The 3 - February 2, 2025

This week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes news of an Executive Order signed by President Trump that would serve to restrict surgeries and treatments for young people with the purpose of changing a person's "gender."  Also, an Ohio pastor who opened his church doors to help the homeless has been convicted of criminal activity and sentenced to probation.  And, the President has issued a number of executive actions dealing with issues relative to the sanctity of life. 

President signs order to restrict trans surgeries

The topic has gained steam since the first states, including Alabama, began to pass laws prohibiting gender-change treatments and surgeries, deceptively called "gender-affirming care."  Now, over half of all states have passed some sort of law that would prevent doctors from attempting to change a young person's "gender."

The Christian Post reported last Wednesday:

President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order that seeks to crack down on government funding, coverage and promotion of sex-change procedures on minors as concerns persist about their long-term impacts.

Through the order signed Tuesday, Trump commits to "protecting children from chemical and surgical mutilation," referring to body-mutilating procedures performed on minors under the age of 18 as well as the prescription of puberty-blocking and cross-sex hormone drugs.

"It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit these destructive and life-altering procedures," the order declared.

The order included instruction to a variety of federal agencies, and The Christian Post noted: 

The order directs the heads of executive branch agencies to "take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children" and "rescind or amend all policies" that rely on guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which encouraged the performance of gender transition procedures on minors.

Ohio pastor who opened church to homeless convicted, sentenced to probation

Chris Avell is the Pastor of a church in Bryan, Ohio, called Dad's Place.  Over a year ago, the pastor made the decision to minister to the homeless in his city by opening his church doors to accommodate them.  First Liberty has defended the pastor in court, and on its website, posted a press release, which said:

Pastor Chris Avell of Dad’s Place Church in Bryan, Ohio was found guilty of a criminal charge regarding a fire code violation filed against him by city officials. The year-long battle with the City of Bryan that has continuously attempted to shut down the church, Dad’s Place, resulted in a conviction for the caring pastor. Pastor Avell was fined $200 and given a 60-day suspended jail sentence. The judge stayed his decision for 30-days to allow the Avell’s attorneys to appeal.

The Christian legal organization noted:

For over a year, the City of Bryan, Ohio has been aggressively attacking the church in court, including alleged zoning violations, middle-of-the-night fire inspections, police antagonism, and even criminal charges filed against the church’s pastor. And while city officials demand the church install an expensive fire suppression system, the city does not require all of its motels, most of its apartment complexes, and even a senior living facility to install fire suppression systems in their buildings.

Furthermore, as the website stated: "The Court of Appeals of Ohio, Sixth Appellate District, recently issued a stay against the city in their lawsuit against Dad’s Place, allowing the church to continue operating."

Presidential executive orders protect the unborn

Even though President Trump, in his most recent campaign, was perhaps not as forthright in his support for life as he had been in his winning 2016 campaign, his recent executive actions have demonstrated a commitment to protecting unborn life.

In a piece at the Newsweek website by Erin Hawley of Alliance Defending Freedom, the attorney made mention of "23 men and women prosecuted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act that Trump pardoned on January 23. Among those released: grandparents, mothers of young children, pastors, a Holocaust survivor, and a Catholic priest—all prosecuted and convicted by the Biden administration for their nonviolent protests at abortion facilities."

Hawley also noted that...

...In a subsequent memo issued on January 24, the Trump administration made sure that the FACE Act would no longer be weaponized against pro-life viewpoints. The memo—written by Chad Mizelle, chief of staff to Pam Bondi, Trump's pick for attorney general—limits future FACE Act prosecutions to incidents involving "extraordinary circumstances" or "significant aggravating factors."

The article referred to three cases dismissed by the Department of Justice regarding prosecutions under the FACE Act. 

And, the op-ed piece related:

What's more, Trump revived two additional crucial pro-life policies designed to curtail taxpayer-supported abortions. First, he signed an executive order directing his administration to enforce the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal taxpayer funding for abortion. He also reinstated the "Mexico City policy," which blocks international organizations that provide and promote abortion from receiving U.S. government funding.

But, that's not all; Hawley mentioned: "...the Trump administration has also sent word via the U.S. Mission to the United Nations that the U.S. is rejoining the Geneva Consensus Declaration, of which the U.S. was a founding member. A coalition of 40 governments united around a pro-life policy stance are signatories to the declaration."

Late last week, Life Site News reported: 

Taxpayer dollars will no longer be used to pay for travel expenses of military members heading out of state to obtain abortions, thanks to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.

It went on to say: "On Wednesday, the Pentagon’s Defense Travel Management Office released a memo announcing it scrapped a policy that had been put into place..." by the former Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.

The article quoted U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, representing Alabama, who said on X: “I took a lot of heat when I held senior military promotions for nearly a year over the Pentagon’s illegal and immoral taxpayer-funded abortion travel policy. But as of today, it was all worth it..."