Susan B. Anthony List: “Authentic pro-life feminism”

by E. Carroll

-SBAL President Marjorie Dannenfelser said of Sharron Angle’s victory in the Nevada Senate Republican primary:

“Sharron Angle is helping to usher in the year of the pro-life woman by leading the return to feminism’s pro-life roots.  Voters believe in Sharron’s ability to unseat one of the pro-abortion health care bill’s biggest supporters and that opportunity comes at a critical turning point for women in politics.”  http://www.sba-list.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ddJBKJNsFqG&b=4148123&ct=8430983

-“SBAL Candidate Fund-endorsed Carly Fiorina defeated opponents Tom Campbell and Chuck DeVore in the California Senate Republican primary.” http://www.sba-list.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ddJBKJNsFqG&b=4148123&ct=8430991

-SBAL announced its endorsement of Sharron Angle, candidate for U.S. Senate in Nevada.  http://www.sba-list.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ddJBKJNsFqG&b=4148123&ct=8430967

-SBAL President Marjorie Dannenfelser called Tuesday’s victories for pro-life women candidates “the greatest affirmation of our mission in the history of the organization,” and “proof that Americans are responding to authentic, pro-life feminism.”  http://www.sba-list.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ddJBKJNsFqG&b=4148123&ct=8430981

-SBAL “announced its endorsement of Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate Mary Fallin, citing her “’perfect pro-life voting record and outspoken advocacy of pro-life issues.’”  http://www.sba-list.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ddJBKJNsFqG&b=4148123&ct=8432259

-SBAL President Marjorie Dannenfelser’s response to Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s veto of HB 1143:

“Today, Charlie Crist, reversed his previously pro-woman, pro-life stance.  By vetoing a bill that gives a woman seeking an abortion the option to have an ultrasound, he denies them vital information needed to make the most educated decision possible.  Every other medical field is moving toward giving patients more information before a procedure. This veto shows a lack of confidence in women’s ability to process the full range of information that is technologically available.  It is not ‘mean-spirited’ to give a woman the most complete information in making an informed decision about something as serious as abortion.  If the visual reality of a child developing in her womb makes a woman change her decision to abort, we’re achieving what so many claim to support, which is to put the decision-making power in the hands of women and help make abortions rare.  To deny women the full range of information is paternalistic and elitist.  This is exactly the kind of double-standard we’re witnessing in the feminist debate right now, where a man like Governor Crist can tell women what is best for them, while insisting that this is freedom.

“Unfortunately Governor Crist’s betrayal goes beyond denying information to women and extends to entangling all Floridians in the act of subsidizing abortions with their tax dollars.  By vetoing this legislation, Governor Crist is allowing Floridians’ tax dollars to subsidize insurance plans that pay for abortion as permitted in the new federal health care bill.  Governor Crist had the chance to ensure that no tax dollars would pay for plans with abortion as several states have already done.  Instead he betrayed the consciences of Floridians and punished women and the unborn.”  http://www.sba-list.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ddJBKJNsFqG&b=4148123&ct=8437937

Susan B. Anthony List: Cecile Bledsoe

by E. Carroll

-SBAL announced the launch of  “a one-week $20,000 independent expenditure campaign highlighting the strong pro-life leadership record of Republican candidate Cecile Bledsoe in Arkansas’ third congressional district.”

http://www.sba-list.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ddJBKJNsFqG&b=4148123&ct=8421081

Americans United for Life: The next generation of RU-486?

by E. Carroll

-Over the last week, AUL has continued to voice concerns to members regarding Elena Kagan. http://www.aul.org/media-center/media-alerts/

-AUL “filed testimony with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs, urging the FDA not to approve the abortion drug Ulipristal or make it available over-the-counter.”

