The entire text of this publication may be found as a pdf at Anti-Discrimination Laws in the Womb: New Momentum for Protection. Something interesting is afoot in recent disappointments for advocates of the right to life. In a series of cases that may test the appeal of a new jurisprudence on abortion, two federal […]
“Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law” is a befitting state motto for Missouri, where in 2019 pro-life lawmakers and officials have been very busy trying to make the state a safer place for unborn children and their mothers. While many of these legislative and legal efforts have been widely publicized, a […]
Today, August 19, 2019, the Protect Life Rule, which is designed to re-establish the original bright-line separation between abortion and the use of Title X funding, is set to go into effect. Planned Parenthood receives approximately $60 million in federal Title X funding annually. In a recent letter to the U.S. 9thCircuit Court of Appeals, […]
*This map is current as of August 2019.
The entire paper may be viewed as a pdf here: On-Point-34_Legislative-and-Litigation-Overview-of-Five-Month-Abortion-Laws-Enacted-Before-and-After-2010_Final This paper sets out legislative and litigation information involving state laws that prohibit abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy, roughly five months or more than halfway through pregnancy. Summary Since January 2010, twenty-one states have enacted statutes prohibiting abortion at 20 […]
This is an updated version of On Point Issue 26 and On Point Issue 29. To view this report as a PDF, see: Abortion Cases in the Higher Federal Courts Introduction While several states have appealed court decisions enjoining abortion restrictions to the United States Supreme Court, the Court has thus far failed to clarify or […]
This map shows the status of laws prohibiting or permitting assisted suicide, including physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in the United States. Last updated: June 13, 2019. To view as a PDF, see: Assisted Suicide in the States
On May 28, 2019 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-anticipated ruling in an abortion case from Indiana involving disposition of fetal remains and whether a state may prohibit abortions performed because of the child’s race, sex, or diagnosis of Down syndrome or other disability. The lower courts had struck down both policies. The […]
Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) is pleased to announce the addition of four new associate scholars to its roster of now 60 accomplished physicians, research scientists, statisticians, attorneys and theologians. The new associate scholars are Rev. Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, O.P., Ph.D., S.T.D., Drs. J. Wells Logan, M.D., Robin Pierucci, M.D., M.A. and Kathryn Nix Carnahan, M.D. […]
On April 26, 2019 the Kansas Supreme Court declared that the Kansas state constitution guarantees a right to abortion. The case involves a challenge to a Kansas statute banning the practice of dismemberment abortion—i.e., “with the purpose of causing the death of an unborn child, knowingly dismembering a living unborn child and extracting such […]
Many mainstream media outlets are unfairly criticizing the Trump administration for removing the phrase “Sexual and Reproductive Health” from a United Nations resolution on sexual violence. Such a policy change was necessary to ensure that this resolution did not support legal abortion. Many organizations affiliated with the United Nations including the United Nations Population Fund […]
This is part of CLI’s On Point Series and appears as Issue 31. To view the report as a PDF, see: Massachusetts’ Draconian Abortion Proposal. Introduction In the first few months of 2019, with the prospect of a Supreme Court that is more willing to defer to state judgments about abortion law, several […]
Missouri’s 2017 abortion report reveals that abortions in the state have fallen every year over the past decade. Since 2008, abortions performed in Missouri have dropped by 47 percent. Changes in Missouri Abortions, 2016-2017 *Total abortions occurring in Missouri. Missouri also reports abortions performed on Missouri residents both inside and outside […]
To view this report as a PDF, see: Overview of Legislation and Litigation Involving Protections Against Down Syndrome Discrimination Abortion Last updated: March 21, 2019. Five states have enacted legislation to prohibit the eugenic practice of Down syndrome discrimination abortion. Courts have enjoined the law in three of the states. Several additional states have […]
A federal district court has denied a motion by abortion providers to temporarily block a health and safety law in Missouri. The case is Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains v. Randall Williams, No. 2:16-cv-04313 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. The case is on remand following a […]
On June 26, 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in NIFLA v. Becerra, striking down a California law that interfered with the free speech rights of pregnancy help centers to counsel women and offer alternatives to abortion. The 5-4 decision should have quelled the efforts across the country by state and city governments to […]
This is an updated version of On Point Issue 26. To view this report as a PDF, see: Abortion Cases in the Higher Federal Courts. To view the most recent version, see: Abortion Cases in the Higher Federal Courts, On Point 33 Introduction The challenged abortion laws that may be reviewed by the United […]
