With the disruption of the past few weeks, it can be easy to forget what day it is, so let us do you a favor by reminding you that tomorrow is April Fools’ Day, that delightful day dedicated to pranks and jokes. Unfortunately, it is no joke that tomorrow the Saint Paul City Council is introducing a counseling ban that would prohibit licensed therapists from helping their clients explore all options to address questions over sexual orientation.Due to the remote nature of this meeting, the public is able to listen, but not to commentand voice their concerns over the proposal.
In a very short time,the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.has upendedeveryone’s daily lives. In addition to the spread of the virus itself and over 1,000 deaths in the United States so far, many are out of work and facing economic uncertainty. Graduations, recitals, sporting events, church services, weddings, and even funerals have been postponed, rescheduled, or moved to live-stream. We should grieve the human cost of this pandemic, as well asthe losses and disappointments that have come about as collateral damage. But in the midst of grief, let’s also look for the gospel opportunities that have come about during this time.
God is doing more in any one moment than any of us could possibly imagine.As our nation respondsto COVID-19, let us remember who is in control and continue to put our trust in him. God has shown his faithfulness to his people since the very beginning. We know we can trust him to bring us through this.
Pandemics and economic uncertainty shatter our delusionsof self-sufficiency by reminding us that we are not in control. As believers, this causes us to turn to God in faith, trusting in him as our provider and protector, but in an increasingly secular society, many of our neighbors do not know this hope, so now more than ever we should be reaching out and proclaiming the gospel. Times of crisis create gospel opportunities asthe body of Christ mobilizes to minister to the material and spiritual needs of the people around us. We should make the most of this time, offering God’s eternal truth to a world in crisis.
Times of crisis often bring what we really believe to the surface. Our actions in the midst of an emergency tend to reveal where our priorities lie and what is most valuable to us, and it is in these moments that treasuring human life proves essential because it is those who are most vulnerable who are at risk. To be pro-life is to care for all of life, from conception until natural death. It is to see that the worth of every individual is rooted in the fact that they are stamped with the image of our Creator, and created and loved by him. Because every life is valuable, every individual ought to be treated with care and dignity, regardless of their age or ability. When we value life, we are willing to inconvenience ourselves for the sake of the people around us.
In the past week, we’ve seen communities mobilize to protect those who are at high risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19. Grocery stores are setting aside designated times for elderly and at-risk shoppers, while churches and communities are mobilizing to meet needs that have arisen in the past week.
Tragically, our society isn’t always consistent in its care for the most vulnerable. Shortly after Oregon began to see confirmed cases of COVID-19, they moved to inform the publicof how to protect older adults during the COVID-19 outbreak. Ironically, Oregon has also led the charge in pushing increasingly lax Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) legislation. Assisted suicidehas been legal in Oregon since 1997, and the state has recently been chipping away at the few protections that were in place. Oregon isn’t alone in this, as an increasing number of states have legalized assisted suicide in recent years.
Nearly a year after her daughter went missing, the mother of a 15-year-old was notified by a friend that pornographic photographs and videos of her missing daughter had begun to appear online. Her daughter was alive and being trafficked and abused by a man twice her age. The discovery led to the child’s rescue, but not before her abuser impregnated her and forced her to have an abortion and had uploaded 58 separate videos of her being raped and abused onto Pornhub to be consumed for other people’s sexual enjoyment.
When the news of her exploitation and rescue first broke, Pornhub tweeted that the victim had been a verified user, before quickly deleting the tweet when they realized that they had admitted to being complicit in her abuse. Their attempt to save face does nothing to change the fact that this is not an isolated incident.Other abuse survivors have come forward to point out Pornhub’srole in perpetuating their suffering,and a recentlawsuit exposed and shut down a popular channel featured on Pornhub that was illegally produced by means of coercion and deception. Even after the settlement, Pornhub has continued to circulate the videos.
“You’re not really pro-life, you’re just pro-birth! You don’t care about women, you just want to control their bodies!” Chances are if you’ve spoken with someone who supports abortion you’ve heard some iteration of the above. Is it true that the pro-life movement only cares about life inside the womb? There are plenty of ways that pro-life individuals actively care for life inside and outside of the womb, but for a moment, let’s focus on one particular way that the pro-life movement cares for women and their children both during and after pregnancy: pregnancy resource centers. Pregnancy resource centers, or PRCs, offer compassionate care to women in need of resources and support. In many ways, they are the hands and feet of the pro-life movement, caring for women during and after pregnancy, and offering counseling and supportto post-abortive women. And yet, despite the good that pregnancy resource centers do in their communities, abortion activists increasingly target them, harassing them and falsely labeling them as “fake clinics.” So let’s take a look at the truth about pregnancy resource centers.
