WASHINGTON (BP) – The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of cases that challenge the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring most private companies’ insurance to provide coverage for contraceptives and abortifacients. The Obama administration asked the high court to review the issue after a federal appeals court in Colorado found in favor of Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based crafts franchise. The court will combine the Hobby Lobby case with lesser-known case involving Conestoga, … [Read more...]
McWilliams bringing her touching story to Legislative Prayer Service Jan. 8
JEFFERSON CITY – As a young, pregnant mother, Gail McWilliams was faced with a decision that would impact her and her baby for the rest of their lives. A rare medical condition forced her to decide between keeping her baby or losing her eyesight. She chose life for her baby and has been blind ever since. A Rolla native, McWilliams, now a member of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, will bring her inspiring story of love, courage and self-sacrifice to Missouri as the Missouri … [Read more...]
Paul Walker’s last film ‘Hours’ features strong pro-life message
Lauren Enriquez/LifeNews.com In one of his last films, which has not yet been released, Paul Walker played the husband of a woman who unexpectedly dies in childbirth. Walker is famed for his roles in “The Fast and the Furious,” and tragically died in a car crash earlier this month. In the film, his character’s daughter, born five weeks early, is hooked up to a ventilator which is her only chance of survival until she is strong enough to breathe on her own. When Hurricane Katrina … [Read more...]
Judge protects free speech rights of pro-lifers
St. Louis – St. Louis Circuit Court, Associate Circuit Judge Michael Noble dismissed charges against pro-life activists, Brian Westbrook, executive director of Coalition for Life St. Louis, and Rita Sparrow, veteran sidewalk counselor, after testimony and arguments Dec. 6. The cases had been brought by the City of St. Louis, stretching ordinances beyond their intended scope in order to charge Westbrook and Sparrow for simple, peaceful demonstration outside the local Planned … [Read more...]
Attorney: Hobby Lobby will win at Supreme Court
Editor’s note: Joshua Hawley, who teaches at the University of Missouri Law School, is on the legal team that will defend Hobby Lobby before the U.S. Supreme Court in March. Joshua Hawley/associate professor of law COLUMBIA – Just before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would decide the suit brought by Hobby Lobby, the national arts-and-crafts store whose owners are Southern Baptists, challenging what is sometimes called the contraceptive mandate. The mandate is … [Read more...]
ERLC’s Russell Moore emphasizes gospel-centered political engagement
Tom Strode/Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) – A new, more conservative generation of evangelical Christians should engage politics, not retreat from it, because of the gospel of Jesus, Southern Baptist Ethicist Russell D. Moore says in the latest issue of First Things. Writing in the influential journal, the president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission says the apparent return to a confessional, gospel-centered faith among evangelicals – which he describes as “good news” – … [Read more...]
God intervened in HIV cure of baby
Diana Chandler/Baptist Press JACKSON, Miss. (BP) – The continued good health of a Mississippi baby born with HIV causes Hannah Gay, the HIV specialist who treats the child, to speak of divine intervention. The baby remains in remission more than 18 months after her last anti-viral treatment. “Hopefully we’ll be able to find out what it was about this case that was different from all the others that we’ve ever seen and be able to replicate that for other babies in the future.” The … [Read more...]
Legislative Prayer Service set for Jan. 8
JEFFERSON CITY – As a young, pregnant mother, Gail McWilliams was faced with a decision that would impact her and her baby for the rest of their lives. A rare medical condition forced her to decide between keeping her baby or losing her eyesight. She chose life for her baby and has been blind ever since. McWilliams, a member of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, will bring her inspiring story of love, courage and self-sacrifice to Missouri as the Missouri Baptist Convention’s … [Read more...]
BREAKING: Supreme Court refuses to block Texas pro-life law by 5-4 decision
BY BEN JOHNSON WASHINGTON, D.C., November 19, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The U.S. Supreme Court has voted by a 5-4 majority to allow a key provision of a Texas pro-life law to take effect. The majority ruled that a coalition of abortion providers had failed to prove that a Texas law requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their office places an "undue burden" on women seeking an abortion. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a separate opinion, … [Read more...]
GuideStone, two others file litigation challenging contraceptive mandate
Article courtesy of GuideStone DALLAS — GuideStone Financial Resources, along with Oklahoma-based Reaching Souls International and Truett-McConnell College in Georgia, filed suit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, objecting to the Obama Administration’s contraceptive mandate. This action is in response to the Administration’s regulations that require certain religious employers to provide health benefit plans for their employees that include coverage … [Read more...]
Messengers pass resolutions on DOMA court ruling, Boy Scouts policy change overwhelmingly expressed dismay
KANSAS CITY – Reaffirming traditional marriage and lamenting changes in Boy Scout membership requirements were hot topics in resolutions passed by messengers at the 2013 Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) annual meeting Oct. 30. Resolution 2, on the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Striking Down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), blasted the June ruling that federally recognized same-sex “marriage.” “… Redefining the concept and legality of marriage to mean anything other than the union between … [Read more...]
Research looks at bad choices, second chances
NASHVILLE (BP) – Regret weighs down many Americans. According to a new study from LifeWay Research, almost half feel the weight of a bad choice from their past, even though a vast majority believe God gives second chances. When asked to respond to the statement, “I am dealing with the consequences of a bad decision,” 47 percent of respondents agree. While self-defined Protestant or non-denominational Christians are less likely to agree (42 percent), a majority (51 percent) of those … [Read more...]