The 3 - March 24, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes a bold move by government officials in the United Kingdom, announcing a ban on puberty blockers for minor children.  Also, a Texas church, after initially being refused twice, has been allowed to run ads for a church service on a major streaming platform.  And, a group of former college swimmers have sued the NCAA on Title IX violations as the result of allowing a male athlete to compete against females. 

Puberty blockers for minors banned by UK officials

While U.S. lawmakers are waking up to the danger of treatments and surgeries that proponents claim will enable someone to change his or her gender, authorities in the United Kingdom seem to be a few steps ahead.  Worthy News reports that:

England’s National Health Service (NHS) has announced that children suffering from gender dysphoria will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at gender identity clinics, Sky News reports. Puberty blockers will now only be available to children as part of clinical research trials.

The article notes that, "The decision to halt the prescription of puberty blockers follows a massive surge in the number of referrals of children to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS): more than 5,000 in 2021/22 compared to just under 250 ten years earlier, Sky News said."

Lead reviewer Dr. Hillary Cass is quoted as saying, that it was “not possible to accurately track the outcomes and pathways that children and young people take through the service,” due to lack of "consistent data" from GIDS, based on that Sky News report.

The Washington Stand reported that, "Dr. Jennifer Bauwens, director of the Center for Family Studies at Family Research Council, said on “Washington Watch” ...that while 'we wish [it] would be a full ban,' this decision 'is a huge step towards seeing these terrible practices no longer be available at least in one country.'"  The article said:

Jody Hice, senior vice president at FRC, added, “[W]e have all watched globally as the push for these transgender puberty blockers and surgeries” have been pushed into the limelight, “And now we’re watching … some European countries beginning to pull back on this.” Hice posed the question, “Why the reversed course?”

TX church ad initially banned by Hulu allowed to run

A church in Texas, Hulen Street Church in Fort Worth, in order to announce a new Thursday night service, placed a 22-second ad on multiple streaming platforms, including Facebook, Google, and Instagram, according to First Liberty Institute.  But, when attempting to put the ad on Hulu, the service rejected the church's request - twice.

The website says that Pastor Wes Hamilton "...asked for the reason behind Hulu’s rejection of the ad..." Hulu "...said that the ad violated policies against 'Religious Indoctrination due to asking viewer to attend Thursday services.'" The site notes, "The words 'Religious Indoctrination" appear nowhere in Hulu’s published ad policy."

First Liberty sent a "demand letter" to Hulu and it reconsidered, allowing the ad. Senior Counsel for First Liberty, Jeremy Dys, said, "“We are grateful to Hulu for its quick response to our demand letter and for accepting Hulen Street Church’s ad,” adding, “In the future, Hulu—and others in Big Tech—could avoid these kinds of conflicts by adopting advertising policies that do not discriminate against religious organizations, being transparent about its advertising policy, and applying it fairly.”

Former college swimmers join lawsuit against the NCAA

Even though you are seeing some sporting organizations allowing male athletes to compete in female sports, there is pushback that is occurring.  On the legislative level, numerous states have passed legislation that would protect the integrity and privacy of females. 

And, now comes the news that a group of female athletes has filed suit against the supervisory body, the NCAA, according to The Free Press which reports:

Over a dozen female athletes are suing the National Collegiate Athletics Association for letting transgender athletes compete against them and use female locker rooms in college sports.

At the center of the class-action lawsuit is Lia Thomas, the trans athlete who dominated the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championships while a student at the University of Pennsylvania. The suit states that both the NCAA and Georgia Tech, which hosted the event, knowingly violated Title IX, the federal statute that guarantees equal opportunity for men and women in college education and sports.

One of the plaintiffs is former North Carolina State swimmer Kylee Alons.  The Concerned Women for America website states:

In 2022 at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship, Kylee was forced to share a locker room with University of Pennsylvania swimmer and biological male Lia Thomas. After feeling tense and exposed in the locker room, she discovered a utility closet behind the bleachers where she would change in for the remainder of the competition in order to avoid having to undress in front of a male.

FoxNews.com reports:

The NCAA, University System of Georgia, Georgia Tech University, University of Georgia, University of North Georgia and members of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia were named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The athletes alleged the NCAA and those involved in the University System of Georgia of denying them the promises of Title IX and pointed to the NCAA’s transgender participation policy as the catalyst. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of multiple Title IX violations and the right to bodily privacy.

