Update (July 25): The North Carolina state legislature has approved a bill to ban courts from recognizing the jurisdiction of "foreign law," a term understood by many to refer to Islamic Shari'ah law. According to local news source WRAL, the bill "prohibits courts from recognizing 'foreign law' if it infringes on U.S. or state constitutional rights."

Now that it has been approved by both the House and the Senate, it only requires Governor Pat McCrory's signature before becoming law. McCrory, a Republican, had vowed to veto a previous version of the bill if a section regarding abortion restrictions—added at the last minute—were not removed.

RNS offers an explainer on what Shari'ah is and why some U.S. states want to ban it.

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North Carolina is aiming to become the latest state to pass tougher restrictions on abortion procedures in an unexpected way.

The Senate Judiciary Committee had been discussing a bill that outlaws the ...

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