c. 2004 Religion News Service

Third Federal Judge Strikes Down `Partial-Birth’ Abortion Ban

(RNS) A third federal judge ruled Wednesday (Sept. 8) that a law against “partial-birth” abortions is unconstitutional because it ignores parameters set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Lincoln, Neb., agreed with two other federal judges in New York and San Francisco that the law must include a provision that allows the procedure to protect the mother’s health.

“According to responsible medical opinion, there are times when the banned procedure is medically necessary to preserve the health of a woman and a respectful reading of the congressional record proves that point,” Kopf said, according to the Associated Press. “No reasonable and unbiased person could come to a different conclusion.”

Four years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court mandated such a provision when it struck down a similar Nebraska law. The new law _ signed by President Bush last year _ allows the procedure if the mother’s life is threatened, but does not include a broader exception if a doctor feels the procedure might improve a patient’s health.

Critics of the rarely used procedure condemn it as infanticide because it involves partially removing the fetus from the womb in the second or third trimester, at which point surgical scissors are used to collapse the baby’s skull. Critics say the babies feel pain from the procedure.

“The stage is now set for a lengthy and critical legal battle that ultimately will end up at the Supreme Court of the United States,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, which supported the law.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

St. Louis Archbishop Moderates Stance on Abortion, Voting

(RNS) Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, who angered some Catholics by saying it would be sinful to vote for pro-choice politicians, now says such votes could be cast without committing a “grave sin.”

Burke told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Catholics would be able to vote for such politicians as long as they don’t base their votes solely on a candidate’s support of abortion.

Burke said voters may consider “proportionate reasons” to support a candidate while considering the candidate’s other positions. In church language, such a position would be “remote material cooperation” in an evil act (abortion), but not “formal” cooperation.

“The sticking point is this _ and this is the hard part,” Burke said. “What is a proportionate reason to justify favoring the taking of an innocent, defenseless human life? And I just leave that to you as a question. That’s the question that has to be answered in your conscience. What is the proportionate reason?”

Burke said Catholics were confused by his earlier pronouncements and he chose to speak out again “to articulate the matter as fully as possible,” the newspaper reported.

Burke’s position echoed that of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who said in a memo to U.S. bishops in June that voters could choose abortion-rights politicians “for other reasons.”

Burke gained prominence in his former Diocese of La Crosse, Wis., for denying Communion to abortion-rights politicians. Earlier this year, he said he would not serve Communion to Democratic nominee John Kerry, a Catholic, because of his support of abortion rights.

Last June, Burke said Catholics who are aware of church teaching against abortion but “willingly” vote for abortion-rights politicians must go to confession before receiving Communion.

Watchdog Group Seeks IRS Probe of Democratic Rally Held at Miami Church

(RNS) A watchdog group that advocates church-state separation has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a Miami church that hosted a Democratic rally in late August.

The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the rally seemed to violate federal tax law concerning participation in political campaigns by tax-exempt houses of worship.

Press reports about the Aug. 29 event at New Birth Baptist Church said it included speeches by Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe and former Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton.

“Bush has misled us for four years and will not mislead us the next four years,” McAuliffe said, according to The Miami Herald. “Get out to vote and we’ll send Bush back to Texas.”

Lynn said in a letter to the IRS that the activities at the event seemed to go far beyond engaging in nonpartisan activities such as voter registration and education.

“Americans do not want to see houses of worship turned into partisan political conventions,” Lynn said in a statement. “It violates tax law, and it undercuts the integrity and purpose of religious organizations. I urge the IRS to open an investigation of this church’s activities.”

_ Adelle M. Banks

`Ten Commandments Judge’ to Publish Book

(RNS) In a book to be published next year, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore intends to tell the story of his support for a Ten Commandments monument in a state courthouse, his publisher has announced.

Broadman & Holman Publishers plans to release “So Help Me God!” in March 2005.

“The growing controversy over the issues of religious freedom and freedom of speech, and the specific incident of the ruling to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama state courthouse, is a topic of concern for all Americans,” said Kenneth H. Stephens, president of Broadman & Holman, in a statement.

“Chief Justice Moore is uniquely qualified to present the compelling Judeo-Christian views of our founding fathers on the subject, backed by his firsthand experience and vast knowledge of the legal foundations of our country.”

Moore was removed from office but is appealing that decision in court.

In a statement, he said he decided to publish the book to advocate “publicly acknowledg(ing) God.”

“It is time that the American people awake to the true meaning of separation of church and state and our unique relationship to God as a nation,” he said.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: Metropolitan Herman of the Orthodox Church in America

(RNS) “Who among us was not moved to tears as images of grieving parents burying their children flashed before our eyes? Who among us could not legitimately ask, `Has love waxed so cold and hearts become so hardened that such terrorism is no longer the exception but rather the expectation?”’

_ Metropolitan Herman, leader of the Orthodox Church in America, in a message of sympathy following the terrorist attack on a Russian school that left more than 300 people dead.

MO/PH END RNS