California Bans Gay Teen Conversion Therapy
California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill banning mental therapy for minors struggling with gender confusion.
Beginning Jan. 1, therapists are prohibited from telling anyone under the age of 18 that it's possible to change their sexual orientation.
According to Brown, the therapies "have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery."
The move has sparked outrage from those who have undergone that therapy. Some say it helped them overcome same sex attraction sparked by childhood sexual abuse.
Conservative religious groups, like the organization Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, argue the ban takes away parents' rights to provide psychological care for confused children.
"As parents of gays and ex-gays, we are ashamed of your willingness to take action against parents, children, and the family in order to support gay activists," the group wrote in an open letter to Democratic Sen. Ted Lieu, who authored the legislation.
"California is not a socialist state and our children do not belong to the government, subject to the ideology of the state over the objections of their parents," the group said.
California is the first state to ban conversion therapy for teens. –CBN/October 2, 2012
California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill banning mental therapy for minors struggling with gender confusion.
Beginning Jan. 1, therapists are prohibited from telling anyone under the age of 18 that it's possible to change their sexual orientation.
According to Brown, the therapies "have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery."
The move has sparked outrage from those who have undergone that therapy. Some say it helped them overcome same sex attraction sparked by childhood sexual abuse.
Conservative religious groups, like the organization Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, argue the ban takes away parents' rights to provide psychological care for confused children.
"As parents of gays and ex-gays, we are ashamed of your willingness to take action against parents, children, and the family in order to support gay activists," the group wrote in an open letter to Democratic Sen. Ted Lieu, who authored the legislation.
"California is not a socialist state and our children do not belong to the government, subject to the ideology of the state over the objections of their parents," the group said.
California is the first state to ban conversion therapy for teens. –CBN/October 2, 2012
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Judge Rules HHS Contraception Mandate Does Not Violate Religious Freedom
Judge: "Indirect financial support of a practice" does not violate First Amendment rights.
A federal judge struck down a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Saturday, ruling that the newly implemented HHS contraception mandate does not infringe upon a Catholic business owner's First Amendment rights.
Missouri federal district court judge Carol E. Jackson ruled against O’Brien Industrial Holdings (OIH), a secular, for-profit company that does not qualify for the mandate's religious employer exemption, although the owner is Catholic. In her ruling, Jackson stated that “indirect financial support of a practice, from which a plaintiff himself abstains according to his religious principles” does not violate the owner’s freedom of religion.
“Plaintiffs remain free to exercise their religion, by not using contraceptives and by discouraging employees from using contraceptives,” she stated.
OIH had argued that requiring the company to contribute to a general health care plan—and thus potentially indirectly providing contraceptives to female employees—infringed upon the owner’s religious exercise rights under the First Amendment.
The lawsuit had asked the court to declare that the HHS mandate violates the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
But the court dismissed all claims against HHS, calling the Affordable Care Act a “neutral law of general applicability” that does not discriminate against companies with less-formal religious affiliations. The court stated that the employer’s responsibility to contribute to a general health care plan, which may subsidize an employee’s purchase of birth control, is not equivalent to “compelled speech,” as OIH had argued.
CT has covered the dozens of lawsuits against the HHS mandate, including cases brought by evangelical-owned Hobby Lobby and Catholic-owned Triune Health Group. –By Melissa Steffan/Christianity Today/October 1, 2012
Judge: "Indirect financial support of a practice" does not violate First Amendment rights.
A federal judge struck down a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Saturday, ruling that the newly implemented HHS contraception mandate does not infringe upon a Catholic business owner's First Amendment rights.
Missouri federal district court judge Carol E. Jackson ruled against O’Brien Industrial Holdings (OIH), a secular, for-profit company that does not qualify for the mandate's religious employer exemption, although the owner is Catholic. In her ruling, Jackson stated that “indirect financial support of a practice, from which a plaintiff himself abstains according to his religious principles” does not violate the owner’s freedom of religion.
“Plaintiffs remain free to exercise their religion, by not using contraceptives and by discouraging employees from using contraceptives,” she stated.
OIH had argued that requiring the company to contribute to a general health care plan—and thus potentially indirectly providing contraceptives to female employees—infringed upon the owner’s religious exercise rights under the First Amendment.
The lawsuit had asked the court to declare that the HHS mandate violates the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
But the court dismissed all claims against HHS, calling the Affordable Care Act a “neutral law of general applicability” that does not discriminate against companies with less-formal religious affiliations. The court stated that the employer’s responsibility to contribute to a general health care plan, which may subsidize an employee’s purchase of birth control, is not equivalent to “compelled speech,” as OIH had argued.
CT has covered the dozens of lawsuits against the HHS mandate, including cases brought by evangelical-owned Hobby Lobby and Catholic-owned Triune Health Group. –By Melissa Steffan/Christianity Today/October 1, 2012
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