The 3 - November 27, 2022

In this week's edition of The 3, featuring three recent relevant stories for the Christian community, there is an update from a story last week involving a judge in Georgia who had placed the state's pro-life "heartbeat" law on hold - the state Supreme Court said that the law could continue to be enforced while an appeal by the state's attorney general is being heard.  Also, another state supreme court, the Alabama Supreme Court, became involved in a free speech case, ruling that a lawsuit against a university in the state over its on-campus speech policies can continue.  Plus, the Food and Drug Administration is facing legal action over its loosening of policies involving chemical abortions.

GA Supreme Court reinstates ban on abortions after heartbeat is detected

Last week, I reported that a county judge in Georgia struck down the law passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor that would ban abortion when the heartbeat of a pre-born child is detected. The bill was passed prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which was the rationale behind the judge's decision, who struck the law down because it was passed prior to that Supreme Court decision.

But, the Georgia Supreme Court had a different idea and put the Fulton County judge's ruling on hold, according to WSB Television, which said:

The Georgia Supreme Court has overturned the stay on Georgia’s heartbeat abortion law, effectively making abortions after six weeks illegal again in the state.

In a one-page order, the high court put a lower court ruling overturning the ban on hold while it considers an appeal. Abortion providers who had resumed performing the procedure past six weeks after the lower court ruling will again have to stop.

The article on the TV station's website said:

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr filed an immediate appeal with the Georgia Supreme Court. Carr’s office also asked the high court for an order putting the decision on hold while the appeal was pending.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court granted an emergency stay of the lower’s court’s ruling, which allowed the heartbeat abortion law to go into effect again as the state’s appeals continue. The Supreme Court did not give an explanation about why it granted the stay.

Free speech ruling from AL Supreme Court allows student's legal action to continue

There was a positive outcome by the Alabama Supreme Court involving a student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, a member of a campus organization, who had challenged a speech policy at the school. According to the website of Alliance Defending Freedom:

Student members of Young Americans for Liberty want to engage their peers in important policy debates about a variety of issues including gun control, federalism, and other topics, but are refraining from doing so for fear of violating the university’s burdensome speech policy. The policy requires students to share their views on certain topics in specified speech zones and request approval to speak days in advance. And because the permits are subject to the university’s approval, administrators can pick and choose which events and viewpoints are allowed on campus.

ADF claims, "Alabama’s Campus Free Speech Act requires public colleges and universities to respect the free speech rights of students on campus and explicitly prohibits speech zones, prior permission requirements, and other speech-suppressive measures."  It argued that the UAH policy violated Alabama law.

The state's highest court agreed.  The ADF website reported that, "The Alabama Supreme Court ruled unanimously...to allow a free speech lawsuit to proceed by a Young Americans for Liberty chapter and student-member Joshua Greer..." ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch is quoted as saying, “College students have the freedom to share their beliefs anywhere on campus; they don’t need permission from college officials to speak, nor should they have to jump through burdensome and illegal hoops just to talk with their classmates outside,” adding, “We’re pleased the Alabama Supreme Court has affirmed the freedom of all college students to speak freely on campus without being restricted to small speech zones. The university never should have attempted to skirt the explicit provisions of state law that reinforce these rights."

FDA sued over chemical abortion policy

It has been noted that chemical abortions or "mail-order abortions" have become one of the leading sources of abortion in the nation, and this was set off by the Food and Drug Administration loosening restrictions on the distribution of the two-pill regimen that is used to terminate a pregnancy.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute issued a press release applauding a lawsuit filed by Alliance Defending Freedom challenging the FDA's policy-making.  It linked to the court filing, indicating a number of organizations and individuals who are plaintiffs in the suit, including the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Pediatricians, and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations.

The press release stated:

Charlotte Lozier Institute, which in 2021 revealed a dramatic surge in abortion pill-related emergency room visits, today applauded Alliance Defending Freedom for challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) erroneous and highly-politicized approval of the abortion drug regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol, which redefined pregnancy as an “illness.”

It quoted from Dr. James Studnicki, who serves as vice president of data analytics for the Lozier Institute, who has been the "lead author" of "abortion pill studies;" he stated: “The safety of chemical abortion is greatly exaggerated. In fact, the increasing dominance of chemical abortion and its disproportionate contribution to emergency room morbidity is a serious public health threat, and the real-world data suggests that threat is growing."

