Weekly Review

Most Sinful Cities? WalletHub has attempted to rate the most sinful cities. Most surveys of this type have a worldview behind them, or at least an ideological agenda, and there are similar flaws in this survey. However, the study took the “seven deadly sins,” as a starting point, and came up with ratings for more than 100 American cities. It’s perhaps not surprising that Las Vegas, with legalized gambling and prostitution, comes in at the top of the list. Los Angeles, New York, Houston, and St. Louis rounded out the top five. South Burlington, Vermont, had the lowest ranking, coming in at 182^nd on the most sinful list. In general, larger cities fared worse, and cities with high violent crime rates were higher on the list. That said, Gulfport, Mississippi, ranked #1 on the “greed” list, presumably for the preponderance of casino gambling there. Chops Blocked. A federal judge last week blocked Title X changes that would have stopped funding abortion. In February, the Trump administration issued revised Title X regulations that would have diminished the amount of federal dollars going to abortion facilities or to women’s health organizations that refer women for abortions. However, U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian of the Eastern District of Washington State said Thursday that plaintiffs “submitted substantial evidence of harm” under the updates, which were scheduled to take effect Friday. Washington was one of at least 22 states that had filed a suit against the rules. Earlier last week, a federal judge in Oregon issued a similar ruling that only applied in that state. Protecting Life. The states continue to be the key battlegrounds for the protection of life. In the past week alone, California, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, and South Carolina considered legislation related to abortion. Indiana’s Gov. Eric Holcomb signed two pro-life bills last week, one protecting unborn babies from abortion by dismemberment and another expanding conscience protection rights to nurses and physician assistants who do not want to perform or assist in abortions. In Nevada, a bill that would have legalized assisted suicide died in the state Senate on Thursday. Seven states and the District of Columbia currently allow the practice. Death by Euthanasia. Euthanasia is now a significant cause of death in Canada. According to recently released government statistics, about 1.12 percent of all deaths in Canada are the result of euthanasia. That percentage translated to more than 2,600 people who died in 2018 as a result of Canada’s 2016 Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) law. Quebec did not make data available after March 2018, so the real figures are likely much higher, the report states.

04/30/19