The 3 - December 23, 2018

This week's edition of The 3 includes an announcement by a major coffee restaurant chain that it will attempt to block porn from being accessible at its locations beginning next year.  Also, a New York adoption agency is fighting back in court after being threatened by a state agency for its policy on not allowing gay couples to adopt children.  And, even though Ohio's governor has vetoed a bill banning abortion once an unborn baby's heartbeat is detected, it is the latest state to have a law banning "dismemberment" abortions; Alabama is appealing an appeals court ruling striking down its ban.

3 - Starbucks announces it will filter porn on wi-fi

It may be more difficult to access pornography at Starbucks stores beginning next year, but an advocacy group has accused the coffee chain of breaking an earlier promise, according to a story on the Business Insider website, which reports that:

Next year, the coffee giant plans to introduce a new tool meant to prevent customers from viewing pornography or other explicit content in stores. While watching pornography is banned at Starbucks locations, the chain does not have content blockers on its Wi-Fi service.

The anti-pornography group, Enough is Enough, has been exerting pressure on Starbucks, and the article, published in late November, points out that:

A petition from Enough Is Enough calling for Starbucks to filter pornography was signed by more than 26,000 people as of Wednesday. Earlier this week, Enough Is Enough CEO Donna Rice Hughes attacked Starbucks for not following through on a commitment it made in 2016 to block explicit websites.

2 - New York attempts to force agency to allow gay adoption

There has been a concerted effort to prevent adoption agencies from denying gay couples the opportunity to adopt children.  This especially targets faith-based agencies, who would object to such placements due to their deeply-held religious beliefs against the practice of homosexuality and in favor of traditional marriage.

Another such occurrence took place in New York state recently.  The Christian Post website reports that:

The state of New York has given a Syracuse-based Christian adoption agency an ultimatum to either change their adoption policy forbidding placement with same-sex couples or no longer be able to provide adoption services, a new lawsuit details.

New Hope Family Services has filed a federal lawsuit against the acting commissioner of the state’s Office of Children and Family Services on the ground that the nonprofit could be forced to phase out its adoption program if it doesn’t change its policy prioritizing placement in homes with both a mother and a father.

Alliance Defending Freedom is representing the agency, and the director of the ADF Center for Christian Ministries, is quoted as saying: “There’s no reason for the state to single out and punish those who hold the belief that the best home for a child includes a father and a mother,” adding, “Children in Syracuse, throughout the state, and across the country will suffer if this hostility toward faith-based adoption providers becomes the status quo.”

1 - Ohio governor vetoes heartbeat bill, signs ban on dismemberment abortions, Alabama AG attempts to overturn appeals court ruing 

Ohio Governor John Kasich, for the second time during his administration, has vetoed a bill passed by the Legislature which would ban abortion on unborn children once a heartbeat is detected; this is thought to be at six or seven weeks.  However, he did sign a ban on so-called "dismemberment" abortions, according to the website, Cleveland.com.

The website states:

Under the bill, physicians could be charged with a fourth-degree felony for performing a D&E, called a "dismemberment abortion" in the bill, and spend up to 18 months in prison. The bill makes an exception only in cases where the would-be mother’s life is in jeopardy or there’s a serious risk of permanent physical impairment.

However, Kasich vetoed the heartbeat bill, and, according to the story, "In his veto message of HB258, Kasich noted his support of past abortion restrictions but asserted that the heartbeat bill would likely be struck down by the courts as unconstitutional."  He warned the state would have to expend funds to defend the law.  The veto could be overridden, and there seem to be enough votes in the House to do that, based on the final vote for the bill; however, the passage in the Senate was two votes short of a what it would take to override.

Meanwhile, Alabama has passed a bill banning dismemberment abortions, yet it was struck down by a Federal district judge, then by a panel of the 11th Circuit. Yellowhammer News reports that Attorney General Steve Marshall has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The website says:

“The constitutionality of a state ban on dismemberment abortion is an important question of national significance,” Marshall wrote in the brief to the Supreme Court. “At least nine states have enacted laws to ban dismemberment abortion. Litigation over some of these similar abortion laws is pending in the Fifth Circuit, the Eighth Circuit and multiple state courts.”

Marshall declared the lower courts were "wrong," and stated, "Federal law constitutionally prohibits partial-birth abortions. And there is no ‘meaningful difference’ between death-by-dismemberment abortion in the womb and partial-birth abortion outside it..."