The 3 - November 20, 2022

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three recent stories of relevance to the Christian community, including news of a federal judge's ruling protecting medical professionals from being forced to perform surgeries that presume to change a person's biological sex.  Also, a piece of legislation designed to protect same-sex marriage that also infringes on religious liberties has crossed the 60-vote threshold to move forward in the U.S. Senate.  And, a local judge in the state of Georgia has struck down that state's pro-life heartbeat bill, saying that when the Legislature passed it, Roe v. Wade had not yet been overturned.

Judge rules Title IX cannot be used to force gender surgeries

Title IX is the 50-year-old law preventing discrimination based on sex. There continue to be attempts to expand the definition of "sex" in that law to include gender identity and sexual orientation.  Section 1557 is a provision of the Affordable Care Act that prevents discrimination regarding medical services. 

The Christian Post reported recently, regarding the Department of Health and Human Services...

In May 2021, the HHS announced that it was going to interpret Title IX’s explicit prohibition on sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Under the new interpretation, the HHS Office for Civil Rights would enforce Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act to protect “the civil rights of individuals who access or seek to access covered health programs or activities” and stop discrimination “against consumers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

So, basically, it would appear that Section 1557 would be interpreted to force medical professionals to perform gender-change surgeries.  And, a Federal judge has said, "no" in a case involving two doctors who had filed a lawsuit. The Christian Post article from last week said:

The case centered on two Texas physicians who filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Notification of Interpretation and Enforcement of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which interpreted Title IX’s definition of sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

The physicians sued, arguing that the Notification forced them to provide services such as body-mutilating surgeries on people suffering from gender dysphoria, such as castration and double mastectomies, and that it violated federal administrative procedures.

In a decision released Friday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division, ruled that “Title IX operates in binary terms — male and female — when it references ‘on the basis of sex.’”

Respect for Marriage Act moves forward in the U.S. Senate

On Wednesday, the so-called "Respect for Marriage Act" crossed a critical threshold, acquiring 60+ votes in order to move the bill forward.  Combined with the approval already given by the House, this bill, known as H.R. 8404, not only has placed the principles of the Supreme Court's Obergefell ruling into legislation, but poses a serious threat to religious liberty.

The Daily Citizen quoted from Jim Daly, the president of Focus on the Family, who stated:

Instead of respecting marriage, H.R. 8404 further unravels the historic, cross-cultural and biblical definition of marriage as the life-long, covenantal relationship between a husband and wife.

This measure goes far beyond the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, as it enshrines “same-sex marriage” into federal law.

The article notes that:

The Senate moved forward an amended version of the bill, with supposed protections for religious freedom. But Daly said those protections weren’t enough, explaining that the measure only protects religious organizations or people who perform marriages.

Alliance Defending Freedom issued a statement, which included these words from CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner:

Today, the Senate chose to fuel hostility toward Americans who hold beliefs about marriage rooted in honorable religious or philosophical premises. This bill, which provides no protection or benefits that same-sex couples don’t already share, deceptively gives lip service to religious liberty while undermining the First Amendment freedoms that belong to each of us. …

It is shameful that 62 senators chose to ignore the Constitution and sanction discrimination toward these Americans. Make no mistake, this bill will be used by officials and activists to punish and ruin those who do not share the government’s view on marriage.

Judge strikes down Georgia heartbeat bill

In 2019, the Georgia Legislature passed and Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill that banned abortion beginning at the time that a heartbeat is detected in the pre-born child, generally thought to be at about 6 to 7 weeks.  A CBN News online report said that the bill "had been blocked from taking effect until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide for nearly 50 years."  It added: "The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had allowed Georgia to begin enforcing its abortion law just over three weeks after the high court's decision in June."

But a Superior Court Judge in Fulton County, which is where Atlanta is located, has struck down that bill, according to the article, which says that Judge Robert McBurney "...ruled that the law which took effect in 2019 was invalid because Roe v. Wade had not yet been struck down. McBurney did leave the door open for the legislature to revisit the ban."

The article notes that: "Andrew Isenhour, a spokesperson for...Gov. Brian Kemp, said McBurney's ruling placed 'the personal beliefs of a judge over the will of the legislature and people of Georgia.'" In a statement, he said: "The state has already filed a notice of appeal, and we will continue to fight for the lives of Georgia's unborn children.  Bill sponsor, state Rep. Ed Setzler, "from the Atlanta suburb of Acworth...said he was confident the state Supreme Court would overrule McBurney and reinstate the ban."

The 3 - November 13, 2022

This week's edition of The 3 looks back at the mid-term elections and how the life issue factored into the results.  Also, a Christian organization who won a lawsuit against the city of Boston has now received a financial settlement. Plus, a Vermont middle school coach and his high school-aged daughter have been punished as the result of "misgendering" a student, a male identifying as female who was allowed to use the girls' locker room. 