‘The FDA and abortion proponents are representing Ulipristal as if it were Plan B – however, in many respects, it’s simply the next generation of RU-486,’ said Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President and CEO of Americans United for Life. ‘The American people need to know that Ulipristal works in the same way as RU-486 to kill an embryo before or after implantation. Ulipristal also has potential to be a dangerous drug that will place women’s lives in danger.’

http://www.aul.org/2010/06/fda-urged-to-reject-dangerous-over-the-counter-abortion-drug/

National Right to Life: O-H-I-O

by E. Carroll

-NRL “announced that House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio will headline a Saturday morning general session at the annual National Right to Life Convention in June.  In addition, Mr. Boehner will receive the National Right to Life Legislative Leadership Award.” http://www.nrlc.org/press_releases_new/Release052710.html

Americans United for Life: Abortion, postponements, and obsessions… OH MY!

by E. Carroll

AUL reports:

-“In 1997, while serving as an associate White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton, Elena Kagan advised the President on HR 1122, a bill to ban partial-birth abortions. Kagan’s memo to the President containing her advice was selectively leaked to the press and has been spun to present Kagan as a moderate who would possibly be friendly to pro-life legislation.  The memo, however, does not support that conclusion.  Rather, Kagan’s advice to President Clinton indicates that she could be hostile to pro-life legislation.  Moreover, it raises questions regarding her respect for the Constitution.”

http://www.aul.org/2010/05/auls-kagan-file-the-partial-birth-abortion-ban-memo/

-Elena Kagan calls Aharon Barak her “judicial hero.”

http://www.aul.org/2010/05/auls-kagan-file-the-judicial-hero-memo-revisited/

-“During her Senate confirmation hearings last year to become U.S. Solicitor General, Elena Kagan was asked her view of the role of foreign law in statutory interpretation.  Kagan responded: ‘At least some members of the Court find foreign law relevant in at least some contexts. When this is the case, I think the Solicitor General’s office should offer reasonable foreign law arguments to attract these Justices’ support for the positions that the office is taking.’”

http://www.aul.org/2010/05/auls-kagan-file-the-foreign-justice-memo/

-AUL is asking that Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearings be postponed.

http://www.aul.org/2010/05/postpone-kagan-hearings/

-Oklahoma is the sixth state to opt out of “taxpayer-funded” abortion.

http://www.aul.org/2010/05/aul-applauds-oklahoma-6th-state-to-opt-out-of-taxpayer-funded-abortion/

-“Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee should extensively question Kagan about her financial support of a pro-abortion organization, lifetime work for pro-abortion policy makers, troubling admiration for judicial activists, hostile views towards commonsense regulations of abortion, and her disapproval of federal funding for programs that help pregnant women simply because the recipients of federal funds are religious organizations.  All of these raise serious concerns about Kagan’s judicial philosophy and whether she will respect Court holdings that contradict her views.

http://www.aul.org/2010/05/auls-kagan-file-the-abortion-record-memo/

-“Yesterday, we asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to postpone the Kagan confirmation hearings if the Clinton Presidential Library fails to deliver important documents from Ms. Kagan’s tenure in the Clinton Administration with enough lead time to allow Senators to thoroughly examine them. In a Senate floor speech yesterday, Senator Jeff Sessions said that he would have no choice but to ask for a delay if the documents are not delivered in a timely fashion. I applaud Senator Sessions for his leadership. The American people and their elected representatives need to have all of the facts available to them when weighing this critical, lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court.”

http://www.aul.org/2010/05/yoest-applauds-senator-sessions-in-call-for-postponement-of-kagan-hearings/

Americans United for Life: Not the “Roe decision!”

by E. Carroll

-AUL President Yoest released the following statement regarding Elena Kagan’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Elena Kagan has strong ties to abortion-advocacy organizations and expressed admiration for activist judges who have worked to advance social policy rather than to impartially interpret the law. Americans United for Life will oppose President Obama’s attempt to reshape the Court as an activist, pro-abortion institution through which unelected judges will work to impose an out-of-the-mainstream social agenda upon the American people.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/dr-charmaine-yoest-on-elena-kagans-nomination/

-“President Obama’s choice of Solicitor General Kagan makes it clear that liberal judicial activism will be the impact of this untried and untested judicial pick, leading to unknown consequences for the American people.  The President’s portrayal of Solicitor-General Kagan as mainstream and centrist is inconsistent with Kagan’s own record. She has been an abortion advocate and activist and an apologist for activist judges. Kagan’s confirmation will give us the kind of activist, radical Supreme Court that gave us the Roe decision.” http://www.aul.org/2010/05/dr-yoest-reacts-to-president-obamas-kagan-nomination-announcement/

–

Yoest made the following comments: “President Obama has chosen another activist who seeks to reshape the traditional understanding of the Constitution to suit her personal views. Kagan has been open in her admiration of activist judges who re-write the law to suit themselves and advocated that judges ‘advance’ social policy rather than faithfully applying the law.

