Bioethics Public Policy Report: October 8, 2024
STATE By State
21 state attorneys general sent a letter to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) demanding cooperation with investigations into their prescriptions of “gender affirming care” for minors, including the use of puberty blockers and transgender surgeries. For further information, click here.
Three states are likely to remove same-sex “marriage” bans via ballot measures in their respective state constitutions, which have remained unrevised since the Supreme Court invalidated such laws in 2015 with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. In California, the measure would change the constitution’s language from “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California,” to “The right to marry is a fundamental right.” In Colorado and Hawaii, the measures would simply remove the language that defends the definition of marriage. For further information, click here.
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore has called on Catholics “to uphold human dignity at all stages of life, from natural conception to natural death” and vote against the “Reproductive Freedom Amendment” which will be on the ballot this November. Archbishop Lori said that it would be “both unnecessary and harmful given Maryland’s already permissive abortion laws” because it would fail to address the root causes of abortion. For further information, click here.
In North Dakota, a state court judge struck down the statewide abortion ban, saying that it was “unconstitutionally void for vagueness.” The State has asked that the judge’s ruling be paused pending appeal. For further information, click here.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the City of Austin over its budgetary allocation of funds towards out-of-state abortions. The City’s “Reproductive Health Grant” allocated $400,000 for assisting residents of Austin in obtaining abortions across state lines. For further information, click here.
In Washington, Democratic Governor Jay Inslee is beginning a statewide stockpile of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone in anticipation of a ban from the Supreme Court or from another Trump presidency. Governor Inslee noted, “The Supreme Court decision was not definitive in protecting mifepristone,” in a statement made to reporters about the stockpiling. For further information, click here.
A state court judge in Georgia has blocked the enforcement of Georgia’s 6-week abortion ban as unconstitutional, making abortion legal up until 22 weeks. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has appealed the decision. For further information, click here.
Federal Courts
In New York, a federal court judge blocked the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, from censoring pro-life pregnancy centers from promoting their abortion pill reversal procedures. The order is a preliminary ruling that will stay in effect until the resolution of the pending lawsuit. For further information, click here.
A North Dakota federal court judge blocked the enforcement of the Biden administration’s rules regarding the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The rules would have forced Catholic employers to provide time off for morally illicit procedures, such as abortions and in vitro fertilization treatments. For further information, click here.
national
A Christian mother of four children has been sentenced to death and fined for sharing messages over WhatsApp allegedly blaspheming the Muslim religion. The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need will be appealing the sentence. For further information, click here.
of note
Pope Francis praised the late King Baudouin of Belgium for abdicating rather than signing “a murderous law” that legalized abortion in the country. He indicated interest in opening his cause for canonization. For further information, click here.
In a recent general audience, Pope Francis referred to pornography as “the language of the devil,” in reference to the ways in which people are tempted today by modern technology. To read the transcript of the general audience, click here.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, delivered a statement at the United Nations expressing concerns about the aims of a document entitled “Pact for the Future,” which emphasizes abortion as reproductive healthcare and endorses gender ideology. To read the Pact, click here. To read Cardinal Parolin’s statement, 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.