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  • Family and Religion

    Restore the family as the primary institution of civil society, and reclaim the fullness of religious liberty in America’s civic life.

    The Continued Same-Sex Marriage Assault on the First Amendment

    The Washington Post reported last Friday: Faith organizations and individuals who view homosexuality as sinful and refuse to provide services to gay people are losing a growing number of legal battles that they say are costing them their religious freedom. The lawsuits have resulted from states and communities that have … More

    Morning Bell: Not Just a Stereotype

    This past Friday the Iowa Supreme Court rewrote the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. Justifying their rejection of the argument that “the optimal environment for children is to be raised within a marriage of both a father and a mother,” Justice Mark Cady wrote: “The research … suggests … More

    From Marriage to a Mere Contract

    This morning the Iowa Supreme Court became the fourth state supreme court to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. Justifying his decision Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady invoked his court’s 1839 decision which struck down slavery laws. Heritage’s Matthew Spalding addressed the specious argument back in 2003: The argument … More

    Removing Conscience Rights: A Dangerous Prescription in Health Care

    America is facing a shortage of qualified health care professionals, including doctors and nurses. The Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) has identified over 6,000 Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas across the country, with 64 million Americans living in them. According to HRSA, it would take over 16,000 new … More

    Morning Bell: Protecting Freedom for Health Care Providers

    Religious institutions have long been an essential part of health care delivery in our nation. Long before government programs began monopolizing the health care industry, religious institutions were providing care to the poor and most vulnerable. Today, Catholic health care facilities alone make up a third of the nation’s hospitals. … More

    Obama Administration: Rolling Back Conscience Protections for Doctors, Nurses

    On March 9, 2009, the Obama Administration proposed to rescind a Bush Administration regulation protecting the conscience rights of health care professionals such as doctors, nurses, and medical students. This regulation implemented longstanding federal conscience protection laws, some of which have been on the books since the 1970s. These laws … More

    Out of Wedlock Birthrate Out of Control

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Wednesday on preliminary data for 2007 birth rates in the United States. Among those statistics, a new historic high — 39.7 percent of babies born in America are to unmarried women. Even worse, 71.6 percent of out-of-wedlock births are to … More

    Restoring Welfare Reform

    Congressmen Tom Price (R-GA) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) should be commended for introducing a bill this week that will eliminate a little noted provision passed in the stimulus bill which severely undermines the success of the historic 1996 welfare reform law. H.R. 1277, the Welfare Reform Restoration Act, repeals Section … More

    Will Obama Defend DOMA?

    The Boston Globe reports: Fifteen gay and lesbian residents from Massachusetts who wed after this state legalized same-sex marriages plan to file a discrimination suit today, challenging a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Six same-sex couples and three men whose husbands … More

    Voices of School Choice: Save Their Scholarships

    Blocking Children’s Path to a Better Future Omnibus Spending Bill Eliminates Opportunity: As it stands now, the House omnibus bill will eliminate the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP). Since the program’s inception in 2004, the DCOSP has given thousands of low-income students in the District of Columbia access to a … More