“Today’s AUL analysis shows that Kagan has contributed money to the National Partnership for Women and Families, a pro-choice organization with strong ties to Emily’s List and NARAL. She is an ardent abortion supporter, even arguing the federal government is subsidizing ‘anti-abortion speech’ when, in Title X, the federal government is prohibited from referring women for abortion. Ironically, her free speech sentiments do not extend to critics of aggressive activism. She has referred to those who call for respect and adherence to the Constitution ‘irresponsible’ and asserted that their criticism was ‘harmful to our constitutional system and to the value of a judiciary.

“We know that Kagan embraces judicial activism and abortion-on-demand. It’s how she will turn her views into law that is hidden to the American people. Kagan is a stealth candidate; a woman with an open and extreme philosophy but no track record on how she will implement her own judicial activism. Obama is taking too great a risk with America’s future with the Kagan pick.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/yoest-notes-kagan-is-stealth-candidate-with-a-fill-in-the-blan-approach-to-law/

-AUL reports, “In 2006, Elena Kagan, the President’s nominee to the Supreme Court, called Aharon Barak ‘my judicial hero. He is the judge who has best advanced democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and justice.’”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/auls-kagan-file-the-judicial-hero-memo/

-“Americans United for Life filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of leading medical organizations defending a New York nurse’s freedom to object to the participation in abortion for reasons of conscience.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/aul-files-amicus-brief-supporting-nurse-forced-to-participate-in-abortion/

-“Elena Kagan has extensively criticized the Supreme Court decision in Rust v. Sullivan,[1] where the Court upheld the constitutionality of Dept. of Health and Human Services’ regulations that prohibit Title X family planning funds from being “used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”  This prohibition also applies to promoting and counseling on abortion.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/auls-kagan-file-the-abortion-funding-memo/

-AUL President Yoest released the following statement: “President Obama’s executive order on taxpayer-funded abortion has always been a smokescreen. Now, the Secretary Sebelius letter demonstrates that the Administration has no intention of implementing the EO. We appreciate Leader Boehner’s effort today to raise the issue. That’s why we are working with 29 states to advance opt-out legislation.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/yoest-statement-on-today’s-letter-from-leader-boehner-to-secretary-sebelius/

-“While serving as a clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall on the United States Supreme Court in October 1987, Elena Kagan wrote a memo arguing that “all religious organizations should be off limits” from receiving federal funding to support projects authorized by the Adolescent Family Life Act (including pregnancy testing, adoption counseling and referral services, prenatal and postnatal care, educational services, residential care, child care, consumer education, etc.) because those projects are “so close to the central concerns of religion.”[1]

“The Supreme Court rejected Kagan’s position in Bowen v. Kendrick.[2] In Bowen, the Supreme Court reversed the district court’s ruling that federal grants to religious organizations under the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  Notably, Justice Marshall dissented.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/auls-kagan-file-the-marshall-memo/

-“Americans United for Life (AUL) was victorious in the passage of SB 793, a Missouri bill which will prohibit insurance plans participating in new state health insurance exchanges from providing abortion coverage.  The bill also enhances the state’s existing informed consent law to ensure that women receive essential information about health risks and alternatives before choosing abortion.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/missouri-becomes-the-5th-state-to-opt-out-of-taxpayer-funded-abortion-with-assistance-from-aul/

-“Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), a staunch abortion advocate, voiced support for Kagan- “I have no reason to think anything else except that [Kagan] would be a very strong supporter of privacy rights because everyone she worked for held that view.”[1] (“Privacy rights” is the euphemism under which Justice Blackmun imposed a right to abortion on America in Roe v. Wade.)”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/auls-kagan-file-the-pro-abortion-politicians-memo/

Americans United for Life: It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood

by E. Carroll

-AUL reports, “The Mississippi House passed a bill to opt the state out of the abortion mandate in the federal health care bill, and today the final procedural hurdle was cleared enabling the bill to go to Governor Barbour for signature.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/04/aul-aids-opt-out-victory-in-mississippi/

-“Florida just became the fourth state to pass legislation opting-out of taxpayer-funded abortion provisions established by the new federal health care reform law.  Florida’s legislation ensures that insurance plans that cover abortions and participate in new health care exchanges cannot receive tax dollars.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/04/florida-the-latest-state-to-opt-out-of-taxpayer-funded-abortion-with-help-from-aul/

-AUL was scheduled to “present House Republican Leader John A. Boehner with the 2010 Henry J. Hyde Defender of Life Award.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/house-republican-leader-boehner-to-receive-henry-j-hyde-defender-of-life-award-tonight/

National Right to Life: Small favors??

by E. Carroll

-NRL released a statement regarding President Obama’s nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The bottom line- NRL is very opposed to this nomination.

