Samantha Gobba/WORLD News Service

SALEM, Ore. (BP) -- Oregon health insurers and taxpayers will soon be paying for abortion, contraceptives and sterilization under a new law Gov. Kate Brown has vowed to sign. The newly-passed Reproductive Health Equity Act forbids health insurance plans from imposing "a deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement" for abortion, STD screening, prenatal care, post-natal care and all forms of contraception.

BATON ROUGE, La. (BP) -- The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit in Baton Rouge last week targeting Louisiana's abortion facility licensing law and other health and safety regulations. The group sued on behalf of Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport and three anonymous abortionists who say the Louisiana laws run counter to last year's Supreme Court decision Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt.

SAN MARCOS, Calif. (BP) -- Despite granting nearly $300,000 to LGBT groups to host speakers and put on events, California State University- San Marcos apparently denied money to the Students for Life group on campus -- and now the school faces a lawsuit. The pro-life organization requested $500, the capped amount granted to student groups from a cache of mandatory student fees, to host a speaker on the topic of "Abortion and Human Equality." The school allegedly denied the request, and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the group and its ...

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill May 12 that requires abortionists to evaluate unborn babies for their ability to live outside the womb after 20 weeks' gestation. The new law bans abortions on unborn babies shown to be viable and requires medical opinions from two abortionists. Violators could be slapped with possible felony charges, sent to prison for up to three years, and have their medical licenses revoked. The law makes exceptions for cases in which carrying a baby to term endangers the mother's life or vital organs.

ONTARIO, Canada (BP) -- A recent push in Canada to encourage euthanasia patients to donate their organs appears to be working. In Ontario, the first province to report data, 26 people who died by lethal injection decided to donate tissue or organs since the Medical Aid in Dying Act (MAID) came into effect last June, according to the National Post. A total of 388 people have chosen to die by lethal injection in Ontario, over half of the 744 total Canadians who have been euthanized.

AUSTIN, Texas (BP) -- Texas abortion centers can continue disposing of aborted baby body parts in sewer systems and landfills for now, due to a federal judge's ruling. A law that was set to go into effect Dec. 19 would have required abortion centers and abortion-providing hospitals to bury or cremate the remains of aborted babies. ...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP) -- The number of women and girls undergoing abortions in the United States dropped by one-fifth between 2004 and 2013, a new report shows. While the report shows the abortion rate is the lowest it's been since 1969 when the government started tracking the procedure, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission urged a bit of caution in its news release, The Weekly. While expressing optimism with the report, they also noted the study relies on information provided voluntarily and is missing reports from three states.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Canada (BP) -- Two Christian hospitals in Winnipeg, Manitoba, have opted out of the assisted suicide law passed by Canada's government in June. Concordia Hospital, a Mennonite institution, and St. Boniface Hospital, a Catholic facility, announced they will not euthanize patients but agreed to refer those seeking assisted suicide to other groups that will.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP) -- The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender agenda is gaining traction at the United Nations, as the international organization prepares to vote on appointing an "independent expert" on preventing violence and discrimination. The post, created in July by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council, will come before the General Assembly for a final vote in November. The appointment will last three years, and the expert will "assess the ...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP) -- When archeologists in the 1970s found a charred scroll in the Holy Ark in the Synagogue of Ein Gedi, an ancient Hebrew town burned in A.D. 600, they never imagined they might be able to read it. But recent advancements in non-invasive imaging and even newer processing software allowed an international team of experts to "unwrap" five damaged, but legible, layers of the animal skin to reveal Leviticus 1:1-9 and Leviticus 2:1-11.