Bioethics Public Policy Report: August 27
STATE By State
A Maryland state court judge ruled that Baltimore’s proposal for a “baby bonus” of $1,000 for new parents was unconstitutional. The judge said that the proposal took away “all meaningful discretion” from the city, and the mayor asserted that the citizens of Baltimore did not have the authority to propose such a matter on the ballot. For further information, click here.
While the Arizona supreme court upheld the ballot measure to create a “right” to abortion in the state constitution, the court also allowed voter information pamphlets to refer to the unborn as “unborn human beings.” Backers of the measure are concerned about the “inherently political” nature of the language in the pamphlet describing the measure, which would allow almost all abortions pre-viability. The measure would also allow doctors to make a “good faith judgment” on whether a post-viability abortion would be “necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.” For further information, click here and here.
In Missouri, Amendment 3 will be on the ballot for state residents that will enshrine a “right” to abortion and contraceptives in the state constitution. Missouri state law currently places a total ban on abortion. For further information, click here.
The Montana supreme court struck down a parental consent law regarding the obtaining of abortions by minors. The court’s basis for this decision was “that minors, like adults, have a fundamental right to privacy, which includes procreative autonomy and making medical decisions affecting his or her bodily integrity and health in partnership with a chosen health care provider free from governmental interest.” For further information, click here.
Montana approved a ballot measure that, if voted for, would amend the state constitution to provide a “right” to abortion. Ballot Issue #14 will appear on the Montana ballot this November. For further information, click here.
Nebraska approved two dueling ballot measures for November, one pro-life and the other pro-abortion. The pro-life measure would enshrine a right to life for the unborn starting from the first trimester of pregnancy. The pro-abortion measure would ensure a “right” to abortion up to fetal viability. For further information, click here.
The Colorado Capitol has announced that it is repealing its ban on the wearing of political apparel. The change in the rule comes just one month after the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a letter to the state house and senate threatening suit on behalf of Jeff Hunt, who had been expelled for wearing pro-life apparel. For further information, click here.
Federal Courts
Colorado parents and their daughter are suing the State for “transitioning” the daughter without parental consent. According to the complaint, the daughter was encouraged to undertake surgeries and other transgender procedures to alter her appearance and was “socially transitioned” by school authorities. For further information, click here.
The Supreme Court has blocked the temporary enforcement of the Biden administration’s new Title IX provisions, which expand the meaning of “discrimination on the basis of sex” to “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” This means that lower court orders blocking enforcement of the provisions in particular territories will continue until the end of litigation. For further information, click here.
Seven more pro-lifers have been convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Among them is Eva Edl, a well-known pro-life activist who survived Soviet concentration camps. To read about Edl’s story, click here. For further information, click here.
In the Ninth Circuit, Cedar Park Church, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, is challenging the authority of the State of Washington to force it to provide abortion coverage for its employees. Under the Washington law, entities which provide maternity care coverage must also cover abortions. For further information, click here.
international
The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, announced that he has given up on working towards a bipartisan religious discrimination bill in Parliament. Catholic Archbishop Peter A Comensoli has asked Albanese to “be true to his word that protections for people of faith will not go backwards under his leadership.” For further information, click here.
India’s supreme court has rejected a plea for “passive euthanasia” by the family of a man in a vegetative state. The court’s rationale was that such “passive euthanasia” is reserved only for those who are utilizing a “mechanical life support,” whereas the man in the vegetative state is fed through a nasal tube. For further information, click here.
Canadian activists are seeking to expand Canada’s “Medical Assistance in Dying” euthanasia program to those whose sole complication is mental illness through the judiciary. They claim there to be “no constitutional justification” for excluding the mentally ill from the euthanasia program. For further information, click here.
Of note
Planned Parenthood offered abortions and vasectomies in a van outside of the Democratic National Convention. They have been accused of violating tax-exempt status by doing so. For further information, click here and here.
A pro-life pregnancy center in Chicago, Aid for Women, was vandalized at the end of the Democratic National Convention. The vandals splashed red paint on the building, terming it a “fake clinic” and asserting that “the dead babies are in Gaza.” For further information, click here.
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The National Catholic Bioethics Center website is a significant resource for bioethics information. NCBC bioethicists are also on call for consultation twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, at 215-877-2660.
Justin Corman
Justin Corman is a guest editor at the NCBC, and a student at Ave Maria School of Law.