“There are troubling indications that Ms. Kagan generally favors an activist, results-oriented approach to constitutional law.  For example, in her 1995 law journal article, she wrote, “The bottom-line issue in the appointments process must concern the kinds of judicial decisions that will serve the country and, correlatively, the effect the nominee will have on the Court’s decisions . . . If that is too results oriented … so be it. . .”  She also wrote that “it should be no surprise by now that many of the votes a Supreme Court Justice casts have little to do with technical legal ability and much to do with conceptions of value.”

http://www.nrlc.org/press_releases_new/Release051010.html

Susan B. Anthony List: Does pro-life really mean “pro-woman?”

by E. Carroll

-SBAL announced their endorsement of Carly Fiorina for the U.S. Senate in California.  They report:

“We’ve been waiting for Carly Fiorina for a long time—in fact, since the day Barbara Boxer was elected to the U.S. Senate. From a pro-woman, pro-life perspective, there could be no greater contrast. She embraces and advances the rights of women and unborn children, following in the footsteps of the earliest women in politics. Susan B. Anthony and the early feminists understood, as Carly Fiorina does, that undermining the rights of one never advances the rights of another.”

http://www.sba-list.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ddJBKJNsFqG&b=4148123&ct=8214697

Americans United for Life: Would you consider this a resume builder?

by E. Carroll

-“Americans United for Life is hosting a reception this evening to present House Republican Leader John A. Boehner with the 2010 Henry J. Hyde Defender of Life Award.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/05/house-republican-leader-boehner-to-receive-henry-j-hyde-defender-of-life-award-tonight/

Americans United for Life: Oh Happy Day??

by E. Carroll

-AUL reports, “Mississippi became the third state to pass legislation opting-out of abortion coverage mandates in the new health care reform law, sending Governor Haley Barbour a bill that he is expected to sign.   This was a major victory for the state and for Americans United for Life.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/04/aul-aids-opt-out-victory-in-mississippi/

-“Florida became the fourth state to pass legislation opting-out of taxpayer-funded abortion provisions established by the new federal health care reform law.  Florida’s legislation ensures that insurance plans that cover abortions and participate in new health care exchanges cannot receive tax dollars.”  http://www.aul.org/2010/04/florida-the-latest-state-to-opt-out-of-taxpayer-funded-abortion-with-help-from-aul/

National Right to Life: The first… but maybe the last?

by E. Carroll

-NRL reported:  “The Nebraska Legislature this morning gave final passage to the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act introduced by Speaker Mike Flood. Governor Dave Heineman is expected to sign the bill in a ceremony this afternoon.  The law will take effect on October 15, 2010.”

“By 20 weeks after fertilization, unborn children have pain receptors throughout their body, and nerves link these to the brain,” said National Right to Life Director of State Legislation Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D. “These unborn children recoil from painful stimulation, which also dramatically increases their release of stress hormones. Doctors performing fetal surgery at and after 20 weeks now routinely use fetal anesthesia.” http://www.nrlc.org/press_releases_new/Release041310.html

-NRL reported: “The Tennessee state legislature made the state the first in the nation to pass legislation in both houses which bans the inclusion of abortion as a benefit within health exchanges required by the federal health care plan passed by Congress last month.”  http://www.nrlc.org/press_releases_new/Release042010.html

IRD: Health care

by Ruth Moon

In an e-mail, Mark Tooley berated religious groups that supported health care reform, saying “Religious Left activists primarily see religion as an organizing tool for extinguishing private alternatives to state control of health care and virtually every other facet of human life.”

