EDITOR'S NOTE: Timothy Faber serves as legislative consultant for the Missouri Baptist Convention. Last November Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment “officially” known as The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative” but more commonly known as Amendment 3. It passed by 95,637 votes out of nearly 3 million votes cast, or 51.6% to 48.4%. Immediately after it went into effect Planned Parenthood sued to start invalidating the plethora of state statutes that had resulted in … [Read more...]
Supreme Court hears case on South Carolina’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood
WASHINGTON (BP) – The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday (April 2) in a case that will decide the fate of South Carolina’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood by barring abortion clinics in the state from participating in Medicaid programs. The case, Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, will decide whether the Medicaid Act’s “any-qualified-provider provision,” which gives beneficiaries the right to choose their provider, includes providers that perform abortions. … [Read more...]
Prestonwood Pregnancy Center opens on Southwestern Seminary’s campus
by Karen Garcia FORT WORTH (BP) — Prestonwood Baptist Church and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary formally marked the opening of Prestonwood Pregnancy Center during a March 26 ribbon-cutting ceremony on the seminary’s Fort Worth campus. “This facility has been sitting here, waiting for how it was going to be transformed and sanctified and to be able to be used for Kingdom purposes, and so God has answered our prayers in so many ways,” President David S. Dockery said, noting … [Read more...]
Hold marriage in honor
Following Christ is somewhat like remodeling a home. As we mature in our relationship with our Master we move from a bassinet to a crib to a twin bed and eventually a double or queen size bed. We move from a high chair to a full size chair at the table. And the swing set in the backyard is replaced with a deck and propane grill. But if we switch our furniture and maybe even change a few walls or replace windows, but neglect the foundation, we will soon find our home in a shambles. The … [Read more...]
ERLC urges Congress to defund Planned Parenthood
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Southern Baptist Convention's (SBC) Ethics & Religious Liberty has issued a formal request for Congress to defund Planned Parenthood and is asking others to join. A letter from the ERLC to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee (available on the ERLC website here) says, “The American people should not be forced to subsidize an organization that profits from the deaths of innocent lives. … Many Americans do not want their tax money supporting an organization … [Read more...]
Christian counselors, Missouri Attorney General defend free religious speech, oppose censorship in Kansas City, Jackson County
‘Conversion therapy’ bans in KC, Jackson County a 'dangerous overreach,' AG Bailey says KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A new federal lawsuit takes aim at local ordinances in Kansas City and Jackson County that censor the free religious speech of licensed professional counselors who counsel minors struggling with gender identity or same-sex attraction. Two licensed professional counselors, Wyatt Bury and Pamela Eisenreich, have filed a federal lawsuit against Kansas City, Mo., and the Jackson County … [Read more...]
Houses passes ERLC-endorsed ‘Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act’
WASHINGTON (BP) – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” a bill aimed at protecting newborn babies that survive attempted abortions. The bill was endorsed by the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). The bill, which passed the House on Thursday (Jan. 23) with a vote of 217 to 204, would amend current law by adding specific protections for newborn infants and requiring medical professionals to provide these … [Read more...]
‘Our God is truly a good Father’: An adoption story involving the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series of features on Missouri Baptist ministries supported for a century through the Cooperative Program giving of MBC-affiliated churches. Eric Turner serves at Hannibal-LaGrange University as chair of the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts; chair of the Christian Studies Department; associate professor of New Testament and Greek; and director of Church and Denominational Relations. The Missouri Baptist Children’s Home (MBCH) has been providing care and … [Read more...]
Springfield couple fosters 55 children over 30 years
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – There probably haven’t been many times in the last 33 years where there hasn’t been a baby or infant in the home of Jim and Marty Schurke. So far, they have fostered 55 children, many with special medical needs. “We are a medical foster home and licensed for newborns to three-year-olds, but not all have medical needs,” Jim said. Babies up to three years old, have stayed with the Schurke’s anywhere from one week to three years. Knowing that the babies are generally not … [Read more...]
ERLC speaks out against proposed rule expanding coverage of contraceptives
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has filed public comments voicing concerns with a proposed rule which would expand coverage of contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act. The rule would require private insurance providers to cover over-the-counter contraception, including abortifacients such as the Plan B pill, without a prescription at no cost. It would also require insurers to cover every FDA-approved contraceptive drug or product without cost sharing … [Read more...]
Judge’s split decision leaves Missouri abortion clinics closed for now
EDITOR’S NOTE: Mike Whitehead is a Kansas City trial attorney and outside general counsel for Missouri Baptist Convention. His views are his own. This article is not legal advice but provides information for educational purposes only. KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Abortion clinics will remain closed in Missouri for now, in spite of Amendment 3, after a split decision by a Kansas City trial judge on Friday, Dec. 20, enjoined the total ban on abortions, but left in place certain licensing regulations … [Read more...]
California baker in court again in fight to follow Christian beliefs in work
FRESNO, Calif. (BP) – California Christian baker Cathy Miller, who won two lower court battles in her refusal to custom design a wedding cake for a lesbian couple, continued to plead her case for individual religious freedom Dec. 17 in a California appeals court. “It takes a special kind of spite to spend almost a decade bullying a small-business owner because she wants to run her bakery without sacrificing her Christian faith,” Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket … [Read more...]
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