On Thursday, December 13, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Healthcare, Benefits, and Administrative Rules and Government Operations for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on “Exploring Alternatives to Fetal Tissue Research.” The hearing was called as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services re-evaluates funding for research using tissue from […]
By Robert Marshall Many Americans think of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as an issue from another era in American history. And so it is – a 22-word amendment to the Constitution first proposed in 1972, fiercely debated, but failing of ratification by the deadlines Congress established, then extended by majority vote, for it. […]
On Thursday, December 13, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Healthcare, Benefits, and Administrative Rules and Government Operations for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on “Exploring Alternatives to Fetal Tissue Research.” The hearing was called as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services re-evaluates funding for research using […]
Last week Justice Clarence Thomas issued a respectful but strong admonition to his colleagues on the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Thomas’s admonition comes in his opinion dissenting from the decision of the Court to deny review in Gee v. Planned Parenthood, No. 17-1492, and Andersen v. Planned Parenthood, No. 17-1340. As the Supreme […]
The following are papers published by the Charlotte Lozier Institute in the On Point or American Reports Series on issues involving 20-week or five-month abortion laws.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 16, 2018 Contact: Mallory Quigley, mquigley@sbalist.org, 202-223-8073 Briefs Submitted in Support of Ban on Down Syndrome Discrimination Abortions and Humane Disposition of Fetal Remains Washington, D.C. – The national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) has submitted an amicus curiae brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold […]
To view as a PDF, see: Former Kennedy Law Clerk Argues Stare Decisis No Obstacle to Reversing Roe and Casey’s “Viability Rule” Table of Contents I. The “viability rule”—the “most central principle” of Roe v. Wade II. “Stare decisis”—what it is and why abortion activists invoke it with vigor III. The three exceptions to […]
In employment law, the rule of “at will” employment provides that an employer may dismiss an employee at any time for any nonprohibited reason or no reason at all. However, that general rule is subject to exceptions, such as the rule that employers may not dismiss an employee based on a protected status such as […]
This article has been updated. To view the most recent version, see: Abortion Cases in the Higher Federal Courts, On Point 33 Introduction The challenged abortion laws that may arrive at the United States Supreme Court in the near future can be divided into three main groups: (I) Limitations on the availability of […]
To view this report as a PDF, see: Ten Truths about Title X Introduction Title X was enacted in 1970 as an addition to the Public Health Service Act (the “Act”), becoming the only federal grant program directed solely at providing individuals and families with comprehensive family planning and related reproductive health services. Title […]
Last week, a federal court held that a lawsuit challenging multiple pro-life laws in Virginia may proceed. However, the court rightfully dismissed the plaintiffs’ “cumulative undue burden” claim—the centerpiece of the abortion industry’s latest strategy to undermine laws written to protect unborn children and their mothers. While it is common for abortion providers to […]
Louisiana has won a major pro-life victory in federal appeals court. On September 26, 2018 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling and upheld a Louisiana law requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where they perform abortions. The Fifth […]
National elections have local consequences. The President nominates Supreme Court justices. Supreme Court justices decide important cases. And sometimes those cases make a big difference at a very local level. Last week a federal trial court in Hawaii ruled in favor of A Place for Women in Waipio, a local pregnancy help […]
CLI Report: Thousands of Pregnancy Centers Nationwide Served Nearly 2,000,000 People in 2017, Saving Communities at Least $161 Million FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 21, 2018 Contact: Nicole Stacy, nstacy@sbalist.org, 202-223-8073 Washington, D.C. – In response to news that a Hawaii law forcing pro-life pregnancy centers to advertise abortion has been struck down in […]
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued an important opinion in the abortion case Comprehensive Health v. Josh Hawley (No. 17-1996). At issue were two pro-life laws from Missouri. The hospital relationship requirement requires all doctors who perform abortions at ambulatory surgical centers to be privileged to perform […]
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled in opposition of Pro-life Action Ministries, legally represented by Thomas More Society, which filed a lawsuit in 2016 against the University of Minnesota for its unlawful use of aborted human fetal tissue in research. Pro-life Action Ministries alleged that the University of Minnesota was procuring and […]
“Now, they’re gone. Now, I’m never going to know what those babies are going to grow up to be or anything. That’s how it hurts me.” Carrianne Mahoney, a woman suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome, uttered these words in March after she and other patients were notified that a system malfunction at Cleveland’s […]
