ICLU vows to watch state purchases for parochial schools

The U-S Supreme Court says it’s o-kay for the government to use tax dollars to buy equipment for religious schools. Iowa Civil Liberties Union executive director Ben Stone says the decision makes it clear, though, that tax dollars cannot be used for religious instruction.A new Iowa law uses one-and-a-half million state tax dollars to buy computers for parochial schools. Stone says the I-C-L-U wants to make sure that money is used specifically for computer equipment, and not for software — like a C-D rom that teaches the Catholic Catechism.Another Supreme Court ruling handed down today knocks down Iowa’s law which sought to ban partial-birth abortions. Planned Parenthood officials are holding at 3:30 p.m. news conference to say abortion rights are “hanging by a thread” as today’s decision shows just five members of the nine member court will vote to uphold Roe v. Wade, the decision which legalized abortion.