The 3 - April 3, 2022

This week's edition of The 3 includes good news out of Finland, where a high-ranking public official and religious leader have been exonerated in a religious freedom case.  Also, governors in two more states have signed legislation that would prevent biological males from participating on female sports teams.  And, the White House's new budget recommends waiving a provision that prevents taxpayer funding of abortion.

Finnish official triumphs in free speech case

A Member of Parliament in Finland, Päivi Räsänen, as well as Bishop Juhana Pohjola, faced punishment for publicly sharing their religious beliefs regarding sexuality.  The Helsinki District Court has dismissed the charges against both of them, according to Alliance Defending Freedom International, which reports that Räsänen...

...had been charged with “hate speech” for sharing her faith-based views on marriage and sexual ethics, in a 2019 tweet, a 2019 radio debate, and a 2004 pamphlet. The bishop faced charges for publishing Räsänen’s pamphlet for his congregation over 17 years ago. Their case has garnered global media attention this year, as human rights experts voiced concern over the threat this case posed to free speech in Finland.

The ADF International website also stated that:

Räsänen’s defence, supported by the legal advocacy organization ADF International, argued that finding Räsänen guilty would significantly damage free speech in Finland. What Räsänen said, they argued, was an expression of Christian teaching.

The Court recognized that while some may object to Räsänen’s statements, “there must be an overriding social reason for interfering with and restricting freedom of expression.” The Court concluded there was no such justification.

More governors sign bills limiting male participation in female sports

The number of states who now have laws preventing biological males from participating in girls' or women's sports continues to grow. Last week, the Governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, according to The Daily Citizen of Focus on the Family, signed such a bill into law, saying that the bill was “common sense," adding, “When it comes to sports and athletics, girls should compete against girls. Boys should compete against boys. And let’s be very clear: That’s all this bill says."

In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey signed three significant bills into law, according to a report on the ABC15 website, which stated that the governor "signed a number of bills Wednesday, including banning abortions after 15 weeks, gender reassignment surgery for minors, and banning transgender athletes from playing on girls' sports teams."

The report said that one bill...

...delays irreversible gender reassignment surgery until the age of 18. The bill does not prohibit puberty-blocking hormones or any other hormone therapy and will not require any child to go off any prescriptions they may be taking.

The sports bill, according to the article, "requires all Arizona public schools, and any private schools that compete against them, to expressly designate their interscholastic athletics teams based on the biological sex of the participating students."

Ducey said, regarding the two gender-related bills, "...This legislation is common-sense and narrowly targeted to address these two specific issues ⁠— while ensuring that transgender individuals continue to receive the same dignity, respect and kindness as every individual in our society..."

No Hyde Amendment in President's latest budget

The pro-life advocacy organization, the Susan B. Anthony List praised the actions of Governor Ducey, as well as the Arizona Legislature: SBA List State Policy Director Sue Liebel said:

“We thank Governor Ducey for delivering a swift victory for women and children. The new law signed today will save approximately 900 lives a year by stopping barbaric late abortions. In Arizona and across America, life is winning, with hundreds of pro-life measures introduced in legislatures nationwide this year. Ahead of a decision in the Dobbs Supreme Court case, momentum is growing to modernize our laws and remove the United States from the tiny club of nations – including China and North Korea – that allow abortion on demand well after unborn children feel pain, even up to birth...

Susan B. Anthony List also criticized President Biden for proposing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year that includes taxpayer funding of abortion. The organization's website says that:

The FY 2023 budget proposal calls for:

• Eliminating the Hyde Amendment, longstanding bipartisan policy that prevents taxpayer funding of abortion on demand, as well as the Dornan Amendment (“D.C. Hyde”).
• A 40% funding increase to Title X, the second largest source of taxpayer funds for abortion giant Planned Parenthood, while the Biden administration previously rolled back the Protect Life Rule.
• A 72% funding increase to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),which has actively partnered with some of the worst human rights abusers in the world, like China and North Korea.

SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser stated, “For more than four decades, the Hyde family of pro-life policies has kept American taxpayers out of the abortion business, with the Hyde Amendment itself saving 2.5 million lives."