The 3 - June 8, 2025

Not religious enough?  SCOTUS overturns state Supreme Court ruling on religious activity

It was a unanimous decision from the U.S. Supreme Court involving Catholic Charities.  First Liberty reported on its website that the high court "...unanimously reversed a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that said Catholic Charities was not a religious organization because their ministries and outreach to the poor was not religious enough. First Liberty Institute filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Catholic Charities."

At issue, according to FoxNews.com, was "...unemployment tax credits for religious institutions." The article said, "...the justices agreed that the state had engaged in an 'unnecessary entanglement' in attempting to define whether religious groups should be entitled to an otherwise-available tax exemption based on the state’s criteria for religious behavior."

Ryan Gardner, Counsel for First Liberty, is quoted as saying on its website: Any attempt by the government to determine which religiously motivated actions are sufficiently religious enough to enjoy either constitutional protection or eligibility for a government benefit like tax exemption is ‘obnoxious to the Constitution...,'" adding, "We applaud the Justices for again affirming unanimously that the First Amendment guarantees the right of all Americans to engage in religious exercise defined by the manner dictated by their sincere religious beliefs rather than the government’s preferences."

Emergency room doctors will not be forced to perform abortions under new policy

Over the past few years, there has been an attempt to essentially turn emergency rooms into abortion clinics under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.  That issue came into play before the U.S. Supreme Court last year in a challenge to Idaho's strong pro-life law. The Supreme Court, according to the SCOTUS Blog, dismissed the case and sent litigation back to a lower court. 

Fact is, the language of EMTALA is actually pro-life. Alliance Defending Freedom, on one of its websites, reports that in 2022, "the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a memorandum and a letter from then-Secretary Becerra stating that EMTALA grants the administration authority to override state pro-life laws, even though EMTALA does not mention abortion but explicitly protects the “unborn child.”

ADF goes on to say:

Now, the Trump administration’s health department and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has rescinded that mandate and letter and has affirmed the plain words of the statute: EMTALA protects both the “pregnant woman” and the “unborn child.”

The piece on the website notes: "Because the administration’s action now protects mothers, unborn children, and doctors’ conscience rights, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit they had filed against the Biden administration earlier this year to challenge the mandate."

Administration officials reject declaration of LGBT "Pride Month"

For years, the month of June has been designated as a time to "celebrate" and "affirm" what is termed, "Pride," which is offensive to Christians, who hold to the Biblical belief that homosexuality is not to be celebrated, rather, it is a sinful act from which a person should repent. 

This year, according to The Christian Post, the Trump Administration will apparently not be issuing a proclamation of June as "Pride Month." An article from last week notes:

During a White House press briefing Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that the Trump administration would not be issuing a presidential proclamation for pride month...

She said, "There are no plans for a proclamation for the month of June," adding, "I can tell you this president is very proud to be a president of all Americans regardless of race, religion or creed."

But, the U.S. Department of Education has announced a declaration for the month of June; the Christian Post article states:

The U.S. Department of Education announced in a statement Monday that it is recognizing June as "Title IX Month" in commemoration of the 53rd anniversary of the enactment of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 into law.

Title IX requires all educational institutions that receive federal funding to ensure equal opportunities for women and girls in education, including when it comes to athletics.

The article goes on to say:

Shortly after taking office in January, Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to interpret Title IX rules prohibiting sex discrimination in education as prohibiting males who identify as women from participating in female athletic contests. The administration has also threatened to strip funding from states that permit male trans-identified athletes to compete in female sporting events