1. South Carolina sued by private schools who want public money, By Associated Press, April 15, 2021
A group of private schools is suing South Carolina, saying the racist past of a state constitutional amendment prohibiting spending public money on religious or private schools means it should be overturned.
The Liberty Justice Center filed its lawsuit Wednesday in federal court on behalf of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston and a group called the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities made up of 20 mostly religious or historically Black colleges and universities.
The lawsuit came after the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled against Gov. Henry McMaster, who wanted to send federal COVID-19 relief money to private schools.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/04/south-carolina-sued-by-private-schools-who-want-public-money/
___________________________________________________________
2. Members of Congress want a vote to protect abortion survivors – will they get one?, By Catholic News Agency, April 15, 2021, 4:00 AM
Members of the House are once again trying to bring up a vote on legislation protecting infant survivors of abortions.
On Wednesday, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) filed a discharge petition to force a vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act; the bill would require infants surviving abortions to receive the same standard of care as other prematurely-born babies.
Not all states publicize data on abortions. According to one data request from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, reported by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, 143 babies survived abortion attempts in the United States between 2003 and 2014; the CDC added that the number may have been an underestimate.
For 2019, Florida reported that two babies survived abortion attempts; between the years 2013 and 2019, 23 babies in Florida were reported to have been born alive during abortions.
The U.S. bishops’ conference (USCCB) supports the “Born-Alive” legislation.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247281/members-of-congress-want-a-vote-to-protect-abortion-survivors-will-they-get-one
___________________________________________________________
3. French high court clears cardinal of abuse cover-up claims, By Nicolas Vaux-Montagny, Associated Press, April 14, 2021, 11:50 AM
France’s highest court confirmed on Wednesday that the former archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, did not cover up the sexual abuse of minors by a predator priest.
The ruling by the Court of Cassation closes a long, emotional drama that brought angst to the Roman Catholic Church, under scrutiny around the world for hiding abuse by its clergy.
The Court of Cassation agreed with an appeals court that ruled the nine victims who filed suit against Barbarin some five years ago could have directly filed a complaint against the now-defrocked priest, Bernard Preynat.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/french-high-court-clears-cardinal-of-abuse-cover-up-claims/2021/04/14/29f68e50-9d30-11eb-b2f5-7d2f0182750d_story.html
___________________________________________________________
4. Biden begins to undo Trump-era ban on abortion referrals, By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press, April 14, 2021, 3:30 PM
The Biden administration on Wednesday began to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions, a policy that drove Planned Parenthood from the federal family planning program and created new complications for women trying to get birth control.
The proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services follows through on President Joe Biden’s campaign promise to reverse his predecessor’s family planning policy, which was branded a “gag rule” by women’s groups and decried by medical associations as violating the doctor-patient relationship.
But the Biden administration stopped short of immediately suspending the Trump regulation, which went into effect in 2019. While some abortion rights advocates had sought that additional step, administration officials believe that moving carefully and deliberately will increase the odds of the proposed changes being upheld in court.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-begins-to-undo-trumps-ban-on-abortion-referrals/2021/04/14/d20d0bd4-9d1f-11eb-b2f5-7d2f0182750d_story.html
___________________________________________________________
5. HHS moves to reinstate aid to family planning clinics that perform abortions, Biden’s Title X proposal likely to face court challenge, By Sandhya Raman, Roll Call, April 14, 2021, 11:32 AM
The Biden administration released a proposed rule on Wednesday that would reinstate eligibility for federal family planning funds to organizations that provide abortions or abortion referrals, a move that would directly affect groups like Planned Parenthood.
…
Anti-abortion groups expressed concerns that the rule could be used to direct millions of dollars to groups like Planned Parenthood.
“The newly proposed Title X rules fail to recognize that abortion has never been an accepted method of family planning. They would undo the progress that has been made towards disentangling American tax dollars from funding the abortion industry,” said Grazie Pozo Christie, a policy adviser for The Catholic Association.
https://www.rollcall.com/2021/04/14/hhs-moves-to-reinstate-aid-to-family-planning-clinics-that-perform-abortions/
___________________________________________________________
6. Joe Biden Will Overturn Trump’s Pro-Life Rule Defunding Planned Parenthood of $60 Million, By Micaiah Bilger, LifeNews, April 14, 2021, 3:03 PM
On Wednesday, the Biden administration released a rule that will force taxpayers to fund the abortion industry through the Title X family planning program.
…
But others warned that the program will be used to pad the already billion-dollar abortion industry’s bottom line and support killing more unborn babies.
Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, policy advisor for The Catholic Association, told LifeNews that the newly proposed rule would undo important, life-saving progress in America.
“The newly proposed Title X rule fails to recognize that abortion has never been an accepted method of family planning” Christie said. “[It] would result in tens of millions of taxpayer dollars being once again funneled to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood, when polls consistently show that U.S. taxpayers do not want to underwrite this life-ending procedure.”
https://www.lifenews.com/2021/04/14/joe-biden-will-overturn-trumps-pro-life-rule-defunding-planned-parenthood-of-60-million/
___________________________________________________________
7. House Republicans seek to defund UN agency over abortion concerns, By Catholic News Agency, April 14, 2021, 4:00 PM
House Republicans on Tuesday introduced a bill to defund the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), alleging its complicity in forced abortions and sterilizations in China.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced the “No Taxpayer Funding for the United Nations Population Fund Act” on Tuesday to permanently strip the UNFPA of federal funding. The UNFPA partners with China, and Roy alleged that the organization is complicit in China’s population control program where women have reportedly endured forced abortions and sterilizations.
More than three dozen members are co-sponsoring Roy’s legislation.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247280/house-republicans-seek-to-defund-un-agency-over-abortion-concerns
___________________________________________________________TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association. |
