ACLU planning lawsuit
over 'intelligent design'

The American Civil Liberties Union will file a suit today challenging a Pennsylvania school district that teaches alternatives to the theory of evolution alongside Darwinism.

The Pennsylvania ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State have scheduled a news conference for today to discuss the lawsuit against the Dover Area School District, the Associated Press reported. The suit was to be filed in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg, Pa.

On Oct. 18, the Dover school board voted 6-3 to add the teaching of "intelligent design" to its ninth-grade biology curricula. Without identifying who the "designer" might be, the theory of intelligent design says the complexity and order of the universe and mankind suggest the action of an intelligent cause rather than random chance.

According to AP, school board member William Buckingham said he proposed the change as a way of balancing evolution with competing theories that raised questions about its scientific validity.

At the time the new policy was adopted, district officials said they would monitor Dover High School biology lessons "to make sure no one is promoting but also not inhibiting religion."

The ACLU, however, takes no comfort in that assurance and sees intelligent design as a more secular form of creationism, the biblically based view of the Earth's origin. As such, AP reported, the legal group says the Dover policy violates the First Amendment Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

According to the news service, two of the three dissenting board members have resigned in protest.

As WorldNetDaily reported, last month the ACLU helped several disgruntled parents in suburban Atlanta sue their school district over a label on its textbooks that states: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered." The suit claims the school board is "doing more than accommodating religion. They are promoting religious dogma to all students."

If you'd like to sound off on this issue, please take part in the WorldNetDaily poll.

SPECIAL ACLU OFFER: The December edition of WND's acclaimed Whistleblower magazine is one of the most stunning journalistic exposes ever done on the American Civil Liberties Union. Titled "EXTORTION: How the ACLU is destroying America using your money," it not only reveals the hidden agenda and destructive deeds of the group, but shows in a groundbreaking investigative report exactly where the group gets most of its money from – you!

Right now, for a limited time, subscribe to Whistleblower, renew your subscription, or give a gift Whistleblower subscription and receive – absolutely FREE – eight powerful Whistleblower issues! They are: "THE MYTH OF CHURCH-STATE SEPARATION," "THE NEW WORLD RE-ORDER," "THE END OF MARRIAGE?," "AMERICA DEFENSELESS, "INVASION USA!," "THE NEWS MAFIA," "GREEN WITH ENVY" and "ABORTION: The 30-Year War." Offer good in the U.S. only and while supplies last.