The 3 - March 9, 2025

Bill to keep males out of women's sports fails in U.S. Senate, another state passes legislation to do that

With more and more states passing legislation to prevent males from participating in female sports, an executive order issued to prevent the practice, and House passage of a piece of legislation to make that permanent, there has certainly been momentum to ban this practice.

But, the momentum ran into a roadblock in the U.S. Senate last week.  FoxNews.com reported that the a bill in the U.S. Senate " prevent boys from participating in girls' sports failed to overcome the legislative filibuster on Monday night after it did not reach the necessary 60-vote threshold to advance." The final procedural vote was 51-45.  

The article stated:

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act would require Title IX to treat gender as "recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth," and would disallow any adjustment for it to apply to gender identity.

The White House issued a statement in support of the legislation, saying: "This bill also recognizes that ‘sex,’ as used in the statutory scheme, is based solely on reproductive biology and genetics...Men participating in women’s sports not only is demeaning and dangerous to women and girls, but it erodes the integrity of our Nation’s civil rights laws. Congress’s affirmative vote on this bill would complement both federal court rulings and President Trump’s February 5, 2025, Executive Order, ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.'"

Meanwhile, according to Alliance Defending Freedom, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed a bill "that protects women and girls by prohibiting men from entering into women’s spaces—such as changing rooms, sleeping quarters, and restrooms—and requiring colleges, public buildings, and correctional facilities to safeguard women’s safety and privacy in these spaces..."

Another U.K. citizen arrested for silent protest outside abortion clinic

There have been several incidents that have received attention out of the United Kingdom of people being arrested for standing silently in front of abortion clinics.  Scotland just passed a law to that effect, and the Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University reported: "A 74-year-old woman was arrested...in Glasgow, Scotland, for allegedly breaching an exclusion zone around an abortion clinic." The article goes on to say:

This marks the first enforcement of Scotland’s recently enacted Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act 2024, which prohibits anti-abortion protests within 200 meters of medical facilities providing abortion services.

Rose Docherty, a grandmother and retiree, stood in silence on a sidewalk with a sign that read, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”

The article notes:

In recent years, England has also arrested pro-lifers for praying near abortion clinics in violation of censorship laws. British Army veteran Adam Smith-Connor was convicted in October 2024 for silently praying near an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, England.  

It also pointed out that "Isabel Vaughan-Spruce is another pro-lifer who has been arrested multiple times for silently praying within these zones. In October 2023, she was fined for her silent prayer, even after previous charges had been dropped or resulted in acquittal."

The Center relates that the new Scottish law "even applies to those who 'can be seen or heard' praying or discussing their pro-life beliefs inside of private homes located within the buffer zones." 200 meters is the equivalent of 650 feet - that's over two football fields (not counting the end zones).

Collegiate Day of Prayer calls on students to follow Jesus, churches to adopt campuses

The annual Collegiate Day of Prayer occurred on Thursday, February 27, and CBN.com reported that "Christians around the globe united...in a movement of prayer to see revival spread across college campuses and universities." It noted that over 6000 campuses "were adopted in prayer" by over 3200 "churches, ministries, and individuals."

The article went on to say: 

Organizers report that the 2,500-seat Rudder Auditorium at Texas A&M was sold out as students came to seek God for revival on their campuses.

The CBN article also noted:

According to Intervarsity, an evangelical Christian student movement with affiliate groups on university campuses, decisions for Christ rose by 33 percent last year. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes reports its highest number of salvations since the pandemic, and the international ministry, Cru, recently surpassed the one million mark in commitments to faith globally.

"It really has been such an incredible season to ministry to college campuses since Asbury," Thai Lam, Executive Director of the CDOP, told CBN's Faith Nation.

Lam is quoted as saying: "We are convinced that what we are doing in engaging the next generation, specifically 18-to-22-year-olds on college campuses, is so significant," adding, "As God is moving and marking these young adults who are being formed spiritually. Their worldview is being shaped and they are being launched into the trajectory of their lives [and] we believe that as these students are being marked by Jesus for the next 30, 40, 50 years, who they become and what they do will shape the trajectory of America."