Pregnancy resource centers are non-profits that provide resources to women who are experiencing unplanned pregnancies. In the three largest networks there are over 2,300 centers serving over 1.9 million women every year. As well as equipping women with the truth about abortion, these pro-life centers also offer adoption resources, parenting classes, and supplies such as diapers, formula, and clothing. Additionally, some, but not all, offer medical services. Those that do not offer them do not pretend that they do. Pro-life pregnancy resource centers also state on their websites, as well as in their interactions with clients, that they do not perform or refer for abortions.
The abortion industry consistently fails vulnerable women, disregarding their needs and even their safety as they put their bottom line above human life and dignity. As The Public Discourse has pointed out, while pregnancy resource centers will invest significant time and resources into serving abortion-minded women, abortion activists do not offer the same kind of support to women who do not want to abort. When a woman walks through the doors of an abortion facility, the staff typically have a financial interest in persuading her to abort her child, and often offer very little support if she does not. A PRC, on the other hand, will pour resources into women who need help, including post-abortive women who have been harmed by the abortion industry.
On March 4th, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case, June Medical Services v. Russo, a case that could affect abortion laws across the country. Renee Carlson, General Counsel of True North Legal (TNL), a legal initiative in partnership with the MFC, was present in the courtroom for oral arguments. TNL also filed an amicus brief to weigh in on this case. “At True North Legal, we’re working to make sure that every woman and child in the state of Minnesota is safe from abortion, and that our legislature and courts in Minnesota follow the dictates of the highest court.” said Carlson in a video taken in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.
This case is so significant that the general public was camping out on the sidewalk outside of the Supreme Court for days prior, in hopes of getting a seat inside of the Court room. The June Medical Services case presents a constitutional challenge to a law that was passed in Louisiana, which simply requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges to hospitals within thirty miles of a facility where an abortion takes place. This law was passed to ensure the safety of women and children who are often victims of unsafe abortion practices. Many brave women shared their stories on the steps in front of the United States Supreme Court – stories of medical abandonment by abortion providers following medical complications. Abortion always kills a child, and often hurts a woman. That’s why laws like the one passed in Louisiana are critical for protecting women and children. Although we’re a long way from Louisiana, we believe strongly that this case could have significant legal implications in the fight to end abortion.
For the past several years, my favorite part of the summer has been the opportunity to help out with Minnesota Family Council’s summer program, LEAD. LEAD encourages and equips teens to become thoughtful leaders through a rigorous week-long program, and it is always such a joy to see them rise to the occasion! Teens deserve to be challenged, and we do them a disservice when we set the bar low. Today’s teenagers are tomorrow’s leaders, and setting low expectations for teenagers fails to prepare them for that task. That’s why LEAD is focused on training and challenging teenagers to take up the responsibility of citizenship.
We are first and foremost citizens of the kingdom of God, but we are also citizens of the nation in which we live. As the people of God, we are called to live out our earthly citizenship in a manner that reflects our heavenly citizenship. This means that, in all areas of our lives, we ought to engage with our culture in such a way that we seek the good of those around us as we proclaim God’s truth. One aspect of this is training and mentoring young people so that they can be ready to engage with the world around them.
Coming alongside teens and preparing them to become citizens and leaders is a vital task. Teenagers are pelted with lies from our culture on a daily basis, all while navigating the difficulty of growing up. Students need to hear and know the hope of the gospel and be equipped to communicate biblical truth to their peers.
Today, the Minnesota House Judiciary Committee voted to send HF3749 to the House floor by party line vote. This is a bill that targets sidewalk counselors who work outside abortion clinics to help women access compassionate alternatives to abortion.
Because it’s already illegal under Minnesota and federal law to obstruct the entrance of a clinic, this bill is targeting people who are exercising their free speech rights, not getting in the way.
This bill was sponsored by Rep. Heather Edelson (DFL-Edina) and supported by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America. Minnesota Family Council and Pro-Life Action Ministries submitted testimony against the bill, and we will keep fighting until women and babies are safe from the scourge of abortion in our state.
This dangerous bill could be a worrying sign of things to come. If pro-abortion legislators win a majority in the Minnesota Senate in November, they will immediately get to work on taking away the rights of people and organizations who are working to give women better options than abortion.
Recently, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has been hailed as a “moderate” for calling for a “big tent” approach that makes room for pro-life democrats. Early in the Primary cycle, Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard broke with the current progressive narrative by reintroducing a mantra from the Clinton era: abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. Former Vice President Joe Biden, for much of his career, has described himself as taking a “middle of the road” position on abortion.
