Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. Visit www.pbs.org/religionandethics for additional information. Show #1926 will be fed over PBS at 5:00 p.m. EST on February 26, 2016 (check local listings).
U.S. Supreme Court Abortion Case – Next week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a controversial abortion case. As Tim O’Brien reports, before the court is the constitutionality of a Texas law that requires abortion centers to meet medical standards that the centers say are costly, onerous and medically unnecessary. The state says its intention is to protect the health of women who are seeking abortions. Because of the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the case will be heard by only the eight remaining justices and may not be finally resolved in this Supreme Court term.
Son of Saul – David Tereshchuk interviews Geza Rohrig, lead actor in the powerful film about the Holocaust “Son of Saul,” nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign film. Rohrig’s character, Saul, is a member of the SonderKommando, Jewish prisoners who were forced by the Nazis to herd their fellow Jews into the gas chambers and dispose of their remains. Rohrig, who was adopted as a child by a Jewish Hungarian couple whose relatives were killed by the Nazis, spent a month living near Auschwitz. He says he lost faith in man, but not in God. “If I wouldn’t believe that a million and a half Jewish children who were murdered up on arrival, then I would have no choice but to spit God into his face. There is no other way to make this case of God unless I believe that he was there,” said Rohrig.
Moral Issues in Europe’s Migrant Crisis – According to a new report from the International Organization for Migration, more than 100,000 asylum-seekers have migrated across the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy so far this year. Last year, the number didn’t top 100,000 until July. Meanwhile, several European nations have begun placing new restrictions on their borders, leaving tens of thousands of migrants stranded. Host Bob Abernethy and Managing Editor Kim Lawton explore the moral dimensions of the crisis with Michel Gabaudan, president of Refugees International, and Mark Smith, Senior Director for Humanitarian Emergencies at the Christian group World Vision.
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