Culture of Life Foundation is pleased to name Margaret Datiles, Esq., as Associate Fellow in Law. Margaret Datiles, Esq. joins Culture of Life Foundation Senior Fellows Dr. William E. May and Dr. E. Christian Brugger as Associate Fellow in Law. Maggie is an attorney in the Washington, D.C. -Maryland area. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy (Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude) and a Certificate in Classical Philosophy from The Catholic University of America. She earned a Juris Doctorate from Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in 2007, where she served as a Research Fellow at CUA Law's Marriage Law Project. A former Fellow and Staff Counsel for Americans United for Life, Datiles co-authored an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark partial birth abortion case, Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, et al., companion case to Gonzales v. Carhart (2007). She also advised legislators, policy groups and the media (radio and newspapers) on abortion and bioethics laws and drafted pro-life model legislation. Her areas of research and/or publication include legal issues surrounding abortion, abortion funding restrictions, contraception, healthcare rights of conscience, stem cell research, artificial reproductive technology, population decline, physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, population and same-sex marriage. She currently publishes articles on legal perspectives of bioethics, marriage and the family as a Columnist for The Knights of Columbus' Headline Bistro.
Plaintiffs point out that the term "sex" is used by Congress in federal laws to "refer to an individual's status as male or female, as determined by a person's biological sex at birth." However, this new rule redefines "sex" - without Congressional approval - to include "an individual's internal sense of gender, which may be male, female, neither, or a combination of male and female, and which may be different from an individual's sex assigned at birth."
Date posted: 2016-09-11
Although the definition of maternal health is not under direct question in the current Supreme Court case, it is nonetheless essential to the present debate to discuss the meaning of maternal health, and to consider whether or not it has not been adequately defined by the courts and legislatures for the practical purposes of abortion-related law.
Date posted: 2016-04-30
The Little Sisters of the Poor is an international Roman Catholic ministry of religious sisters that provides free shelter and care for impoverished elderly in 31 countries. In the U.S. alone, the Little Sisters have 30 homes for the aged and dying.
Date posted: 2015-12-11
The on-going Congressional investigation into Planned Parenthood's alleged illegal sale of baby parts and misuse of federal funds has resulted in the introduction of new legislation, the creation of a special investigative panel, and testimony on Congressional record by Planned Parenthood President, Cecile Richards, demonstrating that: (1) women do not need Planned Parenthood for access to health care, and (2) Planned Parenthood's half-a-billion dollars a year in federal funding would better serve American women if those funds were re-directed away from Planned Parenthood to comprehensive community health centers.
Date posted: 2015-11-14
Over the past several weeks, the release of investigative videos exposing Planned Parenthood's alleged practice of making profits by illegally selling aborted human baby organs has ignited a national debate and launched a Congressional investigation into the possible criminal activities by America's number-one abortion provider.
Date posted: 2015-11-14
The most significant abortion case in a quarter of a century will likely be heard by the Supreme Court in the coming year. The case, Whole Woman's Health, et al. v. Cole, et al., would potentially set forth with greater specificity than ever before what kinds of abortion laws constitute an "undue burden" on a woman's right to abortion.
Date posted: 2015-09-25
It is important for Americans to know exactly what this law says and to see for themselves how basic and necessary these types of regulations are for women undergoing an abortion.
Date posted: 2015-08-01
On Tuesday, April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for what certainly will be a historic decision on same-sex marriage. Chief Justice John Roberts boiled the argument down to the fundamental issue: "You're not seeking to join the institution," he said. "You're seeking to change what the institution is."
Date posted: 2015-05-26
Same-sex marriage is now legal in 37 states, a clear majority, and the District of Columbia. That makes it appear as if there has been a "cultural shift" towards same-sex marriage throughout much of the country. However, such a conclusion does not accurately reflect the prevailing public opinion on marriage.
Date posted: 2015-03-11
As historic as this decision will be, it will not end the debate on marriage; rather, it will determine new grounds for the continuing legal and cultural battle on marriage.
Date posted: 2015-02-27
The options for dating in the 21st century are many and complex. One need not look long before encountering an internet or television advertisement for some form of on-line dating, many with a specific demographic focus: religious preference, age cohort (from teens to 50+), occupation (e.g., farmers only), and race.
Date posted: 2015-02-02
Although teaching and preaching against homosexual behavior and same-sex marriage is currently not outlawed as hate speech, operating a business and taking a public stance against it is already being indirectly punished and burdened through anti-discrimination laws and denial of access to government benefits. Unless greater efforts are made to defend the First Amendment rights of religious liberty and freedom of speech, defending the truth will only become more difficult.
Date posted: 2015-01-02
In truth, only one union is capable of promoting the good of the couple, of any children, and of society: the union of one man and one woman. This is where the line naturally falls.
