Bioethics Public Policy Report: July 30
STATE By State
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed two bills into law that guard against gender ideology. One prevents biological males from competing in women’s sports. The other bans gender transition surgeries for minors. For further information, click here.
An Arizona judge found that the use of the term “unborn human being” in describing the Arizona Abortion Access Act in voter pamphlets was not “impartial” under the meaning of Arizona state law. The judge said that the phrase was “packed with emotional and partisan meaning,” and so was impermissible to put in the pamphlet. Litigation is expected to continue. For further information, click here.
Following the expulsion of a man, Jeffrey Hunt, from the Colorado senate for wearing a pro-life sweatshirt, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is threatening a lawsuit on behalf of Hunt. FIRE asserts that the expulsion was viewpoint-discriminatory, in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. For further information, click here.
Iowa’s six-week abortion ban took effect Monday, July 28. The law allows for limited exceptions past six weeks gestation, and Gov. Kim Reynolds said that, after a long legal battle over the law, the Supreme Court “has upheld the will of the people of Iowa.” For further information, click here.
The Arkansas supreme court issued an expedited order to count the signatures for the petition to add a ballot measure for an abortion amendment to the state constitution. While Arkansas has had an abortion ban in place since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the proposed amendment would legalize abortion up to 18 weeks and would allow abortion exceptions for all cases of rape, incest, or fetal abnormality. For further information, click here.
The Montana supreme court has declined to hear the request from the Secretary of State and Attorney General to review the signatures on the ballot measure petitions. Specifically, the supreme court denied review of the district court’s decision to count registered but inactive voters’ signatures. The case will continue in the county district court. For further information, click here.
Federal Courts
The Tenth Circuit refused to restore millions of dollars in Title X funding for the State’s failure to give abortion referrals to patients of family planning services. The federal government had conditioned the receipt of the funding on “neutral, factual information and nondirective counseling” and “a referral regarding all options when requested.” For further information, click here.
Catholic Charities and a Catholic therapist are suing the State of Michigan for its law against “conversion therapy” for minors, which covers a wide array of therapy treatments for minors who struggle with sexuality or gender identity. The plaintiffs claim that they “are chilled or prohibited from discussing issues of human sexuality and gender identity” in violation of their freedoms of speech and religion. For further information, click here.
Along with California parents, the Chino Valley Unified School District is suing the State of California after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that bans school districts from disclosing students’ gender identity or sexuality to the parents of the students. An attorney for the district said that parents “have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school.” For further information, click here.
The Sixth Circuit blocked the Biden administration’s enforcement of its new Title IX regulations that would include “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” within the meaning of “sex” under the federal statute, which creates equal opportunities for women on college campuses. Critics say this is an attempt at rewriting the law to circumvent the legislative process. For further information, click here.
Pro-life organization Coalition Life has filed a petition to the Supreme Court to overturn Colorado v. Hill. That case stated that it was constitutional for States to pass laws which would prevent pro-life activists from approaching anyone while protesting outside of healthcare facilities. For further information, click here.
The Biden administration is being sued by 18 Republican-led States over recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance requiring employers to make accommodations for transgender employees which would include “preferred pronoun” usage and allowing workers to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. The plaintiffs contend that there is no legal basis for the EEOC’s administrative rule either in Title VII or in the Bostock decision. For further information, click here.
A New York federal court sentenced a pro-life mother and activist to three years and five months in prison for violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. For further information, click here.
Four pro-abortion activists pled guilty to vandalism on pro-life pregnancy centers following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. The charges of vandalism were brought under the FACE Act, and the pregnancy centers were supported by both First Liberty Institute and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody in the case. For further information, click here.
INTERNATIONAL
In response to the recent decriminalization of abortion in the State of Puebla in Mexico, the Archdiocese of Puebla has announced that it will be taking certain measures to fight “the throwaway culture and the culture of death.” The Archdiocese stated that it would be offering prayers of reparation as well as promoting and supporting campaigns and ministries designed to create a culture of life in response. For further information, click here.
The Polish parliament narrowly rejected legislation that would have made abortion more easily accessible by a 218-215 vote with two abstentions. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had based his campaign in part on reversal of the pro-life policy of his conservative predecessors. For further information, click here.
In Turkey in 2023, Christians were found to be the most persecuted group in the country. Critics are saying that the Turkish justice system is failing to protect religious minorities in the country. 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.