Bioethics Public Policy Report: July 9, 2025
STATE By State
In Colorado, a Christian camp will be permitted to have separate facilities by biological sex after reaching a legal settlement with the state. The camp had challenged a Colorado Department of Early Childhood policy that would have forced the camp to allow access to facilities based on “gender identity.” The state also issued a clarifying memo, further exempting “churches, synagogues, mosques, or any other place that is principally used for religious purposes.” For further information, click here.
In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein vetoed three bills against DEI and another provision that would have prevented state funding for gender transitions, calling the bills “mean-spirited.” For further information, click here.
Federal Courts
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Washington state for its new child abuse reporting law, which would require priests to violate the seal of the confessional. The DOJ claims that the new law violates both the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. For further information, click here.
In a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that states may cut off funding to Planned Parenthood. The Court specifically ruled in favor of a South Carolina law that cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. For further information, click here.
In another 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of parents who were seeking to opt their children out of “LGBTQ+-inclusive” curriculum. Justice Alito, writing for the majority, stated that the school board’s decision to withhold opt-outs from the objecting parents placed “an unconstitutional burden on the parents’ rights to the free exercise of their religion.” For further information, click here.
In yet another 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court upheld Texas’ age verification law for pornographic websites, finding that it does not violate the First Amendment. Justice Thomas, writing for the majority, said that the law survived intermediate scrutiny, since “sexual content that is obscene to minors but not to adults is protected in part and unprotected in part.” For further information, click here.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases involving transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. The cases involve challenges to laws against transgender individuals participating in women’s sports in Idaho and West Virginia. For further information, click here.
The Supreme Court rejected Montana’s challenge to the invalidation of a parental consent law that would require parents to consent prior to an abortion procured by a minor. Justices Alito and Thomas stated that the decision was not a decision on the merits of the case, but based on other legal technicalities that prevented the Court from hearing the case. For further information, click here.
Disability rights activists have sued Colorado in federal court over its assisted suicide law, claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Affordable Care Act, and the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The challengers allege that the law gives excessive leeway to medical professionals in determining what constitutes a “terminal disease,” such that it could very easily include those with disabilities. For further information, click here.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has revived part of a lawsuit over the termination of two longtime employees of the New York Federal Reserve Bank who claimed a religious objection to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The court found that there was a genuine dispute of material fact as to the sincerity of the religious beliefs of one of the employees warranting further review. For further information, click here.
national
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is investigating a Michigan health group for religious discrimination. The investigation comes after the group allegedly fired an employee for applying for a religious exemption from transgender procedures and the use of preferred pronouns. To read HHS’s statement, click here. For further information, click here.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed at a House budget hearing for the DOJ that an investigation was ongoing into the “D.C. Five,” who were five babies whose bodies were found outside of an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C., and who seemed to be the victims of partial-birth abortions. AG Bondi said that she could not discuss the details of the case at this time. For further information, click here.
The Department of Education has stated that California is in violation of Title IX for allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, following an investigation. If California fails to comply with the Department of Education’s standards, it could lose federal funding for education. To read the Department of Education’s statement, click here. For further information, click here.
The “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed in both houses and was signed by President Trump on the Fourth of July, passing with a provision defunding Planned Parenthood for a year. Planned Parenthood is at risk of closure of 200 clinics across the country. For further information, click here.
international
In Canada, a member of Parliament from British Columbia has introduced a bill that would restrict mental illnesses as being a ground for eligibility for the country’s infamous Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, a MAID facility has quietly opened up on the campus of a Catholic hospital. For further information, click here and here.
The Anscombe Bioethics Centre in Oxford has announced that it will be closing due to financial difficulties, effective July 31, 2025. For further information, click here.
of note
Pope Leo recently gave an address calling for the use of artificial intelligence for the good of human beings. He also, in an audience, called for peace in the world following the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities. In another audience, he spoke about the modern problem of the “fatigue of living.” For further information, click here, here, and here.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement on the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, urging “to engage their elected officials on all issues that threaten the gift of human life, in particular the threat of abortion.” For further information, click here.
A recent study showed that abortionists have been moving out of states that have imposed abortion bans following the Dobbs decision. To read the study, click here.
Another study showed a link between higher age of a father and greater miscarriage rates for in vitro fertilization. For further information, click here.
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The National Catholic Bioethics Center website is a significant resource for bioethics information. NCBC bioethicists are also on call for consultation twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, at 215-877-2660.
Justin Corman
Justin Corman is a guest editor at the NCBC, and a student at Ave Maria School of Law.