The 3 - April 26, 2020

This week, on The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there was positive court action in a Federal appeals court stopping most abortions in Arkansas during the COVID-19 crisis as a court order for another state, Texas, is over due to the expiration of a stay-at-home order.  Also, religious freedom concerns are spotlighted in California, where drive-in services can now occur, but in-person services cannot.  Plus, religious content has been removed from the Facebook page of an Army fort in New York.

Federal courts split on abortion decisions

The availability of abortion during this time of crisis, especially when "non-essential" surgical procedures are banned in a number of areas, is troubling.  Legitimate medical professionals have been unable to sustain their regular practices, yet the heavy-handed and life-taking practices of the abortion industry continue.

The state of Arkansas is one place where most abortions are now banned, based on a court decision from a Federal appeals court.  National Review reported that...

...the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that Arkansas may restrict most surgical abortions as part of its prohibition on elective procedures during the COVID-19 outbreak. Earlier this month, a federal judge had temporarily blocked the policy and ruled that the state could not lawfully restrict abortions as part of its overall order.

In the article, Sen. Tom Cotton is quoted as saying, “Medical resources—especially during a pandemic—should be used to preserve life, not end it,” adding, “The Eighth Circuit Court upheld the rule of law, rightly supporting Arkansas’s decision to dedicate its health-care system to saving the lives of Arkansans.”

The 5th Circuit had also allowed temporary restrictions on abortion in Texas to stand, but apparently, that period is over, according to the Texas Tribune, which stated this week:

A ban on nearly all abortions in Texas during the coronavirus pandemic appears to be over, as clinics began offering the procedure again Wednesday and state lawyers ceded in a legal filing that there is no longer any "case or controversy."

The near-total ban has been the subject of weeks of litigation — starting in late March when Gov. Greg Abbott postponed all surgeries not “immediately medically necessary” to preserve medical resources for coronavirus patients. Attorney General Ken Paxton said the ban extended to abortions, and the politically conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals largely sided with state officials.

And, while Alabama's stay-at-home order included elective surgical procedures being temporarily suspended, WSFA reported that the 11th Circuit upheld a lower court order allowing abortions to continue.  The article said:

Alabama abortion providers can continue performing abortions during the state’s coronavirus health order, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Appellate judges said the state can’t limit abortions during the coronavirus outbreak.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in March challenging Alabama’s COVID-19 state health order, which requires dental, medical and surgical procedures to be postponed during the pandemic.

California opens up drive-in worship

How churches can worship during the COVID-19 crisis has been a major point of contention in a number of areas of the country, and while some faith voices seem to have dismissed these skirmishes as "no big deal," there are definite implications for religious freedom, and Christian legal advocates certainly take these threats seriously.

LifeSiteNews reported that a lawsuit in California "...brought by the Center for American Liberty in California, prompted Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra to back down, Fox 26 reported. The article went on to say:

The state will now permit drive-in church services, provided worshippers observe “social distancing” while doing so – which would presumably be a moot point, as every attendee remains inside his or her own car.

At its website, the Center for American Liberty stated that the ruling did not go far enough after a judge refused to grant a request for a temporary restraining order that would have allowed other forms of in-person worship.  The organization's CEO, Harmeet K. Dhillon, stated:

"...We rapidly obtained the right of all Californians of faith to be able to communally worship by drive-in services, and many churches are already taking advantage of this great development, but they still cannot worship inside their churches using the same social distancing practices we are now all familiar with in grocery stores and other retail establishments deemed “essential” by the government,..."

Dillon added, “We commend the Governor and San Bernardino and Riverside Counties for recognizing their error in barring drive-in services, and hope we can continue to make progress on overcoming the other barriers the government has artificially placed in the way of the faithful.”

LifeSiteNews also reported on Mendocino County in California, which limited even the type of worship that could be conducted online.  That article stated:

The directive, which is in force until May 10, limits events, including live-streamed events, to four individuals. It goes on to state:

No singing or use of wind instruments, harmonicas, or other instruments that could spread COVID-19 through projected droplets shall be permitted unless the recording of the event is done at one’s residence, and involving only the members of one’s household or living unit, because of the increased risk of transmission of COVID-19.

The article quotes Tyler O'Niel of PJ Media, who wrote that the ban "sounds like something out of a dystopian nightmare.” He also said, "“The coronavirus has brought many petty tyrants out of the shadows, and it appears Mendocino County is home to some of the most abominable tyrants in America..."

Army removes inspirational message from fort's Facebook page

At the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division Sustainment Brigade at Fort Drum, New York, statements about religious practice have been removed from the installation's Facebook page, according to The Christian Post.  Videos by chaplains Scott Ingram and Amy Smith were found to be objectionable.  According to the article:

One of the videos in question was posted on April 2 by Chaplain Ingram in which he cited Isaiah 41 to call on people to put their trust in God during the coronavirus crisis.

“Change is never easy, but together we can walk forward in supernatural strength in the confidence that we are not forsaken,” Ingram says in the video.

Two videos by Chaplain Smith were removed, including one posted on April 8.  The Post reported:

In an April 8 video, Smith encouraged the Fort Drum community to visit the Fort Drum Labyrinth. She called the obstacle a great spiritual tool to use “especially during this COVID-19 epidemic.”

“It’s going to feel like you are walking in circles. But sometimes in life, that is what you feel like,” she said.

“Sometimes you will be toward the outside. At times in our walk with God, we can be asking God, ‘Where are you? Where are you in the midst of this COVID-19?’ Other times, you will be more toward the center and you can hear God’s voice and you can hear Him and you can sense Him, even in the midst of all the craziness that is going on with all the worry, fear and anxiety.”

After the Military Religious Freedom Foundation claimed to have received complaints and after it contacted base leadership, the videos were removed from the fort's Facebook page and posted solely on the page for the installation chapel.

Mike Berry of First Liberty was quoted by Fox News; he said: "I cannot believe the legendary U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division raised the white flag of surrender to an anti-religious freedom zealot. Every president, from Washington to Trump, has publicly prayed for our military. If the commander in chief can pray, then our soldiers can, too."