Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Law Professors Urge Connecticut Legislature to Respect Religious Freedom

Legal scholars Tom Berg, Carl Esbeck, Rick Garnett, and Robin Fretwell Wilson recently urged the Connecticut legislature to protect religious freedom in the course of codifying the state supreme court's same-sex marriage decision. See their letter here.

Dale Carpenter reacted to their letter, and their response is here.

Monday, April 13, 2009

"Gay Rights" v. Religious Liberty

Commentary by Nathan Diament, Keith Pavlischek, and the Washington Post.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

National Press Club Event on Conscience Regulations TODAY

Today at 10:00 AM at the National Press Club, medical professionals who have experienced discrimination as a result of their exercise of their conscience will talk about their stories and urge the Administration to protect their rights and not rescind the HHS regulations protecting rights of conscience.

Freedom2Care, a coalition of organizations (including CLS) that support conscience rights in the medical profession, will also announce the results of 2 national polls gauging popular support for conscience rights and the existing HHS conscience protection regulations that the Obama Administration has proposed to rescind.

I will be in attendance and available to answer any questions about the lawsuits filed in Connecticut challenging the HHS regulations.

If you have not yet commented to HHS in support of the existing HHS regulations and in opposition to the proposed rescission of these protections you can do so through the Freedom2Care website. The deadline is midnight TOMORROW, April 9.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Illinois Court Enjoins Blagojevich Anti-Conscience Rule

A judge in Illinois has temporarily enjoined state officials from punishing pharmacists who conscientiously object to filling prescriptions for "Plan B," which sometimes acts as an abortifacient.

Despite the existence of the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich promulgated a rule in 2005 forcing pharmacists to violate their consciences by filling Plan B prescriptions.

Pro-life pharmacists challenged the rule in court, and the trial court initially held that the matter was not ripe for adjudication. The Illinois Supreme Court ended up reviewing that ruling, and CLS's Center for Law & Religious Freedom filed a friend of the court brief urging the court to reverse (which it did).