Some have regarded these statements and positions as evidence that “abortion moderates” are emerging in the Democratic party. The problem with this view is that it assumes a “moderate” approach to abortion can exist. This simply is not so. There is no such thing as an abortion moderate because there is nothing moderate about abortion. So-called “moderate” positions attempt to find a middle ground between two ideas that cannot co-exist.
Furthermore, Klobuchar’s voting record on abortion is not moderate in any sense of the word. She has voted in favor of abortion every opportunity that she has had, and supports abortion up until birth. She even opposes the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, which would make sure that abortion survivors receive medical care.
Many who claim to be abortion moderates will argue that they are personally opposed to abortion, but do not want to prevent someone else from making that choice, or that they want abortion to be allowed, but only in a small number of cases. But taking the life of another human being cannot be a “private” choice and the choice of a society or an individual to turn a blind eye to the taking of innocent lives is not neutral. If someone is only privately or personally opposed to abortion, they are either unwilling to say that it is evil and that it takes an innocent human life, or by their refusal to publicly oppose abortion they are saying that such evil is acceptable. As Kathryn Jean Lopez asked, “What good is private opposition in the face of the death of innocent life, the pitting of a mother against her child, the trail of misery that is legal abortion, with all the cultural pressures in favor of abortion?”
Tuesday marked the beginning of the legislative session and that morning almost 100 people joined Minnesota Family Council in the Capitol rotunda to pray for our lawmakers and the great state of Minnesota! Pastor Jeff Evans, Director of Minnesota’s Church Ambassador Network (CAN) also announced that CAN would be giving personalized bibles to each legislator. Check out the video here. What a great start to the session! As we kick things off at the capitol, it’s important to remember why the legislative session matters.
As those who have been reconciled to God, we are called to be ambassadors, imploring others to be reconciled as well. We are called to affirm the lordship of Christ and the goodness of God’s design for humanity, to proclaim the truth, and to point others toward grace. This is something we need to do in every area of life, including politics. The session is not the only opportunity to shine the light of Christ in the state of Minnesota, but it is an important one.
It is during the legislative session that our elected leaders make changes to the law, both for good and for bad. Because of this, we commit to being at the Capitol every day of the session fighting for life, family, and religious freedom.
The legislative session also highlights the importance of elections. The people that we elect become the people who shape our laws, so it’s important that we elect leaders who will take a stand for the truth. Faithful pro-life, pro-family leaders make laws that value life and family. Pro-abortion politicians make laws that devalue life. The contrast is clear.
In 2015, the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released a series of undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s horrifying and illegal practices of harvesting and selling organs from aborted babies. Over four years after the fact, Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation have managed to persuade a jury and much of the public that they are the victims in this case and that David Daleiden and his associates at the Center for Medical Progress owe them restitution for damages caused by the undercover videos.
The videos released by CMP revealed Planned Parenthood medical directors callously discussing pricing of aborted fetal tissue over lunch, making jokes about increasing prices for certain organs in order to afford a Lamborghini and admitting to leaving abortion survivors to die, as well as abortionists admitting to illegally altering late-term abortion procedures so that harvested organs would remain intact and discussing strategies for harvesting body parts without violating bans on partial-birth abortions.
In a ruling against Daleiden in November, the judge and jury refused to take into account Planned Parenthood’s crimes that were exposed by the Center for Medical Progress or their First Amendment rights to call into account the evil being committed by this powerful organization. As the Center for Medical Progress stated in their response to the ruling, “This is a dangerous precedent for citizen journalism and First Amendment civil rights across the country, sending the message that speaking the truth and using facts to criticize the powerful is no longer protected by our institutions.”
Although six charges have been dropped, Daleiden and his associates at CMP are still facing trial on nine felony counts and potentially up to ten years in prison. He and Sandra Merritt will be arraigned on the 21st of this month.
Last week Missouri lawmaker Ben Baker introduced legislation that would give a parental advisory board final say over library events and would penalize libraries that expose children to material that is not age-appropriate. This bill is being proposed in response to Drag Queen Story Hour events, a phenomenon that began in San Francisco in 2015, and within the next few years made its way across the country. The popularityof these events across the country last summer drew widespread attention to their problematic nature.
