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Today’s Contents:

A. Featured Articles

1. Judge rules civil union invalid out-of-state

2. Social Scientist: Biblical Marriage Matters, Freedom Depends on the Family

3. Several states weigh ban on gay adoptions

4. Ireland Couple Joins Battle over Ownership of Frozen Embryos

5. UK Reports on US Supreme Court to rule on abortion

6. New Florida town would restrict abortion

B. Coming Events:

• World Congress of Families IV - Warsaw, Poland

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FEATURED ARTICLES

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1. Judge rules civil union invalid out-of-state

March 14, 2006

WorldNetDaily.com

In a child custody case involving two lesbians, a judge ruled a Vermont civil union is not valid in the state of Virginia.

Virginia Circuit Court Judge John R. Prosser said his state's laws do not permit civil unions or same-sex marriage.

The case centers on a dispute between Lisa Miller and her former partner Janet Jenkins over Miller's biological child.

Miller is represented by Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based public-interest legal group.

Responding to the ruling, Mathew D. Staver, Liberty Counsel's president and general counsel, said "unless the federal Constitution is amended to protect traditional marriage, same-sex marriage advocates will continue using the courts to force their agenda on the rest of the country."

"The definition of marriage is not for judges to decide," he said. "It must be decided by the people. It must be uniform. When the people speak on this issue, they overwhelmingly choose marriage as one man and one woman."

To read entire article:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49245

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2. Social Scientist: Biblical Marriage Matters, Freedom Depends on the Family

By Mary Rettig

March 9, 2006

(AgapePress) - A sociologist and writer says America cannot afford to say no to traditional marriage. Brad Wilcox, co-author of The Meaning of Marriage: Family, State, Market, and Morals (Spence Publishing, 2006), believes how U.S. society defines marriage can affect everything from the nation's economy to its citizens' individual rights.

Wilcox, a sociologist from the University of Virginia, is encouraged to note that 19 U.S. states have adopted pro-traditional marriage amendments to their state constitutions, and nine more states will vote on similar issues this November. He says marriage relates to every aspect of a nation's life, whether social, economic, or political.

"We know that the success of marriage has a lot to do with how children turn out and has to do with things like criminal activity, teenage pregnancy and child poverty," Wilcox observes, "so if we're concerned about things like crime rates, teenage girls getting pregnant, and kids living in poverty, then we should be concerned about the health and the strength of marriage."

The sociology expert says strong families directly correspond to a strong economy, low crime, and low government interference. On the other hand, he asserts, weak families result in a weak economy, high crime, and other social problems that result in a welfare state and undermine a Republic form of government. Hence, failing to keep American families strong will be detrimental in several ways, he insists.

To read entire article:

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/92006c.asp

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3. Several states weigh ban on gay adoptions

By Amanda Paulson

The Christian Science Monitor

March 15, 2006

CHICAGO – In the two decades since it's been a licensed state adoption agency, Catholic Charities of Boston has placed a tiny number of children with gay parents: 13 of 720 adoptions. But when those adoptions became public knowledge, the archdiocese's bishops - following a Vatican directive - announced they had to stop.

The result was a showdown with lawmakers as the bishops tried to get an exemption from the state's nondiscrimination clause and, ultimately, decided to exit the adoption business entirely.

Catholic Charities' withdrawal is the most recent and the most dramatic development on a topic that some see as the next wedge issue in the culture wars. But it may prove less divisive than gay marriage, many observers say.

In the wake of successful constitutional amendments or laws banning gay marriage, several states are considering laws targeting gay adoption. Catholic Charities in San Francisco is under similar pressure to halt gay adoptions. Observers are watching to see if other faith-based organizations follow suit.

"This is certainly a symptom of a divide within the [Catholic] church today, that runs right through the issue of homosexuality," says Timothy Muldoon, director of the nonpartisan Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College. The bishops and the Vatican "are concerned with human rights, but they're also fundamentally concerned with particularly creating a culture that supports the family."

The divide is hardly unique to the Catholic church, and conservatives, gay rights groups, and child-welfare organizations are eyeing the growing momentum behind efforts to ban or limit same-sex adoptions.

"Now that we've defined what family is, then the next step should be to place children in that definition," says Greg Quinlan of the conservative Pro-Family Network.

Currently, Florida, Mississippi, and Utah have laws that ban gay adoption explicitly, although a few other states - including Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, and New Hampshire - have de facto policies or laws restricting gays from adopting or becoming foster parents.

