RELIGION HEADLINES FRI 10-31

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(SRN NEWS)-

(  )  The Alaska Supreme Court is weighing a case that is expected to determine who can provide abortions in the state. The court heard arguments this week in a 2019 case challenging the constitutionality of a law that states only a doctor licensed by the state medical board can perform an abortion in Alaska.  The statute, dating to the 1970s, was struck down as unconstitutional by a superior court judge last year.  Attorneys for the state told the court that Planned Parenthood has not proven that the law has “inhibited women in Alaska from exercising their right to choose an abortion.”  The justices did not indicate when they might rule.

(  )  Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, has sparked a national conversation about the Bible’s admonition that we forgive.  She has publicly forgiven the man charged with assassinating her husband in September and her words have inspired others.  Actor Tim Allen says he has now forgiven the drunken driver responsible for his father’s death.  California pastor Jack Hibbs, who leads Calvary Chapel Chino Hills and is a friend of the Kirks, calls Erika’s words a “incredibly powerful” message of hope for the shooter, and in keeping with the family’s deep commitment to the Gospel.

(  )  Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men covered downtown Jerusalem in a sea of black Thursday to protest plans to draft them into the military, singing, clapping and holding signs saying they would rather go to jail.  Deep divisions in Israeli society over the current draft exemption given to the Orthodox have emerged as the most serious threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.  The embattled leader relies on ultra-Orthodox parties to keep his government in power, but their attempts to pass a law to permanently exempt Orthodox Israelis from military service could sink his government and spark early elections.

(  )  Three Bulgarian men are on trial in Paris this week for alleged involvement in vandalizing the city’s Holocaust Memorial, an act that French intelligence services link to a campaign by Russia to destabilize France and other Western societies. Some 500 red hands were painted on a wall honoring those who helped rescue Jews during World War Two and around nearby Paris neighborhoods.  France says this is a case of Russia using paid proxies to divide public opinion, stoke social tensions and spread false information.  Four Bulgarians are charged in the Holocaust Memorial case, but only three are in custody.