Role of abortion in mid-term elections

After the Dobbs decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, the decision on abortion would be left to the states.  So, in all 50 states in the mid-terms, where state legislators and chief executives across the land were facing electoral contests, you might expect that the candidates' viewpoint on abortion would play a role.  Add to that five states where constitutional amendments were on the ballot, and you certainly had the makings of a potential campaign issue.

How much?  Hard to say. The Christian Post analyzed the role of the issue, and cited exit polling that showed that 27% of voters said that abortion was the most important issue for them, with about 3/4 indicating that they may have adopted a position in favor of abortion.  There was also reported evidence that younger women, perhaps motivated by the Dobbs decision, voted in favor of a pro-abortion position.

But, as The Washington Stand reported, pro-life governors in state after state did well in the election contests. The article quoted Brent Keilen, vice president of FRC Action, an arm of Family Research Council, who said, “You have to play offense to move the ball down the field and score. The same holds true in public policy. The candidates who were proactive on the life issue, defined their pro-life positions, and defined the extreme ideologies they were running against — in most cases legal abortion for any reason up until the moment of birth — did very well at the ballot box. This held true in even traditionally competitive states like Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Iowa.”

That article, as well as a piece on LifeNews.com, elaborated on pro-life victories; some examples included:

In Texas, pro-life Governor Greg Abbot signed what became America’s first aboriton ban and it successfully saved babies from abortions even befor the Suipreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. bet O’Rourke campaigned almost exclusively on abortion and spend tens of millions to defeat Abbott. He lost by 11%.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill to ban abortions after 15 weeks and championed it during the debate with Charlie Crist. DeSantis blew away Crist on election night, winning by 19%.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed his state’s heartbeat law protecting babies from abortions at 6 weeks and he won easily. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a similar law and handily beat Stacey Abrams 53-45. And in Oklahoma there was significant concern that Governor Kevin Stitt would be unseated because he signed an abortion ban, but he trounced his pro-abortion opponent by 14%.

The article also noted that the outcome of the votes on the five amendments was against the pro-life position. Joy Stockbauer, a policy analyst with the Center for Human Dignity for FRC, stated, "The simple truth is that many voters either abstain or fail to vote their true values because of deceptive wording,” adding, “The millions of dollars poured into ballot initiatives by the abortion industry muddied the waters and misrepresented what the ballot initiatives actually meant. Fundamentally, in a nation that values the dignity of every person, whether or not a human being lives or dies should not be left to a popular vote.”

Religious freedom victory in Boston yields financial compensation

I have reported to you and commented on the three major religious freedom victories emerging out of the previous session of the U.S. Supreme Court.  One of them involved a Christian organization, Camp Constitution, that desired to fly a Christian flag at Boston's City Hall to celebrate a special observance. The city officials chose not to allow this, even though it had not turned down any organization before.

So, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Camp Constitution, which is directed by Harold Shutleff; recently, a financial consideration to back the decision was announced. The Daily Citizen reported:

Once the high court spoke, it was up to the lower courts to issue the necessary injunctions and deal with an award of attorney’s fees in Shurtleff’s favor. Shurtleff and the city then reached an agreement on attorney’s fees and stipulated to a dismissal of the case.

Shurtleff’s attorneys celebrated the win in a press release.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “We are pleased that after five years of litigation and a unanimous victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, we joined with Hal Shurtleff to finally let freedom fly in Boston, the Cradle of Liberty...

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family and writer of the Daily Citizen piece, said...

...when a government entity gets worried it will commit an “establishment of religion” violation by permitting religious speech that might be attributed to the government, and then prohibits such speech – like denying the use of a Christian flag – it sometimes goes too far and commits a free speech violation.

That’s why, once Boston lost its argument that its flag-raising program was “government speech,” not private speech, it was destined to lose the case. And to pay Harold Shurtleff’s attorney’s fees.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Shurtleff’s case and subsequent payment of attorney’s fees will send a strong message to government officials everywhere: Think twice before you discriminate against religious speech. It could cost you.

Father and daughter - coach and student - both suspended for "misgendering" male student who used female facilities

In Vermont, Travis Allen and his 14-year-old daughter Blake have both faced punishment for identifying a biological male in a girls' locker room as, well, a male.  CBN News reported that:

In September, a 14-year-old male student who identifies as female and plays on the Randolph Union High School girls' volleyball team entered the locker room while the girls were changing.

"A male was in our locker room when volleyball girls were trying to get changed," Blake told the Daily Signal. "And after I asked him to leave, he didn't, and later looked over at girls with their shirts off. And it made many people uncomfortable and feel violated. And I left as soon as I could in a panic."

