Tag Archives: abortion

North Dakota Law Essentially Bans Abortion

Though it carries many exceptions, North Dakota recently passed a law that is so restrictive on abortion it in some regards essentially bans it:

Gov. Jack Dalrymple…signed into law…

— The earliest state abortion ban, one based on an unborn child’s heartbeat, which could be as soon as six weeks into gestation;

— The first state law to prohibit abortion on the basis of a genetic irregularity in the unborn baby.

That second note is specifically aimed at Read more

Huckabee on Society’s Changing Sexual Norms

In reference to implications the Republican Party might move to recognize homosexual “marriage,” former Governor and Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee noted that the party would get a lot smaller, because “evangelicals will take a walk.”  The reason, he explained, is that Christians believe in an unchanging, objective standard:

If we have subjective standards, that means that we’re willing to move our standards based on the prevailing whims of culture. Politicians have an obligation to be thermostats, not just thermometers. They’re not simply to reflect the temperature of the room, or the culture, as it were. They’re to set the standards for law, for what’s right, for what’s wrong, understanding that not everybody’s going to agree with it.

“On this issue, I recognize the culture is moving away from the traditional standard, but it’s almost like saying, well, we have a basketball team and nobody on the team can hit the goal that’s 10 feet off Read more

ACLU Engages in Campaign for Abortion in US Military

The ACLU has enlisted the help of former servicemembers (“military heroes,” since everyone who was in the military is a “hero”) in a concerted ad campaign to get abortion funding approved in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013.  Similar attempts have been made virtually every year and have failed.

Advocates are launching a full-court press in favor of allowing the military to fund abortions in cases of rape or incest, but some Capitol Hill insiders say past failures bode ill for the measure’s survival.

An amendment allowing abortion funding Read more

Military Physicians Voice Opposition to Abortion Mandate

According to the Catholic Register, the Christian Medical and Dental Association is publicizing active duty US military opposition to the Burris amendment, which would allow privately funded abortions in military medical facilities.

Like the “don’t ask, don’t tell” that has largely overshadowed it, the proposed change in abortion law is attached to the 2011 Defense Authorization Act.  Both continue to raise moral questions for the military members they will impact.

Among their chief concerns is the fact that the abortion provision, which would roll back a 1996 law that banned the use of military facilities and personnel for elective abortions, is that it lacks conscience protections for physicians who morally object to abortion…

More than 250 active-duty physician members of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations wrote to senators in August stating that the elective-abortion provision would endanger their ability to follow Read more

Controversy Over Military Facility Abortions Continues

The change in military abortion law continues to simmer beneath the surface of the debate over the 2011 Defense Authorization Act.  The changes, which would authorize abortions at US military facilities across the globe, have been largely been overshadowed by the proposed changes to “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

In early August, 200 “active and retired military physicians” reportedly signed a letter asking their Senators to vote against the DAA with the abortion amendment attached.

Combined with DADT and the second engine for the F-35, there are apparently three separate issues over which the bill may fail, if it is goes to a vote in its current form.

US Senator on DADT and the Silent Opposition

The Baptist Press notes a concern that the controversy over the repeal of the policy commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” may be completely avoided until after the November elections, in order to avoid potential backlash on members of Congress from conservative districts.

In a move that would potentially stoke that controversy, one Senator is preparing to offer amendments to the Defense Authorization Act that will address not only the DADT provision, but also that on abortion:

Sen. James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he’s prepared to offer amendments striking the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and pro-abortion language from the bill.

The Senator also supported the growing current of comments indicating members of the military oppose the change but feel unable to express that concern (while those who support it are doing that very thing):

Inhofe said he recently returned from a trip to Iraq in which military personnel expressed to him concern that their voice isn’t being heard. He said personnel told him, “We want to be heard and now we find out that … they’ve already decided how it’s gonna turn out.”

“If Gays Serve Openly, will Chaplains Suffer?”

USA Today has duelling articles on the potential impact of the repeal of the policies commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“No, the mission is to serve all soldiers.”
Arnold Resnicoff, a former Navy Chaplain, responds in the negative. Resnicoff was also a special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force from 2005 to 2006, when the Air Force Academy “Christian scandal” made news.  (Michael Weinstein called Resnicoff an “unmitigated disaster.”)

Resnicoff’s primary argument is that

good chaplains can preach and teach, true to their beliefs — respecting rights while challenging what they believe is wrong. (emphasis original)

He maintains there would be zero impact to Chaplains.

“Yes, religious liberty is in real jeopardy.”
Daniel Blomberg of the Alliance Defense Fund answers in the affirmative.  In contrast to Resnicoff, Blomberg says the change would “likely harm” Chaplains:  Read more

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