ACLJ: President Obama’s Supreme Court opportunity

by D. Bennett

The American Center for Law and Justice, in an e-mail to subscribers, writes a word of warning concerning the new vacancy on the Supreme Court:

“President Obama is likely to name a nominee who will embrace an extremely liberal judicial philosophy.”

The ACLJ further writes that whoever the nominee is should be subjected to detailed and thorough questions about his or her judicial philosophy.

They write, “It’s what the American people expect and deserve!”

Liberty Counsel: Stevens’ resignation to set up Supreme Court battle

by D. Bennett

The Liberty Counsel was quick to issue a statement following Justice John Paul Stevens’ announcement that he will step down from the Supreme Court this summer.

Of his eventual successor, the Counsel writes, “The American people deserve a Supreme Court nominee who respects the rule of law and who will set aside personal bias in order to be faithful to the Constitution.”

The Counsel then urged its readers to “Pray that any efforts to confirm a judicial activist to the Court will be unsuccessful.”

Liberty Counsel: Personhood amendment on Miss. ballot in 2011

by D. Bennett

The Liberty Counsel reports that after a furious effort to gather enough signatures, a personhood amendment to the Mississippi state constitution will be placed on the November 2011 ballot.

The amendment reads, “The term ‘person’ or ‘persons’ shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.”

The Liberty Counsel praised the efforts of those gathering signatures, as well as pledging to defend the amendment.

“We stand ready to defend this amendment against all those who would seek to undermine the fundamental right to life for the most innocent among us,” the Counsel writes. “We are preparing for legal challenges against the amendment.”

ACLJ: Keep Jerusalem United

The American Center for Law and Justice posts its support for a united Jerusalem, urging readers to “send a message to the White House – to the United Nations – and to the nation of Israel.”

The ACLJ worries that the U.S. government will end up supporting policies which will hurt Israel, such as a plan for a divided Jerusalem with the Palestinian Authority in charge of a portion of the city.

National Right to Life: Because he is SOOO pro-life

by E. Carroll

-NRL PAC endorsed Steve Chabot in his campaign to regain Cincinnati’s First District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

http://www.nrlc.org/press_releases_new/Release032410.html

BreakPoint: “Obamacare”

by Ruth Moon

The Washington Examiner reports on “10 Inconvenient Truths About Obamacare.”

The United States is a “broken society”—partly because of the nation’s debt.

Is castration of rapists a good policy?

“Pledge of Allegiance ruled constitutional.”

Americans should send money and think about adopting Haitian children.

Chuck Colson: Health care outside government’s sphere

by Ruth Moon

Colson on health care: “Last Sunday night, pro-life Democrats sold the birthright of millions of unborn children for a mess of pottage.”

Health care is outside government’s rightful realm and is unchristian.

Colson’s ideas for health care reform.

A Catholic school in Boulder, Colo. will not allow the children of a lesbian couple to re-enroll in the fall. “Ignoring the contradiction” between the couple’s lifestyle and the school’s beliefs “would undermine the purpose for which Christian schools exist,” Colson says.

Genetically modified grains should be used to alleviate famine.

Marriage and sexuality affects every other aspect of life, including poverty, Colson says.

Catholic Charities is no longer offering health care benefits to spouses of employees, and “ordinary people are being asked to choose between their livelihood and obedience to their faith,” Colson said.

NAE: Sex, immigration and Cuba

by Ruth Moon

According to a survey, 63 percent of evangelical leaders in the U.S. want the United States to lift its Cuba embargo.

NAE leaders joined a march to advocate for immigration reform last weekend.

The NAE held a forum on “Respecting Sex and Reducing Abortions” earlier this month.

Liberty Counsel: Newly passed “Obamacare” is unconstitutional

by D. Bennett

The Liberty Counsel argues that the recently-passed H.R. 3590 is unconstitutional.

“Liberty Counsel will file suit challenging the constitutionality of the bill if it is signed by President Obama,” the release says.

ACLJ: We’re preparing legal challenges to health care reform bill

by D. Bennett

The American Center for Law and Justice is preparing a series of legal challenges to the recently-passed H.R. 3590, known colloquially as the health care reform bill.

“We are actively pursuing an aggressive litigation strategy now that the pro-abortion health care plan has been approved,” chief counsel Jay Sekulow writes.

The ACLJ writes that the fight over this bill is far from over; only the venue has been changed, “from Congress to the courts.”

