The 3 - June 3, 2018

In this most current edition of The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is news out of California, where an appeals court issued a ruling that will apparently keep the state's assisted suicide law from going into effect.  Also, there's another high school graduation ceremony controversy, this time out of Illinois, where a graduate was told shortly before making a valedictory speech that his content was too religious.  Plus, Irish voters have turned back a constitutional amendment that was in effect, protecting the right to life of unborn babies.

3 - Appeals court rules against CA assisted suicide law 

In a special session of California's legislature convened in 2016 to address health care issues, a bill allowing assisted suicide in the state was passed.  In mid-May a state judge ruled that the new bill, called the End of Life Option Act, was not part of the authorized agenda for the session, so it was unconstitutional.

According to the Life Legal Defense Foundation website:

...Judge Daniel Ottolia held that the passage of the Act violated Section IV of the California Constitution and gave Attorney General Xavier Becerra five days to file a motion with a higher court to have his ruling stayed pending appeal.

On Wednesday, the Fourth District Court of Appeal denied the Attorney General’s motion for a stay, effectively striking down the “End of Life Option Act.”

The site stated:

Judge Ottolia found that the End of Life Option Act “does not fall within the scope of access to healthcare services” and “is not a matter of healthcare funding.” Moreover, the court ruled that, “The legislation decriminalizing assisted suicide cannot be deemed a matter incidental to the purpose of the emergency session.”

Life Legal Executive Director Alexandra Snyder is quoted as saying, “Life Legal has always maintained that the End of Life Act violates the Constitution and California’s long-standing public policy protecting its citizens from being ‘helped’ to commit suicide,” adding, “We are pleased that the court’s ruling will restore the protection that the Act removed from the ill and vulnerable.”
2 - Graduation speech nixed shortly before scheduled to be delivered due to religious content

Imagine that your son or daughter was the valedictorian, or in the case of an Illinois student, the co-valedictorian of the senior class.  Not only had the graduate worked heard to maintain a high GPA, but he or she had devoted time in preparation for the speech.  But, because the school district found fault with the message's religious content, the student was told either remove the content or not give the speech.  What an unfair position for the student, and as First Liberty Institute contends, unconstitutional action by the school district.

Todd Starnes reported on the case of Sam Blackledge, who, according to Starnes, "...was told just ten minutes before graduation that he would not be permitted to deliver his valedictory address because it was too religious."

First Liberty Institute attorney Jeremy Dys told Starnes, “School officials should remember that students retain their constitutional rights to freedom of expression from the schoolhouse gates, all the way through the graduation ceremony...” The Christian legal advocacy organization is representing Blackledge, who was a student a West Prairie High School in Illinois, according to First Liberty's website.

1 - Ireland repeals pro-life amendment

Residents of the nation of Ireland went to the polls recently to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which WORLD Magazine states "granted unborn babies the same legal rights as their mothers." The magazine's website had reported that, "Two exit polls taken Friday indicate about 70 percent of voters opted to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the country’s constitution..."

The WORLD report says:

John McGuirk, a spokesman for Save the 8th, called the result a “tragedy of historic proportions.” The government, which supported the repeal effort, plans to allow abortion for babies up to 12 weeks gestation.

Pro-life organization, the Susan B. Anthony List, released a statement, which said, in part:

“The result of today’s referendum is a profound tragedy for the Irish people and the entire world,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “While other Western nations including the United States acquiesced to the extreme abortion lobby, Ireland has been a shining beacon of hope for its strong defense of unborn children and their mothers. Irish pro-life advocates have correctly warned that repealing legal protections for the unborn opens the door to abortion on demand, just as Roe v. Wade did in the United States, which has some of the world’s most permissive abortion laws. We are one of only seven nations that allow abortion for any reason up to the moment of birth. We had dearly hoped the children of Ireland would be spared a similar fate.