A law professor at the Catholic-oriented St. Thomas University, Teresa Collett, is responding to a petition saying her testimonies around the country have, “no place in an institution of higher education.” The petition and attack video are being spread by NARAL, or the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.
The group attacks Collett for supporting ultrasounds prior to abortions, as well as a ban on abortions after twenty weeks. NARAL claims Collett uses the university’s name to help spread what they say is “misinformation.” Collett says that while she stands by her beliefs, the claim that she “uses” the university is entirely false, explaining, “I will drop a footnote that says ‘for informational purposes only’ to strongly indicate that I’m acting as an individual…or in legislation I will say ‘the views that I am presenting are my views alone and do not represent the views of any other organization that I might be affiliated with.’”
NARAL chose not to speak with Alpha News about their petition and video. Collett says the administration at St. Thomas have been very supportive of her throughout this attack campaign.
Republican Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt sent a letter to Democratic Governor Mark Dayton asking him to call on President Obama to “halt the acceptance of refugees from Syria.” Governor Dayton says he has been assured by the White House that the refugees are “subject to the highest level of security checks.” In Speaker Daudt’s letter he suggests halting the influx of refugees “until the U.S. Department of Homeland Security completes a full review of security procedures and clearances.”
The Federal Government says they are reviewing a request sent by Governor Dayton to give Minnesota more time to comply with driver’s license regulations being enforced as early as January. Some of the changes include having a barcode on all ID’s and requiring states to share all of the data on the licenses with other states.
State Representative Peggy Scott is informing Minnesotans about the changes that are coming to the new ID’s, including her concerns, saying, “The things that make me nervous about this is what other uses there might be for this REAL ID, what information is contained in the barcodes on the back…”
To implement the new ID’s the Legislature would need to reverse a 2009 law banning the state from complying with the federal REAL ID act. The license laws could be enforced as soon as January, however the Legislature does not reconvene until March, leaving some Minnesotans concerned that they will need a second form of ID to board domestic flights.
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