Virginia legislators:
Don't send in the clones
Virginia has no laws restricting
human therapeutic cloning. Scientists and doctors are free to use
cloning to grow organs needed for transplants.
But this could change soon.
>>> Read the full
story by Corinne Eidson.
Should unmarried and gay
couples get help with home loans?
In a move that has angered
conservatives, the Virginia Housing Development Authority wants to
give unrelated adults and nonmarried couples -- including homosexuals
-- the opportunity to grasp the American dream: the dream of owning
a home.
The proposal has stirred
controversy in the General Assembly. On Tuesday, the House voted to
reverse the change and to give home loan assistance only to traditional
families.
>>> Read the full
story by Holly Clark.
Senators require schools
to post 'In God We Trust' motto
A bill requiring every
public school to post the national motto, "In God We Trust,"
won the approval of the Senate yesterday, according to The
Virginian-Pilot.
Senate Bill 608, introduced
by Sen. Nick Rerras, R-Norfolk, requires public schools to prominently
and conspicuously post the motto.
If signed into law by Gov.
Mark Warner, the requirement would take effect next fall.
Rerras said the motto inspires
and gives hope, especially after the events of Sept. 11. But the bill
generated heated debate from Senate Minority Leader Richard Saslaw,
D-Fairfax, and other Democrats.
Saslaw said that the measure
would trivialize religion and faith, and that it would do nothing
to promote moral behavior or inspire patriotism.
House votes 75-25 to ban
'medically induced infanticide'
The House of Delegates
voted 75-25 in favor of a bill outlawing a late-term abortion procedure,
the Richmond Times Dispatch
reported.
The bill's sponsor, Delegate
Robert G, Marshall, R-Prince William, said it would ban "medically
induced infanticide."
However, two House members
said the bill was unconstitutional. Marshall said his bill does not
clash with the Constitution.
Senators kill bill requiring
parental consent for abortions
The
Senate Education and Health Committee has killed a bill that would
require a parent or guardian to give notarized consent when a minor
seeks an abortion, according to the Richmond
Times Dispatch.
The law now requires parental
notification, but not consent.
The measure was sponsored
by Sen. Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William.
Senators said they had
questions about the bill, such as what to do in cases of forged notification.
