Free Republic

Seldom in American history has the Supreme Court unanimously rejected positions advocated by presidents' administrations. But in this respect at least, President Obama has produced the fundamental transformation he promised in his 2008 campaign. Over the last three years, the Court has rejected Obama administration positions repeatedly in unanimous 9-0 decisions. A review of these cases reveals much about the governing philosophy of the Obama administration. One thing is abundantly clear, namely that this administration has a crabbed view of the First Amendment right of free exercise of religion. That is apparent not only in June's 5-4 decision ruling in...

BUFFALO, NY, May 19, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An abortion facility allegedly locked a 15-year-old girl in an examining room and expelled her mother from the premises when they changed their minds about going through with an abortion, a nationally prominent pro-life activist has stated. Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood manager who began And Then There Were None as an outreach to other abortion workers, said she and a local pro-life counselor named Cheryl had been in touch with the frightened minor girl by text message. Johnson described the teen as “a 15 year old girl” who “is very swayed...

Editor's note: This post was co-authored by Townhall web editor Christine Rousselle. A 2007 Massachusetts law stops pro-life activists 35 feet short of abortion clinic entrances. Because of the enforced distance, they often have to shout to get their message across to the scared young women walking into Planned Parenthood to have abortions — not exactly a winning strategy. McCullen v. Coakley, the case that enforces the unfair limit on pro-lifers' free speech, was center stage at the Supreme Court today. Justices listened to oral argument this morning after deciding to hear the case in June. SCOTUSblog outlined what’s...

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has struck down a 35-foot protest-free zone outside abortion clinics in Massachusetts. The justices were unanimous Thursday that extending a buffer zone 35 feet from clinic entrances violates the First Amendment rights of protesters. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Chief Justice John Roberts says authorities have less intrusive ways to deal with problems outside the clinics.

BURLINGTON, VT – The cities of Burlington, Vermont, and Madison, Wisconsin have opted to suspend enforcement of their laws requiring pro-life sidewalk counselors to stay away from abortion facilities. Burlington City Attorney Eileen Blackwood said today the Supreme Court's ruling last week striking down a similar Massachusetts law convinced her that Burlington's ordinance – which requires counselors to stay 35 feet away from abortion facilities – violates the Constitution.