-Judge-revised.pdf This case, which has been in litigation for nearly 5 years, involves a challenge to a Washington Board of Pharmacy regulation that requires pharmacies to dispense “emergency contraceptives” despite a religious objection to dispensing these drugs. In yesterday’s ruling, the court […]
Here is a story from the National Right to Life News reporting on the settlement of the case brought by nurses against a New Jersey hospital that had threatened the nurses’ jobs when the nurses refused to assist in abortions. The settlement is described as a victory by Matt Bowman, who represented the nurses. Bowman […]
Here is a link to Michael Fragoso’s recent essay on conscience on the Public Discourse blog. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/11/4296 Fragoso discusses the efforts of ACOG and ABOG to limit the right to conscientious objection and the likely consequences of such efforts. As Fragoso states: “The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Board of Obstetricians and […]
Here is a LifeNews report on a lawsuit that was filed by a dozen nurses whose jobs were threatened because they refused to assist in abortions. The suit, brought by lawyers from the Alliance Defense Fund, contends that the nurses’ rights under federal and state were violated by the hospital’s threats. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/11/01/hospital-told-nurses-assist-abortions-or-lose-your-job/ UPDATE: The court issued a temporary […]
If readers want to view each of the GOP presidential candidates respond to Professor Robert George’s question regarding abortion at the Palmetto Freedom Forum, you can find those exchanges on YouTube. Bachmann-George exchange at 5:27-8:18. Cain-George exchange at 6:28-8:56. Gingrich-George exchange at 7:46-9:15 very short answer then discussion of judicial role in Constitution. Paul-George exchange […]
Professor Helen Alvare has posted a blog entry, Uphold Conscience Protection: Religious Freedom’s Contribution to the American Experience and Threats to It, over at Public Discourse on the importance of conscience protections in a variety of settings. Many readers of this blog will recognize the professor from her former work as spokeswoman for Prolife Secretariat […]
The Supreme Court has made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to argue that health care workers have a Free Exercise right under the First Amendment to refuse to participate in abortions. With growing governmental powers over health care, many are concerned that legislative conscience protections for health care workers may not be sufficient to […]
UFL member, O. Carter Snead (Notre Dame), has a terrific new article on the Public Discourse blog, Protect the Weak and Vulnerable: The Primacy of the Life Issue. In the article, he first establishes that the debates over abortion and embryo destructive research are really about membership in the human family and the reach of […]