Tyndale Gets Contraceptive Reprieve

A judge is stopping, at least temporarily, efforts to force a Christian publisher from providing its employees with contraceptives such as Plan B and intrauterine devices under the new health-care law. The judge gave Tyndale House the preliminary injunction it requested. The company equates these contraceptive methods with abortion. Tyndale sued the Department of Health and Human Services last month, saying the order violates their religious beliefs. The parties will meet in court to make arguments in the case on a yet to be determined date.

More Suits against Mandate

A couple of Baptist colleges are suing the Obama administration’s mandate about contraceptives. East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University say the Health and Human services requirement would force the schools to violate their religious beliefs related to providing their employees with access to what they call abortion-causing drugs. Tyndale House Publishers, Hobby Lobby, and other schools have filed suits as well. Lawsuits filed by Wheaton College and the Catholic Belmont Abbey College have been dismissed. The judges in those cases said the legal action was premature because the government hasn't actually said these groups aren't covered by a religious exception yet.

Warren: Jail is Preferrable

Rick Warren says jail is preferable to supporting the Obama administration's policy that forces institutions affiliated with religious groups to provide coverage for birth control, abortion and sterilization. Warren Tweeted: "I'm not a Catholic but I stand in 100% solidarity with my brothers & sisters to practice their belief against govt pressure." He suggested that he's ready to go to jail and asked his Twitter followers to be ready to do the same.

Charges in Murder of Pregnant Woman

For the first time, a North Carolina man faces murder charges in the death of an unborn child under a new law that went into affect this year. Mark Anthony Cox is accused of robbing the Flying Biscuit restaurant and killing the manager, Danielle Watson, who was pregnant. Here's two video reports from WCNC-TV in Charlotte.

Church Bans Girl Scout Troop

St. Timothy Catholic Church in Chantilly, Virginia will not allow a Girl Scout troop to use its facilities any longer. The pastor says the decision was based on the Scout's association with Planned Parenthood. The Girl Scout have issued a statement denying any relationship between it and Planned Parenthood.

Lifeway Drops Bible

LifeWay will no longer publish the Here's Hope Breast Cancer Awareness Bible. Some of the proceeds from sales of the pink Bible goes to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. And some Komen affiliates give money to Planned Parenthood. Although LifeWay published the Bible, it was sold at retailers like Wal-Mart, not in LifeWay's own stores. Komen has released a statement saying "under no circumstances are Komen funds used to fund abortions or other non-breast services." The American Life League says 18 chapters of Susan G. Komen for the Cure donated money to local Planned Parenthood affiliates last year.

Abortion Billboard Removed

Chuck Smith Stirs Controversy Over Abortion

Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel, is being criticized by some anti-abortion activists for his advice to a pregnant women during his Pastor's Perspective call-in radio program. Doctors told her that she has conjoined twins who are not likely to survive. Smith advised her to consider an abortion. He told the listening audience: "I am totally opposed to abortion. I believe it is a great sin. I do believe that the 50-plus million children that have been aborted in the United State since the Roe verses Wade is one of the greatest sins of America, and I think that we're going to be judged for it. I do not believe in abortion as it is being practiced today. However, there can be extenuating circumstances.." Operation rescue immediately released a press release criticizing Smith. There is a link to the call here.

Abortion Doctor Arrested

A Philadelphia abortion doctor is facing murder charges for allegedly killing babies that could have survived. Prosecutors say Kermit Gosnell cut their spinal cords of seven breathing babies with scissors after removing them from mothers late in their pregnancies. Prosecutors say there is amble evidence that the babies could have survived and that this may have happened hundreds of times. State law in Pennsylvania prohibits abortion after 24 weeks except to save the life of the mother or avoid serious health risk to her.

Abortion Rates

The abortion rate in the US has leveled off after falling for more than a decade. A survey by the Guttmacher Institute found a 1% increase to 19.6 abortions per 1,000 women of child-bearing age. It was 19.4 in 2005. The actual numbers of abortions, according to the group went up to 1,212,350 from 1,206,200. Abortions were up 38% in Louisiana, but dropped 13% in Wisconsin.

Late-term Abortion Clinics to Open

An abortion doctor who performs late pregnancy abortions says he's going to open clinics around Washington, DC and Iowa. LeRoy Carhart already runs an abortion facility in Nebraska, but the station passed a measure outlawing abortions later than the 20th week of a pregnancy. Carhart isn't saying where the clinics will be located, does say they will be open for business by December 6.

Graphic T-Shirt Suit Settled

A California school district will pay $50k to end a lawsuit filed by a 6th grader. Tiffany Amador sued after school officials at Merced's McSwain Union Elementary School refused to let her wear a shirt that showed pictures of a fetus and the words.. "ABORTION: growing... growing... gone." A new policy implemented this year prohibits most graphic t-shirts at the school.

Anne Rice Quits Christianity

Anne Rice says she's no longer a Christian. She wrote on her Facebook page this week, "I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I quit Christianity and being Christian." Rice is author of Interview With a Vampire and has recently written several Christian books. She says the priest sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic church have also bothered her.

Bus Driver Suit

A former bus driver is suing his former employer for firing him earlier this year when he refused to drive passengers to Planned Parenthood. Edwin Graning wants Capital Area Rural Transportation System to give him his job back and pay unspecified damages. Graning, an ordained Christian minister, concerned that he might be transporting a client to undergo an abortion. The company denies that it discriminated against him because of his religion.

OK Law on Hold

An Oklahoma abortion law will not go into affect because a judge has issued an injunction to block it. This extends an order issued in May. The law would require women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus. It's is being challenged by the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Abortion Bill Veto Sticks

Lawmakers in Kansas failed to override the governor's veto of a bill to tighten restrictions on late-term abortions. Kansas no longer has a clinic known to perform abortions in the final trimester since the murder of physician George Tiller last year.

Abortion Measure Passed in Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Senate has voted to override the Governor vetoes of two anti-abortion measures. KWTV reports.

Abortion Bills Vetoed

Oklahoma's governor has vetoed two abortion bills. One proposed law would have required women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound and hear information about the fetus. State lawmakers are considering a vote to override the veto. The other bill would have stopped pregnant women from seeking damages from doctors who withhold information about a potentially disabled fetus.

Alabama Abortion Clinic

The state of Alabama has put a Planned Parenthood clinic in Birmingham on probation. An undercover sting showed that underage teens had been receiving abortions there without parental consent. The facility is required to show in the next few days to health officials how it will correct the violations. A representative of California's Live Action pretended to be a pregnant 14-year-old girl looking for an abortion. On an audio tape, an employee of the clinic can be heard suggesting that someone other than a parent or legal guardian could give consent.

Focus Scores Big

Focus on the Family says its Web site is being overwhelmed by visitors, brought to the site by the group's Super Bowl ad. The site's traffic ballooned to 40 times its normal volume after the ad aired - with 50,000 unique visitors and 500,000 hits. USA Today's Ad Meter, a real-time consumer testing of the ads as they air, gave low marks to the spot featuring quarterback Tim Tebow. The controversy over the ad was possibly more important to Focus than the ad itself. Software marketing company Alterian SM2 says Focus on the Family got more social media attention than any company between December first and Super Bowl Sunday. More than Google, Anheuser-Busch and Doritos. Since the ad aired, the organization has had 5,000 new subscribers to its magazine Thriving Family.