Bobby Schindler is president of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network and associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Bobby advocates for the medically vulnerable in honor of Terri Schiavo, his sister. A full-time advocate, speaker, and writer, Bobby and the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network have been instrumental in providing resources and […]
To view this report as a PDF, see: State Regulation of Telemedicine Abortion and Court Challenges to Those Regulations In February 2018, an article appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine (Cosmo) lauding the practice of telemedicine abortion.[1] The article described the process of meeting with a nurse for blood testing and an ultrasound at a “local health […]
BY JESSIE HELLMANN June 26, 2018 – 10:12 AM EDT The Supreme Court’s ruling Tuesday in favor of anti-abortion clinics in California will make it easier for similar facilities in other states to dissuade women from getting abortions. The court ruled 5-4 that a California law requiring clinics known as “crisis pregnancy centers” to inform women […]
Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that pregnancy help centers are likely to succeed in a challenge to a California law forcing them to advertise for abortion. The case isn’t over. It will go back to the trial court for additional fact finding and then a final ruling on the legal issues. But […]
On May 16, 2018, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (D) vetoed legislation that would have protected patient autonomy and shielded physicians from liability. The Minnesota Legislature passed and presented S.F. 2849 to Governor Dayton to ensure that expectant mothers may give informed consent to abortion procedures. S.F. 2849 would have codified a woman’s right to […]
On May 29, 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed earlier this year by Planned Parenthood of Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma. Planned Parenthood had asked the Supreme Court to review the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in a case involving the […]
One argument frequently made by supporters of legal abortion is that the incidence of abortion is not affected by its legal status. As such, proponents of legal abortion maintain that legalizing abortion will not result in more abortions, but will instead improve the safety of abortions – ensuring they are done by trained medical professionals […]
In March 2018 the Governor of Mississippi signed a law banning elective abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy and beyond. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states may not ban abortion before the unborn child reaches “viability”, i.e., before the child can potentially survive outside the womb, albeit with what the Court called […]
On April 4, 2018, the Louisiana House of Representatives made significant progress in the promotion of adoption as an abortion alternative. The Louisiana House Education Committee and Health and Welfare Committee each advanced pro-adoption legislation to a full House session for debate on April 11, 2018. First, the Louisiana House Health and Welfare […]
by Kevin Petrisek On Tuesday, March 20, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in NIFLA v. Becerra. The legal defense group working on the case, Alliance Defending Freedom, summarized this case well. It stated that the California law at issue forces pro-life pregnancy help centers to provide free advertising for the abortion industry. The […]
Ohio HB 214 prohibits abortion where the abortionist knows that the mother is seeking the abortion, in whole or in part, because the baby was diagnosed with Down Syndrome, because a test result indicated Down Syndrome in the baby, or because of any other reason to believe the baby has Down Syndrome. HB […]
Earlier this year I joined attorneys Nikolas T. Nikas and Dorinda C. Bordlee as counsel on the amicus brief the Charlotte Lozier Institute submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the pregnancy care center case, NIFLA v. Becerra. Nik is co-founder, president and general counsel of Bioethics Defense Fund (BDF) and Dorinda is Vice […]
In late 2017 Italy’s Senate approved, in a 180-71 vote, legislation permitting patient-created Advance Directives. The law endorses a form of Advance Directives so permissive that Italians won’t simply be able to outline their health care wishes prior to possible incapacity, but in fact will be able to hasten their own deaths. Tragically, this appears […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 16, 2018 Contact: Nicole Stacy, nstacy@sba-list.org, 202-223-8073 Supreme Court Will Hear Pregnancy Centers’ Challenge to California Law that Forces Them to Promote Abortion Washington, D.C. – The Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), March for Life Education Fund, and Susan B. Anthony List’s National Pro-life Women’s Caucus have submitted an amicus […]
A federal trial court in Austin has struck down a Texas law prohibiting the practice of dismemberment abortion. The court issued its ruling one day before Thanksgiving. The law struck down by the court, known as S.B. 8, provides that “[a] person may not intentionally perform a dismemberment abortion unless the dismemberment abortion is […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 30, 2017 Contact: Nicole Stacy, nstacy@sba-list.org, 202-223-8073 Outdated Information and Dehumanizing Terminology Puts Patients’ Lives at Risk, Says CLI Scholar & Advocate Bobby Schindler Washington, D.C. – A new report by Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) Associate Scholar Bobby Schindler sheds light on the widespread legality of euthanasia by denial […]
