ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (BP) – The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has issued a statement recommending its members delay gender-reassignment surgeries for patients until the age of 19. The statement cited adolescents’ developing emotional and mental states, juxtaposed with the permanence of such surgeries, for a “low certainty” that transitioning at that age brought “a favorable risk-benefit ratio.” The position was approved by the board of directors for the ASPS and its research … [Read more...]
Home visitation brings hope to young families
by Charles Phillips/MBCH EDITOR'S NOTE: Charles Phillips serves as Assistant VP (West) for MBCH Children and Family Ministries. MBCH Children and Family Ministries (MBCH-CFM) is committed to walking alongside families during some of the most important and vulnerable seasons of life. Through its Home Visitation ministry, MBCH-CFM serves pregnant women and new mothers with children from birth to age three, offering consistent support, encouragement, and practical resources that help … [Read more...]
International adoptions resume on case-by-case approval basis under new exception
WASHINGTON (BP) – International adoptions that were halted for about 300 U.S. families can resume on a case-by-case approval basis after the U.S. State Department granted a National Interest Exception impacting immigrant adoptees from more than 70 countries. But the exception is only an incremental improvement that still “leaves a window for the possibility of visa applications to be denied,” Karla Thrasher, vice president of international ministries for Lifeline Children’s Services, … [Read more...]
Visa bans halt international adoptions for at least 300 U.S. families
WASHINGTON (BP) – Grace Pierre Dowey, a 10-year-old girl living in a Haitian orphanage near Port Au Prince, knows she has a family in the U.S. She’s met her adoptive parents Ted and Ashley Dowey and her four siblings on Zoom, but that’s the extent of it. The U.S. State Department’s “do not travel” advisory for Haiti has prevented the Doweys from traveling to the country suffering political and economic upheaval and rampant gang violence. They were to meet Grace this month in Miami, but a … [Read more...]
Trump, pro-life leaders at odds in recent developments
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission released a letter today (Jan. 16) calling for President Trump’s action on recent issues that have brought friction between the pro-life movement and an administration historically supportive of it. The letter is signed by interim ERLC President Gary Hollingsworth, who begins by stating that the sanctity of life “remains a preeminent priority” among millions of Southern Baptists, who, coincidentally, will observe Sanctity of … [Read more...]
‘We’re going to save lives’: Sen. Schnelting, MBC’s Fowler discuss 2026 pro-life ballot measure
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sanctity of Life Sunday is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 18. JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Executive Director Wes Fowler sat down with state Senator Adam Schnelting (R-St. Charles) on Jan. 7 for a public dialogue about a Missouri ballot initiative that will aim this fall to restore pro-life protections to the state’s Constitution. The dialogue took place at Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City. In 2019, Schnelting amended a pro-life bill, adding a … [Read more...]
Christmas carol recounts tragedy, encourages us to protect the innocents
EDITOR’S NOTE: John Francis is the minister of worship at Parkway Baptist Church, St. Louis, and an adjunct professor of music and worship at Missouri Baptist University. He also produces a weekly podcast, titled “The Monday Morning Worship Leader.” “Coventry Carol” is an odd little carol. Written by Robert Croo in the sixteenth century, it is found in less than twenty hymnals published within the last 100 years. In fact, to use a pun, it is almost as it were “sent to Coventry” as it … [Read more...]
Voters have one ‘last chance’ to remove abortion from state’s constitution, Parson says at CLC event
BRANSON – People of faith must vote next fall to remove abortion from the state constitution, former Missouri Governor Mike Parson told Missouri Baptists gathered in Branson late last month. “I firmly believe this is our last chance,” Parson said. Last year, Missouri voters passed a constitutional amendment that enshrined abortion through all nine months of pregnancy and removed all existing pro-life protections. In 2026, Missouri voters can change the constitution, restoring many … [Read more...]
ERLC announces ‘Across State Lines’ pro-life initiative
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) has launched a new pro-life emphasis of the Psalm 139 Project called “Across State Lines,” which focuses on providing ultrasound equipment and subsequent training to pregnancy resource centers in states where abortion is readily available. The emphasis works in tandem with the ERLC’s pro-life initiative, the Psalm 139 Project, which funds these ultrasound placements and the necessary training. Psalm 139 does not … [Read more...]
Pro-life leaders respond as another abortion drug enters the market
NASHVILLE (BP) – The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved another generic abortion drug, to much protest from pro-life advocates. Produced by Evita Solutions, the drug named ANDA received approval on Sept. 30 as a generic to Mifeprex, which was approved in 2000. The drugs are designed to end pregnancies through ten weeks’ gestation, preventing the baby from being able to attach to the uterine wall while preparing the uterus for contractions that typically come about … [Read more...]
Biblical view of suffering a bulwark against assisted suicide
Despite the attention that abortion rightly receives among pro-life advocates, the “culture of death” has expanded beyond the womb in Western societies. Consider this disturbing example: Cases of assisted suicide and euthanasia have mushroomed in Canada – where, according to the BBC, nearly one in 20 deaths were “medically assisted” in 2023. That is 15,300 deaths out of 320,000. And some Canadian government leaders are now proposing that euthanasia be available to children and teenagers, … [Read more...]
Slim majority of Americans backs physician-assisted suicide
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (Lifeway Research) – Half of Americans believe a terminally ill person should be able to ask a doctor for help in ending their life. Legal approval has outpaced the growth in public support. A Lifeway Research study of U.S. adults finds 51 percent think it is morally acceptable for a person facing a painful terminal disease to ask for a physician’s aid in taking his or her life. “Half of Americans seek their own comfort and their own way even in their death, but that … [Read more...]
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