(ANALYSIS) The 2024 election faced a situation that echoes the circumstances of 2004. In the Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court essentially turned the question of abortion regulation back to the states. That means that the ballot initiative/referendum has become the instrument through which states can set limits (or not) on abortion access.
Read MoreSoon after becoming president, Democrat Jimmy Carter signed the Hyde Amendment into law — barring the use of federal funds for abortions, except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake. When the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration attempted to kill the Hyde Amendment, a small — but symbolic — group of Democrats appealed to the elderly Carter for help.
Read MoreOn the eve of a potentially historic presidential election, Natasha Sutherland is tired. The born-and-raised Floridian and senior advisor to the Yes on 4 campaign has been fighting to expand and protect abortion access in her home state for years, but that fight hit a fever pitch after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Read MoreNo publicity has gone to women who have chosen a different path. The Catholic Church, for example, opposes aborting the handicapped unborn on the grounds that all life — no matter how disabled — has “inherent dignity.” This debate has been reignited as Vice President Kamala Harris, who favors expanding abortion rights, runs for president.
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court failed to intervene during this session in a dispute over whether the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires doctors in the anti-abortion state of Texas to perform abortions to stabilize patients seeking emergency room care.
Read MoreA Fulton County judge struck down Georgia’s six-week abortion ban Sept. 30, declaring it an unconstitutional violation of a woman’s rights to “liberty of privacy” and the control of her body. “When a fetus growing inside a woman reaches viability, when society can assume care and responsibility for that separate life, then ... may society intervene,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert C.I. McBurney wrote.
Read MoreArizona and Missouri are the latest states to add measures to the November ballot allowing voters to enshrine abortion rights in their respective state constitutions, joining at six other states with similar measures. In at least two states, Nebraska and Pennsylvania, ballot initiatives to protect life are pending.
Read More(OPINION) There is a new challenge for pro-life voters as we approach the 2024 elections. On the one hand, it’s impossible for a truly pro-life voter to vote for a Democratic presidential candidate given the radical, pro-abortion stance of that party. That holds true as well for the positions of President Biden, which continue to lurch farther to the left. But now that the RNC has embraced the watered down platform crafted by the Trump team, do we acquiesce and vote GOP?
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously reversed the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals and told opponents of the Food and Drug Administration their argument over the safety of mifepristone, commonly known as the abortion pill, should be taken up with the Biden Administration rather than the courts.
Read MoreThe Arizona Legislature repealed on May 1 an 1864 abortion ban that would have protected life from conception, but the law could still take effect temporarily during a 90-day waiting period for the repeal to become law. In Florida, meanwhile, a six-week abortion ban became law.
Read MoreHoosier Jews for Choice and four others can proceed in a class action challenge to Indiana’s abortion ban, claiming it violates their individual rights under the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), an appeals court has ruled.
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in a case that will rule on the availability of mifepristone, a drug commonly used in medication abortions. The case is the first time the Supreme Court has weighed in on the issue of abortion since the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. A decision on the case is expected in June.
Read More(OPINION) It is one thing to push pills that could lead to death because of overdose or abuse. It is another thing to push pills that are designed to kill. But that’s just what one young pop star is doing – a pop star with 36.7 million Instagram followers. I’m speaking of Olivia Rodrigo.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights plans for the annual March for Life, expected to draw 100,000 abortion opponents to the nation’s capital. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreCatholic motivational speaker Chris Slattery opened EMC Frontline in 1984 as New York City’s first pregnancy center. The center aims to save unborn babies and offer free services to pregnant women and girls, especially those in poverty. But critics say organizations like EMC deceive pregnant women searching for all options, including abortion, and these clinics became the latest targets of vandalism, harassment and threats in the fight over abortion rights.
Read MoreYelp announced last week that it would add a notice stating that pregnancy resource centers “provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.” Google has also joined the move, announcing that it would add labels to search and map functions to identify those clinics that provide abortions and those that don’t.
Read More(OPINION) Early church writings mention abortion more often than many realize. Their condemnation is even more direct and forceful than that of the Scriptures. And this was without the visual evidence of ultrasounds and without today’s massive improvements in fetal viability. Still, they recognized abortion for the evil that it is.
Read More(ANALYSIS) If there was ever a doubt that Americans are living in two, separate news universes, then the past two weeks certainly crystallized that reality even more than the polarizing presidential elections of 2016 and 2020. As a result, a major news story on pro-abortion rights protesters at churches was totally ignored by many mainstream news sites.
Read MoreSince evangelicals galvanized to declare abortion their No. 1 social and political issue, they have used two main strategies to reduce the number of abortions: legislation that restricts access to abortion and ministries — including pregnancy centers — that give women viable alternatives to abortion by providing the resources and support they need.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments in the (potentially) most significant abortion case in decades. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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