Seven states introduced bills last year that would prevent gays or lesbians from adopting, and a few states - Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee, among others - have indicated a willingness to introduce constitutional amendments in future years. A bill in Arizona would force the state to give priority to married couples adopting. Ohio is considering a bill that would ban gays from being either adoptive or foster parents.

To read entire article:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0315/p02s02-ussc.html

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4. Ireland Couple Joins Battle over Ownership of Frozen Embryos

LifeSiteNews.com

By Gudrun Schultz

March 14, 2006

DUBLIN, Ireland - An estranged couple have taken their battle for control of three frozen babies to Ireland’s High Court.

The embryos were conceived during IVF treatments in 2001. The couple had a baby after those treatments, and three surplus embryos were stored for future use, with both parents signing a joint-consent form.

She wants to have the embryos thawed and implanted, so she can have more children. Her ex-husband, who is understood to be in a new relationship, will not give his consent.

The Sims clinic in Rathgar, where they are stored, cannot release the embryos to one or the other of the parents. Both must give consent.

In a similar case last week, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Natalie Evans from Britain, who was fighting a legal battle to use her frozen embryos without the permission of her ex-partner Howard Johnston. The EU court ruled that Ms. Evans’ right to a family life did not override Mr. Johnston’s right to refuse consent.

Ireland’s constitution guarantees the right to life of the unborn child. That factor makes the Irish case unique, legal experts told the Times. An Irish court may soon have to rule on whether or not an embryo is guaranteed the same right to life as an unborn child. The case is expected to reach the Supreme Court eventually.

To read entire article:

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06031401.html

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5. UK Reports on US Supreme Court to rule on abortion

BBC NEWS

The US Supreme Court says it will rule on whether to uphold the first federal ban on an abortion procedure.

It will be the first time an abortion case has come before the court since President George W Bush appointed a new conservative judge to the bench.

The case concerns a law passed in 2003 that banned a form of late abortion.

The law was never enacted because an appeals court said it made no exception to protect a pregnant mother's health.

The Bush administration had appealed to the Supreme Court to consider urgently whether the law - which outlaws so-called partial birth abortions - should be upheld.

Mr Bush has called the procedure an "abhorrent practice".

Generally carried out in the second or third trimester, it involves the foetus being forced into the birth canal, before the brain is removed, the skull crushed and the remains removed from the woman's body.

Doctors who use the method say it is the safest available when the mother's health is threatened by conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure or cancer.

A number of states have already introduced their own bans on the partial-birth procedure, but the federal legislation would outlaw it across the US.

To read entire article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4737082.stm

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6. New Florida town would restrict abortion

CNN

March 2, 2006

NAPLES, Florida (AP) -- If Domino's Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan has his way, a new town being built in Florida will be governed according to strict Roman Catholic principles, with no place to get an abortion, pornography or birth control.

The pizza magnate is bankrolling the project with at least $250 million and calls it "God's will."

Civil libertarians say the plan is unconstitutional and are threatening to sue.

The town of Ave Maria is being constructed around Ave Maria University, the first Catholic university to be built in the United States in about 40 years. Both are set to open next year about 25 miles east of Naples in southwestern Florida.

The town and the university, developed in partnership with the Barron Collier Co., an agricultural and real estate business, will be set on 5,000 acres with a European-inspired town center, a massive church and what planners call the largest crucifix in the nation, at nearly 65 feet tall. Monaghan envisions 11,000 homes and 20,000 residents.

To read entire article:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/02/catholic.town.ap/

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COMING EVENTS

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WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES IV

Warsaw, Poland - 2007

Meeting in Rockford, Illinois (October 23-25), a planning committee of the World Congress of Families chose Warsaw, Poland as the site of the 4th World Congress. The Warsaw Congress will be held in May, 2007.

The Polish Federation of Pro-Life Movements, an organization with over 130 affiliates throughout the nation, will serve as the local host for WCF IV.

For more information: http://www.profam.org/press/thc.pr.051027.htm

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Note: The Featured Articles excerpts are highlights of current events and

do not necessarily represent the views of the World Family Policy Center

or Brigham Young University.

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Newsletter created and distributed by:

World Family Policy Center

J. Reuben Clark Law School

Brigham Young University

Acting Director: A. Scott Loveless

Newsletter Editors: Joy S. Lundberg and Gary B. Lundberg

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