WASHINGTON (BP) – Abortion pills may be obtained through the mail under a permanent rule issued Thursday, Dec. 16, by the Biden administration, prompting protests from pro-life advocates not only because of the drugs’ lethal effect on unborn children but because of their risk to women. The policy revision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made permanent an April announcement that it would not enforce during the COVID-19 pandemic a requirement that a woman must appear in … [Read more...]
Eighth Circuit Court considers transgender mandate
ST. LOUIS (BP) – A federal appeals court is considering whether a lower court was correct in halting government regulations that require health care providers to perform or provide insurance coverage for gender-transition procedures. A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis heard oral arguments Dec. 15 in a case involving a challenge by Catholic hospitals and other institutions, as well as an order of nuns, to what has been described as the transgender … [Read more...]
Supreme Court to weigh opportunity to reverse Roe
WASHINGTON (BP) – Today (Dec. 1), the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a case that pro-life Americans hope will finally bring an end to a permissive, nationwide abortion regime that has lasted nearly a half-century. The justices will hear oral arguments regarding Mississippi’s 2018 Gestational Age Act, which bans abortions of unborn children whose gestational age is more than 15 weeks. Specifically, they have said their ruling will be limited to whether, as the state said in its petition … [Read more...]
Justices order court to reconsider ruling on abortion mandate
WASHINGTON (BP) – The U.S. Supreme Court signaled Monday (Nov. 1) its dissatisfaction with a lower court’s ruling on a state abortion mandate and ordered it to reconsider that decision in light of the justices’ unanimous opinion in support of religious freedom earlier this year. In the order, the high court nullified a New York court ruling against a Roman Catholic diocese. The diocese had challenged a state requirement that employers fund abortions in workers’ health insurance plans. … [Read more...]
China asserts more control over clergy through new rules
WASHINGTON (BP) – Regulations issued this year by China have intensified the communist government’s control of clergy among the five state-authorized religious groups and have effectively prohibited the work of pastors and leaders of unregistered churches and other entities, according to a new report. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan panel appointed by the president and congressional leaders, released a fact sheet Oct. 29 on Chinese rules that … [Read more...]
Lankford saves Hyde amendment with late-night move
WASHINGTON (BP) – Opponents of taxpayer funding of abortion gained an encouraging victory in the U.S. Senate late Tuesday (Aug. 10) to the satisfaction of the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics entity. During consideration of a budget resolution, senators approved in a 50-49 vote an amendment by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., that bars federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. The amendment also blocks funding for government programs that discriminate against individual health … [Read more...]
Appeals court upholds Tennessee waiting-period law
CINCINNATI (BP) – Pro-life leaders and Tennessee officials commended a federal appeals court opinion Thursday (Aug. 5) that upheld a state law requiring a 48-hour waiting period before an abortion. The full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overturned by a 9-7 majority a federal judge’s 2020 decision that invalidated the waiting-period law. The appeals court also reversed its own three-judge panel that refused by a 2-1 margin in February to place the law back into … [Read more...]
Appeals court protects church freedom in employment decisions
CHICAGO (BP) – Religious freedom advocates praised a federal appeals court opinion that protects the freedom of churches and other religious groups in the face of government interference in employment decisions. In a 7-3 decision, July 9, the full Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled the legal doctrine known as the “ministerial exception” encompasses not only hiring and firing by religious organizations but the supervision of ministers during their employment. The opinion … [Read more...]
Senate acts to stymie China’s genocide of Uyghurs
WASHINGTON (BP) – The U.S. Senate approved an import ban on goods made by forced labor in western China on the same day global religious freedom advocates brought attention to the Communist Party’s genocidal campaign primarily against Uyghur Muslims in the region. Senators approved by unanimous consent July 14 the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would prohibit products made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region from being introduced into the U.S. market. … [Read more...]
High court rejects florist, gives hope to Maine parents
WASHINGTON (BP) — Barronelle Stutzman’s lengthy legal effort to operate a florist shop in Washington state according to her Christian convictions came to an end Friday (July 2) at the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices announced they would not review an appeal by Stutzman, a Southern Baptist, of a Washington Supreme Court ruling in 2019 that she was guilty of illegal discrimination by declining to design flowers for a same-sex wedding. The court’s order said three associate justices – … [Read more...]
ERLC presidential search committee named
NASHVILLE (BP) – A search committee has been named to find a successor to Russell Moore as president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. On behalf of the ERLC Executive Committee, David Prince, chairman of the commission’s trustees, announced Tuesday (July 6) the selection of Todd Howard as chairman of the presidential search committee. Howard is the pastor of Watson Chapel Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Ark. The other trustees named to the committee and … [Read more...]
SBC messengers affirm resolutions addressing racial reconciliation, Hyde Amendment, Equality Act
NASHVILLE (BP) – Messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting approved a broad resolution on the Bible’s sufficiency regarding race and racial reconciliation, June 15, but chose not to explicitly address the contentious issue of critical race theory. Among nine resolutions passed, messengers also endorsed overwhelmingly statements on government policies that included: • A denunciation of any attempt to rescind the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding of abortion. • Opposition to … [Read more...]
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