ACLU Relying on Bad Law to Try to Ban Gideon Bibles from Distribution

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Photo Credit: WNDThe ACLU has threatened to sue Kentucky’s 174 school districts if they refuse to ban the distribution of Gideon Bibles, but the warning lacks teeth, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which contends it is based on outdated law.

“Most of the decisions cited in the ACLU’s letter are no longer good law as they were issued before the Supreme Court decided Good News Club in 2001,” ADF told school officials in a letter sent to correct an ACLU missive.

ADF jumped into action when it became aware of the threat from the ACLU.

“Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Rory Gray. “That’s why the schools frequently allow a wide array of groups to distribute literature of various sorts to students. Singling out the Gideons while allowing other groups to distribute literature would be clearly unconstitutional.”

The issue arose when the ACLU dispatched a letter to every school superintendent in the state, threatening lawsuits if they would not submit to ACLU demands and ban distribution of Bibles by members of the Gideons organization.

Read more from this story HERE.

Judge Grants Exemption for Hobby Lobby in ObamaCare Challenge

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By Associated Press. Hobby Lobby Inc. was given a temporary exemption Friday from a requirement in the new federal health care law to offer insurance coverage for the morning-after pill and similar emergency birth control methods or face steep fines.

U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton issued the preliminary injunction for the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain and stayed the case until Oct. 1 to give the federal government time to consider filing an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ruling was welcomed by the Christian owners of Hobby Lobby and its sister company, the Mardel Christian bookstore chain. Attorneys for the Green family have argued that their religious beliefs are so deeply rooted that having to provide every form of birth control would violate their conscience.

“We’re just very excited. This is a great step for us,” Hobby Lobby president Steve Green said.

Members of the Green family say they believe life begins at conception, and oppose birth control methods that can prevent implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus, such as an intrauterine device or forms of emergency contraception. Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: WNDCourts prevent feds from enforcing abortion-drug mandate

By WND. A federal court Friday granted a preliminary injunction to Hobby Lobby, preventing the Obama administration from enforcing the Obamacare abortion-drug mandate against the Christian-run company while the case is in progress.

The case brought by Hobby Lobby is just one of dozens pending in courts now over the Obamacare demand that employers provide abortifacients to their employees – irrespective of whether such actions violate the employers’ beliefs.

The Becket Fund, which is representing the company, said the court found there is a “substantial public interest in ensuring that no individual or corporation has their legs cut out from under them while these difficult issues are resolved.”

“The tide has turned against the HHS mandated,” said a spokesman for the organization.

Matt Bowman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith. Read more from this story HERE.

Military Will Not Rescind Reprimand for Airman Who Criticized West Point Homosexual Marriage

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Photo Credit: Fox NewsThe Utah Air National Guard will not rescind the reprimand of an airman who complained last year about a gay wedding at West Point Chapel that he believed violated the Defense of Marriage Act, the airman’s attorney tells Fox News.

TSgt. Layne Wilson, a 27-year veteran of the military, was formally reprimanded for an email he wrote last December to the chaplain at West Point and his six-year reenlistment contract was reduced to a one-year contract.

John Wells, an attorney representing the airman, said the military coerced his client into signing the one-year extension after they cancelled medical benefits for his wife – who is suffering from stage four breast cancer.

“It would seem to me that cancelling the medical benefits for a sick cancer victim to coerce an underling to sign an illegal contract constitutes cruelty and maltreatment under the Utah Code of Military Justice,” Wells said. “This type of action is unconscionable and I would expect the Guard to initiate an investigation surrounding the case.”

Wilson, who is a devout Christian and has religious objections to gay marriage, found himself in trouble after he wrote an email to the chaplain at West Point.

Read more from this story HERE.

Gov. Rick Perry Signs Major Abortion Restrictions into Law

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Photo Credit: Frederic J BrownRick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas, signed into law the nation’s most sweeping new abortion limits on Thursday morning, in a move that is likely to be subject to a challenge in the courts.

The bill, which will drastically reduce access to abortion in the state, failed to pass last month because of an 11-hour filibuster by state senator Wendy Davis, a Democrat. It was passed last week after Perry called a second special session to do so.

“It is a very happy, celebratory day,” Perry said, before he sat down to sign the bill, at the Capitol auditorium, where the bill-signing ceremony was held amid tight security.

“This is an important day for those who support life and for those who support the health of Texas women,” said Perry, a staunch anti-abortionist. “In signing House Bill 2, we celebrate and further cement the foundation on which the culture of life in Texas is built.”

A dozen state troopers were stationed outside the building, alongside scores of protesters in orange shirts, carrying coat hangers and signs that read: “Shame”, according to Dallas News.

