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WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY - JUNE 19, 2024
In this week's Intersect, read about:
Supreme Court Unanimously Strikes Down Legal Challenge to Abortion Pill Mifepristone
“The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled a group of doctors lacked legal standing to challenge the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of the abortion pill mifepristone, preserving access to the medication nationwide. The unanimous opinion was authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The case put abortion access back in the spotlight for the court for the first time since its conservative majority voted to overrule Roe v. Wade in 2022.” read more at ABC News
THINK.
- As Breakpoint explained, the decision was not based upon the merits of the FDA’s actions or its claims about the safety of abortion drugs. The court did not legalize these drugs. Access to mifepristone and how it is used was not altered at all by this decision. Rather, the case was dismissed based on a lack of standing. In his opinion, Justice Kavanaugh suggested that while the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine "failed to demonstrate that FDA's relaxed regulatory requirements likely would cause them to suffer an injury," there was another avenue for challenging the abortion pill. Challenges against mifepristone are being brought by three Republican-led states: Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho. Their attorneys claim they will fare better on legal standing. Interestingly, it was pointed out that there may also be a silver lining for religious liberty in the court’s ruling.
- We’ve covered this story in depth in the past year and had initially joined numerous pro-life organizations in an amicus brief, urging the Fifth Circuit to uphold a district court ruling that rescinded the FDA’s approval of mifepristone entirely. The Supreme Court did not settle the issue of chemical abortion any more than it settled the issue of abortion in the Roe decision or the more recent Dobbs decision. 63 percent of abortions in the US are carried out with pills. In 2020, medication abortion accounted for 54 percent of all abortions. In 2017, this method only accounted for 39 percent. Chemical abortion is the current and future battleground in the defense of preborn lives.
- The abortion pill poses significant health risks to women, including severe bleeding, infection, and even death. More importantly, it kills a baby. It is crucial to inform women of these dangers and advocate for life-affirming alternatives. The use of the abortion pill desensitizes society to the value of life and promotes a culture of convenience over the sanctity of human life. The use of the abortion pill takes innocent lives, contradicting the biblical teachings that emphasize the value and dignity of every human being.
PRAY.
Pray for God to open ey to challenge that mindset with thought-provoking questions and biblical truth persuasively es to the moral truth about abortion. Pray for those blinded to see clearly that they need the Savior. Millions of Americans have accepted abortion without thinking about it. Pray that the world will see abortion for what it is. Pray for opportunities to persuasively challenge that mindset with thought-provoking questions and biblical truth. truth. We’ve been handed an opportunity to shine the light on darkness. Pray for courage to boldly stand for life.
ACT.
Jason Yates, My Faith Votes CEO, talked with Dr. Ingrid Skop, an obstetrician for over 30 years. Dr. Skop has treated women who have been harmed by chemical abortion. In this eye-opening conversation, you will be confronted with the reality of what mifepristone does to the baby in the womb and the mother. This “safe as Tylenol” pill is actually a prescription that kills. Please watch and share this video; this is how we encourage others to think biblically about important issues facing our culture.
6 States Halt Biden Administration's Title IX Rewrite after West Virginia Athlete's Lawsuit
“A U.S. district court in Kentucky on Monday ordered the implementation of the Biden administration’s new Title IX protections halted after a West Virginia girl and a Christian Educators Association International sued after a transgender teen competed on a middle school team. The new injunction applies to Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia and West Virginia.” Read more at Fox News
THINK.
- "[D]espite society’s enduring recognition of biological differences between the sexes, as well as an individual’s basic right to bodily privacy, the [new Title IX rule] mandates that schools permit biological men into women’s intimate spaces, and women into men’s, within the educational environment based entirely on a person’s subjective gender identity," the U.S. district judge said in his ruling. Federal judges also blocked Biden’s Title IX rule last week in Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho. These rulings uphold the plain meaning of the word “woman” in Title IX–a meaning rooted in biology.
- Riley Gaines, an advocate for women’s sports who competed against a transgender swimmer, celebrated the wins, saying, “The gender ideology house of cards is falling fast.” But some judges are trying to prop it up. Last week, a federal judge overturned a Florida law banning puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors. Calling it unconstitutional, the judge wrote, "Some transgender opponents invoke religion to support their position, just as some once invoked religion to support their racism or misogyny. Transgender opponents are of course free to hold their beliefs. But they are not free to discriminate against transgender individuals just for being transgender.”
- These vastly different rulings have one thing in common: they were issued by federal judges who were nominated by various Presidents and confirmed by the Senate. Elections matter. Do we want more judges who equate our beliefs with racism and misogyny? Or do we want judges who understand reality and uphold the law?
PRAY.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the judges who have rendered upright decisions. We pray that more of our judges would decide rightly and seek Your wisdom and that unjust judgments would be overturned. Thank You for the opportunity to seek justice through our votes. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
ACT.
The lie that the judge in Florida believed is that gender identity is “who you are.” How do we demolish this lie and take captive every thought about gender and sexuality to make it obedient to Christ? (2 Cor. 10:5) Watch our Think Biblically lesson on sexuality and gender to find out.
