1.  LifeSiteNews.com reports that the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act.

The decision is the culmination of four years work by the Thomas More Society (TMS).  As a result of the court's decision in Zbaraz v. Hartigan, for the first time the Illinois law will be enforced to provide notification to parents before their minor daughters are taken for abortions.  

The Parental Notice Act has been in legal limbo for more than 10 years.

Peter Breen, Executive Director and Legal Counsel of TMS, said, "This is an incredible victory for Illinois parents and their children.  Parental involvement laws enjoy overwhelming public support.  These laws promote the integrity of the family and ensure that parents are consulted so that their children are not forced into an abortion decision.  A wealth of social science data indicates that parental involvement laws lead to lower pregnancy rates, out-of-wedlock births and abortions."

2.  The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and Gateways to Better Education have launched a nationwide effort to help schools understand the rights of students to religious expression.

The National Free to Speak Campaign is promoting greater awareness of the U.S. Department of Education's guidelines on students' freedom of expression on religious matters in public schools.

The Education Department issued guidelines on freedom of religious expression in public schools twice during the Clinton administration (1995 and 1998) and once under the Bush administration (2003).  The National Free to Speak Campaign is designed to equip and inform more school districts, schools, teachers, parents, and students about religious liberty at school, as outlined in the department's guidelines.

"The guidelines were sent to every school district, but they didn't always make it into the hands of school administrators, teachers, parents, and students," explained ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman.  "As a result, some schools have practices that are in direct violation of the guidelines and the U.S. Constitution.  This campaign will help schools improve their practices."

To promote greater awareness of religious freedom, the campaign has produced a pocket-sized student pamphlet, Free to Speak: What the U.S. Department of Education says about public school students' religious liberties. 

The campaign encourages churches and campus clubs to purchase and distribute the pamphlets throughout their schools and communities.  Their goal is to distribute 500,000 pamphlets and reach 5,000 schools by the end of the year.

The website for the Campaign is at http://www.gtbe.org/news/index.php/56.html.

A series of questions and answers about the right to religious expression is available at http://www.gtbe.org/news/index.php/4.html.