Free Republic

Democrats see a political winner in the stinging defeat they suffered when the Supreme Court ruled that businesses with religious objections may deny coverage for contraceptives under President Barack Obama’s health care law. A four-term senator - Washington state’s Patty Murray - and a vulnerable freshman - Mark Udall of Colorado - have pushed legislation that would counter last month’s court ruling and reinstate free contraception for women who are on health insurance plans of objecting companies. The Senate was expected to vote Wednesday on moving ahead on the bill, which backers have dubbed the “Not My Boss’ Business Act.”...

Burke, who came out to team-mates in the 1970s and to the public in 1982, died of AIDS in 1995 aged just 42.More than two decades after Glenn Burke abruptly retired from Major League Baseball, the former LA Dodgers outfielder will be honored at Tuesday night’s all-star game as one of the few professional athletes to have come out. Burke's four-and-a-half year career is remembered for his charismatic attitude and the pressures he faced as a gay athlete in the late 1970s. Burke, who played for the Dodgers and the Oakland A's, was the first professional ball player to come...

The Daily Mail UK is reporting that a former euthanasia supporter, Professor Theo Boer, has told the House of Lords in the UK not to make the same mistake as the Netherlands. Next week, the British House of Lords will debate the Falconer assisted suicide bill. Lord Falconer is a long-time supporter of assisted suicide who is also known for writing a one-sided report calling for the legalization of assisted death in Britain.The Daily Mail reported Dr Boer to have told the House of Lords: ‘Don’t do it Britain,’ ‘Once the genie is out of the bottle, it is not...

For some, “God doesn’t believe in atheists” is just a clever (nor not-so-clever) jab directed against the faithless in our culture. But based on the findings of secular researchers, the statement may not be so far from reality. That is because multidisciplinary research is increasingly backing the idea that human beings are hard-wired to believe in God, according to Science 2.0 writer Nury Vittachi in an article titled, “Scientists discover that atheists might not exist, and that’s not a joke.” “[A]theism is psychologically impossible because of the way humans think,” Vittachi cites avowed atheist Graham Lawton as writing in New...

In New York City, there are a number of abortion clinics competing to catch the eyes of abortion minded women. One of these clinics is Early Options. Their tagline reads “Early Abortion & Miscarriage: a Revolutionary Medical Practice.”When a woman goes to a clinic to end her pregnancy and kill her unborn baby, it’s not really called a “miscarriage,” but since the word “abortion” still carries stigma, redefining the word “miscarriage” for their patients is apparently something this abortion clinic is happy to do.This clinic has apparently pioneered an abortion method called the “SofTouch.” According to the site: SofTouch® is...

Planned Parenthood staffers are using taxpayer money to instruct underage girls in dangerous and violent sex practices — including whipping, bondage and choking, according to a new video released by the anti-abortion group Live Action Tuesday. The uncensored footage obtained by The Daily Caller shows staffers telling investigators posing as underage girls to experiment with violent sex play in response to generic questions about sex. Staffers at two clinics in Colorado explain to the investigators that a variety of painful sex acts — including biting, chaining, gagging, whipping, choking, using nipple clamps, and more — are completely safe and normal...

AURORA, Ill. – A Hobby Lobby store in Illinois is facing a discrimination complaint after a ‘transgender’ employee was told that he may not use the women’s restroom until he has reconstructive surgery to switch from male to female reproductive organs. The employee, who goes by the name Meggan Sommerville, also professes to be a Christian. He has worked for Hobby Lobby since 1998, at which time he identified as male.However, in 2009, Sommerville began transitioning to look like a woman and changed his name. According to Sommerville, Hobby Lobby accommodated him by changing his gender in the company records...

A second shock video has busted the Planned Parenthood abortion business, where its staffers are teaching teenagers about S&M-based sexual relationships and concepts such as gagging, whipping and asphyxiation.In a series of undercover audits, Live Action investigators documented Planned Parenthood counselors and nurses advising our investigators, who the Planned Parenthood staffers thought were minors, on how to practice torture sex.This time, Live Action staff pose as a 15-year-old at a Denver, Colorado-based Planned Parenthood abortion facility. The two investigative videos show Planned Parenthood facilities in Denver, Colorado offering disturbing and dangerous advice to what staffers think are underage girls. The...

It is perhaps in the nature of celebrities to champion causes they perceive to be popular. Celebrity bishops are no exception and Desmond Tutu’s support for Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill is not surprising but deeply disappointing.Dignity in Dying, the former Voluntary Euthanasia Society, has assembled over 50 actors, sportsmen, entertainers, authors and other celebrities to add weight to their campaign – similar people to those advertisers draft in to provide endorsement for consumer products.The implication is that we should follow these celebrities and embrace their preferences.And there is no doubt that so-called ‘assisted dying’ resonates strongly with the spirit...

