The 3 - December 17, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, spotlighting three recent stories impacting the Christian community, features three recent developments concerning the life issue.  Not unexpectedly, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to take a case concerning a challenge to the FDA's approval and expansion of regulation of the abortion pill.  Also, Illinois officials have consented not to enforce a recent law that would inhibit pregnancy resource centers from telling the truth about abortion.  Plus, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that a woman who wanted to abort her unborn child because the child had a genetic condition cannot take the life of that child.

SCOTUS decides to take up abortion pill case

Over 20 years ago, the Food and Drug Administration decided to allow a regimen of two pills that would terminate the life of an unborn child.  There were regulations that were placed on the distribution of the pill, and its availability has expanded over the past decade.  During the pandemic, the pills were being sent via mail order.  With the growth of chemical abortion, a group of pro-life organizations filed a lawsuit against the FDA challenging its original approval and the expansion of its availability.

SCOTUS Blog detailed the movement of the case through the court system: "A federal judge in Amarillo, Tex., agreed with the challengers and suspended" the "approval and the later changes to the conditions on the use of the drug – such as allowing the drug to be used through the 10th week of pregnancy, rather than the 7th, and allowing health-care providers who are not physicians to prescribe the drug. But although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld Kacsmaryk’s rollback of the later changes to conditions on the use of the drug, it ruled that the challengers’ efforts to invalidate the FDA’s initial approval of the drug came too late."

The blog goes on to report:

The Biden administration and the drug manufacturer Danco came to the Supreme Court this spring, asking the justices to intervene to maintain the status quo until the dispute is resolved. The justices granted that request, allowing the drug to remain widely available for now.

The Biden administration and Danco came to the Supreme Court in September, asking the justices to weigh in on the propriety of the FDA’s decisions in 2016 and 2021 to make mifepristone more widely available, as well as whether the challengers have a legal right to bring their case at all. The doctors and medical groups asked the justices to take up their challenge to the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 – both its timeliness and the propriety of the decision itself.

Unfortunately, the high court has said it will not consider the FDA's original approval of the drug.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, in an article on its website, quoted from Katie Daniel, the State Policy Director for SBA Pro-Life America, who stated:

...Working hand-in-glove with the abortion lobby, the FDA has misled the American people with its repeated claims that the abortion pill regimen is ‘safe and effective,’ all while they removed basic safeguards like in-person doctor supervision. This not only flies in the face of science and common sense, but the 5th Circuit agreed it most likely broke the law. The people aren’t buying it, either – especially when they learn the FDA doesn’t track serious complications other than death.

Attempt to restrict pregnancy centers' ability to tell the truth about abortion nullified in Illinois

The Illinois Legislature passed a law that would limit the ability of pro-life pregnancy resource centers to share information about a woman's unborn child.  It was challenged in court by National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, or NIFLA, and after a court placed a hold on the enforcement, an agreement by the state Attorney General not to enforce the law was reached. 

The Washington Times reported:

State Attorney General Kwame Raoul has agreed to a permanent injunction against the law, which aimed to bar the pro-life clinics from using any “deceptive business practice” to counsel clients and defined the sharing of certain information about the risks of abortion as “consumer fraud,” the lawyers said.

The agreement bars the state from prosecuting the clinics and grants attorney fees to the organizations that sued to block the measure.

President of NIFLA, Thomas Glessner, who was on The Meeting House last Friday, is quoted in the article, which said that Glessner...

...hailed the agreement and said the Illinois law “was an absolute weaponization of government that unfairly and unconstitutionally targeted pregnancy centers simply because they refused to refer for or perform abortions.”

Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, which led the legal challenge, in an e-mail press release from NIFLA, is quoted as saying: "...SB 1909 exempts abortion facilities and their speech, while exclusively regulating pro-life organizations and their speech, in flagrant violation of the First Amendment. This law is just one of a number of illegal new laws enacted across the country that restrict pro-life speech—we hope this permanent injunction, with full attorney’s fees, serves as a warning to other states that would seek to follow Illinois and try to silence pro-life viewpoints. We are honored to represent NIFLA and other life-affirming organizations to protect them from unjust laws like SB 1909 that seek to put a halt to their good work.”

Texas high court rules that woman cannot take the life of unborn child with genetic disorder

The third story this week not only includes a positive court decision for the cause of life by the Texas Supreme Court, but deals with a woman who was convinced that because her unborn child was diagnosed with a genetic disorder, that she should take the child's life. The Christian Post reported last Monday:

The Texas Supreme Court halted a lower court ruling finding that a woman by the name of Kate Cox met the medical exception in the state's abortion law. She now plans to travel out of state to get an abortion.

