The 3 - June 13, 2021

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three new stories relevant to the Christian community, includes more state-level pro-life legislation, this week with a North Carolina bill prohibiting abortion "based on race or a disability," and a Louisiana bill that provides for women who have taken the the first dose of an abortion bill to be informed about reversing the process.  Also, the suspension of a Virginia teacher who spoke up against school board policy regarding the use of gender identity pronouns has been temporarily halted.  And a Nevada church has received thousands of dollars from a state agency due to the state governor's overreach in unfairly placing COVID restrictions on churches that we stricter than comparable secular venues.

More pro-life legislation on the state level: NC, LA

Last week, the Susan B. Anthony List reported that 89 pro-life bills had become law during the year 2021 alone.  And, that was before North Carolina passed a piece of legislation that would, according to the organization's website, prevent abortion "based on race or a disability such as Down syndrome."

The article quotes Tami Fitzgerald, Executive Director of NC Values Coalition, who said:

“The North Carolina Values Coalition backs this bill because every child should have the chance to live a full, happy life. We look forward to North Carolina joining the leading edge of states enacting protections against the discrimination of unborn children.”

Tara Sander Lee of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of the SBA List, and Katie Shaw, described as an "anti-discrimination advocate," testified before the state Senate, saying:

Sixteen states have enacted bans on one or more types of discrimination abortion – including 12 states that protect unborn children diagnosed with Down syndrome. Polling shows that 70% of oppose abortion based on the expectation that an unborn child may have Down syndrome.

National Right to Life reported on a recent bill out of Louisiana that "...informs women who have taken the first pill in a chemical abortion that, if they regret their decision, there may be options available to sustain their pregnancy and they should contact their physician immediately."

Court reverses suspension of teacher speaking out against gender pronouns in VA

The PE teacher in Loudoun County, Virginia who was suspended because he spoke out against school board policy forcing teachers to use pronouns corresponding to a student's so-called "gender identity" has been reinstated, at least temporarily. Alliance Defending Freedom announced this past week that  the "retaliation" against teacher Tanner Cross has been put on hold while his legal action against the board continues.

Cross was suspended, according to the ADF website, "for speaking against two proposed policies during the public comment period of a school board meeting." The Christian legal advocacy group was pleased that Loudoun County Circuit Court had ruled in favor of Cross, with President and CEO Michael Farris saying: "Educators are just like everybody else—they have ideas and opinions that they should be free to express. Advocating for solutions they believe in should not cost them their jobs. School officials singled out his speech, offered in his private capacity at a public meeting, as ‘disruptive’ and then suspended him for speaking his mind. That’s neither legal nor constitutional."

NV church to receive payment as a result of COVID restriction overreach

It has now become costly for states to have clamped down on church gatherings during the height of the COVID crisis while allow secular gatherings to have fewer restrictions.  In Nevada, according to an article at The Christian Post, the Nevada Board of Examiners agreed to pay $175,000 to Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley. The church had sued the state in May of last year, claiming that the Governor, as the article notes, was "treating churches worse than secular institutions in the state's COVID-19 rules."

For instance, as the Post states, "while churches could only have 50 people in attendance regardless of the size of the building, secular businesses like casinos and gyms could operate at 50% capacity."  A lower court judge had ruled against the church and the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed that ruling to stand.

However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had ruled in favor of the church in December. The Post says that, "Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. wrote in the panel opinion that the church 'has demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of its Free Exercise claim.'” 

The Board of Examiners awarded $175k to the church in order to provide for legal fees in accordance with court requirements.