Sanctity of Life

Salt Lake Tribune: "Gov. Gary Herbert signed into law Monday a bill that would allow a woman who arranges an illegal abortion to be charged with criminal homicide."

Washington State Department of Health 2009 Death with Dignity Act Report: "This report focuses on the 63 participants for whom medication was dispensed between March 5, 2009, when the act became law, and December 31, 2009. It includes data from the documentation received by the Department of Health as of February 3, 2010."

ACLU Blog: ". . . Because every day, abortion providers around the country perform services that many will not; they do so in the face of adversity and violence (or potential violence); and they do so with compassion. Without their courage, commitment, and skill, the legal right to abortion in this country would be meaningless. So in addition to thanking abortion providers today, we should thank them every day . . . "

Washington Times: "The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act would apply to abortion 'the same standards of nondiscrimination' that govern employment, education, government and housing, said Georgia state Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Republican who introduced the bill last month with bipartisan support."

Citizen Link: "President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships presented policy recommendations to him today – notably missing: Any mention of the life issue."

LifeNews: "But if Democrats try to include abortion language in the reconciliation package, Republicans will object -- even if the changes are pro-life -- because they want to force pro-life Democrats in the House to defeat the overall health care bill."

Dallas Morning News: "A Texas judge who came under criticism for his ruling declaring the death penalty unconstitutional took back his controversial decision today. However, Harris County District Judge Kevin Fine said he still wants more information on whether the state’s death penalty statute is unconstitutional because it allows for the possible execution of an innocent person."

Associated Press: "A grand jury indicted four members of an assisted suicide group Tuesday on charges they helped a 58-year-old man with cancer kill himself, clearing the way for a trial that could not only decide their fate but also help validate -- or repudiate -- their work."

Florida Baptist Witness: "Perkins spoke to about 200 pastors in Orlando on March 4 for the 'Impact: Unleashing the Voice of the Church' conference jointly sponsored by FRC and the Alliance Defense Fund, an evangelical legal group . . . the pastors conference in Orlando and other cities is intended to affirm the role of pastors in helping their members understand the issues of the day and how they should view those issues from a Christian perspective, he said."

LifeNews: "Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and Center for Arizona Policy have appealed an Arizona judge’s order to halt new state laws protecting the health and safety of women on abortion . . . 'We're appealing the injunction the state court granted to Planned Parenthood because these laws protect the health and safety of women. The protection of women should not be on hold while Planned Parenthood ties things up in court,' ADF Senior Legal Counsel Steven Aden told LifeNews.com on Monday."

AP: "The leader of an assisted suicide group charged with helping a 58-year-old Georgia man with cancer kill himself says he's looking forward to a trial that he hopes will validate the group's work."

Detroit Free Press: "Connie Saltonstall of Charlevoix said today she plans to run against Stupak for the Democratic nomination of Michigan’s First Congressional District, citing Stupak’s efforts to stop health care reform if it doesn’t ban use of government money for abortions. Stupak, a former state trooper from Menominee, has held the seat since 1993."

KFDM (AP): "A state district judge in Houston has granted a pretrial motion declaring the death penalty unconstitutional, a decision that the Texas attorney general called 'an act of unabashed judicial activism.'"

Jeremy Dys writes at the Engage Family Blog of the Family Policy Council of WV: "Last night, the Health Committee of the House of Delegates advanced this year’s pro-life bill (SB 597) after the defeat of numerous amendments that were merely desperate attempts by pro-abortion lawmakers to derail the measure."

"However, pro-life advocates remain skeptical and worry such a bill would enable House passage of the Senate measure and Obama would simply sign the bill without accepting the abortion funding ban."

LifeNews: "As the process of the health care debate moves forward this week, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is reminding colleagues and the media that the reconciliation process will not be able to be used to stop the abortion funding in the Senate health care bill . . . "

The Day: "During the first court hearing in a lawsuit challenging Connecticut's ban on assisted suicide, the state Monday sought to persuade a judge that the legislature, not a courthouse, is the proper venue to decide whether doctors should be prosecuted for helping patients end their lives."

AP: "President Barack Obama's health care bill would change federal policy on abortion, but not open the spigot of taxpayer dollars that some abortion opponents fear."

The Unwelcome Cohort: When the Sentencing Judge Invades Your Bedroom Elizabeth M. Bux, 85 Notre Dame L. Rev. 745 (2010) "This Note discusses the various issues of civil rights and criminal law associated with the sentence in the Talty case and those issues that might arise from similar sentences. Part I outlines the facts and history unique to the Talty case. Part II discusses the privacy issues at play in a sentence dealing with procreation and sexuality. This Part explains the procreative rights involved in cases of sterilization, birth control, and abortion, and fleshes out the issues of privacy involved in cases of nonprocreative sexuality. In addition, this Part illustrates the various limits on privacy inherent in a criminal conviction, along with the ramifications that such limits have on the constitutionality of governmental restrictions on behavior."

Religion Link: "Do sex education programs that emphasize abstinence really work? The issue is on the boil thanks to rising teen pregnancy rates and the high profile of Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol, herself an unwed teenage mother. Now a pair of new studies reveals a complex answer to a flashpoint debate in the culture wars." (compilation of links included)