Ohio Right to Life reports that the Ohio Senate has passed S.B. 164, a bill that would prohibit abortion when the abortionist knows that the mother is seeking the abortion because the baby has Down Syndrome. According to Ohio Right to Life, two weeks earlier “the Ohio House passed an identical piece of legislation, H.B. […]
To view this paper as a PDF, see: Basic Care, Human Dignity, and Care for Medically Vulnerable Persons Physical and cognitive disability should not mean one’s situation is considered “end of life,” yet too many persons who are not dying are described this way. Earlier this year, Oregon’s state legislature considered a bill that […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra. The case involves a challenge to a California law forcing pro-life pregnancy help centers to post information about public programs that provide free or low-cost access to abortion. This lawsuit is very important. Pregnancy help centers play […]
Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to California’s Reproductive FACT Act By Melanie Arter | November 13, 2017 | 5:29 PM EST (CNSNews.com) – The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to California’s Reproductive FACT Act, which requires pro-life pregnancy centers to give information on and refer pregnant women for abortions. The […]
To view this fact sheet as a pdf, see: Adoption: The Case for the Credit The adoption tax credit (ATC) as structured today was introduced more than two decades ago by Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Archer as part of the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996. It is related to the […]
This September, a New York State court unanimously decided on an assisted suicide case and upheld state prohibitions on the practice of physician assisted suicide. The plaintiffs in Myers v Schneiderman consisted of patients with terminal diagnoses who, along with euthanasia-rights advocates, sought the establishment of a “right-to-die” with a physician’s aid by challenging the […]
The Texas law banning dismemberment abortions is heading to trial. A federal court in Austin, Texas has scheduled the law, known as S.B. 8, for a bench trial starting November 2, 2017. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed S.B. 8 on June 6, 2017. Under S.B. 8, “A person may not intentionally perform a […]
A Kansas abortionist has had his license suspended for 90 days for violating the Kansas Child Rape Protection Act. The final order suspending the license of Allen S. Palmer, D.O. to practice osteopathic medicine and surgery was issued on September 13, 2017 by the Kansas Board of Healing Arts.
As early as September 25, 2017 the U.S. Supreme Court could decide whether to hear three cases involving pregnancy help centers (PHCs).
In August 2017 the Charlotte Lozier Institute submitted an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief describes the risks to mothers and children from gestational surrogacy.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown broke what theater patrons would call the “fourth wall” when she signed House Bill 3391 into law on August 14, dragging every resident of her state into the vast public drama over abortion and human rights. In an egregious and unprecedented move, Oregon has become the first state to guarantee free abortions for all residents—backed by the full faith and credit of the taxpayer. With this step, it becomes increasingly difficult for any Oregonian to sit in the audience on so important as issue.
In 2013, the Charlotte Lozier Institute published a report titled, “The Adoption Tax Credit: Progress and Prospects for Expansion.” The report both outlines the history of the adoption tax credit at the federal level and analyzes the number of states that provide some form of tax relief for adoption. Since the report was published, the federal adoption tax credit has continued to increase in dollar amount and is utilized by tens of thousands of Americans pursuing adoption each year. In addition, several states have created or expanded adoption tax credits at the state level, helping to offset adoption costs for American families.
In its most recent annual report, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America makes two fundamental claims, both of which are directly relevant to the question involving continued government funding for its services, approximately $555 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016. These claims are:
• First, that Planned Parenthood health centers are “an irreplaceable component of our country’s healthcare system”, and;
• Second, that Planned Parenthood provides “lifesaving care.”
Pregnancy help centers (PHCs) have won a victory in their struggle against oppressive regulations.
At issue is a 2016 Illinois law regulating physicians and other health care personnel. Plaintiffs, including the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), challenged the law, arguing, in the words of a federal district court, that it “compels [PHCs] to tell pregnant women the names of other doctors they believe offer abortions, and compels them to tell pregnant women that abortion has ‘benefits’ and is a ‘treatment option’ for pregnancy.”
Proponents of assisted suicide often dismiss “slippery slope” arguments on the grounds that proper safeguards will assure that assisted suicide will not devolve into euthanasia, either voluntary or not.
Earlier this year, for example, Hawaii became another of several states to consider legislation to legalize assisted suicide (the effort failed). During debate, one lawmaker who supported the bill dismissed concerns over where legalization might lead, saying “the inclusion of protections, such as euthanasia bans, helps allay the fears of critics who worry about the ‘slippery slope.’”