Read more from this story HERE.

‘Clueless C**t’: Mainstream Journalist’s Admission that She’s A Creationist Sparks Nasty Response

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Photo Credit: GettyJournalist Virginia Heffernan stunned many of her fellow reporters when she penned a piece last week entitled, “Why I’m a Creationist.” The reporter, who has had a successful career at The New York Times and Slate, among other outlets, is now the center of the ever-intense evolution vs. creationism debate. Currently, she works for Yahoo!, the outlet through which her faith-based proclamation was made.

Before we get into the nasty comments that have been thrown her way, let’s first look at what she said in the article. Heffernan began by announcing that she’s like most Americans: She doesn’t fear global warming and doesn’t hate religion. Then, she said, “at heart” she’s a creationist.

Heffernan admitted that this admission would be tough to understand for many of her compatriots in media.

“In New York City saying you’re a creationist is like confessing you think Ahmadinejad has a couple of good points. Maybe I’m the only creationist I know,” she said, touching upon the fact that it is rare for people in the city to hold such a viewpoint (one that many Americans in other areas of the country would actually agree with).

From there, Heffernan moved on, describing the process through which she became a creationist…

Read more from this story HERE.

Down’s Syndrome Cells ‘Fixed’ in First Step Towards Chromosome Therapy

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Photo Credit: Getty ImagesScientists have corrected the genetic fault that causes Down’s syndrome – albeit in isolated cells – raising the prospect of a radical therapy for the disorder.

In an elegant series of experiments, US researchers took cells from people with DS and silenced the extra chromosome that causes the condition. A treatment based on the work remains a distant hope, but scientists in the field said the feat was the first major step towards a “chromosome therapy” for Down’s syndrome.

“This is a real technical breakthrough. It opens up whole new avenues of research,” said Elizabeth Fisher, professor of neurogenetics at UCL, who was not involved in the study. “This is really the first sniff we’ve had of anything to do with gene therapy for Down’s syndrome.”

Around 750 babies are born with DS in Britain each year while globally between one in a 1000 and one in 1100 births are DS babies. Most experience learning difficulties.

Despite advances in medical care that allow most to live well into middle age, those who inherit the disorder are at risk of heart defects, bowel and blood disorders, and thyroid problems.

Read more from this story HERE.

Pregnant Former Olympian Suddenly Collapses and Dies in Connecticut Restaurant – but Doctors Save Her Baby

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Photo Credit: wfsb.comA pregnant former Olympic runner three weeks from her due date died after collapsing at a Connecticut restaurant on Monday, but doctors were able to save her baby.

Ethiopian runner Meskerem Legesse, 26, of Westport, Connecticut was with her two-year-old son at a Chinese restaurant on the 900 block of Dixwell Ave in Hamden eating lunch when she collapsed on Monday.

The eight-months pregnant Legesse was given CPR at the restaurant before an ambulance rushed her to Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Hamden Fire Chief David Berardesca says CPR efforts in the restaurant and ambulance allowed doctors to save the baby.

It is unclear what caused Legesse’s death, but a friend, Fatima Sene, said the athlete had heart problems which were the cause of her retirement from sport.

Read more from this story HERE.

Media Apparently Oblivious to the Fact that Texan Sen. Wendy Davis is a Pro-Abortion Extremist

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Photo Credit: APAccording to abortion advocates, Wendy Davis is a voice for America’s silent pro-choice majority. The Texas state senator’s recent filibuster of a bill to outlaw abortions after five months of pregnancy won her media plaudits and catapulted her from obscurity to political stardom.

But the frenzy over Davis’s failed quest to defeat the legislation — which most likely ended last week when the bill passed the Texas Legislature — is hardly proof of a national reservoir of support for late-term abortion. Rather, it is evidence of the deep disconnect between perception and reality when it comes to U.S. citizens’ attitudes about the procedure.

The media’s coverage of Davis’s opposition to the bill, which would also compel abortion facilities to follow the same rules and safety standards as ambulatory surgical centers, ranged from frivolous to fawning. Most media reports focused either on the pink sneakers Davis wore during her 11-hour filibuster or on how the resulting fame would affect her chances of winning the 2014 gubernatorial race.

Abortion advocates, meanwhile, asserted that Davis had given voice to the pro-choice views of Texas and the nation. One commentator referred to the filibuster as a “Texas spring,” a sudden awakening of the state’s pro-choice majority. Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood and daughter of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, said, “My mother would have said, ‘I hear America singing.’” A writer at Salon.com asserted, “It’s a Wendy Davis nation now.”