Every poll reveals that Americans are gradually shifting away from an understanding of marriage as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman, to one in which marriage is defined only by the whims of its participants. If we are going to safeguard the future of marriage – as defined by God and supported by Natural Law – and secure the healthiest environment for children to grow up, we cannot rely on our political leaders or the secular media to speak the truth about marriage and its importance. On June 19, thousands of Americans from various religions, races...

Former Planned Parenthood worker Judith Fetrow spoke at a conference sponsored by The Pro-Life Action League which was recorded in a series of videos entitled Abortion: The Inside Story. The video series can be found here.Judith Fetrow first discusses how legal abortion is not as safe as many believe: It is difficult work at abortion for any length of time and continue to believe that it is a safe procedure. Even with the best doctors, abortion days are filled with minor and sometimes major complications. I watched Dr. William P perforate a womanÂ’s uterus and then lie about the severity...

Nancy Pelosi, who was awarded the Margaret Sanger Eugenicist of the Year Award by Planned Genocide Parenthood (go here)has now proclaimed herself the protector of children. This article trumpets her new child protector status… House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) yesterday described herself as a “lioness” when it comes to protecting children. She also called not only for the U.S. government to process minors arriving illegally from Central America on a “case-by-case basis” but for the government to “treat the Mexican kids the way they treat the non-contiguous country kids.” “Quite frankly, I would rather they treat the Mexican kids...

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- There are atheists and liberals, some who are both, who believe there is no need for God in order for morality to be maintained in a society. They argue that people can act morally apart from a supreme authority. I agree that people can act morally apart from God's standard. However, the real question is why should they? If there is no supreme authority -- no God -- then why behave morally? If there is no God, there are no objective standards for moral behavior. The logical progression leads to anarchy. Everyone does what is right...

What do we do about this massive flood of people entering the United States illegally? Like many, I am turning this question over in my mind as I witness the lawless chaos that is unfolding at the border, and beyond. We have legal channels for people to immigrate to America. We’re not operating in a vacuum. There is no reason for those in power to ignore our immigration laws. Unless, of course, you want to fundamentally transform America. When the rule of law is not enforced, where does that leave us? [SNIP] Congressman Louie Gohmert has reminded us that another...

Planned Parenthood faces a legal challenge in Colorado after Cary Smith, of Federal Heights, discovered that clinic staff failed to inquire or report about suspected sexual abuse of her thirteen-year-old daughter after giving her an abortion.It was any mother’s nightmare.According to the lawsuit filed on June 20, 2014, Cary’s daughter, R.Z., was only about six when it all began. Her new step-father, Timothy David Smith, began to do things that no one had ever done before. At this age, she was too young to realize that her step-father’s inordinate attention was actually a crime—a felony: sexual abuse of a minor.Little...

Just over 18 years ago, Emily and Caitlin Copeland left their mother's womb, conjoined. Now, the girls are set to leave their hometown of Houston, Texas to different universities after graduating from high school as co-valedictorians. This will be only the second time in their lives that they will be apart from one another.  Just days after Emily and Caitlin turned 18, their mother, Crystal Copeland spoke with LifeSiteNews about how the dark time of finding out the girls were conjoined, and considering the possibility of aborting them, turned into a blessing and the knowledge that she and her...

The world’s fourth richest person, Warren Buffett, ploughed $1.23 billion into abortion groups over eleven years, a media watchdog has found. The Media Research Center (MRC), which analysed tax returns for Buffett’s foundation, labeled him the ‘king of abortion’. The MRC says the money given ‘is enough to pay for the abortions of more than 2.7 million babies in the womb’ – which, it points out, equates to the entire city of Chicago. MRC’s report lays out the money Buffett’s foundation gave between 2001 and 2012, saying it amounted to $1,230,585,161. The money was given to groups which either ‘provided abortions themselves...

Will they have to cover something like this under the Employee Benefit Program if that employee wasn't a JW, or could they say that they now have a religious exemption, too? I wonder what other can of worms the recent SCOTUS ruling will open up...

A judge in Australia has been criticised after saying incest may no longer be a taboo and that the community may now accept consensual sex between adult siblings. Judge Garry Neilson, from the district court in the state of New South Wales, likened incest to homosexuality, which was once regarded as criminal and "unnatural" but is now widely accepted. He said incest was now only a crime because it may lead to abnormalities in offspring but this rationale was increasingly irrelevant because of the availability of contraception and abortion.

The abortion backer who attacked a pro-life teen in a profane rant captured on video yesterday is defending her actions and has no intention of apologizing.Pro-life activist Seth Drayer was physically attacked (video below) while leading a group of pro-life students in sharing the pro-life message in downtown Columbus, Ohio today. The video shows a woman in a Burger King shirt attacking the pro-lifers. She says, ““You’re just a white f—— privileged racist f—— male who doesn’t stand for women’s rights. The abortion advocate adds, “No uterus, no right to talk about it. Understand, Mother f—–?”The abortion backer has been...