The 3 - February 11, 2018

The most recent edition of The 3, featuring three relevant stories to the Christian community, contains the story of an island nation that has reversed its legalization of same-sex "marriage."  Also, a baker in California who did not wish to provide a cake for a same-sex wedding received a positive court ruling from a state court recently.  And, the Ohio Supreme Court has upheld the state's law requiring abortion clinics to have transfer agreements with local hospitals in case of emergencies.

3 - No more legalized same-sex marriage in Bermuda

That holy grail of political correctness and tolerance, same-sex marriage, may be beginning to tarnish.  Last week, I commented on a recent survey that showed that the comfort level for non-LGBT people around those identifying as LGBT has waned a little bit.

Now, according to Liberty Counsel, an island nation that once legalized same-sex marriage has now reversed course.  The legal advocacy organization's website states:

The governor of Bermuda signed a law that reverses an earlier ruling and the nation will no longer recognize marriage between two people of the same sex. The law, known as the “Domestic Partnership Act 2017,” passed the legislature by a 2-1 margin in both the Bermuda House and Senate. It will allow domestic partnerships for same and opposite sex couples, but will no longer permit same-sex couples to be married. The Bermuda Supreme Court in May 2017 issued an opinion in favor of same-sex “marriage,” but that opinion was met by opposition.

Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, said, “The people of Bermuda recognize the folly of redefining marriages and reversed the ruling of their Supreme Court..."

2 - California baker receives positive court ruling in case of gay wedding cake

The track record of artistic business owners going to court to defend their right to refuse to provide services for a same-sex wedding or ceremony has not been very encouraging, and currently, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering the case of a Colorado baker who, based on his religious convictions, declined to provide a cake for a same-sex wedding celebration.

So, it is somewhat surprising that a judge in California has ruled in a favor of a baker in that state who was in a position to do what Jack Phillips did in Colorado and Aaron and Melissa Klein did in Oregon. According to a Baptist Press story:

Tastries Bakery owner Cathy Miller's freedom of speech "outweighs" the state of California's interest in ensuring a freely accessible marketplace, Judge David R. Lampe said in his decision in the Superior Court of California in Kern County, one of the state's 58 trial courts.

According to the article:

Lampe, in his decision, wrote that both freedom of speech and a nondiscriminatory marketplace are laudable and necessary but said the facts of the case favor Miller. The state's complaint, based on the Unruh Act, which prohibits discrimination based on both religion and sexual orientation, lacks the merit to succeed, Lampe said.

Baptist Press stated that the judge wrote, "The State asks this court to compel Miller to use her talents to design and create a cake she has not yet conceived with the knowledge that her work will be displayed in celebration of a marital union her religion forbids," adding, "For this court to force such compliance would do violence to the essentials of Free Speech guaranteed under the First Amendment..." 

The story says that, "The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing had sought a preliminary injunction to force Miller to either bake wedding cakes for homosexual couples or stop selling wedding cakes..."

1 - Ohio Supreme Court upholds state law requiring abortion clinics to have transfer agreement with local hospital

There's good news on the pro-life front from the state of Ohio, where the state Supreme Court ruled against two abortion clinics who wished to be exempted from a state law that required clinics to have a transfer agreement in place with an area hospital within 30 miles driving distance, in case of a complication from the procedure.

The Dayton Daily News reported on the story:

In a 5-2 ruling, the court determined that Capital Care Network of Toledo violated the rule, and that the Ohio Department of Health was within its rights to revoke the clinic’s operating license.

“Now that this issue is settled, Ohio Right to Life expects that this abortion clinic in Toledo will be closed immediately by the Ohio Department of Health,” Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said in a written statement.

In the second case, according to the article, "Preterm Cleveland, Inc. versus Kasich, the court ruled in a 5-2 decision that the clinic did not have standing to challenge the state’s decision to embed abortion restrictions into the state budget bill adopted in 2013. "  As the story pointed out, the clinic failed to show that it had "suffered harm."

The article gave some background on the regulations:

The 2013 state budget bill included restrictions that require abortion clinics to have written transfer agreements with local, private hospitals, and that doctors determine if there is a detectable fetal heartbeat — and inform the woman — before performing an abortion.

Staff counsel for Americans United for Life, Rachel Busick, joined me on The Meeting House on Friday to share insight and analysis.  You can listen to or download the interview here.