Blake made comments about the fact that the student was male, and CBN reported that, "The school began an investigation into Blake's comments and decided to punish her, claiming the student-athlete violated the school's Harassment, Hazing, and Bullying policy."  

Then, her father, formerly a coach at a middle school in the district, "expressed his views about the incident on a local news station's Facebook page." The article says:

A user identifying as the "mother of the trans student in question" claimed Blake "made up the story for attention," and that the "truth will prevail."

Travis defended his daughter saying, "The truth is your son watched my daughter and multiple other girls change in the locker room. While he got a free show, they got violated."

The district superintendent determined that by writing that comment, the father had "misgendered a transgender student" and suspended Travis from his job as the middle school girls' soccer coach without pay for the rest of the season.

Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a lawsuit against the school district on behalf of Travis and Blake, according to the article.  Blake had been suspended, but that was "lifted" after the lawsuit was filed.

The 3 - November 6, 2022

In this week's edition of The 3, highlighting three recent stories of impact to the Christian community, a fired high school football coach in Washington state is heading back to work, following the Supreme Court decision upholding his right to pray after games.  Also, a grocery store chain has entered into a settlement with two employees who said that wearing an LGBTQ apron was inconsistent with their religious beliefs and were fired.  And, a UFC fighter from Iran has stood in solidarity with protestors in his home country and testified to his relationship with Christ.

Back to Bremerton for fired praying football coach

Former Bremerton, Washington assistant football coach, Joe Kennedy, after having his right to pray at midfield after football games upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, is returning to work in Washington. The New York Post reported that: "Joe Kennedy and the Bremerton School District both submitted a joint stipulation in US district court...asking Kennedy to be reinstated to his assistant coach position at Bremerton High School on or before March 15, 2023, according to court documents obtained by CBS."

The article goes on to say...

...a clause was included in the record that the district cannot “interfere with or prohibit Kennedy from offering a prayer consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion.”

Additionally, the district is not allowed to “retaliate against or take any future adverse employment action against Kennedy for conduct that complies with the terms of the court’s order.”

The New York Post story included a quote from the Washington Examiner from Jeremy Dys, attorney at First Liberty, which represented the coach; he said: "Since the Supreme Court released its decision in June, it was inevitable that Coach Kennedy would be back on the field,” adding, “We’re glad that the school district has agreed that by March 15, 2023, he’ll be back to coaching, just like he wanted when he filed the lawsuit.”

Grocery store chain settles with employees who declined to wear LGBTQ aprons

Two employees at a Kroger store in Conway, Arkansas, who declined to wear aprons that contained LGBTQ imagery have received a settlement from the grocery store chain. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission argued on behalf of the two former employees, according to ChristianHeadlines.com, which reported that:

The apron depicted a “rainbow-colored heart emblem on the bib,” and the two employees believed that wearing it would “violate their religious beliefs,” the EEOC said.

One woman “offered to wear the apron with the emblem covered, and the other offered to wear a different apron without the emblem, but the company made no attempt to accommodate their requests,” the EEOC said.

When the women “still refused to wear the apron with the emblem visible,” the EEOC said, Kroger “retaliated against them by disciplining and ultimately discharging them.”

Even though, as the story relates, "Kroger denies the allegations," the article states:

As part of the settlement, Kroger will pay $180,000 and “create a religious accommodation policy and provide enhanced religious discrimination training to store manage­ment,” EEOC said.

Iranian UFC fighter testifies to relationship with Christ

The death of an Iranian woman, who had refused to wear a headscarf, at the hands of authorities in that nation continues to reverberate, even into the world of UFC fighting.

The Christian Post reported that, following a recent victory, "Iranian UFC fighter Beneil Dariush took a moment during his recent victory speech to share the hope he has in Christ with the people of his country amid weeks of social unrest following the death of Mahsa Amini."  The article reports that Dariush said after the victory:

"...I need to dedicate this fight to my people in Iran," he told the reporter in the ring. "I know you're struggling. I know you're fighting for freedom. I know it's a tough struggle. I want you guys to know we're praying for you, and we love you."

The fighter added:

"This might be the most important thing you'll ever hear: there is true freedom, a freedom that no one can take from you in the name of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Don't ever forget that. If you remember one thing I say, remember that."

The article recounted the series of events involving the death of the 22-year-old in Iran, which has set off protests in the country. It stated:

The demonstrations were prompted by the death of 22-year-old Amini, a young woman arrested by Iran's morality police on Sep.13 for allegedly defying the Islamic government's strict requirement for women to wear hijabs or headscarves. Amini died while in custody three days later, which sparked anti-regime protests across Iran.