Most of the coverage failed to mention an important detail: The vast majority of Americans don’t come close to sharing Wendy Davis’s support for late-term abortion. Numerous polls find that most Americans oppose abortion after 20 weeks, except in rare circumstances, such as when the mother’s life is at risk (a circumstance for which the Texas law makes an exception). A University of Texas/Texa

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Numerous Abortion Clinics Closing Nationwide in Wake of New Restrictive State Laws

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Photo Credit: LifeSiteNewsDozens of clinics could close in wake of Texas law, say abortion supporters

By John Jalsevac. Opponents of Texas’ late-term abortion ban bill, which passed the state Senate Friday evening after heated debate, say they fear that the legislation could lead to the closure of dozens of clinics in the state.

In addition to banning abortions after 20 weeks, the bill also mandates that clinics meet the same safety standards as outpatient surgical centers. Currently 37 of the state’s 42 clinics fail to the meet these standards, meaning they will be required to make costly updates to their buildings, such as installing wider hallways, showers, and backup generators.

Sen. Wendy Davis, who famously filibustered the first version of the bill last month, lamented in an op-ed on CNN last week that the bill “would close down almost 90 percent of the women’s clinics in this state.”

Dr. Howard Novick, who owns an abortion facility in Houston, told the Associated Press that he estimates it will cost between $1 and $1.5 million to update his facility – money that he says he doesn’t have.

Hagstrom Miller, the CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, cited similar figures, saying it would cost an estimated $1.4 million to update their McAllen facility, which she says she cannot afford. She adds that another facility she runs in Beaumont would also have to close. Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: Townhall‘Busiest’ Abortion Clinic in Virginia Closes Up Shop

By Cortney O’Brien. NOVA Women’s Healthcare of Fairfax County was one of the largest and most frequented abortion clinics in the state of Virginia. It performed more abortions than any other provider in the Old Dominion in the last few years, including 3,066 in 2012 alone. But, thanks to new abortion regulations in the state and a denied permit, it has seen its last patient.

It’s speculated that new Virginia regulations which require clinics to meet new hospital-grade standards had forced NOVA to find a new location. The clinic never got the chance though, for the city denied its permit for being one parking space short of city laws and therefore forced the business to close its doors.

NOVA is one of many clinics affected by new abortion regulations sweeping across the country. In Texas, the state legislature successfully passed HB2, which bans abortion after 20 weeks and requires an abortionist to have admitting privileges to a surgical center within 30 miles of the abortion clinic. Thirty-seven of the state’s 42 clinics fail to meet these standards and are therefore likely to be shuttered. Read more from this story HERE.

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Vomiting Patients at Northern Va. Abortion Clinic a Near ‘Daily Occurrence’; WashPost Buries Charge Deep in Story

By Ken Shepherd. “Abortion center closes after run of difficulties” lamented a Washington Post headline on the front page of the July 15 edition’s Metro section. “New regulations hamper relocation effort,” a subheadline for staff writer Tom Jackman’s story noted.

But deep in his 20-paragraph story, Jackman noted that the Fairfax City, Va., clinic, Nova Women’s Healthcare, was sued in late 2011 and that court documents in that suit referred to sick patients “lying down in corridors… and, in some instances, even vomiting.” In the 16th paragraph of his story, Jackman admitted that “One filing said witnesses would testify that this was a daily occurrence.” Virginia’s new abortion clinic regulations did not take full effect until June of this year.

A few paragraphs later, Jackman noted that, “In April, [Nova’s landlord] Eaton Place sued Nova in Fairfax General District Court for failure to pay $95,000 in back rent. In June, Nova agreed to pay the back rent and surrender the space, court records show.” Read more from this story HERE.

Churches Now Fearing Lawsuits Over Bans on Homosexual Marriage

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Photo Credit: Eusebius@CommonsJoe Carr believes a day is fast approaching when pastors will be charged with hate crimes for preaching that homosexuality is a sin and churches will face lawsuits for refusing to host same-sex weddings.

“It’s just a matter of time,” said Carr, the pastor of Waynesville Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia. “What’s happening in Europe – we’re going to see happen here and we’re going to see it happen sooner rather than later I’m afraid.”

And that’s why the congregation will be voting next month to change their church bylaws – to officially ban the usage of their facilities for gay marriages.

“We needed to have a clear statement,” Carr told Fox News. “It’s to protect us from being forced to allow someone to use our facilities who does not believe what we believe the Bible teaches.”

“These facilities may only be used for weddings that adhere to the Biblical definition of marriage and are solely reserved for use by members and their immediate family members,” the amended bylaws read. “These facilities may not be used by any individual, group, or organization that advocate, endorse, or promote homosexuality as an alternative or acceptable lifestyle. This policy also applies to birthday parties, reunions, anniversaries, wedding or baby showers, etc.”

Read more from this story HERE.