Worldviews in the News

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• RICHMOND — Virginia will likely become the second state in the nation — after North Dakota — to allow private adoption agencies to turn away parents based on sexual orientation or religious and moral beliefs. The General Assembly is considering a measure that would add a “conscience clause’’ to Virginia law that would allow state-funded, faith-based agencies to choose which parents are suitable for adoption based on the agencies’ beliefs.

  February 08, 2012 Virginia adding ‘conscience clause’ to adoption laws
  by Anita Kumar Source: The Washington Post

• WASHINGTON--The Obama administration is willing to work with Catholic universities, hospitals and other church-affiliated employers to implement a new policy that requires health insurers to offer birth control coverage, a top adviser to the president's re-election campaign said on Tuesday. David Axelrod, a senior campaign adviser to President Barack Obama, said the administration had heard the Roman Catholic Church's concerns and never intended to "abridge anyone's religious freedom."

  February 08, 2012 Obama Administration Defends Contraception Rule Amid Mounting Criticism
  by Susan Heavey, Reuters Source: Huffington Post

• WASHINGTON -- Inspired by the backlash over the brief attempt by Susan G. Komen for the Cure to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, a group of Senators Wednesday is launching a bid to organize 1 million people in support of women's rights. Led by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), seven Democratic senators and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are appealing to backers on all of their websites to sign on to the "One Million Strong For Women" in hopes of harnessing the energy displayed in the backlash against Komen.

  February 08, 2012 After Susan G. Komen Debacle, Senators Launch Women’s Rights Campaign
  by Michael McAuliff Source: Huffington Post

• A federal appeals court in Atlanta maintained an earlier ruling that the rights of a former counselor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were not violated when she was fired for refusing to advise an employee in a same-sex relationship. On Tuesday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed Marcia Walden's lawsuit against the CDC, two of its employees, and the Computer Sciences Corporation, affirming that summary judgment be granted to the defendants.

  February 08, 2012 Court Affirms CDC’s Firing of Counselor Over Same-Sex Advice
  by Eryn Sun Source: Christian Post

• As controversy over the Obama administration’s new mandate that even religious organizations need to cover the cost of contraceptives and possible abortifacients continues to mount, the administration took things another step further this weekend. The office of the Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Army told Catholic chaplains they could not read to their congregations a letter from Archbishop Timothy Broglio protesting the mandate.

  February 08, 2012 Army Forbids Archbishop’s Letter from Being Read
  by Roger Greer Source: CitizenLink

• The Alliance Defense Fund and Susan B. Anthony List today made public an official report to Congress showing evidence of 12 types of potential fraud being committed by Planned Parenthood involving taxpayer money. The report, which Congress has had since last October, details how the abortion seller billed — and was reimbursed for — medication and services connected to abortion, which is illegal under federal law, as well as some services which may have never been performed at all. Routine federal and state audits conducted between 1995 and 2009 uncovered more than $95 million in waste, abuse, and potential fraud.

  February 08, 2012 Planned Parenthood, Komen Controversy Continues
  by Karla Dial Source: CitizenLink

• SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday declared California's same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, putting the bitterly contested, voter-approved law on track for likely consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that a lower court judge correctly interpreted the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court precedents when he declared in 2010 that Proposition 8 was a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

  February 07, 2012 Court: CA Gay Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional
  by Associated Press Source: The New York Times

• SAN DIEGO -- A federal judge for the first time in U.S. history heard arguments Monday in a case that could determine whether animals enjoy the same constitutional protection against slavery as human beings. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller called the hearing in San Diego after Sea World asked the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that names five orcas as plaintiffs in the case.

  February 07, 2012 PETA’s SeaWorld Lawsuit Focuses On Constitutional Protection Against Slavery For Animals
  by JULIE WATSON — Associated Press Source: Huffington Post

• (CNSNews.com) – A petition calling for the U.S. Health and Human Services’ contraceptives and abortifacients mandate to be rescinded has attracted five times more signatures than a petition urging the administration to retain the policy. According to “We the People” hosted by Whitehouse.gov, 21,690 Americans had signed a petition entitled, “Rescind the HHS Dept. Mandate Requiring Catholic Employers to Provide Contraceptives/ Abortifacients to Their Employees” as of 4 p.m. Monday.

  February 07, 2012 Signatures to Rescind HHS Contraceptive Mandate Exceed Those on Petition in Favor of Policy 5 to 1
  by Edwin Mora Source: CNS News