The 3 - October 20, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, which features three stories of relevance to the Christian community, features news on a ministry organization that has filed a lawsuit against two federal government agencies regarding policies that promote abortion and possible sex change procedures.   Also, a lawsuit has been filed claiming fraud in the gathering of signatures to put a pro-abortion constitutional amendment on the ballot in Florida.  And, a man in Iran who founded a Christian ministry and was imprisoned for it, has been released after serving around half of his 10-year sentence. 

Ministry organization sues two federal agencies

The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, along with a consortium of businesses called PublicSquare, described as "a values-based commerce ecosystem," have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas challenging three directives of federal agencies.

That is according to the Institute's website, which states that in the spring, the Department of Health and Human Services and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission "...issued several regulations advancing the administration’s radical agenda regarding abortion services and gender transition. These mandates attempt to force JDFI, PublicSquare, and other Christian-based ministries and businesses to violate our religiously-based biblical values and moral conscience."

Senior Director at JDFI, Owen Strachan is quoted as saying:

“This radicalized immoral movement often speaks in the dulcet tones of tolerance and inclusivity concerning public morality; it often seeks to bind society to its vision and punish anyone who dares dissent with severe consequences. This is evident in HHS’s regulation requiring employer health plan coverage of abortion and so-called gender-affirming care, as well as in the EEOC’s regulation requiring employer accommodation of abortion and immoral infertility treatments, and its enforcement guidance requiring employers to grant access to bathrooms and other single-sex spaces to those of the opposite sex. Such rules crush the liberty that aligns with the order of creation as defined by God and reflected in nature.”

Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk can be heard weeknights at 8:30 on Faith Radio.  

Fraud charged in abortion amendment petitions in Florida

In state by state, amendments have been placed on ballots that would allow abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy.  So far, including last year in Ohio, all such ballot initiatives have been approved by the voters.

This year, Florida voters have the chance to vote on what is called the “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion." It is Amendment 4, and according to Liberty Counsel, "Amending the state’s constitution requires approval by a 60 percent majority." The Christian legal organization's website states:

Amendment 4 would make abortion a constitutional right in Florida up to birth at any time for any reason. If passed, the misleading amendment would then nullify Florida’s six-week “heartbeat” law, invalidate parental consent laws allowing minors unfettered access to abortion independently of their parents, and would also invalidate all health and safety regulations protecting women and girls during abortion procedures. Specifically, it would remove the physician requirement that mandates only licensed physicians are to perform abortions.

Abortion supporters have collected signatures to get the amendment on the Florida ballot, but Liberty Counsel reports that a lawsuit has now been filed, stating: "The citizen plaintiffs seek an injunction to invalidate the amendment citing the state’s preliminary audits that found pro-abortion petitioners knowingly used forged petitions and other fraudulent means to reach the threshold number of constitutionally-required signatures." The language of the lawsuit says, "...without the substantial fraud and illegality in the petition gathering process in support of Amendment 4, it never would have qualified for ballot placement.”

As Liberty Counsel points out, even though it appears Amendment 4 will still be on the ballot, the results could be invalidated if the courts find that fraud existed, according to the attorney for the plaintiffs.

Ministry founder released from prison in Iran

Even though he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for launching a Christian ministry in Iran, a man has been released from prison after serving only about five years. 

Worthy News cites a report from Church in Chains, or CIC. The Worthy News article states:

A convert to Christ from Islam, Mehdi Akbari was released from Evin prison in Tehran on September 29, having served four years and nine months of his sentence, CIC reports. The reduction of Akbari’s sentence by Branch 21 of Tehran’s Appeals Court followed repeated court applications.

The article notes:

Akbari was arrested in January 2019 during a raid on his home in Tehran in January 2019. He was sentenced to ten years in prison for “acting against national security by forming an illegal evangelical Christian group,” CIC reports.