Oregon lawmakers have passed a bill that would force health benefit plans offered in the state to provide coverage for abortion and voluntary sterilization.
The bill, known as HB 3391, also would require health benefit plans to cover any contraceptive drug, device, or product approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As this Lozier paper explains, some contraceptives can also cause abortions.
“My biggest issue is this: a parent is a caregiver and then of course the health professionals are the caregivers, but you know, who gets the final say?”
-Mother whose daughter has osteosarcoma
This essential question was posed by the mother of one of 33 children living with chronic conditions whose parents I interviewed for my recently published study in the current issue of Health Communication. The study is titled, “You know the medicine, I know my kid”: How parents advocate for their children living with complex chronic conditions.
Charlotte Lozier Institute submitted a “friend of the court” brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on April 20 in support of pregnancy help centers (PHCs). The PHCs have challenged a California law, arguing that it forces them to post contact information for a county office that refers for abortion and burdens their ability to advertise their services.
March 21 was World Down Syndrome Day. Fitting, then, that on the same day Oklahoma’s House of Representatives passed its Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2017.
Kristi Burton Brown, J.D., is an attorney focusing on First Amendment and sanctity of life issues. In this interview, she discusses the legal defensibility and value of pain-capable abortion prohibitions, as well as fetal disposition and laws governing that practice.
Missouri HB 908 would prohibit abortions after the point at which unborn children are capable of feeling pain. Kristi Burton Brown, J.D., submitted the following written testimony in support of HB 908.
Missouri HB 194 would regulate the disposition of fetal remains from abortion and ensure greater transparency and accountability on the part of abortion facilities. Kristi Burton Brown, J.D., submitted the following written testimony in support of HB 194.
Last December a Canadian appeals judge ruled against the appearance of a provocative pro-life ad campaign on the exterior of municipal buses in Grand Prairie, Alberta.[1] Justice C. S. Anderson stated in her decision, “Expression of this kind may lead to emotional responses from the various people who make use of public transit and other uses of the road, creating a hostile and uncomfortable environment.”
On Wednesday, February 15, 2017, the Texas Committee of Health and Human Services held a hearing regarding Texas Senate Bill 415 (SB 415). SB 415 prohibits dismemberment abortions, in which a person, with the purpose of causing the death of an unborn child, dismembers the unborn child and extracts the unborn child one piece at a time from the uterus. Charlotte Lozier Institute Associate Scholar Sheila Page, D.O., submitted the following written testimony in support of SB 415.
On Thursday, February 9, 2017, the Colorado House Health, Insurance and Environment Committee held a hearing regarding House Bill 1086 (HB 1086), the Abortion Pill Reversal Information Act. HB 1086 provides that prior to initiating a chemical abortion, a physician must alert the woman to the fact that it may be possible to reverse the abortion should she change her mind and that information on the possibility of reversal is available in state-prepared materials.
On Wednesday, February 15, 2017, the Texas Committee of Health and Human Services held a hearing regarding Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB 8). SB 8 prohibits partial-birth abortions, prohibits donation of human fetal tissue except by certain authorized facilities to accredited universities, and prohibits the purchase or sale of human fetal tissue. Charlotte Lozier Institute Associate Scholar Tara Sander Lee, Ph.D., submitted the following written testimony in support of SB 8.
Samuel B. Casey, J.D., is a public interest lawyer well-known for his defense of the sanctity of human life. In this interview, he discusses the history and current state of abortion law in the United States.
Women in the United States have possessed a broad legal right to abortion since Roe v. Wade and its companion case were handed down by the Supreme Court in 1973. Outside of the abortion context, though, the unborn child possesses broad legal rights in American property, torts, and criminal law.
Kimberly Stinnett learned from her obstetrician on May 9, 2012, that she was pregnant. Stinnett called her doctor’s answering service just two days later when she experienced fever and abdominal cramps. Karla Kennedy, M.D., called back and told Stinnett to report to the emergency room at a nearby hospital. Kennedy was not Stinnett’s regular obstetrician, but was sharing calls with him that weekend.
A group of pro-life doctors and pregnancy help centers in Illinois was granted temporary relief on December 20 from the conscience-compromising aspects of an amended state law that took effect on January 1.
On December 28, 2016, CLI’s Vice President and Research Director, Dr. David Prentice, co-authored an op-ed with Congressman Dr. Michael Burgess (R-Tex.) on the ethical and unethical uses of human gene editing, especially in light of the advent of the CRISPR-Cas System.
