The 3 - December 18, 2022

This week's edition of The 3, focusing on three recent stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes a toy manufacturer's inclusion of gender identity-related subject matter in a guide it has made available.  Also, a flight attendant who lost her job due to her expression her pro-life views on personal social media has received not only a financial settlement, but a court has order that her employment be restored.  Plus, a second federal appeals court has ruled against what is known as the "transgender mandate," which would require medical professionals to perform sex-change surgeries, which they find objectionable due to conscience.

Toy manufacturer creates uproar due to its embrace of gender identity messages

Last week, I noted that actor Kirk Cameron had been rejected in attempts to schedule the reading of his latest book at libraries across the country.  He had been quoted by Fox News Digital as saying: "This is proof that more than ever, we are getting destroyed in the battle for the hearts and minds of our children."

Another instance of what Cameron was addressing comes from a major toy manufacturer.
CBNNews.com reports that:

American Girl has published a guide that advises girls as young as three to transition their gender, also promoting puberty blockers – and it is sparking outrage.

The American Girl website is selling "A Smart Girl's Guide: Body Image Book" for $12.99. The 96-page book, authored by Mel Hammond, shows four girls of different backgrounds on the cover and the subtitle reads, "how to love yourself, live life to the fullest, and celebrate all kinds of bodies."

According to CBN, "But screenshots shared by the DailyMail and parents on Facebook reveal that there is more to this guide than advertised."  The article notes:

The book normalizes being transgender, promotes the use of puberty blockers, and encourages free gender expression.

"If you haven't gone through puberty yet, the doctor might offer medicine to delay your body's changes, giving you more time to think about your gender identity," reads a snippet.

The article states, "Earlier this year, American Girl's parent company, Mattel, released a transgender Barbie doll." 

The CBN article referenced a Christian Post piece written by Anne Young, who is the mother of two girls.  She wrote:

I am calling on American Girl to stop publishing books that teach girls to destroy their bodies by changing their sex. I am calling on American Girl to go back to creating dolls and stop sending these destructive messages. I have loved this brand since my daughters were babies and we want to continue enjoying their products. But we can no longer do so unless they choose to change course. I emailed the executives and I encourage everyone to do likewise.

Families like mine go to the American Girl store to purchase dolls, not gender ideology. What they are pushing on our girls is horrific and it must be stopped.

Flight attendant suspended for pro-life views to be reinstated

A flight attendant who posted her pro-life views online, fresh off winning a court case several months ago, is now in position to get her job back, according to LifeNews.com, which reported that Charlene Carter...

...worked as a flight attendant at Southwest for nearly 21 years. In 2017, she was fired after sharing her pro-life beliefs on Facebook and speaking out against the Transportation Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 556 spending members’ dues on pro-abortion activities.

In July, a federal district court in Dallas, Texas awarded her $5.1 million, but she pressed on with her legal battle because of her love for her job and the customers she serves and carter hoped to get her job back. A judge has ruled that will now happen.

Decision Magazine reported that the latest ruling...

...also requires Southwest to rehire Carter with full seniority and benefits, send a copy of the jury’s verdict and judgement to all its flight attendants and post the documents on internal bulletin boards for at least 60 days, and inform flight attendants that the airline is not allowed to discriminate against them for expressing their opinion about abortion on social media.

The article noted that "...the judge limited the amount of damages to $810,180, which includes $300,000 each from Southwest and the union in compensation, $150,000 in back pay, and $60,180 in prejudgment interest."

Another federal appeals court blocks administration rule forcing medical professionals to perform transgender surgeries

Just a few weeks ago, the Administration allowed a deadline to pass to appeal a ruling by a Federal appeals court against a rule made by the Department of Health and Human Services that would force medical professionals to violate their conscience and be involved in surgeries intended to help a person change his or her gender.  

Another appeals court has issued a similar ruling, and Baptist Press reports:

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Dec. 9 a permanent injunction that barred enforcement of a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule that has become known as the “transgender mandate.” A three-judge panel of the appeals court, which is based in St. Louis, unanimously affirmed a North Dakota federal judge’s decision that the Catholic entities that challenged the regulation were entitled to protection under a federal law that guarantees free exercise of religion.

In August, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans unanimously endorsed a permanent injunction against the HHS rule issued by a federal judge in Texas. The Biden administration declined to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court by the 90-day deadline in late November.

Luke Goodrich, a former Meeting House guest who is Vice President and Senior Counsel at Becket, issued a statement from which the article quoted; he said: “The federal government has no business forcing doctors to violate their consciences or perform controversial procedures that could permanently harm their patients,” adding, “The government’s attempt to force doctors to go against their consciences was bad for patients, bad for doctors, and bad for religious liberty.”

The Baptist Press article pointed out the attempt on the part of HHS to change language to have a different meaning; it noted:

During the Obama administration, HHS’ original mandate, issued in 2016, defined sex to include “gender identity” and “termination of pregnancy.” The Trump administration issued a rule in 2020 that rescinded the Obama-era policy by returning to the ordinary interpretation of the word “sex.”

Under President Biden, however, HHS announced in May 2021 a reinterpretation of sex discrimination to include discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity. Sexual orientation includes homosexuality, bisexuality and pansexuality, while gender identity refers to the way a person perceives himself or herself regardless of biology at birth.