CNA Staff, Sep 23, 2020 / 01:20 pm (CNA).-
The Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis has said that priests should not “present medical or scientific speculation” in their homilies, in response to a controversial homily on the coronavir… […]
Many faithful Catholics have asked me to offer some direction regarding conscience formation and the moral aspect of the many issues facing us as a nation, as we approach this year’s presidential election. We would […]
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 23, 2020 / 11:50 am (CNA).- Attorney General William Barr warned of “a new orthodoxy that is actively hostile to religion” in his remarks to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday.
Speaking… […]
CNA Staff, Sep 23, 2020 / 11:01 am (CNA).- Mexico is investigating reports that at least six of its nationals were among women in US immigration custody on whom hysterectomies were allegedly performed without their full consent, the country’s foreign minister said Tuesday.
“We are already in contact with six of whom could potentially have been subjected to this procedure,” Marcelo Ebrard said at a Sept. 22 press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City.
He said, “It’s something unacceptable”, and added that “if confirmed, it’s a major issue and should not only be sactioned, but other measures taken as well.”
Last week The Intercept reported a whistleblower complaint had been filed by several advocacy groups on behalf of a nurse at a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center for migrants in Georgia.
The nurse, Dawn Wooten, as well as several immigrant women, claimed that an apparently high rate of hysterectomies were performed on immigrant women while in ICE custody at Irwin County Detention Center, and that some of the women did not understand the procedure they were receiving.
According to the whistleblower complaint, the immigrant women were referred to one doctor in particular who was allegedly known for performing frequent hysterectomies; Wooten called the doctor “the uterus collector.” Wooten reported that some nurses could not communicate well with Spanish-speaking migrants,
One immigrant told the activist group Project South that during a two-month period, she met five other women at the prison who had received hysterectomies, and who “reacted confused when explaining why they had one done.”
Wooten agreed with accounts from detainees who said they had undergone hysterectomies without fully understanding what was happening.
“I’ve had several inmates tell me that they’ve been to see the doctor and they’ve had hysterectomies and they don’t know why they went or why they’re going,” she said.
“These immigrant women, I don’t think they really, totally, all the way understand this is what’s going to happen depending on who explains it to them.”
According to the complaint, another detainee was frightened and did not understand what medical procedure she was receiving; she was reportedly given three different answers by three different staffers.
The acting director of U.S. immigration services has ordered an expedited investigation into the allegations.
ICE health services director Dr. Ada Rivera has said that only two women have been referred for hysterectomies at Irwin County Detention Center since 2018.
The Mexican foreign ministry said last week that its consulates in Atlanta and El Paso are following up on the allegations of involuntary hysterectomies at the location in Georgia, and of allegations of sexual abuse against a Mexican citizen by ICE agents in El Paso.
“The Consulate has requested detailed information from the authorities in order to clarify the possibility of said surgeries being performed in Mexican citizens, as well as information on the procedures carried out and its corresponding justification. The Government of Mexico will promptly follow up through its various diplomatic and legal instruments to fully understand what happened,” the ministry said in a Sept. 16 statement.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 23, 2020 / 10:40 am (CNA).- President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced an executive order that would require medical care be given to infants who are born alive after failed abortion attempts.
“Today I am announ… […]
Vatican City, Sep 23, 2020 / 10:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis blessed a large bell Wednesday that Polish Catholics hope will ring out in the defence of unborn life.
“May its ring awaken the consciences of legislators and all people of good wil… […]
CNA Staff, Sep 23, 2020 / 09:01 am (CNA).- Religious leaders in the Canadian province of Quebec are speaking out against tightening COVID-19 restrictions in certain areas, which they say treat worship services more strictly than physically comparable e… […]
CNA Staff, Sep 23, 2020 / 08:00 am (CNA).- The son of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was baptized a Catholic earlier this month, the Diocese of Westminster said Tuesday.
In a statement Sept. 22, the diocese said: “We can confirm that Wilfr… […]
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 23, 2020 / 07:45 am (CNA).- Judge Amy Coney Barrett has been the subject of renewed criticism regarding her Catholic faith, following reports that she is a leading candidate for President Donald Trump’s nomination t… […]
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 23, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- Lawyers representing a Christian group kicked off of a college campus over its religious beliefs have said they are confident after making their case in court Tuesday. They argue that the University of Iowa targeted the group Business Leaders in Christ, and violated their own policies in doing so.
“The court had tough questions for both sides, but I feel optimistic that they saw the extreme nature of the conduct by the university officials in this case,” Attorney Eric Baxter of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty told CNA on Tuesday, September 22 following oral arguments at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Baxter is representing Business Leaders in Christ (BLinC), a group at the University of Iowa,
BLiNC hosted Christian business professionals on campus, and aims “to form future business leaders who will integrate their religious values such as integrity, service, and compassion into the workplace.”
The group was removed from campus in 2017, when the organization posted a “statement of faith” on their website after they refused to allow an openly gay student a leadership position in the group.
After the student filed a complaint against the group, “the university called BLinC to a meeting and said, ‘well, we really can’t tell you who to select as your leaders, but you ought to at least let students know what your beliefs are,’” Baxter explained to CNA.
The University of Iowa did not require other groups to publish similar statements, but BLinC complied and put their statement of faith in the group’s constitution. The statement of faith upheld the Biblical definition of marriage, which the University of Iowa took as discrimination, leading to their removal from campus. BLinC filed suit against the university of Iowa following their removal.
“The whole thing is ironic and really a ridiculous tale of how the university went out of its way to break its own rules to target this group,” said Baxter. Baxter noted that other student groups, including an LGBT-affirming business group, are permitted to require that their members or leaders adhere to a certain ideology.
In the wake of BLinC’s lawsuit against the school, the University of Iowa placed every campus group with a religious affiliation on probation while the case was decided.
In February 2019, the court ruled that BLinC, along with the 32 other religious groups on campus, were treated unequally by the school and must be treated the same as other student groups.
“The Constitution does not tolerate the way [the university] chose to enforce the Human Rights Policy. Particularly when free speech is involved, the uneven application of any policy risks the most exacting standard of judicial scrutiny, which [the university] ha[s] failed to withstand,” said that ruling.
The University of Iowa appealed that decision. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to issue a decision by the end of the year.
“These students wanted to provide a space on campus where they could support one another in their faith. And instead they’ve spent three and a half years fighting the university just to be treated the same as every other group on campus,” said Baxter.
“And that’s a travesty,” he added. “The University should be ashamed for treating them like second-class citizens.”
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