The 3 - March 17, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes developments out of France, which became the first nation on earth to place a right to an abortion in its constitution. In Nigeria, hundreds have been abducted in a country where terror groups are especially brutal toward Christians.  And, in Alabama, it has been discovered that a man identifying as a woman has been allowed to chaperone female attendees at Space Camp in Huntsville.

France becomes first country to include right to abortion in country's constitution

USA Today stated it very plainly: "France made history on Monday as the first country in the world to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution."

The Christian Institute website noted:

Amending the 1958 Constitution, lawmakers voted by 780 to 72 in favour of guaranteeing “the freedom of women to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy”.

Activists have been pushing for pro-abortion protections to be included in France’s constitution since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022.

The article goes on to say:

In a statement last week, the Council of Evangelical Christians in France expressed fear that such a change would weaken “the right of healthcare workers to conscientious objection” and erode “freedom of expression”.

It also notes: 

Abortion was legalised in France in 1975. It is permitted on demand in the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy, and up to birth for some reasons.

Figures compiled by Worldometer indicate that abortion claimed more than 44 million lives worldwide in 2023 and is the leading cause of death for the fifth year in a row.

Hundreds of people, including students at a school, abducted in Nigeria

Close to 700 people, including almost 300 students at a school, have been abducted since the first of March in the nation of Nigeria, according to International Christian Concern.  The organization, that supports the persecuted Church, reported:

On Sunday, March 3, gunmen from the Boko Haram terrorist group kidnapped at least 400 people from multiple IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps in the northern state of Borno. On Thursday, March 7, unidentified armed herders attacked a school in Kuriga, Kaduna State, kidnapping at least 287 students and teachers.

These horrific accounts come just seven days before the 10th anniversary of the Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping, which sparked the international campaign #bringbackourgirls. Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014, 98 of whom are still in custody.

The article says that: "Boko Haram, as well as other militant groups in Nigeria, contribute to the continued recommendation for Nigeria to be designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the U.S. Dept. of State." That has only occurred one out of the last 15 years.

Decision Magazine reported:

Boko Haram and the Islamic State are Muslim extremist groups that operate freely in parts of Nigeria. The name Boko Haram translates to “Western education is a sin,” and the militant group is hostile to Western ideals. Additionally, some nomadic Fulani herdsmen, also known as the Fulani militia, often ruthlessly target Christians and attack villages. Armed gangs known as bandits occupy remote forests where there is little to no government presence, and they terrorize villagers with kidnappings, raids and killings.

The article notes that:

Open Doors South Africa calls Nigeria the most violent place in the world for Christians and posted on X that on average, 11 Christians are killed in Nigeria daily. “Pray for your Nigerian family who live in the most world’s most violent place for Christians!” they posted.

Space Camp controversy over male supervising female attendees grows

This past week, there was much discussion over the discovery that a biological male presenting as a female was being allowed to supervise girls attending Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.  1819 News reported:

On Monday, Alabama lawmakers and thousands of others responded to reports from Huntsville-based Clay Yarbrough, who learned that Molly Bowman, a biological male who identifies as a female, would be working in the overnight camp he planned to send his daughter.

Yarbrough included several screenshots from Bowman's social media, which was filled with hyper-sexual commentary.

The responses varied, with many showing disgust for the Space Camp and others supporting Bowman, saying he did nothing wrong.

FoxNews.com reported: 

The transgender individual "is a team lead and a hall monitor in the girls dorms and at times could be allowed to be alone in the halls at night," according to Yarbrough's post Facebook. In the comments, he included some of the social media posts by the transgender employee, which included graphic, violent and sexual comments about sexuality and gender. 

That article notes that U.S. Rep. Dale Strong said, "I call on the Center to immediately remove the individual and open a safety review to consider the potential harm and damages they have inadvertently caused children..."

 

The 1819 article notes that "...the Alabama House of Representatives is poised to consider a bill by State Rep. Susan DuBose...that would codify definitions of man, woman, boy, girl, father, mother, male, female, and sex in Alabama law and allow local public entities to establish separate single-sex spaces or environments in certain circumstances. The bill allows for alternative gender identity while still allowing certain female-only spaces." The sponsor notes: "When I saw that, It made me realize immediately that we need to define male, female and sex into Alabama code because, in a situation like this, the Space Camp needs to have consistent information to go by..."

