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Conversion Therapy Bans: Clashes of Faith and Conscience for Mental Health Providers

October 7, 2019

On August 20, 2015, former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law the “Youth Mental Health Protection Act”, the stated purpose of which is to "protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth from sexual orientation change efforts [SOCE], also known as conversion therapy.”  The law, now codified at 405 ILCS 48/1, et seq. “Act”, provides that “[u]nder no circumstances shall a mental health provider engage in sexual orientation change efforts with a person under the age of 18.” The fact that a provider may believe that such efforts are therapeutic, helpful to a patient, and otherwise good is of no legal consequence.

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Religious Organizations

NONPROFIT LAW NEWSFEED

Judge rules Michigan adoption agencies can bar LGBTQ couples

10/10/2019

CBS News  A judge in Michigan has ruled that religious-based adoption agencies that contract with the state can refuse to place children in LGBTQ homes. State Attorney General Dana Nessel reached a settlement earlier this year barring faith-based agencies from excluding same-sex couples from adoption services, but on Thursday a federal judge in Grand Rapids shot that down.

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SCOTUS will review Louisiana abortion law, setting up blockbuster election year showdown

10/04/2019

Politico  The Supreme Court on Friday announced it will review Louisiana abortion restrictions that could leave the state with just one abortion provider, in a case that gives the high court's new conservative majority a chance to redefine abortion rights.

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Judge says UI wrongly targeted student groups with religion-based standards

10/01/2019

Iowa City Press-Citizen  A second University of Iowa student group that promotes Christian beliefs has won a court ruling saying that UI acted unlawfully in deciding its standards for leaders' religious beliefs violated school policy.

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House Dems want to strip tax-exempt status from pro-family groups who oppose homosexuality

09/23/2019

LifeSiteNews  House Democrats are calling for 60 alleged “hate” groups, that include mostly socially conservative and some religious-based groups, to be stripped of their 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status for opposing, among other things, homosexuality, and LGBT ideology in general.

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Jury finds Aurora teacher guilty of failing to report suspected child abuse

09/12/2019

Kane County Chronicle  An East Aurora School District 131 teacher was found guilty for failing to report suspected child abuse to authorities as required by law, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.

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ACLU Sues to Block New Jersey Donor Disclosure Law

09/12/2019

Courthouse News Service  The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey sued state election officials Tuesday, asking a federal judge to declare that a donor disclosure law aimed at social welfare groups violates rights to free speech and association.

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Appeals court reinstates Minnesota filmmakers' bid to refuse same-sex couples

09/03/2019

Duluth News Tribune  A federal court on Friday, Aug. 23, reinstated a St.

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Judge sides with Mayo Clinic in IRS lawsuit over $11.5M

08/15/2019

Grand Forks Herald  An almost three-year legal battle with the IRS over whether Mayo Clinic can be classified as a school has ended with a judge ruling that the question at the heart of the case exceeds the government's bounds of authority and is "unlawful."

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Attorney General James Files Lawsuit Against IRS

07/18/2019

New York State Attorney General's Office  NEW YORK — Attorney General Letitia James today filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), along with New Jersey, and Connecticut, that argued against the new IRS Rule that would prevent residents from obtaining charitable deductions for contributions to local governments.

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Parking Tax Update - Repeal of Parking Fringes Tax

07/02/2019

ECFA  The Economic Mobility Act of 2019 would repeal section 512(a)(7), which imposes a 21 percent tax on expenses incurred by tax-exempt organizations for providing transportation benefits to their employees. The bill was approved by the House Ways and Means Committee on June 20.

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Judge rules Michigan adoption agencies can bar LGBTQ couples

10/10/2019

CBS News  A judge in Michigan has ruled that religious-based adoption agencies that contract with the state can refuse to place children in LGBTQ homes. State Attorney General Dana Nessel reached a settlement earlier this year barring faith-based agencies from excluding same-sex couples from adoption services, but on Thursday a federal judge in Grand Rapids shot that down.

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SCOTUS will review Louisiana abortion law, setting up blockbuster election year showdown

10/04/2019

Politico  The Supreme Court on Friday announced it will review Louisiana abortion restrictions that could leave the state with just one abortion provider, in a case that gives the high court's new conservative majority a chance to redefine abortion rights.

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