STATE By State

• Two ballot measures with contradictory outcomes are on the ballot in Nebraska: one pro-life and the other pro-abortion. It is unclear what will happen from a legal perspective if both were to pass. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services issued an advisory regarding misleading advertisements put forth by proponents of the pro-abortion amendment. For further information, click here and here. 

• Kentucky Attorney General Kevin Grout announced support for Our Lady of Lourdes Church to build a shrine on its property in Park Hills. Grout noted that the injunction of the shrine may be a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). For further information, click here. 

• Pro-abortion advocates in Louisiana are challenging a state law that recently was passed classifying the chemical abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. For further information, click here. 

• In California, a Catholic hospital has agreed to provide abortions in emergency situations following fallout from its failure to provide adequate care for a 15-weeks pregnant woman who was hemorrhaging. While the USCCB does allow that Catholic hospitals may undertake procedures that might indirectly harm an unborn child, nevertheless it has been emphatic that direct abortions are never morally acceptable. For further information, click here and here. 

 Federal Courts

• The Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments on Tennessee’s ban on “gender-affirming” surgeries and other procedures for minors. Opponents of the law claim that it is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, whereas Tennessee seeks to ban such surgeries and procedures because of their irreversible character. For further information, click here. 

• A coalition of religious organizations and 20 states are appealing the decision of New York’s judiciary to enforce abortion coverage by nuns and other religious groups in the state. The Supreme Court previously had directed New York to create an exemption on religious grounds, which direction New York ignored. For further information, click here. 

• Montgomery County has pulled two LGBT books from the public-school curriculum following backlash from parents protesting the school district’s prohibition on opting out of the lessons involving the books. The parents are being represented by Becket in asserting their rights to opt their children out of the lessons. For further information, click here and here. 

• The Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously in favor of a group of Jewish families and schools who were denied special education in California. The court ruled that California’s rule excluding religious schools from the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program was a discriminatory burden in violation of the free exercise rights of the parents. For further information, click here. 

national

• A transgender activist doctor refused to publish a $10 million taxpayer-funded study on the effects of puberty blockers on minors after the study failed to prove that puberty blockers have a positive effect on minor patients. The doctor stated her fears that the study would be “weaponized” to prove in court that puberty blockers should not be used on minors. For further information, click here. 

• The Napa Institute released their Faith & Freedom Index report, finding that many states are unfriendly towards faith-based organizations and non-profits. For further information, click here and here. 

international

• In Quebec, patients may make an “advance request” as part of Canada’s “Medical Aid in Dying” (MAiD) program in case they are incapacitated and unable to give consent. Canadian bishops, in response to the general increase in assisted suicide under the MAiD program nationwide, have called for improvements to palliative care in Canada. For further information, click here and here. 

• In England and Wales, new “buffer zone” laws have gone into effect prohibiting all protests outside of abortion clinics. The Crown Prosecution Service has issued guidance indicating that silent prayer is “not necessarily” illegal under the law, but an army veteran was still found guilty of violating the law, and he plans to appeal with the help of the Alliance Defending Freedom. For further information, click here. 

• Archbishop Mark O’Toole of Cardiff-Menevia praised the Welsh parliament for rejecting a bill that would have allowed assisted suicide in Wales and England. For further information, click here. 

of note

• Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati has announced that the Archdiocese will no longer partner with the Girl Scouts of the USA because of their contributing “to normalizing a sexual and gender ideology contrary to the Catholic understanding of the human person made male and female in the image and likeness of God.” For further information, click here. 

• In a recent general audience, Pope Francis spoke of the need of the Holy Spirit for unity in marriage. He said that “marriage needs the support of He who is the Gift,” that is, the Holy Spirit. To read the text of the audience, click here. 

• Pope Francis received members of Project Hope, a program providing spiritual and emotional healing to those who have chosen abortion and are suffering the consequences. The Pope said, “Evil does not have the last word; it is never definitive.” For further information, click here. 

• On All Souls’ Day, Pope Francis made a stop to pray at a cemetery dedicated to the unborn. 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 is a guest editor at the NCBC, and a student at Ave Maria School of Law.