The 3 - January 7, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, features a major ruling in federal court that would prevent ER physicians from being forced to perform abortions. Also, a New Year's Eve celebration went sideways for a Christian man in India who was arrested for praying.  And, the governor of Ohio made a surprising decision to veto a bill that would protect children from gender-change treatments and procedures in his state. 

Court says Administration can't force ER doctors to perform abortions

It is certainly apparent that this Administration wants to make sure as many abortions are preformed as possible.  And, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom website, a federal court dealt a blow to the government's aggressive promotion of abortion; in this case, preventing emergency room physicians from being forced to terminate the life of an unborn child.

The website notes:

In a pivotal victory for women, children, and healthcare professionals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Biden administration cannot illegally use federal law to force emergency room doctors to perform abortions.

ADF attorneys representing the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, alongside the state of Texas, asked the court to keep in place a lower court ruling halting the Biden administration from employing the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act to force doctors to provide elective abortions in emergency rooms. The appeals court unanimously agreed.

ADF Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Ryan Bangert stated, “Doctors shouldn’t be forced to break the Hippocratic Oath, and they shouldn’t have to choose between violating their deeply held beliefs or facing stiff financial penalties and being barred from the Medicare program..."

On the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America website, State Policy Director Katie Daniel is quoted as saying:

“Early in 2024, the Court has delivered a big win for babies and mothers by halting a key piece of Biden’s pro-abortion agenda. EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, requires consideration for both patients – mother and child. It is no grounds for forcing doctors to carry out abortions even against their better medical judgment. Two federal rulings now have made that crystal clear, rejecting the Biden administration’s twisted and illegal moves. In the Dobbs era, 24 states have laws protecting babies in the womb from brutal abortions, and every one of them also ensures life-saving care for pregnant mothers during medical emergencies..."

Christian in India arrested for prayer - at home!

In an astonishing expression of the heavy hand of government in carrying out persecution of a Christian, a man in India was arrested simply for praying in his home. Christian Today reported:

Police in Uttar Pradesh detained a Christian, along with a guest, for praying in his own house on New Year’s Eve in Maharajganj district yesterday.

Pastor Raj Kishore along with some of his friends had gathered in his own house for New Years’ Eve in Sonbarasa village on December 31, when the Kothibari police reached his house around 11 pm and detained him and a friend at the complaint of a neighbour.

The police detained him along with Raj Kumar alleging he was carrying out forced conversion in his house.

The article says that Kishore's wife, Bhagwanti, "denied the allegation of any kind of conversion taking place in her house." She said to a source affiliated with the family that she, her husband, and others were "sitting and praying peacefully in her house when the police at the 'false complaint of someone' detained her husband." Also, Christian Today relates this: "Appealing to the fundamental right to religious freedom given in Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, Bhagwanti told the source that they have the right to worship whom they want to, and read religious scriptures of whatever religion they want to."

OH Governor vetoes bill protecting children from gender mutilation

State after state across the nation have taken action to protect children from harmful, so-called "gender transition" treatments and surgeries.  The Ohio legislature did the right thing when it passed legislation that would prevent these procedures from minors and would keep biological males out of female sports.  But, the governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine vetoed the bill.  The Daily Signal reported that the governor said, "Were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is best for a child than the two people who love that child the most, the parents..."  He said that an administrative solution might be more effective and survive court scrutiny.

Bill sponsor Rep. Gary Click said, “While I commend him for those efforts, The SAFE Act has been thoroughly vetted through two general assemblies, both chambers of the legislature, and numerous witnesses...I have invited the administration to participate in the process from the beginning and continue to believe that we would have benefited sooner if that had been accomplished.”

Meanwhile the Ohio legislature is expected to consider votes to override the veto, and later in the week, according to The Daily Signal, Governor DeWine "...signed an 'emergency' executive order Friday banning transgender surgeries for minors, one week after he vetoed a bill that would have had a similar effect."  The article notes:

The bill would also have banned cross-sex hormones and so-called puberty blockers for children, measures DeWine’s executive order apparently omits. The bill would also have addressed fairness in women’s sports, an issue DeWine’s order also does not address.