The 3 - May 14, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, coming on the heels of the day when we celebrate mothers, consists of three pro-life stories, including cybersecurity concerns of a pro-life group that is part of the lawsuit against a federal agency's authorization to distribute the abortion pill.  Also, a group of U.S. Senators is challenging seven pharmacy chains, warning them about illegalities involved in selling the abortion pill. And, four California churches will be receiving a financial reward of $1.4 million to pay attorneys' fees in their lawsuit against a state mandate to include abortion in their health care plans.

Another type of attack on pro-life group: cybersecurity concerns

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear the case involving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill later this week, and one of the plaintiffs has experienced not a physical act of vandalism, but a cyber-attack. CBN.com reported that "The pro-life American College of Pediatricians has become the target of ongoing, malicious cyberattacks after a federal judge ruled in its favor and halted the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, a drug used in chemical abortions."

The article notes that:

The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) was founded by "a group of concerned physicians who saw the need for a pediatric organization that would not be influenced by the politically driven pronouncements of the day."

Dr. Jill Simons, a board-certified pediatrician, and ACPeds' executive director, told the Daily Signal, that she contacted law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, after hackers attempted to access the group's website servers, email accounts, financial accounts, and social media accounts on April 24.

Fortunately, protective software thwarted the majority of the attacks, except for a website that had been archived, which suffered damage Dr. Simons termed, "costly to recover." But, she noted, "we will not be intimidated by these illegal bullying tactics that amount to a hate crime...,: and stated, "We will continue to promote the health and well-being of children by protecting the rights of born and preborn children, promoting biological integrity, and defending conscience rights for healthcare professionals."

Senators warn drug chains about abortion pill distribution

There's more news related to the abortion pill from a group of U.S. Senators. One, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, posted on her website, that she and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma "led colleagues in letters to seven major U.S. pharmacies that warn them of their obligations under federal and state laws, including longstanding federal laws that criminalize the mailing and interstate shipment of abortion drugs."

The website notes that "the most critical" of the letters "were sent to CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid for their intent to be certified to dispense abortion drugs." It also states, "Four additional letters were issued to Walmart, Albertsons, Costco, and Kroger encouraging them to maintain their current decisions not to seek abortion drug distribution certification."

The two afore-mentioned senators were joined by seven colleagues in the Senate, stating in the letters, “We write to express our support and agreement with 21 State Attorneys General, who have reminded you that Federal law in 18 U.S.C. 1461-1462 criminalizes nationwide using the mail, or interstate shipment by any express company or common carrier, to send or receive any drug that is ‘designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion...'" The Senators stated their disagreement with advice from the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel saying that the ban on distribution of the bill only applies to situations where abortion is illegal.

A number of pro-life organizations supported the Senators' letters. 

Churches resist CA mandate to pay for abortion in their health care plans, collect damages

In 2014, the California Department of Managed Health Care, or DMHC, issued a mandate that forced religious organizations to pay for abortion in their health care plans. The Alliance Defending Freedom website notes that according to Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus, "For years, California officials, in collaboration with Planned Parenthood, have unconstitutionally targeted faith-based organizations."

A year after the mandate was handed down, ADF filed a lawsuit on behalf of three California Churches: Foothill Church in Glendora, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino, and The Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch. The ADF website says that, "In August 2022, a federal court ruled in favor of the three plaintiff churches, concluding that the California abortion-coverage mandate was unconstitutional."

In 2016, another lawsuit was filed against the CA abortion mandate, this time on behalf of Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego. ADF notes that, "In light of the court’s ruling in the Foothill Church case, state officials conceded that the abortion-coverage mandate also violated Skyline Church’s constitutional rights and agreed to a stipulated court order."

And at the end of last week, it was announced that the churches would collectively receive $1.4 million dollars that would be used for attorneys' fees. Regarding the positive rulings for the churches, Galus said, "This is a significant victory for the churches we represent, the conscience rights of their members, and other religious organizations that shouldn’t be ordered by the government to violate some of their deepest faith convictions.”

The 3 - May 7, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three recent stories of relevance to the Christian community, highlights a new report on religious freedom identifying countries singled out for their violations.  Also, a Missouri school district has been found to be violating state law providing for parental notification when topics related to sexuality are taught.  And, the gospel was spread in Boston, site of a gathering of self-proclaimed Satanists. 

