This week marks the 50th anniversary of Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, a landmark case in which the US Supreme Court held that a restaurant owner did not have a religious right to turn away black customers.
Groups Demand Information From Notre Dame And Trump Administration On Contraceptive Coverage Settlement
Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) today sent a demand letter to the University of Notre Dame and filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Department of Justice, seeking information on the school’s contraceptive coverage for its employees and students.
Michigan Case Brings Victory For Religious Freedom And Transgender Rights
A federal appeals court today issued a welcome decision in EEOC v. Harris Funeral Homes. The case involves a funeral home in Michigan whose owner fired an employee, Aimee Stephens, when she came out as transgender and announced that she would begin to wear women’s clothing. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the business for unlawful employment discrimination.
Americans United Hails Appeals Court Decision That Michigan Funeral Home Can’t Discriminate Against Transgender Employee
Tell The Trump Administration: A Patient’s Health Should Always Come First
Opposition To Georgia’s Anti-LGBTQ Adoption Bill SB 375 Is Growing
Denied Opportunity To Become Foster Parents, LGBTQ Couple Sues Government For Using Religion As An Excuse To Discriminate
Lawmakers In Two States Consider Mean-Spirited ‘Parody Marriage’ Bills
Standing Together For The Separation Of Church And State
Rachel K. Laser Named New Executive Director Of Americans United For Separation Of Church And State
Georgia Adoption Bill Harms Children In The Name Of ‘Religious Freedom'
In Georgia, there are more than 14,000 children in foster care. Tomorrow morning at 8:00am, legislators there will debate a bill that would make it even harder for these children to find safe, stable, and loving homes.
State Legislatures Are Considering More Bills Than Ever to Allow College Student Groups to Use Religion to Discriminate
It’s February, and that means students across the country are back on college and university campuses for a new semester. One of the highlights of campus life is joining student groups. But in some states, students at public universities could be denied the opportunity to participate in a student club because of who they are.
Notre Dame Flip-Flops Again, Will Deny Women Access To Some Forms Of Birth Control
The University of Notre Dame has flip-flopped again: Notre Dame President the Rev. John Jenkins announced this month that university-sponsored health insurance plans for students and staff will stop covering some forms of birth control. The decision will affect more than 17,000 people who rely on the school for health insurance.
Education Department Announces It Will No Longer Act On Transgender Student Bathroom Complaints
Yesterday’s announcement is more of the same from the Trump administration: They are putting in place policies that could result in discrimination against women, LGBTQ people, and others, often using religion as an excuse to do so.
California Judge Rules Bakery Can Refuse To Serve Same-Sex Couples
This week, a California judge ruled that Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California, can violate the state’s nondiscrimination law and refuse to serve same-sex couples. The bakery had used religion as an excuse to turn away Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez-Del Rio when they tried to buy a cake for their upcoming wedding reception—the judge ruled the bakery had a constitutional right to do so.
In A Victory For The Women We Represented, Americans United Dismisses Challenge To Harmful Contraception Rules
Today, Americans United dismissed our lawsuit challenging harmful rules issued by the Trump administration in October 2017 that allow employers and universities to cite religious or moral objections in order to deny employees and students health insurance coverage of contraception. Although the rules still remain in effect, our plaintiffs will have access to birth control due to some fortuitous events.
Declaring Victory For Plaintiffs, Groups Withdraw Lawsuit Against Trump Administration’s Harmful, Discriminatory Birth Control Rules
Today, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), joined by co-counsel Dentons, withdrew their legal challenge to the Trump administration’s interim final rules allowing virtually any employer or university to refuse to provide birth control coverage based on religious or moral objections.
The State Of The Union That Wasn’t
How To Translate Trump’s State Of The Union Address
Tonight, President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress and the American public. As he’s done in speech after speech during the first year of his presidency, he’ll likely claim he’s protecting religious freedom when in reality he’s doing the exact opposite by advancing policies that promote discrimination in the name of religion, politicize houses of worship, and compel taxpayers to fund religious schools.