Date posted: 2014-10-19
We march to take a public stand in defense of the unborn. We speak on behalf of those who have no voice and cannot be heard. We march to publicly demonstrate that opposition to abortion in America is strong.
Date posted: 2014-02-23
Nothing is stopping the Obama Administration from expanding the "religious employer" exception to include religiously-affiliated charities, ministries, and institutions, and for-profit businesses that wish to operate without being forced by the government to violate their beliefs. The First Amendment and RFRA demand that these institutions be afforded the fundamental right to religious freedom. Although the new proposed rule offers a nominal compromise and is a small step in the right direction, its "accommodation" merely solidifies the previous violations against religious freedom, allowing HHS Mandate lawsuits to proceed and possibly make their way to the Supreme Court. Champions for religious freedom must continue in their efforts to challenge the unconstitutionality of Obamacare's HHS Mandate.
Date posted: 2013-03-05
A summary of the medical data presented in the Women Speak for Themselves amicus brief.
Date posted: 2012-11-23
Fact and myth have become intermingled when it comes to the Affordable Health Care Act's HHS Mandate. Amidst the clang and clamour of Presidential Election campaign taglines, the truth about the actual effects of Obamacare on women's health and religious liberty is in need of greater national public attention than ever before.
Date posted: 2012-10-28
Gendercide through sex-selective abortion has resulted in the loss of at least 163 million girls and a global imbalance in sex ratios. The United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women has described this as "the most telling indicator of women's devalued position in society," and condemned sex-selective abortions as "grave forms of discrimination against women."
Date posted: 2012-10-14
For the challenges ahead, we urge justices, judges and lawmakers to remember America's promise of religious freedom. In the words of Thomas Jefferson: "No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of civil authority." We also urge a cultural and legal return to the recognition of the existence of truth and the central role it should play in law and society.
Date posted: 2012-08-01
The Supreme Court has allowed Obamacare to stand, and President Obama's executive order to prohibit the use of federal funds for abortion under Obamacare and to protect religious freedom has been ineffective.
Date posted: 2012-08-01
In the last two decades, same-sex marriage has won favor with individual judges and politicians, but it loses every time at the American ballot box. Contrary to the opinions set forth by the media and same-sex marriage proponents, same-sex marriage has not been accepted by the American people and remains an issue of severe controversy. It is clear that the same-sex marriage issue continues to be a source of division in American culture and politics.
Date posted: 2011-07-26
In January, the Senate voted against H.R. 2 (repealing Obama's health care law) and then in April voted down two resolutions that would have prohibited taxpayer funding for abortion - one blocking taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood and another prohibiting funds for abortion under the health care law. In the wake of these Senate votes, state legislatures are taking control over abortion funding in their own states by enacting "opt-out" legislation and other similar laws.
Date posted: 2011-06-02
Some people believe that only men called to the priesthood and men and women called to be consecrated virgins have a vocation to the single or celibate life and that neither a man nor a woman can have a vocation to the single or celibate life in the world. But this opinion is incorrect. In order to show why, it helps to reflect on the following: 1. The meaning of vocation and the universal call to sanctity or holiness and to love, even as God loves us, with a self-giving, redemptive kind of love; 2. Vocation and "states of life"; and 3. Personal vocation and the call to single life in the world.
Date posted: 2011-05-11
In light of the Obama Administration's recent announcement that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA in the courts, the following questions and answers have been compiled in order to clarify the position of the Obama Administration and to inform our readers of the basic facts and issues relevant to the current situation.
Date posted: 2011-04-04
On Friday, February 18th, the Obama Administration rescinded key provisions of Bush-era regulations that were critical to the enforcement of the Church Amendments and other longstanding federal laws protecting the rights of conscience of health care professionals.
Date posted: 2011-02-22
This essay summarizes the efforts made in the District of Columbia to protect the institution of marriage, and discusses the issue of discrimination in the same-sex marriage context.
Date posted: 2011-01-27
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, a measure to repeal Obama's health care law. Entitled, "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act," the measure was passed by a 245-189 vote, with unanimous GOP approval.
Date posted: 2011-01-20
Abortion-inducing drugs (Ella and Plan B)[1] and contraceptives are being considered for placement in this "preventative care" regimen. If abortion drugs and contraceptives are included, this would mean that all health insurance plans would provide 100% coverage for abortion drugs and contraception. Anyone in America who is enrolled in a health plan would be forced to pay for abortion drugs and contraception through their insurance premiums.
Date posted: 2010-12-07
At what stage in fetal development can a fetus experience pain, and what impact would this information have on women and abortion law in the United States?
Date posted: 2008-03-20