Some interesting law and religion news stories from around the web this week:
- After the release of a series of videos about Planned Parenthood’s sale of fetal organs, pro-life activism is increasing and a vote is scheduled on legislation halting federal funding to the organization.
- A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments monument in front of a Pennsylvania high school, finding that the plaintiffs did not have standing.
- The first Congress of Cannabis Ministries was organized in Denver, Colorado, as a way to help marijuana users and advocates start churches of their own.
- The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program, which offers some low-income students scholarships to attend private schools, including religiously-run schools.
- The Boy Scouts of America ended its national ban on openly gay adult leaders and employees while allowing local religious units to continue to use religious beliefs, including those about homosexuality, to select leaders.
- The Federal Bureau of Prisons has agreed to give inmates who identify as Humanists the same type of accommodations it provides those who practice other religions.
- In the U.K. the High Court held that coroners must send bodies for scans or blood tests rather than carry out invasive autopsies if the deceased’s religion demands the corpse must stay intact,