The 3 - February 7, 2021

This week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is news out of the U.S. Supreme Court, which has lowered the level of restrictions being placed on churches due to the COVID pandemic.  Also, Texas was set to eliminate taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood in the state during the past week, but a judge stepped in and reversed the plan, albeit on a temporary basis. And, an Illinois student that was apparently being forced to attend a program that presented views of sexuality that contradicted her religious beliefs has been granted a reprieve.

U.S. Supreme Court lowers restrictions on indoor worship in CA

The U.S. Supreme Court has provided a measure of relief for beleagured churches in California that have been desiring to meet indoors, but have been prevented from doing so.  Churches can now hold indoor services, but at only 25 percent capacity, as reported by The Christian Post, which reported that, according to Politico, the ruling came in parallel cases filed by two churches.

The Post article quotes from Justice Gorsuch, who wrote, "We are not scientists, but neither may we abandon the field when government officials with experts in tow seek to infringe a constitutionally protected liberty..." His opinion was joined by justices Alito and Thomas. The article says that Chief Justice Roberts, "took a middle path and voted, along with Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, to lift the ban on indoor worship while retaining the restriction on singing, according to The Wall Street Journal."

Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor dissented from lifting the worship ban. 

TX rejects, court reinstates, Planned Parenthood funding

Last week, it looked as if the state of Texas had successfully eliminated funding for Planned Parenthood under its Medicaid program. However, as KVUE Television reported, that was a short-lived occurrence. The television station's website stated:

Just hours after Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit on the matter, a state district judge in Travis County has temporarily stopped Texas from removing Planned Parenthood from the state's Medicaid program, according to a report from The Texas Tribune.

The report states Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted the temporary restraining order and set a hearing for Feb. 17.

The outlet said that "The State's order, which was to go into effect Thursday, left Planned Parenthood patients with 30 days to find a new provider..."

IL school administration accommodates student opting out of gender studies class

A student at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, senior Marcail McBridge had requested the ability to opt-out of a "Student Gender and Sexuality Program" at the school, and according to Christian law firm First Liberty, "In November, Marcail’s parents notified IMSA leadership that Marcail could not participate in the program because it forces Marcail to violate her religious beliefs. The IMSA leadership repeatedly denied the McBrides’ request and threatened to punish Marcail if she does not participate in the program."  The First Liberty website says that the program "uses sexual language to identify sexual preferences and gender identity."  

First Liberty attorney Keisha Russell said, “Under Illinois law, schools must provide religious accommodations for their students, and they must also honor requests to excuse students from programs with sexual content...Schools should never violate the religious conscience of their students. We hope President Torres ends the school administrators’ clearly unlawful behavior and protects the religious liberty of every student by granting an accommodation to the family.”

The firm wrote a letter to school officials, and they acted promptly - First Liberty's website says:

After receiving a letter from First Liberty Institute, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (“IMSA”) reversed its position and approved senior Marcail McBride’s request for a religious accommodation. Instead of completing the school’s Student Gender and Sexuality Program, the school offered her an alternate assignment.