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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 […]

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“The Abiding Significance of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”

Christopher Tollefsen’s essay with that title was posted on The Public Discourse blog earlier today. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2010/08/1485 Only a small portion of the essay deals with abortion but the essay is well worth reading for its timely reflections on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Richard M.

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Abortion Constitutionality International Politics Uncategorized

The Kenyan Constitution and Abortion

On August 4th, Kenya will hold a referendum to approve a new constitution. While Kenya needs a new constitution to address serious political problems, pro-abortion advocacy groups have hijacked the reform process and managed to insert provisions in the draft constitution that will lay the foundation for abortion-on-demand in this pro-life country. It is likely […]

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The nomination of Elena Kagan

President Obama has nominated Elena Kagan to replace John Paul Stevens on the United States Supreme Court. If confirmed, Kagan will not likely change the balance of the Court on the issue of abortion. Justice Stevens was a strong defender of Roe v. Wade and there is little reason to think that Kagan will depart from […]