Pentagon’s Transgender Policy Defies Common Sense; Mental Illness vs. Demonic Possession ...more

Mexico high court rejects legalizing abortion
 Mexico’s Supreme Court rejected a proposal to legalize abortion but suggested more debate on the issue in the country boasting the world’s second-largest Catholic population.

Justices of the court’s first chamber — which deals with criminal issues — voted three to one to reject an initiative to declare as unconstitutional two laws that ban abortion and drastically limit the procedure for medical reasons.

Although the capital Mexico City has allowed abortion within three months of conception since 2007, it is prohibited throughout the rest of the country except in cases in which pregnancies endanger mothers’ lives...

Christian Law School Can Be Denied Accreditation Over Biblical Stance on Homosexuality, Ontario Court Rules ...In a ruling released Wednesday, a three judge panel of the high court concluded that Trinity Western University's "community covenant," which bans a host of behaviors, discriminates against LGBT people and that the Law Society of Upper Canada was justified in denying accreditation...

Pentagon’s Transgender Policy Defies Common Sense ...Some obvious questions arise from the new policy. Will biological males who identify as female be subject to physical fitness requirements for men or women? Will they be required to do 35 pushups or 13 pushups to pass basic training? Will American taxpayers be required to pay for expensive “sex reassignment” surgeries, including breast implants in men and shaving down Adam’s apples when that money can be spent on better weapons or more training?

Will service members who have addressed an officer as “sir” for years be booted out of the military if they refuse to address him as “ma’am?” Wouldn’t the loss and impact on recruiting offset any supposed gains of allowing a relatively few transgender troops the ability to dress according to their chosen identity? These are but a few questions Carter neglected to address in his announcement...

Federal judge strikes down Mississippi religious freedom law   A federal judge appointed by President Obama has struck down a Mississippi law – hours before it was set to take effect Friday – that would have protected the religious freedom of clerks and businesses that refuse to participate in same-sex marriages.

In his 60-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves stated that the law, known as the “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act,” or H.B. 1523, is unconstitutional and would “diminish the rights of LGBT citizens.”...

As a psychiatrist, I diagnose mental illness. And, sometimes, demonic possession ...So began an unlikely partnership. For the past two-and-a-half decades and over several hundred consultations, I’ve helped clergy from multiple denominations and faiths to filter episodes of mental illness — which represent the overwhelming majority of cases — from, literally, the devil’s work. It’s an unlikely role for an academic physician, but I don’t see these two aspects of my career in conflict. The same habits that shape what I do as a professor and psychiatrist — open-mindedness, respect for evidence and compassion for suffering people — led me to aid in the work of discerning attacks by what I believe are evil spirits and, just as critically, differentiating these extremely rare events from medical conditions.

Is it possible to be a sophisticated psychiatrist and believe that evil spirits are, however seldom, assailing humans? Most of my scientific colleagues and friends say no, because of their frequent contact with patients who are deluded about demons, their general skepticism of the supernatural, and their commitment to employ only standard, peer-reviewed treatments that do not potentially mislead (a definite risk) or harm vulnerable patients. But careful observation of the evidence presented to me in my career has led me to believe that certain extremely uncommon cases can be explained no other way...