The state supreme court issued its order Friday, with the court declaring that the case would remain pending. With the help of the Center for Reproductive Rights, Cox filed a lawsuit last week against the state after her unborn child was diagnosed with trisomy 18, claiming that continuing the pregnancy could risk her health and future fertility.

The article notes, "Cox, who was 20 weeks pregnant when the case was filed, was unable to get an abortion in Texas due to the state's ban on abortions except in cases where the mother's life is in danger."  

But trisomy 18 is not necessarily a death sentence, it seems; the Christian Post article also related:

According to the Cleveland Clinic, trisomy 18 is a genetic condition in which an individual has an extra copy of chromosome 18. Children diagnosed with trisomy 18 may have a low birth weight and delays in their physical growth, as well as a short life expectancy.

Babies who are born with the condition and survive are typically provided with comfort care. However, there are several types of treatment available depending on the severity of the diagnosis, including orthopedic care and heart surgery.

Unfortunately, the mother's actions, if she followed through on having an abortion out-of-state, hastened the death of this precious child. The clinic's website states:

The survival rate varies for babies born with Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18):

• Between 60% and 75% survive to their first week.

• Between 20% and 40% survive to their first month.

• No more than 10% survive past their first year.

Children born with Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18) will need specialized care to address their unique symptoms immediately after they are born. The survival rate is low, especially if your child has delayed organ development or a congenital heart condition. Out of the 10% who survive past their first birthday, children go on to live fulfilling lives with significant support from their family and caretakers, as most never learn to walk or talk.

The Christian Post article also noted: 

Pro-life advocate Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director and the founder of And Then There Were None, an organization that helps abortion facility workers leave their jobs, called the Texas case "heartbreaking."

In a statement provided to CP, Johnson stated that, as a mother, she could empathize with Cox's situation. Instead of abortion in adverse prenatal diagnosis cases, however, Johnson advocated for mothers to have time with their children before they pass away naturally.

The 3 - December 10, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, features a sampling from the Presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, AL, and candidate's comments regarding gender issues. Also from Alabama, a drag show met with opposition from church leaders.  Plus, while military promotions will be handled differently that in the previous few months, the Department of Defense's policy on abortion is still coming under fire. 

Gender issues have significant presence in Tuscaloosa Presidential debate

One of the major developments of our time, one that has special relevance to Christians who believe in the Biblical viewpoint of sexuality, is the gender identity movement, that can range from support for surgeries or treatments that falsely claim to change a person's sex to allowing male athletes to compete on female sports teams to allowing males and females to share private spaces, such as bathrooms or locker rooms.

Several aspects of that agenda showed up in the discussion at the recent Presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, and each candidate made statements related to the issue. The New York Post reported that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stated his belief that parents should decide whether or not minor children should have these treatments, stating, “I trust parents...I stood up every single time for parents to be able to make the decisions for their minor children..." He added, “The minute you start to take those rights away from parents, you don’t know, that slippery slope, what rights are going to be taken away next..." Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated, "You do not have the right to abuse your kids. This is mutilating these minors, these are irreversible procedures...," adding, “We cannot allow this to happen in this country..."

Meanwhile Governor DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley attempted to compare their records on matters of gender.  The Post reported, "DeSantis touted sweeping legislation that he signed into law in Florida earlier this year that banned providing minors with puberty blockers or hormone therapy and outlawed performing sex-reassignment surgeries on children."

The article went on to say that Haley...

...was forced to defend her handling of state legislation in 2016 that sought to ban transgender individuals from using restrooms that don’t align with their biological sex.

DeSantis had accused the Haley of killing the so-called bathroom bill.

“When I was governor, 10 years ago, when the bathroom situation came up, we had maybe a handful of kids that were dealing with an issue and I said, ‘We don’t need to bring government into this,” she said.

“Now, 10 years later, we see that this issue has exploded. And this shows how hypocritical Ron continues to be. When he was running for governor [in 2018] and they asked him about that, he said he didn’t think bathroom bills were a good use of his time,” Haley added, referring to an answer DeSantis gave at a Florida Republican gubernatorial forum, where he said would “not pass a law” related to transgender bathroom issues and would rather “stay out of that.”

DeSantis responded to Haley by saying, “I signed a bathroom bill in Florida, so that’s obviously not true..." Haley commented: “I also say that biological boys shouldn’t be playing girls sports, and I will do everything I can to stop that because it’s the women’s issue of our time.”

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said that, “transgenderism is a mental health disorder..." and the Post article related that he challenged the Florida governor to support the use of federal funds to ban “genital mutilation or chemical castration” for minors. He also noted, "We don’t let you smoke a cigarette by the age of 18. We don’t let you have an addictive drink of alcohol by the age of 21..."

