RELIGION HEADLINES THR 6-19-25

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(SRN NEWS  )  A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from limiting passport gender markers for many transgender and so-called non-binary people.  This means such people who are without a passport or need to apply for a new one can request a male, female or “X” identification marker.  In an executive order signed in January, the president limited gender identification in federal documents to male or female only.  The Trump administration argued that the president has broad discretion in setting passport policy and that plaintiffs are still free to travel abroad.

(  )  The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that the state can have a grand jury examine allegations of clergymen sexually abusing children.  The ruling comes after a Catholic diocese tried for years to block such proceedings.  The Diocese of Camden argued that a court rule prevents the state attorney general from impaneling a grand jury to issue findings in the state’s investigation into decades of allegations against Catholic priests.  However, the diocese notified the court in May that it would no longer oppose the grand jury.

(  )  Abortion funding across the U.S. is drying up three years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade.  An initial surge of donations has subsided, scores of clinics have closed and abortion advocates predict that federal policy changes will result in more shutting down.  On the other hand, a majority of abortions in the U.S. are now carried out using pills and abortion groups are working hard to provide them to women — especially in pro-life states.  Whether that practice is actually legal is a question that is currently before the courts.

(  )  British lawmakers have voted to decriminalize abortion.  This will make abortion right up to the moment of birth legal in the United Kingdom.  The House of Commons approved an amendment to a broader crime bill that would bar the prosecution of women who take steps to end their pregnancies at any stage.  The measure next goes to the House of Lords, where it can be delayed but not blocked.  The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children warns that “Unborn babies will now have any remaining protection stripped away, and women will be left at the mercy of abusers.”