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Kansas Governor Writes 'JESUS + Mary' on Notes for Anti-Abortion Bill
"According to the Supreme Court, laws need to have a secular purpose in order to be constitutional under the separation of church and state."
Apr 23, 2013
Next to the extreme anti-abortion bill Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) signed into law on Friday were notes on which he wrote JESUS + Mary at the top and further down that it was a bill that would create "a culture of life," an Associated Press photo reveals.
Brownback's handwritten notes prompted Steve Benen to write at The Maddow Blog:
I don't mean to sound picky, but in the United States, according to the Supreme Court, laws need to have a secular purpose in order to be constitutional under the separation of church and state. When a governor writes "JESUS + Mary" at the top of an anti-abortion bill, it makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe, the policy's purpose isn't entirely secular.
Summarizing the bill, Democracy Now! reports:
The law declares that life begins "at fertilization," blocks tax breaks for abortion providers, and prevents them from taking part in sex education at public schools.
But "Perhaps the most outlandish part of the bill," Gawker reports,
is a section requiring doctors to warn patients about the possible health effects of abortions, including telling them that abortions can lead to breast cancer - a claim the United States government says is completely false.
NARAL Pro-Choice America slammed this most recent attack on reproductive rights.
"As politicians in states continue to race to the bottom by blocking women from accessing legally protected medical care, Gov. Brownback just reached a new low," said Ilyse Hogue, NARAL's president.
"Brownback's signature indicates his disdain for women, by making it clear that he think politicians know better than they do about their families and their lives. This governor and his fellow anti-choice politicians in the state house have shown how out of step they are with modern American values--most Americans believe women know best how to run their lives and their families."
"This is why elections matter," stated Hogue. "Brownback, along with 35 other governors, are up for re-election in 2014. We will do all we can to remind women across this country of these relentless attempts to take away their constitutional rights."
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Next to the extreme anti-abortion bill Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) signed into law on Friday were notes on which he wrote JESUS + Mary at the top and further down that it was a bill that would create "a culture of life," an Associated Press photo reveals.
Brownback's handwritten notes prompted Steve Benen to write at The Maddow Blog:
I don't mean to sound picky, but in the United States, according to the Supreme Court, laws need to have a secular purpose in order to be constitutional under the separation of church and state. When a governor writes "JESUS + Mary" at the top of an anti-abortion bill, it makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe, the policy's purpose isn't entirely secular.
Summarizing the bill, Democracy Now! reports:
The law declares that life begins "at fertilization," blocks tax breaks for abortion providers, and prevents them from taking part in sex education at public schools.
But "Perhaps the most outlandish part of the bill," Gawker reports,
is a section requiring doctors to warn patients about the possible health effects of abortions, including telling them that abortions can lead to breast cancer - a claim the United States government says is completely false.
NARAL Pro-Choice America slammed this most recent attack on reproductive rights.
"As politicians in states continue to race to the bottom by blocking women from accessing legally protected medical care, Gov. Brownback just reached a new low," said Ilyse Hogue, NARAL's president.
"Brownback's signature indicates his disdain for women, by making it clear that he think politicians know better than they do about their families and their lives. This governor and his fellow anti-choice politicians in the state house have shown how out of step they are with modern American values--most Americans believe women know best how to run their lives and their families."
"This is why elections matter," stated Hogue. "Brownback, along with 35 other governors, are up for re-election in 2014. We will do all we can to remind women across this country of these relentless attempts to take away their constitutional rights."
____________________________
Next to the extreme anti-abortion bill Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) signed into law on Friday were notes on which he wrote JESUS + Mary at the top and further down that it was a bill that would create "a culture of life," an Associated Press photo reveals.
Brownback's handwritten notes prompted Steve Benen to write at The Maddow Blog:
I don't mean to sound picky, but in the United States, according to the Supreme Court, laws need to have a secular purpose in order to be constitutional under the separation of church and state. When a governor writes "JESUS + Mary" at the top of an anti-abortion bill, it makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe, the policy's purpose isn't entirely secular.
Summarizing the bill, Democracy Now! reports:
The law declares that life begins "at fertilization," blocks tax breaks for abortion providers, and prevents them from taking part in sex education at public schools.
But "Perhaps the most outlandish part of the bill," Gawker reports,
is a section requiring doctors to warn patients about the possible health effects of abortions, including telling them that abortions can lead to breast cancer - a claim the United States government says is completely false.
NARAL Pro-Choice America slammed this most recent attack on reproductive rights.
"As politicians in states continue to race to the bottom by blocking women from accessing legally protected medical care, Gov. Brownback just reached a new low," said Ilyse Hogue, NARAL's president.
"Brownback's signature indicates his disdain for women, by making it clear that he think politicians know better than they do about their families and their lives. This governor and his fellow anti-choice politicians in the state house have shown how out of step they are with modern American values--most Americans believe women know best how to run their lives and their families."
"This is why elections matter," stated Hogue. "Brownback, along with 35 other governors, are up for re-election in 2014. We will do all we can to remind women across this country of these relentless attempts to take away their constitutional rights."
____________________________
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