By Christy Barritt
Most Americans Oppose Abortion
A poll released by CNN shows that 62 percent of Americans believe abortion should be illegal under most or all circumstances.
According to the results, 41 percent of respondents said abortion should be legal in a few circumstances; 21 percent said it should be illegal in all circumstances, 25 percent said it should be legal under any circumstances; and 12 percent said it should be legal in most circumstances.
Americans’ opinion on abortion also breaks down by age. Fifty-nine percent of people age 18-34, 58 percent of people age 35-54, and 64 percent of those over the age of 55 said that all or most abortions should become illegal.
The telephone poll was conducted by ORC International among 1,038 voters and covered a broad range of social issues.
Pray in Public—But Not to Jesus
States under the jurisdiction of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are no longer allowed to mention Jesus while praying before public meetings.
The case began in Forsyth County, North Carolina after an official used the name of Jesus while praying in a public meeting. The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State sued the Forsyth County Commission on behalf of the three people who were offended.
The U.S. Circuit Court ruled that even “a solitary reference to Jesus Christ” in meetings could do “violence to the pluralist and inclusive values that are a defining feature of American public life.”
Judge James Harvie Wilkinson III in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals majority opinion wrote that legislative invocations offered in Jesus’ name are inherently “sectarian” and thus should be censored.
The Alliance Defense Fund represented the county and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule the Circuit Court ruling, but in January they declined.
Salt Lake City “Gayest City” in America
Salt Lake City, Utah was recently declared the “Gayest City in America, 2012” by Advocate.com, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender news website.
The website didn’t use census figures to draw this conclusion. Instead, they used “decidedly subjective criteria,” including the number of LGBT elected city officials, to create a formula that determined the results.
Ultimately, the reason Salt Lake City was chosen was because it has an LGBT bookstore, nude yoga classes, and has hosted concerts by well-known LGBT artists.
Behind Salt Like City were Orlando, Florida; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Seattle, Washington.
U.S. Has Highest Teen Birth Rate in Developed World
According to a study released by researchers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 400,000 teenagers in the United States, ages 15 to 19, give birth each year. Based on these numbers, the United States has the highest teen birth rate in the developed world. This is despite the fact that the teen birth rate in the U.S. has fallen in recent years.
Also noted from the report was that teen mothers are more likely to drop out of school and infants born to teens are more likely to have a low birth weight which puts them at risk for certain health conditions.
Researchers used data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System for this report. Thirty-seven states and New York City contribute to the system.
Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons.
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