WAAY Television in Huntsville notes that State Rep. Mack Butler "...says he plans to amend HB130, the bill prohibiting the instruction or discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools, and extend these prohibitions to Space Camp." The article goes on to say:

The current state law prohibits this discussion through fifth grade.

Butler's bill plans to extend this through 12th grade and apply to all programs and space activities at Space Camp.

The 3 - March 10, 2024

In this version of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is an update about this bill in the Alabama Legislature that protects IVF providers, but, as pro-life groups have pointed out, does not protect the life of embryos. Also, there is news out of the Southern Baptist Convention regarding a federal probe into its leadership concerning allegations of sexual abuse.  And, a court has upheld a school district policy in California that protects parents' rights and prevent the teaching of an ideology that promote division.

Pro-life groups respond to new Alabama IVF bill on the grounds that it fails to protect life of embryos

After the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling that embryos produced in the process of in vitro fertilization are human life, some in vitro fertilization clinics halted their procedures and the Alabama Legislature believed it was forced to act.  By the way, the ruling did not ban IVF.

So, after an initial draft indicated that lawmakers were going to try to counter that ruling by declaring that these embryos were not to be considered "life," a more acceptable version emerged. Initial legislation provided limited, but not absolute protection for IVF clinics, and had a deadline for the Legislature to act to protect life.  The final version approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor provide blanket immunity and no sunset provision.  

Pro-life groups were warning against the language of the bill that was being considered and called for the Governor to veto the legislation, which she did not.  Live Action News reported:

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill into law on Wednesday that gives civil and criminal immunity to in vitro fertilization doctors should they damage or destroy embryos, even without parental consent.

The story relates:

Interestingly, the law admits that the destruction of embryos is equivalent to the “death” of those embryos, which means, that legislators admit human embryos are alive before they are destroyed.

State Sen. Larry Stutts, the only senator who voted against the new law, criticized the language of the bill, arguing it is “not an IVF protection bill, it’s an IVF provider and supplier protection bill” that is “limiting the ability of the mothers that are involved in IVF to have recourse.” The Alabama Supreme Court ruling had been in favor of the parents whose embryos were destroyed. This law makes it difficult for other parents to file similar lawsuits.

Stutts, who is a medical doctor, had proposed legislation that attempted to address IVF, which passed the Senate, and that did not allow such blanket protection. Another bill passed at the same time, the version that was eventually passed.

Live Action Founder and President Lila Rose noted in a press release:

This law will have catastrophic consequences and withdraws existing legal protections for Alabama’s most vulnerable persons simply because those persons were created through IVF. This law provides dangerous civil and criminal immunity for “damage to or the death of an embryo” in the course of “providing or receiving services related to in vitro fertilization.” That means complete legal permission to destroy, by accident or intention, embryonic children created through IVF—even against the wishes of the parents.

Rose also said that this new law violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Alabama Constitution.  She noted:

Live Action led a coalition of pro-life groups representing millions of Americans and thousands of Alabamians who are working both nationally and in Alabama specifically, which urged the veto of this legislation. Unfortunately, Governor Ivey ignored those pro-life voices and signed the bill.

Among the groups with representatives signing a letter issued last Monday urging a gubernatorial veto are: Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Family Research Council, Eagle Forum, Alabama Policy Institute, the Alabama Citizens Action Program, and others. 

The Liberty Counsel website stated:

Despite the Court stating that an IVF embryo is a “minor child” and is no different under the law than an embryo in the womb, the new law will treat frozen IVF children differently and not allow legal consequences for their deaths.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said that lawmakers "...missed the mark with this knee-jerk reaction. It is too bad legislators are moved more by political winds than in science and in the fundamental issues involving human life.”

Staver provided analysis on The Meeting House regarding the Alabama Supreme Court's recent decision regarding embryos.  Staver is quoted on the Liberty Counsel website:

“Every human life begins as an embryo and has incalculable worth. Yet this law presents a double standard treating IVF embryos differently by removing their legal protections. The Alabama Supreme Court held that every unborn life, no matter their stage or location, is a child. As such, children who are in the frozen IVF embryo phase deserve the exact same dignity and protection as all children. The Alabama legislature should revisit this issue immediately and take a more reasoned and scientific approach that proscribes how human life must be treated in the context of IVF.”