Jessica Duran underwent an abortion at Southwestern Women’s Options (SWO), an abortion center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in October 2012. Last week she filed a lawsuit against the abortion center and its licensed physicians in Second Judicial District Court for the County of Bernalillo.
With roughly 1.06 million abortions in the nation every year, abortion facilities have a need to dispose of approximately 2,700 baby bodies every day. This paper will examine the problems that occur when laws fail to hold abortion clinics accountable and when the clinics are allowed to choose methods of disposal that most benefit their businesses. It will also suggest a variety of changes that could be made to state laws to end some of the dangerous practices of the abortion industry.
A legislator in Indiana has announced plans to introduce a bill that would ban abortion in that state when its legislature convenes in January. In Texas, lawmakers introduced several pro-life measures on November 14, including a proposed amendment to the state constitution prohibiting abortion to the extent permitted by federal law.
A federal judge heard arguments on November 9 on Planned Parenthood’s challenge to an Indiana law requiring that an ultrasound be performed on a woman seeking an abortion at least 18 hours before the abortion is scheduled to take place.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is seeking to force Ascension Health, the largest non-profit health system in the United States, to violate the principles animating its Catholic mission by performing sterilizations on patients.
The legal system since Roe v. Wade and through Planned Parenthood v. Casey has neglected to ask the question about the consequences of fetal personhood, fearing—rightly—the damage the answer could do to the right to abortion. But this insulation of abortion rights leaves the courts unable to rule consistently in a variety of cases where the fetal right to life has become lodged in law.
Innovative pro-life legislation signed into law by Indiana Governor Mike Pence in March of this year is now facing extinction via the legal process.
A pro-life pregnancy help center (PHC) in Baltimore has won another legal victory in its fight against a city ordinance.
Those watching the nation’s capital earlier this year witnessed three important events bearing on religious freedom and rights of conscience in the abortion debate.
In the years leading up to and following the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion nationwide, the federal government—primarily Congress—has enacted various measures governing the availability of federal funds for abortion and related services.
The treatment of women seeking abortions has arisen several times during the ongoing election cycle. Some abortion advocates claim that pro-lifers want to punish women seeking abortion. They argue that women were punished for having abortions before Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court in 1973, and that if Roe is repealed women will once again be subject to punishment.
On October 5, the District of Columbia’s Committee on Health and Human Services (HHS) will mark-up and vote on a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide. The so-called “Death with Dignity Act” (Bill 21-0038) would permit D.C. adult residents to request and be prescribed drugs to end their lives, if they are given a prognosis of six months or less to live. Last year, during a hearing on the legislation, the Director of D.C.’s Department of Health testified in staunch opposition as the executive witness, stating that the bill would “catapult the District into unchartered territories.”
Last Thursday, the March for Life hosted a Capitol Hill policy briefing to announce their theme for 2017: “The Power of One.” The event also highlighted the importance of the Hyde Amendment, featuring Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) senior policy analyst, Genevieve Plaster, M.A. and CLI associate scholar, Michael J. New, Ph.D. who provided policy background and explained the law’s measurable impact over the past 40 years.
On Friday, September 23, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee held a public hearing, “The Ultimate Civil Right: Examining the Hyde Amendment and the Born Alive Infants Protection Act,” which was hosted by the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Congress enacted the first Hyde Amendment on September 30, 1976. Its passage was one of the pro-life movement’s first major legislative victories. As such, now is an apt time to look back on the amendment’s history and analyze its impact during the past 40 years.
Whether the U.S. Constitution permits a government to prohibit abortion in the context of commercial surrogacy is a question of first impression. I have found no court decision directly addressing this issue under either the federal constitution or a state constitution.
Voters in Colorado will determine whether physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is to be legalized in their state when they head to the polls this November. California, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont are the only other states that have voted to allow physicians to assist their patients in committing suicide. In Montana, the practice was legalized via a state court decision.
Earlier this month in Ireland, a High Court judge ruled that the unborn child possesses “significant” rights by common law, by statute, and under the Irish Constitution. Mr. Justice Richard Humphreys went on to say that the unborn child enjoys rights “going well beyond the right to life alone” and that these rights “must be taken seriously” by the State.
Death by euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is primed to take off in Canada, as Parliament passed Bill C-14 on June 17. The law, which establishes guidelines under which Canadians can receive assistance in killing themselves or be euthanized by medical personnel, received royal assent the same day. Royal assent can be supplied by the Governor General and does not denote approval by Buckingham Palace.