The last week of the session began with some good news when Governor Jay Nixon vetoed SB 350, a bill passed by the general assembly that would have repealed an existing tax credit that assists the low-income elderly and disabled. The MCC opposed SB 350 and urged the governor to veto it. The tax credit [...]
Researchers at Oregon Health and Science University announced last week that they have produced embryonic stem cells from cloned human embryos that are genetically identical to an 8-month-old child who needs treatment. Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston issued a statement that said human cloning was immoral, even if for therapeutic purposes. “Whether used for one purpose or [...]
Rhode Island and Delaware are the 10th and 11th states to join those offering marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Minnesota is expected to become the 12th next week. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a second Fortnight for Freedom this summer leading up to the Fourth of July. The Fortnight is [...]
SB 350 would repeal the renter’s portion of the senior citizens property tax credit. Currently, this tax credit is available to renters who are elderly (65 or older) or disabled and who have household incomes of $27,500 or less if single, or $29,500 or less if married. Over 104,000 Missourians from every corner of the [...]
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on two cases involving so-called “same-sex” marriage. The first case is Hollingsworth v. Perry, the case from California challenging Proposition 8, which California voters passed in 2008. Proposition 8 was a constitutional amendment that defined marriage for purposes of California law as the union of [...]
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, marched in Washington, D.C., with thousands of supporters in support of traditional marriage. In a letter written in anticipation of the march, Archbishop Cordileone said: “Every person has a mother and a [...]
The Missouri House of Representatives this week passed a bill protecting the conscience rights of healthcare providers. House Bill 457, sponsored by House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka), provides healthcare workers the right to opt out of providing medical care in certain circumstances when to do so would violate their religious or moral convictions. The bill [...]
The House Healthcare Policy Committee heard testimony this week on a bill that would prevent abortions being performed by telemedicine. HB 400, sponsored by Representative Jeanie Riddle (R-Mokane), would prohibit any nurse or other healthcare provider besides a physician from providing a patient with medication to terminate a pregnancy. The bill was supported by testimony [...]
House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) testified before the House Health Care Policy Committee about HB 457. The bill addresses the conscience rights of health care workers. As the bill’s sponsor, Jones said the bill has “great support in both the House and Senate and on both sides of the aisle.” The bill, Jones said, “…is [...]
On Wednesday the House Health Care Policy Committee heard HB 386, sponsored by Representative John McCaherty (R-High Ridge). The bill would make it illegal for a physician to perform an abortion solely because of the unborn child’s gender, or a diagnosis of Down Syndrome or other genetic abnormality. “Human beings are human beings, and whether [...]