The week has been full of newsworthy stories that I wanted to share with you. Each day seems to bring a major development or important article pertaining to the issues of life, marriage & family, and religious freedom.
Rather than be discouraged by the daily onslaught of news stories showing a culture in disarray and lacking common sense, let me encourage you to not grow weary in well doing. Keep the faith! Each of us can be the difference by advocating for the truth in a winsome and persuasive way.
Read on for some of the latest updates you don’t want to miss…
College kids say the darndest things
In a world swirling with uncertainty about the certain information of one’s own gender – check out the above video produced by our allied organization in Washington state. The video has gone viral.
Feds warn states against defunding Planned Parenthood
This past Tuesday, the federal Department of Health and Human Services issued a letterto warn states against defunding Planned Parenthood. They specified, “[S]tates may not deny qualification to family planning providers, or take other action against qualified family planning providers … solely because they separately provide family planning services or the full range of legally permissible gynecological and obstetric care, including abortion services.”
However, what the letter also touched on – but is not receiving much media attention – is the acknowledgement by the Obama administration that states are permitted to establish reasonable standards relating to the qualifications of providers. In line with this authority under federal law, the Arizona legislature is currently considering the CAP-supported Taxpayer Protection and Medicaid Integrity Act (HB 2599). This common sense bill assures that Arizona is empowered to take action against providers that abuse taxpayer trust in Arizona’s Medicaid program. No provider is targeted by this bill, and no provider will be automatically disqualified if it is passed.
Read more about this purely political display by the Obama administration by clicking here.
Federal Court: Schools may not provide separate bathrooms based on biology
The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a Virginia school district that sought to accommodate a transgender student while also protecting the privacy rights of other students.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Niemeyer correctly states, “This holding completely tramples on all universally accepted protections of privacy and safety that are based on the anatomical differences between the sexes.”
Read Ryan T. Anderson’s response here.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issues statement on religious freedom legislation
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a statement on Monday to strongly condemn recent legislation to protect religious freedom in states such as North Carolina and Mississippi.
Read the Alliance Defending Freedom’s response, explaining the necessity of such laws,here.
Don’t Forget…
The CAP Family Dinner with Brit Hume is less than two weeks away and tickets are still available! For more information and to purchase your tickets, click here.