Legal Status

WASHINGTON -- The House voted yesterday to treat attacks on a pregnant woman as separate crimes against both her and the fetus she is carrying. Critics say it would undermine abortion rights by giving fetuses new federal legal status. Passage of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act was actively backed by the White House and President Bush's conservative supporters. Following enactment of the law banning "partial birth" abortions last year, the bill is this year's prime measure dealing with the unborn.

Federal immigration officials will launch the Secure Communities program statewide in New Hampshire on Tuesday, allowing them to check the legal status of anyone arrested and booked by local police, according to a law enforcement official. The official sought anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the program before it went into effect. Connecticut and Rhode Island are the only other New England states to activate the controversial fingerprint-matching program. Illegal immigrants discovered through the program could be deported.

CHILDREN WHO were brought to the United States illegally are hardly responsible for their status, and Governor Patrick is right to press for a bill allowing them to pay the in-state rate at public universities. These young people are not an immediate target of federal immigration officials. Therefore, they are almost certain to stay here, and should be given the opportunity to pursue higher education. All of Massachusetts would benefit from the higher taxes they would pay as educated workers.

North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, becoming the latest state to effectively slam the door shut on same-sex marriages. With most of the precincts reporting Tuesday, unofficial returns showed the amendment passing with about 61 percent of the vote to 39 percent against. North Carolina is the 30th state to adopt such a ban on gay marriage. Tami Fitzgerald, who heads the pro-amendment group Vote FOR Marriage NC, said she believes the initiative awoke a silent majority of more active voters in the future.

Federal immigration officials will launch the Secure Communities program statewide in New Hampshire on Tuesday, allowing them to check the legal status of anyone arrested and booked by local police, according to a law enforcement official. The official sought anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the program before it went into effect. Connecticut and Rhode Island are the only other New England states to activate the controversial fingerprint-matching program. Illegal immigrants discovered through the program could be deported.

Massachusetts lawmakers must quickly find about $150 million to provide health insurance to tens of thousands of legal immigrants, after the state's highest court ruled yesterday that they were illegally excluded from subsidized coverage available to other residents. The Supreme Judicial Court said a 2009 law that cut legal immigrants from the insurance program "violates their rights to equal protection under the Massachusetts Constitution. " A challenge to that law had been filed on behalf of immigrants by Health Law Advocates, a Boston public interest firm.

North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, becoming the latest state to effectively slam the door shut on same-sex marriages. With most of the precincts reporting Tuesday, unofficial returns showed the amendment passing with about 61 percent of the vote to 39 percent against. North Carolina is the 30th state to adopt such a ban on gay marriage. Tami Fitzgerald, who heads the pro-amendment group Vote FOR Marriage NC, said she believes the initiative awoke a silent majority of more active voters in...

Israel's Interior Ministry has begun sifting through applications of over 2,000 children who are in Israel without legal status. A ministry official, Sabine Haddad, said Tuesday that legal status has been granted so far to 257 children, which will allow their families to stay in the country. She says 118 applications have been rejected because they didn't meet government criteria. Haddad says the ministry will decide on about 2,000 other children later this month. There are about 140,000 people who have overstayed their visas in Israel, most of...

RICHMOND — Virginia joined the national debate over immigration yesterday when Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion that authorizes law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone stopped by police officers for any reason. Previously, law enforcement officers in Virginia were required to investigate the legal status only of those who were arrested and jailed. Cuccinelli’s opinion is less stringent than the portion of an Arizona law that was stopped by a federal court last week.

MEXICO CITY -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said yesterday that President Bush will place a high priority in his second term on granting legal status to millions of migrants who live illegally in the United States. Powell spoke at the inaugural session of the US-Mexican Bi-National Commission, which annually brings together top officials from both sides to discuss a range of cross-border issues. Powell was joined here by five other members of Bush's Cabinet.

Israel's Interior Ministry has begun sifting through applications of over 2,000 children who are in Israel without legal status. A ministry official, Sabine Haddad, said Tuesday that legal status has been granted so far to 257 children, which will allow their families to stay in the country. She says 118 applications have been rejected because they didn't meet government criteria. Haddad says the ministry will decide on about 2,000 other children later this month. There are about 140,000 people who have overstayed their visas in Israel, most of them Asians and Africans.

DENVER - In a trial of a politically divisive program, US prosecutors in Denver and Baltimore are reviewing thousands of deportation cases to determine which illegal immigrants might stay in the country so officials can reduce a backlog by focusing on detainees with criminal backgrounds or who are deemed threats to national security. Federal deportation hearings for noncriminal defendants released from custody were suspended Dec. 5 for the review and resume this week. Similar reviews are planned across the country to allow the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to target deportations of...

Massachusetts lawmakers must quickly come up with about $150cq million to provide health insurance to tens of thousands of legal immigrants, after the state's highest court ruled today that they were illegally excluded from subsidized coverage available to other residents. The Supreme Judicial Court said a 2009 law that cut the legal immigrants from the insurance program "violates their rights to equal protection under the Massachusetts Constitution. " State officials promised to take fast action on the court decision, which could affect up to 37,400cq...

LONDON - An independent panel of experts in the United Kingdom says there is a strong case for changing British law to help terminally ill people die. In a report yesterday, the Commission for Assisted Dying described the legal status of assisted suicide in Britain as "inadequate and incoherent. " It is illegal to help a terminally ill person commit suicide, but prosecutions are rare. In 2009, the top prosecutor said most people who help terminally ill friends and relatives die were unlikely to be charged.

Massachusetts lawmakers must quickly come up with about $150 million to provide health insurance to tens of thousands of legal immigrants, after the state's highest court ruled yesterday that they were illegally excluded from subsidized coverage available to other residents. The Supreme Judicial Court said a 2009 law that cut legal immigrants from the insurance program "violates their rights to equal protection under the Massachusetts Constitution. " State officials promised to take fast action on the court decision, which could affect up to 37,400 immigrants who have had legal status...

An independent panel of experts in the U.K. says there is a strong case for changing British law to help terminally ill people die. In a report Thursday, the Commission for Assisted Dying described the legal status of assisted suicide in Britain as "inadequate and incoherent. " It is illegal to help a terminally ill person commit suicide, but prosecutions are rare. In 2009, the government's top prosecutor said most people who help terminally ill friends and family members die were unlikely to be charged.

The Alabama Legislature passed an Arizona-style immigration law and approved new congressional districts on its next-to-last meeting day, but the state budgets won’t be completed until the final day next week. The House and Senate agreed on an immigration bill Thursday that requires all businesses to verify the legal status of their new employees, and they approved new congressional districts that protect all seven incumbents. Both bills go to the governor. The Senate approved the governor’s recommended changes to the General Fund budget, including increasing funding for Medicaid,...

RE "MARIJUANA genome: Fighting cancer, dude" (Editorial, Aug. 20): Rarely mentioned in the debate over the legal status of this plant, valued since the dawn of agriculture for its nutritious seeds, durable fiber, medicinal qualities, and, yes, its ability to alter consciousness, are the constitutional limits on the power of the state. The federal and state prohibition of cannabis exceeds those limits. Such unconstitutional laws do not bind in conscience, though they may be obeyed out of fear.

The Massachusetts Senate has approved a Republican-backed amendment requiring the state to take steps to deny benefits to illegal immigrants. The amendment was adopted Wednesday as part of a supplemental spending plan and requires the Patrick administration to draft measures to ensure that those who are not lawfully entitled to benefits don't receive them. Passage of the Senate amendment comes after the administration said one percent of Medicaid spending in Massachusetts during the past fiscal year had gone to services for immigrants who couldn't prove their legal status.