SBC officials announce end of DOJ probe

For some time now, leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention have been attempting to find solutions to reports of sexual abuse among congregants in its churches.  While there are those that believe that each local church should look into allegations and deal with them on that level, reports of abuse published in the Houston Chronicle and the report of an independent agency, Guidepost Solutions, which did not seem to uncover very much new information, have promoted the denomination to set up a task force to deal with such matters, which has given rise to a new third-party entity devoted to addressing issues relative to sex abuse. 

In August 2022, according to Baptist Press, it was announced that the U.S. Department of Justice would be looking into actions of the SBC Executive Committee in its response to reports of sexual abuse. Recently, the website stated:

SBC entity leaders and SBC President Bart Barber first announced the DOJ’s intention to investigate the SBC on Aug. 12, 2022, pledging to fully cooperate with investigators.

“While we continue to grieve and lament past mistakes related to sexual abuse, current leaders across the SBC have demonstrated a firm conviction to address those issues of the past and are implementing measures to ensure they are never repeated in the future,” they said in the 2022 statement. “The fact that the SBC Executive Committee recently completed a fully transparent investigation is evidence of this commitment.”

The story was devoted primarily to announcing that the Department of Justice investigation has ended. It related:

The U.S. Department of Justice has concluded its investigation of the SBC Executive Committee, Southern Baptist leaders learned Feb. 29.

In a statement today, Jonathan Howe, interim SBC EC president/CEO, said the DOJ has told the EC’s legal counsel there is “no further action to be taken.”

However, Religion News Service stated:

That news came as a surprise to abuse survivors and advocates such as Megan Lively and Tiffany Thigpen. They reached out to Department of Justice investigators, who they say told them the investigation was ongoing. Both said they were told the lead DOJ investigator had no more questions for the Executive Committee and but that the investigation remains open.

The writer of the story, Bob Smietana, postulated:

Both sides agree that something has changed with the DOJ’s investigation. They appear to disagree about what that change means. The confusion over the status of the DOJ investigation has strained the already tense relationship between abuse survivors and leaders of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

He referred to a subsequent story by Baptist Press, which stated:

Legal counsel for the SBC has since confirmed that the investigation into the SBC as a whole remains open and ongoing, however, the DOJ has never made a public statement about the investigation and BP’s requests for comments were not returned on March 5 and March 7.

In a statement posted on its website Thursday, the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF) said, “Southern Baptists initiated the work of sexual abuse reform not in response to criminal inquiries or threats of lawsuits but due to an increasing burden and awareness that vulnerable people were suffering harm in many of our churches and institutions, which were vastly under resourced to care for and protect them.”

The article goes on to say:

In February, the ARITF announced the coming formation of the Abuse Response Commission – an independent non-profit organization to aid Southern Baptist churches in tracking credibly accused sexual abusers and creating resources to help churches prevent and respond to sexual abuse.

California school district positive upholding parental rights affirmed

In the Temecula Valley Unified School District in California, a policy was put into place that would affirm the rights of parents to be notified by school officials regarding a child's "gender transition," as well as to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the schools, and, according to a press release by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, the policy had been challenged in court, and recently, a court ruled in favor of the district's policy,     

The president of the organization, Robert Tyler, is quoted as saying: "This is a win for commonsense, parents, and the safety of students," adding, "TVUSD is committed to providing a quality education free from political agendas and free from dishonest and divisive curriculum. This ruling allows TVUSD to continue implementing these sound policies."

School Board President Joseph Komrosky stated: "These policies were enacted by the school board to ensure our district puts the needs of students and their parents above all else. Our district remains focused on providing a holistic education for all of our students, free from both discrimination and indoctrination."

The 3 - March 3, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes the announcement of plans by major pharmacies to sell the abortion pill in selected states. Also, Alabama lawmakers attempted to respond to the Alabama Supreme Court's pro-life ruling on human embryos by providing what is hoped to be temporary legislation to enable IVF clinics to resume services.  And, the ministry of Youth With a Mission faces significant challenges after a bus accident in Tanzania claimed the lives of 11 people associated with the ministry.

