U.S. Supreme Court: Idaho can enforce ban on sex changes for children
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=275186&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
"I'm proud to defend Idaho's law that ensures children are not subjected to these life-altering drugs and procedures," said Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador in reaction to the decision. / CRedit: AP Photo/Kyle Green, FileWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 15, 2024 / 18:45 pm (CNA).The United States Supreme Court awarded Idaho emergency relief that will allow the state to enforce its ban on doctors performing sex-change operations on children and providing them with sex-change drugs.In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the lower appellate court had gone too far when it blocked Idaho from enforcing the law altogether. The decision, however, does not settle the question of whether the law is constitutional. The lower court had blocked the state from enforcing any part of the law in response to a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the rules. The lawsuit is still ongoing, but the order had been preventing the law from going into effe...
"I'm proud to defend Idaho's law that ensures children are not subjected to these life-altering drugs and procedures," said Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador in reaction to the decision. / CRedit: AP Photo/Kyle Green, File
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 15, 2024 / 18:45 pm (CNA).
The United States Supreme Court awarded Idaho emergency relief that will allow the state to enforce its ban on doctors performing sex-change operations on children and providing them with sex-change drugs.
In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the lower appellate court had gone too far when it blocked Idaho from enforcing the law altogether. The decision, however, does not settle the question of whether the law is constitutional.
The lower court had blocked the state from enforcing any part of the law in response to a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the rules. The lawsuit is still ongoing, but the order had been preventing the law from going into effect while both sides litigated the constitutionality of the law in court.
Per the Supreme Court's decision, Idaho can broadly enforce the law and is only blocked from enforcing it against the plaintiffs who are named in the lawsuit until the litigation is settled.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, a Republican, praised the Supreme Court's decision in a statement Monday.
"I've witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences of drugs and procedures used on children with gender dysphoria," Labrador said. "And it's a preventable tragedy."
"The state has a duty to protect and support all children, and that's why I'm proud to defend Idaho's law that ensures children are not subjected to these life-altering drugs and procedures," the attorney general continued. "Those suffering from gender dysphoria deserve love, support, and medical care rooted in biological reality. Denying the basic truth that boys and girls are biologically different hurts our kids. No one has the right to harm children, and I'm grateful that we, as the state, have the power — and duty — to protect them."
The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement that noted the constitutionality of the law has not yet been settled but called the ruling "an awful result for transgender youth and their families across the state."
"Today's ruling allows the state to shut down the care that thousands of families rely on while sowing further confusion and disruption," the statement read. "Nonetheless, today's result only leaves us all the more determined to defeat this law in the courts entirely, making Idaho a safer state to raise every family."
Nearly half of the states in the country have enacted restrictions on doctor's performing sex-change operations on children or providing children with drugs to facilitate a gender transition.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275512&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
null / Credit: ShutterstockCNA Newsroom, Apr 30, 2024 / 17:45 pm (CNA).Florida's bishops are welcoming a new law that allows public schools in the state to have volunteer chaplains.The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, which represents bishops in the state's seven dioceses on public policy matters, did not take a position on the bill while legislators debated it earlier this year."However, we recognize the good that chaplains can do in schools by helping students to address their spiritual and emotional needs. We are pleased that parents will determine the services their children will receive in districts that choose to establish chaplaincy programs," said Michelle Taylor, associate director of communications for the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an email message to CNA on Tuesday.The measure, which takes effect July 1, requires public schools and charter schools that establish such a program to publish on their websites a list of volunteer school chaplains a...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275511&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Jimmy Lai at a Hong Kong protest / Courtesy of the Acton InstituteCNA Staff, Apr 30, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).An unnamed Hong Kong government spokesperson criticized a bill proposed by two U.S. congressmen that would rename the address of the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office in Washington, D.C. "Jimmy Lai Way," honoring a 75-year-old democracy advocate who has been incarcerated in Hong Kong since 2020.The spokesperson called on the U.S. to "stop maliciously interfering" in Hong Kong affairs, according to a Tuesday report by the Hong Kong Free Press.Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) proposed the bill last week. Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy businessman and convert to Catholicism, was arrested on several charges under the controversial national security law, which was passed by China's communist-controlled government in 2020. His newspaper, Apple Daily, published pro-democracy content and was often critical of the Chinese Communist Party. Rep. Chris Smi...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275509&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Apr 30, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).On the occasion of its first general convention taking place in Rome this week, Pope Francis has addressed a message to the Regnum Christi Federation. In his message, the Holy Father encouraged the organization's membership to discern "how to make present in our days the mystery of Christ," in keeping with the particular vocation of each individual.The convention, the first to be held since the approval of the new statutes in 2019, is taking place after a long process of listening and purification that came in the wake of multiple abuses committed by various members, including the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, the late Mexican priest Father Marcial Maciel.In the letter, sent to Father John Lane Connor, LC, president of the federation's general board of directors, the Holy Father asks "the ...