The case of the baby, 11 month old Charlie Gard, that British courts have condemned to death; and FRC’s new report on hostility to religion.

Baby Charile and his mother

We begin in our new time with the sad case of little Charlie Gard, the British baby given a death sentence over his parents’ objections. Little Charlie was born with the rare genetic condition known as mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS). His parents, Christ Gard and Connie Yates, rejected suggestions to abort Charlie before he was born and are now engaged in a legal battle to keep him alive.

The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, where Charlie is being treated, wanted his mechanical ventilation removed to allow Charlie to die because he had a “life not worth living.” The parents wanted to take Charlie to the United States for an experimental treatment that might keep him alive. The hospital took the parents to court and received a court order to remove Charlie from life-support. All appeals, including to the European Court

Alexandra Snyder
Life Legal Foundation

of Human Rights were denied.

Both Pope Francis and President Trump have tried to intervene on Charlie’s behalf but the British government refuses to cooperate; however a new hearing in the case has been set for this week.

Joining Deacon Mike Manno and Pam Briddell to discuss this matter will be Alexandra Snyder, executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation. Alexandra has a long history of caring for all aspects of life. Prior to joining Life Legal, she worked as counsel and policy director for a nationwide organization that provides safe housing for young women who have been rescued from human trafficking. She has operated a small legal clinic that offered pro bono consultation and services to victims of abuse and exploitation. She continues to serve as a consultant on law and policy matters to several anti-trafficking organizations and also an adjunct professor at Trinity Law School in Orange County, Calif., where she teaches a course on the Right to Life.

After Alexandra we’re going to turn our attention to a new report released by the Family Research Council (FRC),“Hostility to Religion: The Growing Threat to Religious Liberty in the United States.” The author of the 40-page report, Travis Weber, director of the FRC’s Center for Religious Liberty, will also join us.

Travis Weber
Family Research Council

As director of the Center for Religious Liberty, Travis focuses on a variety of legal and policy issues pertaining to religious freedom. In his current role, Travis advises FRC on international and domestic religious freedom issues, and advocates for religious freedom on behalf of FRC in a variety of forums. Before joining FRC, Travis practiced law in the areas of civil rights, criminal defense, and military law. A Naval Academy graduate, he previously served as a Navy pilot.

So join Deacon Mike and Pam for an interesting hour discussing these topics as well as other matters of interest to people of faith. FOT airs at its new time 10 a.m. (Central) on Iowa Catholic Radio, 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM; and streams on our website, IowaCatholicRadio.com and can also be heard by downloading our free app from the app store. The program will be re-broadcast at 10 p.m. and it, as well as older programs, may be heard at our page on the station’s web site here.

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