Bioethics Public Policy Report: November 11, 2025
State by State
The State of Wisconsin is asking the state’s supreme court to ignore the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in a case where the state had argued that Catholic Charities was not sufficiently religious to remain tax exempt. For further information, click here.
California and New York are funding Planned Parenthood with state money to counteract the Trump administration’s denial of federal funding of the abortion giant. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $140 million, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $25 million, to fund the abortion industry in their respective states. For further information, click here and here.
A Michigan township was accused by a Protestant congregation of religious discrimination after it prohibited it from having more than one service on Sundays and from hosting weddings. First Liberty Institute sent a letter on behalf of Tarrington Group Properties, LLC, and The Sanctum of One God Church alleging discrimination on these counts. For further information, click here.
In Texas, voters approved a state constitutional parental rights amendment that ensures that parents have the right to “to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing,” to take effect as soon as the results are certified by the Texas secretary of state. The measure passed with over 72% of voters in favor. For further information, click here.
An assisted suicide bill, entitled the “End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act,” has passed in both houses of the Illinois legislature and now goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign. If signed into law, it would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal drug to terminally ill patients with “mental capacity,” which the bill defines as “the ability to make and communicate an informed decision.” Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois issued a public statement condemning the bill and asking the faithful to pray that Gov. Pritzker vetoes the bill. To read the text of the bill, click here. To read Bishop Paprocki’s statement, click here. For further information, click here.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that the state had won a victory in the state’s appellate court in a case filed against Yelp. The state successfully argued that Yelp was engaged in discriminatory practices by intentionally steering its users away from pro-life pregnancy centers. For further information, click here.
After an official inquiry by the Department of Education, Fairfax County Public Schools has denied the allegations that its employees were facilitating abortions for students and instead claimed that the allegations were false and retaliatory. For further information, click here.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced that it would be resuming abortion procedures after a month-long pause following the passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” (P.L. 119-21), which cut funding for Planned Parenthood. It obtained Medicaid funding by relinquishing its Essential Community Provider status to avoid being considered a “prohibited entity” under federal law. Wisconsin Right to Life decried the move as sidestepping the clear intent of the law. To read Planned Parenthood’s statement, click here. To read Wisconsin Right to Life’s statement, click here.
Federal Courts
A federal district court judge in the Southern District of Mississippi struck down a Biden administration U.S Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation that attempted to expand Title IX discrimination provisions to discrimination on the basis of gender identity. The rule had been stayed from going into effect since 2024 but now has been termed unconstitutional and exceeding HHS’s authority. For further information, click here.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Oregon cannot force pro-life organizations to include abortion in their employee health insurance plans. The pro-life organization that sued the state for the 2017 Reproductive Health Equity Act has been granted a preliminary injunction as the case proceeds to trial, holding that the organization’s board members had “sincere religious beliefs” sufficient to state a claim, reversing the lower court’s order. For further information, click here.
National
The Napa Institute published its 2025 Faith & Freedom Index, cataloging the scores of all 50 states according to six factors: Free Exercise protections, whether the state has a Religious Freedom Restoration Act, treatment of religious nonprofits, treatment of faith-based employers, protections for Free Exercise during a state of emergency, and whether the state has a Blaine Amendment. Alabama scored the highest, at 86%, but most states failed according to these criteria. To see the Index, click here.
President Trump has threatened sanctions and military action in Nigeria due to the failure of the government to put an end to Christian persecution in the country. For further information, click here.
The U.S. Department of Education published the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program final rule, establishing new regulations for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program which prevents organizations that have a “substantial illegal purpose” from being “qualified employers” for purposes of the PSLF Program. These activities importantly include “engaging in the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children in violation of Federal or state law,” among other enumerated illegal activity. To read the rule, click here.
A joint Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services/Centers for Disease Control committee on ICD-10 codes will consider a proposal from Do No Harm, a group of doctors who advocate against gender transitions for minors, to create/approve medical codes for sex-detransitioning, due to the growing population of those who regret transitioning as a form of treatment for gender dysphoria. The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines, produced and updated by the World Health Organization, is a mechanism used by insurance providers to provide diagnoses for health interventions to be reimbursed. The committee is accepting public comments on the proposal, due November 14, 2025, which can be submitted via email to nchsicd10cm@cdc.gov. For further information, click here and here.
International
A non-profit organization based in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada, called “MAiDHouse” opened a facility in an undisclosed location in Victoria, British Columbia. The discovery comes as Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying program has been coming under more widespread scrutiny for abuses even under the already lax regulations. For further information, click here.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken note of the nation’s aging and shrinking population and is pursuing new regulations in an attempt to address the declining birth rates. In addition to already present laws, President Putin seeks to ban all promotion of abortion and LGBTQ activism. For further information, click here.
Of Note
Pope Leo XIV and King Charles III prayed together in the Sistine Chapel, marking the first time a British monarch has prayed with a pope since before the Church of England broke with Rome almost 500 years ago. For further information, click here.
Pope Leo also approved decrees for 11 new martyrs of the Church under persecution from Nazi and communist regimes, as well as named St. John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. For further information, click here and here.
Vice President J.D. Vance attended a private Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem while on a diplomatic trip to Israel. For further information, click here.
A girl who had been left wounded with a bullet lodged in her brain after the shooting at the Annunciation Catholic Church school Mass has finally been discharged from the hospital after making a remarkable recovery despite initially having slim chances of survival. For further information, click here.
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