New York moves to protect transgender surgeries, abortion
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&view=post&articleid=282199&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
New York Attorney General Letitia James addresses a campaign rally at Barnard College in New York City on Nov. 3, 2022. / Credit: Ben Von Klemperer/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Feb 4, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).Lawmakers and officials in New York state are implementing moving to protect transgender surgeries and abortion doctors following a new Trump administration directive and state-level pro-life efforts.State orders hospitals to continue transgender proceduresState Attorney General Letitia James told New York hospitals they were required under state law to continue performing transgender procedures in spite of a recent directive from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order restricting transgender surgeries and drugs for youth, directing that every federal agency that offers "research or educational grants" to medical institutions must ensure those institutions are not administrating transgender drugs to, or performing transgender proce...
New York Attorney General Letitia James addresses a campaign rally at Barnard College in New York City on Nov. 3, 2022. / Credit: Ben Von Klemperer/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Feb 4, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).
Lawmakers and officials in New York state are implementing moving to protect transgender surgeries and abortion doctors following a new Trump administration directive and state-level pro-life efforts.
State orders hospitals to continue transgender procedures
State Attorney General Letitia James told New York hospitals they were required under state law to continue performing transgender procedures in spite of a recent directive from the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order restricting transgender surgeries and drugs for youth, directing that every federal agency that offers "research or educational grants" to medical institutions must ensure those institutions are not administrating transgender drugs to, or performing transgender procedures on, minors.
In a letter to hospitals on Monday, James acknowledged that order but said hospitals in the state are under "obligations to comply with New York state laws," including laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of "gender identity."
"Electing to refuse services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, is discrimination under New York law," James wrote.
Trump's executive order defines "children" as "individuals under 19 years of age."
Protection for doctors prescribing abortion pills
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also announced on Monday that she had signed legislation allowing doctors who prescribe abortion pills to conceal their names on the prescriptions in question.
The law will allow doctors to opt to "print the name of their practice" on prescription labels rather than their personal names.
The measure gives "additional protections for doctors prescribing medications used to perform abortions to patients" in states where it may be illegal to dispense the deadly prescriptions. Multiple states have restricted abortion drugs in the wake of Roe v. Wade's repeal in 2022.
The move comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in December 2024 against an abortionist in New York, alleging she illegally provided abortion drugs to a woman in Texas.
Paxton's suit alleged that Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter gave abortion drugs to a woman across state lines even though not licensed to practice medicine in Texas and the state prohibits the delivery of abortion drugs through the mail. Carpenter has since been indicted in Louisiana on similar charges.
Hochul in signing the bill into law said it would help make New York "a safe haven" for abortion doctors and women seeking abortions.
State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, meanwhile, said the measure would help "secure New York's status as a sanctuary" for women seeking to abort their unborn children.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&url=10&view=post&articleid=282420&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
The co-founders of Eden Invitation, Shannon Ochoa (left) and Anna Carter (right). / Credit: Eden InvitationWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 14, 2025 / 19:00 pm (CNA).A Catholic ministry called Eden Invitation is working to "create space to receive the whole person" for people with LGBTQ+ experiences. Founders Anna Carter and Shannon Ochoa said they started the organization to form a community of Christians who want to stay close to God and their faith but experience discord in their desires and attractions.Carter, the ministry's president, explained in a Valentine's Day "EWTN News Nightly" interview that these experiences don't need to be "a cause for shame" but rather can be "an invitation to surrender more deeply to Jesus in your life.""I recognized in high school that I experienced attraction to other women. But I also was really into youth group and had these beautiful experiences of prayer and community, and I knew that the Church was home." Carter said she realized, "O...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&url=10&view=post&articleid=282416&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
U.S. Border czar Tom Homan defends the morality of the Trump administration's enforcement policies on "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo" on Feb. 13, 2025. / Credit: "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo"/ScreenshotCNA Staff, Feb 14, 2025 / 09:15 am (CNA).Addressing concerns raised by Pope Francis about the U.S. government's initiation of a mass deportation program, U.S. border czar Tom Homan defended the morality of the Trump administration's enforcement policies, saying the administration's approach is saving lives and preventing human trafficking."What the pope needs to understand is that President Trump and I have been very clear that our prioritization right now are public safety threats and national security threats," Homan said in a Feb. 13 interview on EWTN's "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo." When asked about whether the administration is respecting the dignity of deportees, Homan, a lifelong Catholic, responded: "We absolutely are." Strong border enforceme...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&url=10&view=post&articleid=282415&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis greets visitors at his general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Feb 14, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday to receive medical care for bronchitis after struggling with the illness for over a week.The Vatican said the pontiff's schedule was cleared through at least the morning of Feb. 17 while he undergoes "diagnostic tests" and treatment.The respiratory infection is the latest health challenge for the 88-year-old pope, who has been struggling with breathlessness, which has prevented him on several recent occasions from reading the entirety of his speech or homily.The pope was also treated for a contusion on his right forearm after falling at his residence last month and suffered a facial injury and cold during the Christmas season.Francis spent much of the past decade as pope in relatively good health but has dealt with several painful medical conditions over th...