National Right to Life: Opposed to Senate-passed health bill

by E. Carroll

-Today, the NRL released the following statement:  “The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) remains strongly opposed to the Senate-passed health bill (H.R. 3590).  A lawmaker who votes for this bill is voting to require federal agencies to subsidize and administer health plans that will pay for elective abortion, and voting to undermine longstanding pro-life policies in other ways as well.  Pro-life citizens nationwide know that this is a pro-abortion bill.  Pro-life citizens know, and they will be reminded again and again, which lawmakers deserve their gratitude for voting against this pro-abortion legislation.”  http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/Release032110.html

ESA: Health care

by Ruth Moon

ESA urged readers to advocate for the health care plan currently under discussion. “In our polarized nation, it is assumed that people who are pro-life are against healthcare reform, and vice versa,” leaders said in an e-mail. “We need Christians to speak out on behalf of health and life—consistently, holistically and for all.”

IRD: Health care and immigration

by Ruth Moon

IRD’s Mark Tooley mentioned the “buyer’s remorse” Tony Campolo and other Christian leaders seem to have over Obama’s presidency (and health care specifically).

“Like others, Campolo and the evangelical left saw Obama as their Rorschach candidate, and now express frustration that he has been more faithful to his abortion rights voting record than to their fictional portrayal of him,” Tooley said in the e-mail. “Voices on the evangelical left have seemed all too willing to downplay clear Christian moral teaching in order to join Obama’s push for bigger government.”

IRD Religious Liberty Director Faith McDonnell commented on a Muslim-Christian summit in Washington, D.C. earlier this month, expressing “concerns that the summit will be an exercise in capitulation and appeasement to Islamists.”

The IRD also commented on Washington, D.C.’s recent decision to allow same-sex marriage and fear that Catholic Charities would lose government funding over the issue: “All those who value their religious freedom should be up in arms at this attempted coercion of consciences. If Catholics are not allowed to be Catholic, none of us can rest secure in our liberty.”

The IRD also disapproved of an upcoming march in Washington, D.C. intended to advocate for “eventual amnesty and largely open borders under the banner of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR).”

“Divine commands for fairness and justice do not automatically equal liberalized immigration, any more than they equate to socialized medicine, global warming alarmism, or American disarmament,” the IRD said in an e-mail. “The religious left, uncomfortable with the theology and moral teachings of its own traditions, prefers the supposed clarity and liberation of left-wing activism.”

Liberty Counsel: Dems to “Slaughter” Constitution for health care reform

by D. Bennett

The Liberty Counsel writes that it vehemently disagrees with a legislative tactic being mulled in the House of Representatives which could aid in the passage of President Obama’s signature health care reform.

The controversial tactic, which the Counsel dubs the “Slaughter House Rule” due to the congresswoman who proposed it, would deem the Senate bill passed without an explicit vote on it.

The Liberty Counsel argues that invoking such a rule in this instance would be a violation of Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution.

Liberty Counsel: Appeals court upholds “In God We Trust”

by D. Bennett

The Liberty Counsel reports that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the nation’s motto, “In God We Trust,” does not violate the United States Constitution.

The Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief with the court in support of the motto’s constitutionality.

The challenge was brought by Michael Newdow, who made headlines after his unsuccessful suit to get the words “Under God” out of the Pledge of Allegiance.

National Right to Life: They’ve made it clear

by E. Carroll

-NRL released a statement saying: “In a significant development this week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) made it clear that the House Democratic Leadership will force a vote soon on the Senate-passed health bill (H.R. 3590), including multiple abortion-related provisions strongly opposed by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and other pro-life organizations, and will not include pro-life language in any followup legislation.”  For more on this matter http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/Release031310.html

Liberty Counsel: Support the privacy of marriage petition signers

by D. Bennett

The Liberty Counsel has announced that it has filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to keep private the names of individuals who signed a petition that allowed a ballot measure which struck down gay marriage legislation in Washington state.

“If the Court allows release of information about the petition signers, those individuals would face the same persecution experienced by supporters of Proposition 8 in California”, the Counsel writes. “There, when records were made public by a local judge, marriage supporters received death threats, envelopes with white powder, property damage, harassing calls and emails from same-sex marriage activists and were forced to resign their jobs.”