abortion
Religion and politics clash over Sierra Leone abortion bill
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Sierra Leone has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates with some 10 percent resulting from unsafe abortions, according to a 2013 report.
2016 election
Political trip to Vatican? No, not at all, Sanders tells Italian paper
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He’ll speak to a Vatican council on economic justice but says the church is not endorsing his presidential run days ahead of the primary in Catholic-rich New York.
Bible
Thou shalt not: Tennessee governor vetoes bill to make Bible state book
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“My personal feeling is that this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is sacred text,” the governor said. The bill’s sponsors expect the legislature to override the veto.
euthanasia
Canada drafts assisted dying law that bans ‘suicide tourism’
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The option to die with a doctor’s prescription would only apply to adults suffering serious and incurable illness and where death is reasonably foreseeable.
Beliefs
Kentucky will remove county clerk names from marriage licenses
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The governor signed the law to establish a single form for every bride, groom or spouse. And Rowan County clerk Kim Davis won’t have to put her name on it.
Beliefs
Louisiana governor signs order protecting LGBT rights, calls it ‘good for business’
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The order breaks the pattern of Southern states passing laws to limit same-sex marriage rights and ban transgender people from personal choice in which public restroom to use.
Beliefs
Tennessee bill denying service based on counselor’s beliefs goes to governor
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It is one of a raft of state measures that critics say discriminates against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals.
Beliefs
North Carolina governor tweaks transgender law after backlash
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Opponents said the governor did not go far enough to correct the damage done to LGBT citizens.
Beliefs
Bryan Adams follows Springsteen canceling show over an anti-LGBT state law
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After Springsteen canceled in North Carolina, Adams canceled a show in Mississippi. Both are protesting state laws that will let people with religious objections deny services to same-sex couples.
Beliefs
‘Sister Wives’ clan loses battle over Utah polygamy law
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A federal appeals court ruled against the show’s starts, Kody Brown and his four wives, restoring Utah’s anti-bigamy law.
Beliefs
Norway’s dominant Lutheran Church approves gay marriage
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The vote reflects increasingly liberal attitudes in wider Norwegian society, where civil same-sex marriage has been legal since 2009.
Beliefs
Red Cross, aid groups to resist tougher Austrian asylum bill
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The bill’s drastic restrictions would mean “Austria virtually takes leave of the right to asylum,” said the head of Caritas, a Catholic aid nonprofit.
Institutions
India police detain 5 after Hindu temple fire kills 108
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The temple in India’s Kerala state was hosting a fireworks display to mark the start of the local Hindu new year.
Institutions
Anglican leader learns his father was Churchill’s secretary
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LONDON — Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby finds out as a result of DNA tests that he was conceived as a result of an alcohol-fueled extramarital liaison his mother had.
News
Vatican trip could boost Sanders campaign
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WASHINGTON — Like Pope Francis, Sanders has made economic inequality and the plight of the working class a central tenet of his message.