Arm of State Department issues religious freedom report

Each year, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which is a division of the U.S. State Department, issues a report on religious freedom, including a listing of nations designated as Countries of Particular Concern. CBN.com reported recently on the latest report, the cover of which, according to the article, "...features the face of the late Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman killed last year by Iran's morality police for violating the country's headscarf law. This is just one of many examples where religious freedom is under attack around the world."

Iran is one of the 17 nations who have been designated as CPC's, joining other repeat offenders, including: Burma, China, Cuba, North Korea, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. 5 countries were added this year, according to the article, "Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam."  There has been a concerted effort to return Nigeria to the list after being absent. 

Senator Marco Rubio noted, "These violations do not go unnoticed..."

The article concludes by saying, "The USCIRF hopes the president, State Department, and Congress will take action to address the global religious freedom violations, believing every country named in the report is watching to see how the U.S. will respond."

Missouri school district allows LGBTQ book, even though it violates state law

The state of Missouri has a law on the books, that, according to The Daily Signal, says: "School districts must notify parents of the 'basic content of the district’s or school’s human sexuality instruction to be provided to the student' and a 'parent’s right to remove the student from any part of the district’s or school’s human sexuality instruction...'"  

But, at a school outside of St. Louis, in the Webster Groves School District, an "elementary school allowed a parent to read the transgender-promoting children’s book 'I Am Jazz' to a second-grade class without first informing other parents, although state law requires school districts to notify parents beforehand about lessons on sexuality." The article says that the book, "is the story of transgender-identifying biological male Jazz Jennings. It is rated as age-appropriate for children aged 4 and up."

The article said the book was read as part of a "Mystery Reader" program, "where a family member surprises a child by reading to the class." It goes on to say, "A student’s parent asked for permission to read the book, and the school approved the request. But the school chose not to inform the parents of other students," according to a parent.

But, this is not the first time the district has pushed the envelope on gender ideology.  The Daily Signal states:

The Webster Groves district, with 10 schools and more than 4,400 students, has a history of pushing radical gender ideology on children. Also in September, a high school librarian encouraged students to check out sexually explicit books from her list of commonly banned books and enter a raffle for a “sweet prize.”

The school district also plans to include the personal pronouns “they/them” in math problems and hire certified teachers as “math interventionists” to fight racism and gender bias in math classes, following a curriculum evaluation.

One family was upset when their second grader came from school saying she had learned that boy bodies can have girl brains and vice versa. After the family expressed concerns, the teacher included two brief sentences about the classroom reading of “I Am Jazz” in a longer email to parents.

Unfortunately, a district spokesperson said that the district doesn't believe it violated state law.

SatanCon attendees hear the gospel

It was billed as the “largest satanic gathering in history," according to The Christian Post, referring to SatanCon, which occurred the last weekend in April in Boston. 

Lynn MacAskill, a regional leader for Intercessors for America, who was in Boston as part of a ministry team reaching out to conference attendees, said, “Numerous Christians from several teams did minister to SatanCon attendees...with some great stories, so seeds were definitely sown,” adding, “God really did move as we were able to be in the venue. Everyone was peaceful and polite, and we felt God gave us specific prayer assignments, especially on Sunday, that were powerful.”

She also noted, "...we were told by several sources that Revive Boston and YWAM evangelists did record 98 salvations and at least 15 recommitments to the Lord among regular people during street evangelism."  The Christian Post article went on to say:

“You could definitely tell a lot of prayer had gone before us due to the peaceful nature of interactions and openness of many, though definitely not all attendees, to dialogue with believers,” MacAskill said. The IFA Boston co-leader revealed that most of the attendees were “averse to being prayed for.”

“A lot of them had been raised Christian and had been hurt or oppressed by the church, so I think that’s something we as the Body of Christ need to learn from so as not to push people away from knowing Jesus,” she continued. “Several evangelists shared with me that although they were opposing the Church, many of them smiled or their eyes softened or even shed tears when they heard the name of Jesus and that He loved them.”

Nevertheless, MacAskill believes “seeds were sown,” and now she charged believers to continue to show the love of Jesus to the world: “We need to be faithful to continue to pray that these seeds will be watered and that other Christians will be called to show the love of Jesus to these people wherever they call home.”

The article noted that Boston was specifically targeted by the Satanic Temple after the city's refusal to allow a Satanic flag to fly at City Hall after the U.S. Supreme Court decision finding that it was incorrect for Boston to reject the Christian flag simply because it was religious.  Satanists also desire to offer prayers at city council meetings.