RELIGION HEADLINES FRI 1-16

(SRN NEWS)-

(  )  California Governor Gavin Newsom says he is blocking Louisiana’s attempt to extradite a doctor in the Golden State accused of mailing abortion pills.  The Democratic governor’s announcement comes after Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, said he sent the extradition paperwork.  Louisiana has some of the strongest pro-life laws in the country, while California law does all it can to promote abortion and provide abortions to women from pro-life states.  Newsom says extraditing the doctor would have violated an executive order he signed in 2022 barring state agencies from assisting other states’ efforts to prosecute abortion doctors.

(  )  Abortion advocates have dropped a lawsuit against the Trump administration after officials agreed to restore millions in federal funding for family planning services.  The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Department of Health and Human Services last year for withholding 27.5 million dollars during an investigation of state practices.  In December, HHS confirmed compliance, citing federal civil rights laws.  Republicans have long opposed the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that flow every year under the Title 10 program into Planned Parenthood — the nation’s largest abortion business — and its clinics.  

(  )  The Department of Homeland Security is making it easier for visa-holding religious workers to serve U.S. congregations with less disruption.  DHS announced a change this week to reduce visa wait times abroad for foreign nationals serving as pastors, priests, imams and rabbis.  These workers face long backlogs for permanent residency but can enter on temporary R-1 visas.  The new rule removes the requirement for R-1 workers to leave the U.S. for a year after their visa expires. They can now apply to re-enter immediately. The change aims to support religious organizations and minimize disruptions in faith communities.

(  )  A growing number of people are switching religions or abandoning them altogether in this country.  The Pew Research Center reports that 35 percent of Americans eventually leave the faith they were raised in and the number one reason is that they no longer believe what that faith teaches — almost half say that.  Other reasons for quitting a religion include clergy scandals and bad experiences at church.  The Pew study also reveals that over half of people who leave the religion they were brought up in do not adopt another faith.  Atheists, agnostics and followers of no particular religion now make up more than 25 percent of the U.S. population.