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...]
Court upholds freedom of foster-care agency
WASHINGTON (BP) – The U.S Supreme Court unanimously delivered an important victory for religious liberty, June 17, by upholding a faith-based adoption and foster-care agency’s right to carry out its ministry according to its beliefs. In a judgment that spanned the ideological spectrum, the nine justices agreed Philadelphia violated the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion by refusing to contract with Catholic Social Services (CSS) for foster care services. The city … [Read more...]
Biden’s proposed budget excludes Hyde Amendment
WASHINGTON (BP) – The Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics entity and other pro-life organizations are urging Congress to restore long-standing bans on federal funding of abortion that President Biden excluded from his proposed budget. On May 28, Biden released a $6 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 that failed to include the 45-year-old Hyde Amendment and other pro-life policies in federal programs. If Biden’s proposal succeeds, it would mark the first time since 1976 the Hyde … [Read more...]
States on record pace to enact pro-life laws
NASHVILLE (BP) – State governments are on pace to enact a record number of pro-life laws during a year. Already in 2021, a total of 13 states have placed into law 61 abortion restrictions, including eight bans on the procedure, according to a report issued today April 30 by the Guttmacher Institute. The number of laws restricting abortion far surpasses the previous record for the first four months of a year – which was 42, including six bans, in 2011, the institute reported. During … [Read more...]
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