Pharmacies announce plans to sell abortion pill in some states

With a March 26 date for arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court over the expanded availability of the abortion pill, mifepristone, two pharmacy chains have announced their plans to sell it. 

LifeNews.com reported:

CVS and Walgreens announced that they will begin selling the abortion pill nationwide, even though it has killed millions of babies and injured countless thousands of women.

The two pharmacy chains recently received certification to dispense the drugs in a small group of states, a process they initiated after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved new regulations last year allowing brick and mortar retailers to offer chemical abortion.

Leading pro-life groups condemned the decision, saying that the pills end the lives of babies before birth and that chemical abortion poses greater risks for women than surgical procedures – even as high as four times the risk.

Chelsey Youman, National Director of Public Policy for Human Coalition is quoted in the article; she stated: “This is a massive scheme of abortion-on-demand where our neighborhood pharmacies have been turned into merchants of death. The FDA has lost all credibility in abandoning its responsibility to protect life, and women and children are paying the cost with their lives..." She added, “Over the years, the FDA has recklessly tossed aside common sense safety regulations to the point where women can now get abortion pills at their neighborhood pharmacy – or through the mail – having not ever seen a doctor throughout the process. They may not have received critical screenings for complications that could save their lives..."

The Life News article pointed out:

On March 26 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and Danco v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, petitions in the landmark case in which a group of doctors are challenging the FDA’s reckless rubber-stamping of mail-order abortion pills. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously found that the FDA’s actions likely violated the law.

Alabama lawmakers vote to extend protection for IVF clinics

The declaration by the Alabama Supreme Court that embryos produced through in vitro fertilization are, in fact, human, set off a firestorm of activity, driven largely by misinformation, regarding the fertility industry in the state of Alabama.  By week's end, both chambers of the Alabama Legislature had passed bills offering legal protection for IVF clinics, in light of the high court's ruling that a lawsuit involving the destruction of embryos in a clinic in Mobile could move forward. 

Pro-life groups were adamant that lawmakers, who are tasked with crafting legislation speaking to the issue, can protect IVF and do so in a pro-life manner.  Writing on behalf of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition, President Eric Johnston stated: "Our objective is not to compromise IVF in any material way, but to facilitate and continue its availability."

He noted, "...we agree with the Court opinion. Therefore, the humanity of those unborn children must be protected, while permitting couples to have the option. We believe the unused embryos should be permitted to be adopted. In all events, those not used, must not be destroyed. We must agree on a humane way to resolve this problem."

An earlier version of the legislation passed by the Senate and House had included language that said the embryos were actually not considered to be human life. That language was abandoned. As Johnston related, another version included a deadline by which the bill would expire - that was removed; in response, he wrote: "This raises our concern that the Legislature will not adequately or timely deal with the problem. IVF is not regulated in Alabama. The Court opinion is a wake-up call."  Also, language granting "blanket immunity" to IVF clinics was revised.   

And, pro-life individuals and groups should have seats at the table.  Johnston wrote:

The Alabama Legislature must ignore the demands of special interests and work with all groups to do what is needed to permit IVF, while protecting the unborn. The Alabama Pro Life Coalition must be a part of that process and the Alabama Legislature must act with dispatch, but with care.

The conversation can be found here. 

Bus accident claims lives of almost a dozen people working with YWAM 

The missions organization, Youth with a Mission, has suffered a significant loss and needs our prayers.  An article published this past Thursday on the Mission Network News website about a deadly bus accident in Tanzania states:

On Saturday, February 24, participants in a YWAM leadership course took a field trip in two buses to Maasai land, where they observed a thriving community development program. On the return trip, a truck that reportedly lost its brakes smashed into YWAM’s second bus, crushing it from top to bottom.

The accident involved four vehicles in total and at least 15 fatalities. One of the vehicles involved was carrying students and teachers from New Vision School of Arusha and a public bus.

Eleven Gospel workers were killed, including the local YWAM base leader and training director. Eight believers were severely wounded, and two remain in critical condition today.

The article notes that: 

Those who died were leaders of projects, training centers, and ministries. It is a significant hit for YWAM’s work, especially in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Pray the work that has been happening through those who passed away will not be stopped but be carried on by others. Pray that much fruit will come from these tragic deaths and that Jesus will get all the glory.

The costly procedures to "arrange care for the injured, support families, and get the bodies back to eight different countries for burial..." are underway.