Here in Minnesota, Hennepin County libraries scheduled fifteen “Stories Together With Drag Performers” events in 2019. At one of these events, the performer wore a miniskirt with his legs spread at eye-level with the children he was reading to. This is not the only time that these events have gotten out of hand. Last summer photos of a drag queen story hour event at a Portland library showed children lying on topof drag queens in a sexual manner. The photos were taken down shortly after they began to draw attention online. And as Libby Emmonspointed out, there would have been no reason to remove the photos had they been innocent. Emmons goes on to write of the event,
…photos of kids laying atop grown men who are wearing sexualized female costumes, and encouraging gender fluidity gives truth to the lie that drag story hour isn’t about sexuality or sexualizing children. Children are drawn to sparkles and glitter, and using those things to make sexuality seem like mere play is nothing more than grooming kids to be sexual objects, not participants.
It is not fear-mongering to say that children are being sexualized at these events. These events really put children’s safety at risk, and there is no acceptable reason for parents or libraries to hold these events.
“Deidra” sobbed uncontrollably as she explained why she had to have an abortion. Deidra is a 19-year-old freshman at North Carolina State University, the first in her family to go to college, and has her sights set on being a Physician Assistant. She loves the Lord, is active in her church and her parents have raised her well, teaching her God’s standards of purity and abstinence until marriage. Despite all that, Deidra and her boyfriend went “too far” and now, here she is at Gateway Women’s Care, scared to death and too afraid to tell her parents she’s pregnant. As this intelligent, capable young woman sits in front of me, the words tumbled out…
I’m so scared to tell my parents I’m pregnant. I have to have an abortion because my parents can never know I’ve been having sex; they would be horrified and I’d rather go through an abortion than have to face them and disappoint them.
Unfortunately, Deidra’s response is extremely common. It is heartbreaking to witness the genuine fear and indecision that many Christian girls experience when faced with an unplanned pregnancy and how it drives girls to NOT seek help from those who love them the most—their parents. These fears are why “good” Christian girls abort and why their parents will most likely never know.
How then should we talk to our children about sex, purity, unplanned pregnancies and abortion? More than ten years of experience at Gateway Women’s Care has shown me that quite often there’s a piece missing from the “talks” parents have with their daughters and sons. Without knowing it, we are leaving no doors open for our children to come back to us should they stray. We are making good, strong cases for purity until marriage and yet neglecting to communicate the message of grace: that we are there for them no matter what, and should they make a mistake—in this case, get pregnant—it is safe for them to come to us for help and support.
Since 1974, the year after Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in all 50 states, men and women around the country have marched every year to commemorate the lives lost to abortion. Almost 50 years later, legalized abortion has resulted in the deaths of over 61 million unborn babies.
The numbers are staggering, especially when one stops to consider that every one of those babies was someone’s daughter or son, sister, brother, grandchild, niece or nephew. But far more earth-shattering is the fact that we live in a nation that nonchalantly approves of this evil at the rate of 39 murders per hour.
In the face of the evil of abortion, we cannot be silent—it is an injustice that demands a response. The March for Life is one of the ways that we respond. It is one of the ways that we tell the world and our nation that abortion is not acceptable, that babies should not be stripped of their right to life, and that women deserve better than abortion.
As we march, we should keep in mind that hope in the face of the evil of abortion can only be found at the cross, so we turn to God, praying for his justice and his mercy for both the sinner and the sinned against, knowing that apart from God the abortion industry will not be defeated. God works through his people, but his people can accomplish nothing apart from him.
In the past few years, a growing number of male athletes have taken home awards in women’s sports. Rather than decry this trend as unfair or sexist, many media figures and politicians have celebrated itas a mark of inclusivity and progress because the men placing in these events identify as female. Reducing maleness and femaleness to one’s “gender identity” ignores the reality that men and women are different, and that the differences between the sexes are not based on how a person feels.
Responding to this trend, nine states are currently considering or planning to take up legislation that would protect women’s sports by preventing biological males from competing in young women’s sports teams. Additionally, Congressman Greg Steube (FL-17) recently proposed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act which would prevent schools that allow biological males to compete in women’s sports from receiving Title IX funding.
These bills take seriously the fact that men and women are different and that there is good reason for having separate girls’ sports teams. The 2018-19 competition season in Connecticut saw two biological males dominate high school girls track in, beating the teenage girls in the event and costing them potential scholarship opportunities. This isn’t because female athletes do not work as hard or train as well as male athletes, but because of the physical differences between men and women.
The opening of a New Yearis a time for looking back and looking forward. We look back to remind ourselves of God’s blessings, and we look forward to a new year, renewing our commitment to our values and resolving to live in light of God’s truth.
