In this May 3, 2020, file photo, the setting sun shines on the Supreme Court building in Washington. As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide, the Supreme Court late Wednesday, Nov. 25, temporarily barred New York from enforcing certain attendance limits at houses of worship in areas designated as hard hit by the virus. The court’s action won’t have any immediate impact since the two groups that sued as a result of the restrictions, the Catholic church and Orthodox Jewish synagogues, are no longer subject to them. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) WASHINGTON (BP) – Federal courts continue to weigh in on government restrictions affecting abortion and religious freedom during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated Monday (Jan. 25) rulings by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld orders by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott prohibiting most abortions in the state early in the pandemic. In its order, the high court instructed the appeals court in New Orleans to dismiss the case as moot after a revised Abbott order had enabled abortions to resume. In San Francisco, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled both Jan. 22 and 25 against churches in California that sought to halt enforcement of […]