No, Southern Baptists Didn’t Vote to Ban IVF
“Delegates at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) passed a resolution on Wednesday affirming the dignity of preborn life – and condemning the reckless, careless, and widespread destruction of human embryos by countless fertility clinics. IVF is a procedure that involves fertilizing a woman’s egg with a man’s sperm outside the body in a laboratory – and then implanting the embryos back in the mother after a number of days. Instead, the SBC resolution shines a bright and important light on the many ways the technology is being abused to ultimately commodify and create children who are killed or frozen in perpetuity.” read more at the Daily Citizen
THINK.
- The SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in America, but its membership comprises less than 4 percent of America’s population. “Resolutions” adopted at its annual meetings have no binding authority on any Southern Baptist church, institution, or member, and typically aren’t newsworthy to the larger culture. But last week in Indianapolis, “messengers” (the SBC’s term for those who vote at the annual meeting) adopted a resolution on in vitro fertilization (IVF). The vote was blown out of proportion by mainstream media, reporting that the SBC “condemned” or “opposed” the practice.
- In reality, the vote sought to bring clarity, compassion, needed direction, and a positive ministry application to the subject. The resolution does not call for a ban on IVF but laments the creation of surplus embryos, which often results in “destruction of embryonic human life.” Delegates expressed sympathy for those “who experience the searing pain of infertility” while urging Baptists to weigh the technology’s ethical consequences and to adopt embryos that would otherwise be destroyed.
- Right now, there are an estimated 1 million embryos - children - being cryogenically preserved. Even more troublesome is that popularized reproductive technologies like IVF intentionally create more embryos than needed, which allows for the destruction of hundreds of millions of embryos each year due to not being “wanted” or selectively reduced to avoid genetic disorders or the wrong gender.
- As the government now tries to step in to regulate IVF at the state and federal level, the moral and ethical problems with IVF must be more widely discussed in our culture and the Church. A new poll reveals that while a majority of Americans support the practice of in-vitro fertilization, the public is split on the morality of destroying frozen embryos created in the process. We must bring biblical clarity, especially because life hangs in the balance.
PRAY.
Lord Jesus, help us to be rooted in Your Word, understanding that even an embryo, a child, is created in Your image. (Genesis 1:27-28)
ACT.
This topic can bring a range of emotions, uncomfortable questions, and sometimes a lack of understanding. For some, like me, it’s personal. It’s so important to be able to think critically and biblically because the world is searching for understanding and truth. We as the Church can bring that light! Allie Beth Stuckey has a thorough discussion with a Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility physician, bringing clarity to what the procedure entails and why we need to be informed on this now divisive topic. I encourage you to listen to or watch the recent episode.
Senate GOP Prevents Vote on Bump Stock Ban After SCOTUS Reverses Trump-era Rule
“Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., blocked a Democratic attempt on Tuesday to force a vote in the Senate on a bump stock ban, which would restore the federal rule recently struck down by the Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., revealed on Sunday that Democrats would attempt to force a vote on legislation to ban bump stocks, which are firearm accessories that assist in firing weapons in more rapid succession. The Supreme Court ruled last week 6-3 to strike down a federal rule put in place during the Trump administration that banned bump stocks. The court's decision prompted backlash from Democrats.” read more at Fox News
THINK.
- Why did the Supreme Court rule that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) was wrong to apply the machine gun ban to bump stocks? The decision was not based on the 2nd Amendment, but rather on maintaining the separation of powers and the original interpretation of the law.
- “This case asks whether a bump stock…converts the rifle into a ‘machinegun.’ We hold that it does not,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote. This was the same interpretation the ATF held until the tragic 2017 shooting in Las Vegas in which a gunman with a bump stock quickly killed 58 people. In 2018, the ATF redefined the meaning of the law. Justice Samuel Alito wrote, “[A]n event that highlights the need to amend a law does not itself change the law’s meaning.”
- In other words, if bump stocks should be banned, Congress – the legislative branch – has to explicitly amend the law (and make sure it doesn’t violate the Constitution). The executive branch can’t reinterpret laws without authority from our elected representatives – especially when we face controversial and divisive issues. This is what it means to be governed by laws and not only by man.
PRAY.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the freedom and responsibility that comes with being able to vote for those who make our laws. Give them wisdom, Lord, and give us wisdom as we head to the polls in November. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
ACT.
Are you going to vote in your congressional elections? Are you registered to vote? Visit My Voter Hub to check your registration, see who currently represents you, and more! Then forward this to a friend to encourage them to vote.
My Faith Votes— is a ministry that motivates, equips, and activates Christians in America to vote in every election, transforming our communities and influencing our nation with biblical truth. An estimated 25 million Christians who are registered to vote, fail to vote in presidential elections. My Faith Votes is on a mission to change this statistic by helping Christians act on their faith and vote in every election. When we pray unceasingly for our nation, think biblically about the issues, and vote consistently in every election the impact of Christians taking action from the local to the state and federal level will be unprecedented.
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