This past year has seen a lot of good. In 2019, 21 states passed pro-life laws finishing a strong decadein the fight for life. And the Trump administration’s new Title X rule has diverted federal funds away from abortion providers, funneling them to life affirmingpregnancy centers, instead. The most recent CDC report on abortion rates brought with it both good news and bad news, with overall abortion rates falling, but a troubling increase in the use of the abortion pill.
Additionally, this year Minnesota saw an important victory for religious freedom when a federal appeals court protected Carl and Angel Larsen’s First Amendment rights.
But at the start of a new year, there is still work to be done. 2019 also saw an increase in assisted suicide, as well as continued attacks on life and those who speak up to defend it.Radical ideology has striven to replace common sense policies in sports, and religious foster care and adoption agencies have had a year of ups and downs as they fight for the freedom to affirm God’s design for marriage and family.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” - Isaiah 9:2
Christmas is the time for remembering the incarnation and its significance—the fact that we were rebels, dead in our sin, but God broke into our darkness. God owed us nothing, yet he chose to take on human flesh and to cover our sin by his perfect life and death. In a world full of sorrow, violence, and evil, the baby in the manger brought joy, peace, and hope. That incredible reality, and the fact that through Christ, God is reconciling us to himself shapes every element of how we interact with the world around us, including how we approach cultural engagement.
It isn’t a stretch of the imagination to believe that everyone, at some point, has asked, “Why is the world like this? Why is there so much brokenness? Why so much darkness?” There is reason to grieve the brokenness of the world, but we must not forget that, thanks to the incarnation, the darkness that we see and feel around us has already been broken. As the old Christmas carol reminds us, there is “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!” At the incarnation, a new day has dawned.
Last week, four members of Congress sent a letter to Attorney General Barr calling on the Trump administration to follow through on a campaign promise to enforce obscenity laws to stop the spread of pornography.
The letter, sent by Jim Banks (R-Indiana), Mark Meadows (R-North Carolina), Vicky Hartzler (R-Missouri), and Brian Babin (R-Texas), points out that the explosion of pornography coincides with increases in human trafficking and violence toward women. It also makes the point that children are increasingly exposed to pornography on the internet.
Pornography takes sex, something designed by God for good, and distorts it by divorcing it from its purpose. Rather than an expression of intimacy between husband and wife, pornography treats sex as a commodity in which human beings become objects to be viewed and used the sexual gratification of another.
Although many defenses of pornography emphasize “consenting adults,” the reality is that pornography is fed by and fuels human trafficking. Content on pornography websites frequently shows the rape and abuse of sex trafficking victims. When people are treated as objects rather than humans violence follows, and there is no way around the fact that pornography monetizes sexual violence. Pornography commodifies women (and men) and this is not without consequences. Violence is mainstream in the pornography industry, and it isn’t just conservatives who are pointing this out. Feminist activists, and even porn producers have called attention to the increasingly violent behavior that is normalized through pornography.
A Minnesota middle school is being sued for not allowing a female student to change in the boys’ locker room. The student’s mother, Helene Woods, claims that this was an act of discrimination and has filed a lawsuit against Buffalo Community Middle School. Her daughter began to identify as a boy when she was eleven, changed her name to Matt, and asked to be referred to with masculine pronouns. In September of 2015 she made it clear to school officials that she wanted access to the boys’ bathroom and locker rooms. The school offered her access to a single-occupancy bathroom instead.
The school made special arrangements for Matt, but according to her mother, these were not the right special arrangements. Buffalo Community Middle School made accommodations that rightly acknowledge that Matt is female, and as such, did not arrange for her to disrobe in the boys’ locker room. In the lawsuit, this is being described as an act of isolation.
Preventing a student from disrobing in front of a member of the opposite sex is not an act of harmful isolation. Rather, it is a protection of everyone involved. Unfortunately, many adults have bought into a radical sexual agenda that not only permits but encourages policies that remove privacy protections and place children and teenagers in harm’s way, regardless of objections from the student body.
During National Adoption Month, let’s talk about how religious freedom is crucial to making sure children find a home.
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells his followers, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Throughout its history, the church has paved the wayin caring for vulnerable members of society. Among the most vulnerable members of our society are children who are awaiting families, whether because their parents have died, they have been placed for adoption, or their families are currently unable to care for them.
Children in need of families include children in foster care, as well as babies whose mothers are facing unplanned pregnancies and choose to place their child for adoption. To be pro-life is to value and cherish the life of every individual, regardless of age and regardless of place. This doesn’t end when the baby is born. Recognizing that every life has value because every person is created in the image of God shapes our attitudes toward children who are adopted or in need of adopted families, families who adopt, and biological mothers who place their child for adoption. While not every family is called to adopt, to be pro-life is to be pro-adoption.
