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...]
Prewitt produces Glimmer movie to promote sanctity of life
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article included the wrong web address for learning more about Gayla Prewitt and her film project. The correct web address is www.gaylaprewitt.com. BOLIVAR – Shot in the beautiful serenity of Bolivar’s Dunnegan Memorial Park, the scene opens with a confused and broken woman remembering the sound of her daughter’s laugh. Or was her daughter somewhere close? She gets up from the park bench to look for her. Everyone else says she has suffered some kind … [Read more...]
$2.7M government grant goes toward fetal tissue harvesting, report says
PITTSBURGH (BP) – According to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, at least $2.7 million from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has gone to support a project at the University of Pittsburgh that includes the possible removal of organs and tissue from pre-born babies who are still alive. An Aug. 3 press release from Judicial Watch and The Center for Medical Progress uncovered public records from the National Institutes of Health (a part of HHS) … [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...]
MBC universities file brief defending religious liberty
Federal directive could force schools to open dorms, showers to members of opposite sex JEFFERSON CITY – Three Baptist universities and other entities affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) are jointly filing an amicus curiae brief supporting the College of the Ozarks (COO) in its lawsuit challenging a federal Housing directive that could force Christian universities and other ministries to violate biblical convictions regarding sex, gender and marriage. In April 2021, … [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...]
Mohler: Religious liberty rooted in Christian faith
NASHVILLE (BP) – A theology of conversion, such as Christianity, necessitates religious liberty because regeneration of the heart cannot be achieved by coercion, Albert Mohler said, June 15, during “Baptists Thinking Biblically: A Conversation on Religious Liberty.” The late-night event, hosted by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at the Music City Center in Nashville, featured Mohler, Southern’s president, and Andrew Walker, associate professor of Christian ethics and apologetics and … [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...]
MBCH leaders watch for impending SCOTUS decision on religious liberty
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court could hand down a decision anytime this month in a case regarding Philadelphia’s refusal to let a Catholic ministry take part in the city’s foster care program because the ministry won’t violate its religious convictions by giving children to same-sex couples. Though the Supreme Court case involves a Catholic ministry, Missouri Baptist Children’s Home (MBCH) President Russell Martin said the court’s decision could greatly impact the MBCH’s … [Read more...]
KC church’s suit can move forward, judge says
KANSAS CITY – A federal judge says a Missouri Baptist church's lawsuit against Jackson County's COVID orders can continue, even as Jackson County abandoned its mask mandate. Abundant Life, a Lee's Summit church, filed suit in March 2020, when Jackson County announced it would limit churches to 10 worshippers regardless of building size. Rules for commercial businesses were less onerous. Later versions also included "gathering protocol" that lacked proper First Amendment safeguards, … [Read more...]
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