1. Tennessee Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate 48-Hour Waiting Period for Abortions, State asks justices to enforce restriction while it appeals lower court order that found it unconstitutional, By Jess Bravin, The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2021, Pg. A2
The state of Tennessee asked the Supreme Court Monday to reinstate a 48-hour waiting period imposed on women seeking abortions, after lower courts found it unconstitutional.
Tennessee asked the high court to reimpose the restriction while it appeals a 136-page opinion from a federal judge in Nashville, who found that the restriction imposed an undue burden on women’s right to end pregnancy, the standard the Supreme Court applies under a 1992 precedent known as Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
“Although fourteen other States have similar waiting-period laws that generally require two trips to an abortion provider, Tennessee is the only State in the Nation that cannot enforce its law because of a federal judicial decree,” Tennessee said in its filing.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tennessee-asks-supreme-court-to-reinstate-48-hour-waiting-period-for-abortions-11617670083
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2. Cardinal Parolin says church divisions stem from misunderstanding ‘reform’, By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, April 5, 2021
Three days after the preacher of the papal household called on Catholics to repent for the ways they are dividing the church, the Vatican secretary of state said the divisions are real and they are harmful.
“Anyone who sees the situation of the church today has to worry about these things because they are there,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state, told Spain’s church-owned COPE radio network April 5. “It does a lot of damage to the church.”
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Parolin told COPE he believes part of the problem “stems from the fact that the pope puts a lot of emphasis on the reform of the church,” but too many people do not understand the difference between teachings and practices that must remain unchanged and those that can and must be updated and renewed.
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“Everything that is being done is being done to ensure a normal life for the church in China,” he said, and part of a normal life for any Catholic is communion with the pope, which the agreement seeks to ensure by having the bishops recognized both by the Vatican and by China’s communist government.
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/04/cardinal-parolin-says-church-divisions-stem-from-misunderstanding-reform/
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3. Arkansas governor vetoes transgender youth treatment ban, By Andrew Demillo, Associated Press, April 5, 2021, 8:05 AM
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday vetoed legislation that would have made his state the first to ban gender confirming treatments or surgery for transgender youth, though lawmakers could enact the restriction over his objections.
The Republican governor rejected legislation that would have prohibited doctors from providing gender confirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18 years old, or from referring them to other providers for the treatment.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/arkansas-governor-vetoes-transgender-youth-treatment-ban/2021/04/05/c3ea657a-966b-11eb-8f0a-3384cf4fb399_story.html
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4. New Utah law requires dads to pay prenatal child support, By Sophia Eppolito, Associated Press, April 5, 2021, 5:57 PM
Biological fathers in Utah will be legally required to pay half of a woman’s out-of-pocket pregnancy costs under a new law unique to the state that critics say doesn’t do enough to adequately address maternal health care needs.
The bill’s sponsor has presented the measure as an effort to decrease the burden of pregnancy on women and increase responsibility for men who have children. But some critics argue the new legislation won’t help women who are most vulnerable and could make abusive situations even more dangerous for pregnant women.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/utah-dads-to-be-required-to-pay-half-of-pregnancy-costs/2021/04/05/8015eef4-960d-11eb-8f0a-3384cf4fb399_story.html
___________________________________________________________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. |
