OA48: Three Cases You Care About – Planned Parenthood, Gay Florists, and Litigious Quacks

Today’s episode is a little bit different than our usual format; today, we take a look at three cases that our listeners have asked about on Twitter and Facebook.

First up is an order entered by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas enjoining the state of Texas (and nitwit Attorney General Ken Paxton) from disqualifying Planned Parenthood as an authorized Medicaid service provider on the basis of fake videos.

Next, we tackle a recent ruling by the Washington Supreme Court applying that state’s anti-discrimination law to a florist that decided she couldn’t sell wedding flowers if the participants were gay. Is this really the worst violation of individual freedom in the history of Western Civilization?

Third, we look at the recent victory in the 11th Circuit by our colleague Dr. Steven Novella of the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Podcast, and discuss what the ruling means for (say) podcasters who get sued for libel.

Finally, we end with a brand new Thomas Takes the Bar Exam question #13 regarding hearsay. Remember that TTTBE issues a new question every Friday, followed by the answer on next Tuesday’s show. Don’t forget to play along by following our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and/or our Facebook Page and quoting the Tweet or Facebook Post that announces this episode along with your guess and reason(s)!

Recent Appearances:

Thomas was interviewed by Conatus News about the development of the atheist community on the internet, including the role played by his other podcast, Serious Inquiries Only.

Andrew was a guest panelist on an episode of The Thinking Atheist show, “Donald Trump’s America.”

Show Notes & Links