Albertville, AL venue hosts drag show, event raises questions, challenge for LGBT community

After expressions of concern by leaders in the Christian community in the Northeast Alabama city of Albertville, Alabama, a drag show was staged at a local venue.  WAFF Television reported that about 250 people attended and that there was a strong police presence there.  The station's website said:

Chief J.T. Cartee says safety for everyone was the number one priority and offered another avenue on how to express their concerns.

“Don’t get mad. Pray. I’ve talked to some of the people involved in organizing the protests and they have agreed that it’d be better to hold prayer vigils at their church. Why don’t you join in and pray with them? Prayer is far more powerful than protest,” Cartee said.

But, as 1819 News reported, the city did not have jurisdiction to allow people to protest on-site, since the event was on private property.  But, it had been reported that churches in the area were encouraged to have prayer vigils during the week leading up to the event.

The 1819 News piece was written by Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, who made some valid points - I didn't agree with them all, but this passage is worth noting:

The gospel being preached to young people about drag queens is:

• You must be an exhibitionist to be yourself and be seen

• You must embrace another persona in order to be loved – who you are is never enough

And the biggest lie:

• No one will accept you if you reveal your secret life

If there are people in the community of Albertville living a life of fear, hiding in their secrets, then I would think the goal on both sides would be to offer a place of safety and openness, but most of all freedom to reveal those problems and get help. Despite the bill of goods the LGBTQ community sells, pretending to be someone or something else is not normal, and it will not make you free.

The story of Christmas is about how love came down to redeem a fallen world – to set the captives free. The prophecy in Isaiah 9:3 about the coming Messiah promises, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

O'Connell challenged "the local church in Albertville" with this question: "How can you present that message to the LGBTQ community this Christmas season?"

She also questioned why the presenter of the event, Jessica Turner, chose to send the funds raised by the event to a charter school in Birmingham called, Magic City Acceptance Academy. She said: "Perhaps Turner should set up a suicide hotline network since this seems to concern her. If she wants to help community members feel supported and connected in order to avoid loneliness, depression, and suicide, why are proceeds being poured into the Birmingham area?"

Of course, this brings to mind another question: why is there a charter school - a public charter school supported by taxpayers - that is devoted to catering to the LGBT community?  According to the school's website, the fiscal year 2022-23 budget reflected almost $2.8 million in funding from the state and almost $660,000 from the federal government.  Why is the state board of education and the state charter board allowing this to happen?  

AL U.S. Senator allows some military promotions to go through, continues to oppose military abortion policy

Many have lauded the attempt by U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville to call attention to the Department of Defense policy to use taxpayer dollars to pay for its members to travel across state lines to have abortions.  Tuberville was not blocking any military promotions; he merely, using a rule in the Senate, called for the Senate to approve the promotions one-by-one, rather than in bulk. The Senator has been vilified for his stance, and until a rule change was approved recently by a Senate committee, was able to successfully challenge the policy.  

The Daily Citizen reports that the Senator "believes this policy violates the Hyde Amendment, which prevents the government from using taxes to fund or promote abortions. Though the DOD’s healthcare policy doesn’t directly fund abortions, it uses taxpayer’s money to facilitate them, which the senator argues is illegal."  

The website notes that Tuberville "...stopped his almost nine-month hold on the Senate’s group military promotions..., several outlets reported, announcing he wouldn’t oppose promotions of three-star generals and lower-ranked officers." The article goes on to say: "His hold on four-star generals and admirals will reportedly continue, as Tuberville vocally supports vetting people controlling the U.S. military." The catalyst for the Senator's actions, according to The Daily Citizen: "The senator’s opponents were prepared to vote on a resolution temporarily changing Senate rules to force the contested promotions through."

The 3 - December 3, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, highlighting three recent stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes the story of a professor in the U.K. who was fired from his position because of online statements consistent with a Biblical view of sexuality.  Meanwhile, a Christian school in Vermont that actually operates by Christian principles, has been excluded from participation in a tuition program and athletic events because of its Biblical approach to matters of sexuality. And, closer to home, the Alabama case involving the protection of dangerous so-called "gender-change" treatments and surgeries, has request information for a high-ranking transgender federal officials, whose communication could be helpful to the state's defense.

U.K. professor fights back in court regarding firing for Biblical views

In February of this year, a professor at a college that has been characterized as a "Christian college" tweeted this out: 

Homosexuality is invading the Church. Evangelicals no longer see the severity of this b/c they're busy apologizing for their apparently barbaric homophobia, whether or not it's true. This *is* a "Gospel issue", by the way. If sin is no longer sin, we no longer need a Saviour.

