The 3 - May 20, 2018

Each week, I post references to three stories potentially impacting the Christian community.  One of the stories involves a college graduate who decided to include religious content in her graduation speech after intervention by a Christian legal advocacy group.  Also, a new California law allowing assisted suicide has been struck down by a state judge there.  Plus, the Trump Administration has announced the intent to lower the amount of taxpayer money going to health care facilities that provide abortion.

3 - Faith content remains in graduation speech

This is that time of year when it seems almost annually you hear about a student who was not allowed to deliver religious content in a graduation speech.  A recent example occurred at Colorado Mesa University, according to a story on the ChristianHeadlines.com website.

Graduate Karissa Erickson wanted to make reference to Jesus and the Bible in her speech.  The story states:

Relevant Magazine reports that student Karissa Erickson gave the speech last Friday at her school’s graduation ceremony. Although the university has a rule prohibiting religious content in school-related speeches, Erickson, with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, appealed this rule and won.

(Here is a link to the Relevant story.)

The Christian Headlines piece says that, "...upon hearing of Erickson’s case, the ADF sent a letter to university officials, seeking to appeal the rule."

The story goes on to state:

The school decided to grant Erickson’s request, as expressed through ADF’s letter, although some school officials still said Erickson could face “repercussion” if she chose to keep the references to Jesus and the Bible in her speech.

2 - Assisted suicide overturned by California judge

A California district judge struck down a law called the End of Life Option Act, which had been passed by lawmakers during a special session that had been called by the governor to address other health care issues.  According to the Christian Medical and Dental Associations website:

Life Legal Defense Foundation attorneys who represent the American Academy of Medical Ethics, (www.ethicalhealthcare.org) CMDA's state public policy arm, in the lawsuit appeared in court yesterday to argue that the Act is not related or even incidental to the stated purpose of the special session.

Riverside Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottolia agreed, ruling on May 15 that “the End of Life Option Act, which decriminalizes physician-assisted suicide, does not fall within the scope of access to healthcare services,” and that it “is not a matter of health care funding.”

Dr. David Stevens, CEO of the CMDA, which has 19,000 members, according to its site, is quoted as saying: "Just as assisted suicide contravenes the Hippocratic oath, the judge found that the California legislature contravened the state constitution," adding, "Assisted suicide is not healthcare, it has no role in the healing arts of medicine, and it is dangerous for patients, medicine and society."

1 - Administration cuts funding to Planned Parenthood

The Trump Administration this past week announced its intention to remove dollars that were allotted for so-called "family planning" services from going to Planned Parenthood and other clinics that include abortion in the services they perform.  A report on The Washington Times website stated:

The proposed rule change in Title X, a $260 million federal program for contraception and “family planning,” will interpret the 1970 law as requiring absolute separation between contraception and abortion activities, effectively making Planned Parenthood ineligible.

“The proposal would require a bright line of physical as well as financial separation between Title X programs and any program (or facility) where abortion is performed, supported, or referred for as a method of family planning,” a Trump administration official said in an email to the Weekly Standard.

This is an incremental step to defunding Planned Parenthood, as the Times points out: "Even apart from that, much of the hundreds of millions in annual federal money Planned Parenthood gets comes from Medicaid, which would not be affected by the rule change. Cutting it off would require legislation."

In voicing his support for this proposal, Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, wrote:

HHS’s announcement that it will be bringing back a Reagan-era regulation dealing with family planning funds and abortion responds to the cry of millions of Americans who want their government to support life, not death. Six in ten Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.

Title X is for family planning services – and abortion is not family planning.