Mere minutes before a midnight deadline, the Alabama State Senate approved the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, becoming the sixth state to pass a ban on abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy. Following an earlier 66 to 19 vote approval by the state House of Representatives, the Senate passed the bill by an overwhelming 26 to 5 vote margin.

Homosexual activists are gloating over the recent statement by Focus on the Family (FOTF) President Jim Daly (left) that pro-family leaders are “losing” the battle for traditional marriage among younger generations of Americans.

In an interview published in WORLD magazine, Daly was queried on the efforts of organizations like FOTF to protect families, marriages, children, and the pre-born. While Daly was optimistic on such initiatives as adoption and beefing up crisis pregnancy centers, when asked about efforts to convince younger Americans on the importance of protecting traditional marriage, he appeared much less optimistic.

Born-again Christian who have been wondering all these years just why they are so different from the rest of the crowd may now have an answer via a new study out of Duke University Medical Center. Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Templeton Foundation found that individuals who identify themselves as “born-again” Christians tend to have smaller brains than Protestants who claim no such experience.

On May 21 the Minnesota House of Representatives passed a proposed state constitutional amendment that would define marriage as only between a man and a woman. The House vote followed similar approval of the measure in the Senate on May 11, which means that the proposed amendment will be placed on the state ballot for Minnesota voters to decide in November 2012. If passed it will make Minnesota one of more than 30 states that have actively protected traditional marriage via their state constitutions.

Marriages in America are lasting longer and divorce is declining slightly, according to a recent Census Bureau report. The research, taken from a sampling of 55,497 individuals surveyed in 2009, found that more than half of couples currently married have been married for at least 15 years, 35 percent have been married for more than 25 years, and six percent have been married for more than 50 years. The latest numbers are all one to two percentage points higher than Census statistics in 1996.

A new study conducted by a college in Ohio has found that up to a third of pre-teen girls' clothing available online in the U.S. is designed to be sexualizing. “Researchers led by Sarah Murnen, a professor of psychology at Kenyon College in Ohio, looked at 15 websites of popular clothing stores, ranging from bargain to high-end sectors of the junior US market,” reported AFP News. The researchers found that clothing marketed for girls as young as six is being designed to draw attention to their breasts, buttocks, and slimness, sending out signals that are sensuous and inappropriate. The researchers say it is a trend that is reinforcing destructive stereotypes for female attractiveness.

Peter Vidmar (left), the two-time Olympic gold medal gymnast who had been chosen as the Chief of Mission for the 2012 United States Olympic team, has resigned his position after his pro-family views and support for traditional marriage raised the ire of homosexual activists and Olympians.

The Minnesota legislature appears to be closer than ever to passing a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. On April 29, barely a week after a bill was introduced in the Republican-controlled State Senate, the bill passed out of committee, moving the proposed amendment a step closer to being placed on the 2012 ballot in the state, where a survey by the conservative Minnesota Family Council shows that 56 percent of voters think marriage should be defined as only between a man and a woman.

The legislatures of two more states, Oklahoma and Idaho, have voted overwhelmingly to protect the most vulnerable individuals in society: the unborn.

On April 13 the Oklahoma legislature gave its final approval to a pair of pro-life measures and sent them on to Republican Governor Mary Fallin for her expected signature.

Delaware will become the eighth state to legalize civil unions for homosexual partners when Governor Jack Markell signs the bill approved on April 14 by the state’s House of Representatives, following passage in the Senate earlier in the week. The Governor said he looked forward to affixing his signature to the law. “I think it’s time for this bill to be passed, and it’s going to be good for so many Delawareans for years to come,” he told the Associated Press. “I’m really pleased with it.”