This week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes another step forward for an assisted suicide bill in the British Parliament. Also, the attorney general of Missouri is squaring off against the nation's largest abortion provider regarding the provisions of a Constitutional Amendment that narrowly passed in November's election that establishes a "right" to abortion in the state. And, there was another court victory recently regarding the legality of Good News Clubs in public schools in Hawaii.
Assisted suicide bill clears hurdle in British Parliament
A bill that would allow assisted suicide has passed a critical vote in Parliament in the U.K. The BBC reported that:
The bill, introduced as a private members' bill by MP Kim Leadbeater, passed its second reading with a vote of 330 to 275. That doesn’t mean it will become law just yet. Instead, the legislation can now stand up to further interrogation and could undergo amendments.
Those against the bill have argued that it lacks safeguards. Others fear that it can be used as a coercive measure against people experiencing abuse. Proponents, on the other hand, believe it offers “common sense” and a compassionate death for people who are terminally ill.
The website also notes:
The bill will now go to committee stage, where a detailed examination will takes place. MPs can table possible amendments to the legislation during this stage.
It's set to face further scrutiny and will be taken to a vote in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until 2025 at the earliest.
It will become law only if both the House of Commons and House of Lords agree on the final wording in the document.
On the Wednesday prior to the vote, WORLD Magazine stated:
Ecumenical organization Christian Concern on Monday published a statement condemning the bill and calling on lawmakers to vote against the measure. The organization plans to rally on Friday outside Parliament to protest the bill and to discuss the dangers of assisted suicide and euthanasia.
WORLD also related in that late November article: "The Catholic Bishops of England, Wales, and Scotland issued a statement earlier this month calling for better palliative care and more compassion for those who are dying, rather than assisted suicide."
That article described the provisions of the bill:
The measure would allow citizens over the age of 18 who live in England or Wales to end their lives with the help of a medical practitioner. Patients would be required to have the mental capacity to give informed consent, be expected to die within six months, and make two signed and witnessed declarations expressing their wish to die. Two doctors would also be required to evaluate the patient and say he or she is eligible, and a High Court judge would need to rule each time a person requests to end his or her life. The measure does not say which drug would be used to end the patient’s life.
Missouri abortion amendment not final word, AG says
Just over half of Missouri voters passed an amendment that reportedly establishes a "right" to abortion in the state's Constitution. But the Attorney General and some lawmakers don't see it as an absolute guarantee of the availability of abortion in the state.
The Higher Ground Times, in an article released shortly before the scheduled resumption of abortions by Planned Parenthood in the state last week, reports:
The day after the Nov. 5 election, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn two dozen laws described as “medically unnecessary restrictions targeted at abortion providers,” such as requiring that only doctors perform abortions and that they have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
The article referred to a hearing that was held last week, in which Planned Parenthood was asking for a temporary injunction to allow abortions to resume.
The Attorney General, Andrew Bailey responded; the article says that he "acknowledged that Amendment 3 made five state laws barring abortion unenforceable, but said that the remaining statutes 'simply regulate abortion providers but do not prohibit abortion.'”
The article says:
Amendment 3 squeaked by with 51.6% of the vote in the Nov. 5 election, making Missouri the first state with a ban on abortion except in emergencies to approve an abortion-rights amendment following the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Pro-life advocates held special events at five Planned Parenthood clinics last week; Higher Ground Times states:
The Life Coalition held five simultaneous press conferences Tuesday at Planned Parenthood locations in Missouri arguing that the lawsuit would “block safety laws currently protecting women in this state.”
“We call for all of these safety standards to stay intact,” said Brian Westbrook, executive director of Coalition Life, outside the Planned Parenthood affiliate in St. Louis.
“If they are overturned, we call on people of the state of Missouri and our legislature to reenact these safety standards to make sure that women do not go into a place like this and leave in an ambulance headed to the hospital,” he said.
The AG and Planned Parenthood squared off in court last week; Fox 4 in Kansas City said the judge heard "a motion in this case that addresses the defendants standing which will determine the validity of said defendants listed in this case, giving those entities until Saturday, Dec.14, to file a response to this suit."
Hawaii directed to allow Christian programs to operate in schools
Child Evangelism Fellowship has an outstanding program through which students are allowed to attend Christian programs in public schools - it's called Good News Clubs, and there was an issue recently in the state of Hawaii, where certain officials were attempting to block the CEF outreaches from meeting.
Liberty Counsel, the Christian legal advocacy firm representing Child Evangelism Fellowship, announced in late November its client received a permanent statewide injunction, allowing the Good News Clubs — a weekly extracurricular gathering during which 5- to 12-year-old kids learn Bible lessons, recite memory verses, sing praise songs, and play games — to operate in every school district in Hawaii.
The article notes:
In January, Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit against Aloha State education officials after four school districts on the islands blocked the Christian clubs from meeting on public campuses. In the legal complaint, attorneys argued that, by affording school access to secular groups while prohibiting faith-based meetings, district officials were violating the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The CEF received a preliminary injunction over the summer, ordering the Hawaii Department of Education as well as the six elementary schools named in the complaint to allow — just like any other club — the Good News Clubs to meet on school property. Then, on Nov. 19, a broader permanent injunction ensured the clubs have the right to meet on any public school campus in Hawaii.
Liberty Counsel touts at its website that it has never lost a case concerning Good News Clubs. The article at CBN.com states that the issue of the legality of these clubs to meet was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 2001 case, stating:
...in Good News Clubs v. Milford Central School, the justices ruled 6-3 the school violated the First Amendment rights of Good News Club participants by preventing after-school meetings on campus.
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