CBN.com reported about the tweet by Dr. Aaron Edwards, a professor at Cliff College in Derbyshire, England, who was dismissed from his position. The article states, "In addition to his dismissal, the college revealed that, during a disciplinary hearing on March 8, administrators considered reporting Edwards to Prevent, an initiative monitoring allegations of terrorism in the U.K." The article says:

Edwards had been employed by the college for seven years without any formal disciplinary issues or warnings, according to the Christian Legal Centre.

So, Edwards has decided to fight back against this injustice on the basis of religion. CBN states: 

He's suing Cliff College seeking damages for unfair dismissal, and compensation under the Equality Act 2010. A full employment tribunal hearing for his case is expected next year, the Christian Legal Centre said.

"Anyone concerned about academic freedom, Christian freedoms, and free speech should be deeply concerned by what has happened to me," Edwards said in a statement.

Cliff College is an entity of the Methodist Church in Britain, which, according to the article, "voted in June of 2021 to allow same-sex marriages in its churches."  The article reports:

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, who grew up in the Methodist Church, said she's sad to see the Methodist Church, and a once renowned Bible college lose their way by no longer upholding marriage as God defines it, or supporting those who express it.

She is quoted as saying: "The Bible is clear that homosexual practice is sinful. Dr Edwards is right that if sin is no longer sin, we no longer need Jesus as our Saviour..." She also adds the poignant warning: "Every church denomination – including Methodists and the Church of England – should confidently proclaim this vision, rather than mirror the zeitgeist..."

Vermont school excluded from sports participation challenges decisions

Mid Vermont Christian School desires to operate by that word in its title: "Christian." Yet the state of Vermont, in direct contrast to what the U.S. Supreme Court has previously said, has excluded MVCS from being part of a state tuition program and participation in sports programs.

Alliance Defending Freedom relates on its website:

Vermont, through its Agency of Education and Vermont Principals’ Association, requires private, religious schools like Mid Vermont Christian to adopt the state’s view on human sexuality and gender—namely, that sex is mutable and biological differences do not matter—as a condition to participate in the state’s tuition program and athletic association. Doing so violates the First Amendment rights of Mid Vermont Christian, its students and families, and other faith-based schools by preventing them from practicing their religious beliefs about sexuality and gender.

ADF Senior Counsel Ryan Tucker is quoted as saying, "Vermont continues its blatant discrimination against religious schools despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Carson v. Makin that the government cannot exclude families from public benefits just because they choose religious education for their children.”

The article also notes:

Although VPA has historically prohibited boys from playing on girls’ sports teams “to protect opportunities for girl athletes,” it recently adopted policies that allow biological males to participate in girls’ sports and is demanding Mid Vermont Christian adhere to those policies, even though they violate the school’s religious beliefs.

It adds:

When the Christian school reluctantly forfeited a girls’ high school basketball game against a team that had a male athlete playing for them, the VPA kicked Mid Vermont Christian out of the association.

The school, as ADF notes, has been excluded from non-athletic competitions, as well.

Transgender federal official drawn in to court case by defense of Alabama's child protection law

Fortunately, Alabama's Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, which would protect minors from receiving treatments and surgeries that falsely promise to change their sex, is currently in effect, thanks to a ruling by the 11th Circuit federal appeals court.  But, the law has been challenged in court, and the trial is expected next year.

The Federal government has become involved in the challenge to the case, and the defense has seized on its involvement. The Daily Caller reports that a biological male who presents as a woman, Rachel Levine, who is a high-ranking official in the Department of Health and Human Services, has had her records subpoenaed, and recently a court has allowed it.  The website states:

Defendants in the case requested the documents of Levine after the Justice Department filed a complaint challenging the Alabama law in April 2022. The DOJ did not comply with the plaintiff’s request, offering the emails of a subordinate to Levine.

A court order requires Levine to release requested e-mail records, according to the article, which goes on to say:

Attorney General of Alabama Steve Marshall defended his request for Levine’s correspondence for discovery in an August 25 court filing. Marshall requested Levine’s correspondence due to Levine’s position as a vocal and powerful advocate for child sex changes.

“Yet the United States refuses to designate Admiral Rachel Levine, who has taken the lead for the federal government on gender transition issues, even though it does not dispute the relevance of Levine’s communications,” the AG says in the filing.

The Daily Caller also notes: "The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is also under discovery in the case, due to their guidelines for transgender youth being repeatedly referenced by plaintiffs in the case. The group is stonewalling efforts at transparency." 

In March of this year, according to KATV Television, Levine said: "'gender-affirming care' for minors enjoys the support of President Joe Biden's administration, as it has 'support at the highest levels of the federal government.'"  Levine stated that he, in the language of the article, "believes the practice of medically changing a child's gender will eventually be normalized."