State/Church Bulletin

House "Protects" Pledge

The U.S. House, by a 260-167 vote largely on party lines, passed a July 19 bill to "protect" the Pledge of Allegiance from the purview of federal judges, who might rule over the constitutionality of the words "under God." The bill, which has not passed the Senate, would permit state courts to consider it.

"We are making an all-out assault on the Constitution of the United States, which, thank God, will fail," said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in opposing the bill. Congress does not have the authority to attack an independent judiciary--unless it actually amends the Constitution. It is part of "gotcha issue" legislation introduced with the "American Values Agenda," championed by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. That package includes legislation to adopt a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, which failed in the Senate on Aug. 18.

The pledge bill responded to the 2002 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Michael Newdow's challenge of the insertion in 1954 of "under God" into the pledge. The ruling was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2004 on the issue of standing. Newdow's new challenge of the religious corruption of the pledge is back before the 9th Circuit with new plaintiffs.

Bush Vetoes Stem Cell Expansion

Pres. Bush used his first presidential veto on July 19 to reject loosening a 5-year policy limiting federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, which has crippled U.S. research in the global race to cure diseases.

"This bill," Bush said, "would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it."

Many Republicans broke party ranks to pass the bill, but did not muster the votes to override the veto. Promoters of the ban on expansion included Roman Catholic Sens. Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback.

On June 30, senior Vatican official Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo said scientists who use human embryos (zygotes) in stem cell research should be excommunicated.

House Votes to Buy San Diego Cross

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 349 to 74 in early July to acquire a 29-foot cross on public property in San Diego, to "save" it from removal, following a 17-year court battle. A federal judge recently ordered removal by Aug. 1. The case was brought by Philip Paulson, who will receive an "Atheist in Foxholes" Award at the October FFRF convention (see back page).

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., argued on the floor that federal ownership would make the existing lawsuit moot.

Reed Loses Race

Former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed, who, along with lobbyist Jack Abramoff is being sued by an Indian tribe for fraudulent business dealings, lost the Republican primary for lieutenant governor in July. Ambitious Reed was widely believed to have presidential aspirations. Despite the scandal, Rudy Giuliani made a campaign appearance for him.

The civil lawsuit, filed in July by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, accuses Abramoff, Reed and three others of running a fake religious-themed moral crusade in 2001 to defeat a Texas bill to legalize gambling in Indian casinos. Their motive, the suit contends, was to promote competing gambling interests of the Louisiana tribe that had hired them.

Feds Fund Fraudulent Pregnancy Centers

A minority Congressional report on July 17 accuses federally-funded "pregnancy resource centers" of falsely telling women abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, infertility and psychological trauma. Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., who requested the investigation, said: "It's wrong to pour millions of federal dollars into organizations that are providing false health information to vulnerable teenagers."

Of 23 federally funded centers contacted by staff investigators, 20 gave false or misleading information on abortion risks. Such centers, often affiliated with antiabortion religious groups, have received about $30 million in federal abstinence funding money since 2001. Thanks to government support, there are now about 2,000 such centers in North America.

Court Scraps Church Scheme

The New Jersey Supreme Court in July scrapped a plan to encourage criminals to surrender at a Baptist church in Camden. The federal government had given a grant, replicating a Cleveland program, for Fugitive Safe Surrender. The program is expanding to eight cities this fall and spring with $600,000 in grants available.

Christian Schools Lag in Study

An Education Department report issued on July 14 found that public school students not only performed as well or better than private school students, but that students at conservative Christian schools lagged significantly in 8th-grade math results.

The study compared 4th and 8th grade reading and math scores from 2003 in nearly 7,000 public schools and 530 private schools. Although private school scores typically are higher, when students of like racial, economic and social backgrounds were compared, the advantage disappeared in all areas, except 8th-grade reading.

Abortion Developments

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on June 19 to review a 9th Circuit ruling invalidating the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act for creating an undue burden on women. Earlier, the high court accepted an appeal from the 8th Circuit, which also ruled against the law since it lacks an exception for the health of the pregnant woman.

Urging the court to review the case was Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice, the Southern Baptists Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In June, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, signed into law legislation to outlaw most abortions if the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade and turns the right over to state control.

In July, a doctor, his assistant, and three patients were charged with abortion crimes in Catholic Portugal, where abortion remains illegal.

Florida Exempts Bible Parks

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in late June signed into law a bill granting the same tax-exempt status to bible parks as museums. The law propitiates Holy Land Experience, a live-action biblical "museum" in Orlando charging $30 admission, which has fought paying nearly $1 million in back taxes since 2001. The bible park was represented by the Liberty Counsel.

Bigotry Unites Religionists

Jerusalem's international gay pride parade in August, a seven-day World Pride festival expected to attract 20,000 people, has united Christians, Jews and Muslim clerics in condemning it. Ultra-Orthodox flyers offered 20,000 shekels ($4,400) to anyone killing a marcher. Sheik Taissir Tamimi called on Palestinians to prevent "impure" homosexuals from entering Jerusalem, while three Christian Zionist groups issued a joint statement condemning the march.