ERLC submits amicus brief in important abortion case at the Supreme Court

The ERLC has submitted an amicus brief in an important Supreme Court case that could affect the future of abortion in America. The amicus brief explains why the court should overturn Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), twin decisions that have prevented states from prohibiting abortion.

This Week in Washington, D.C.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed several FY2022 appropriations bills. These bills are troubling because they remove several longstanding pro-life riders from the budget. For the first time since 1976, the Hyde Amendment has not been included in the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. The Hyde Amendment prevents Medicaid from covering the cost of abortion. Just last month, at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, messengers unanimously approved a resolution condemning efforts to strip Hyde from any federal appropriations bill and called upon Congress to uphold all pro-life riders.

Additionally, the appropriations bills removed the Weldon Amendment for the first time since 2005. The amendment protects the rights of conscience for healthcare professionals and institutions by preventing HHS from denying funding to recipients that refuse to provide, pay for, or refer for abortion. The budget would also prohibit any president from reinstituting the Mexico City Policy, reestablished and expanded by President Donald Trump as the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy.

Each year, the ERLC is actively engaged in the appropriations process, working alongside committee and leadership offices to ensure that important pro-life, religious liberty, and conscience protections are included. The ERLC will continue to advocate for these pro-life provisions and other legislative measures that reflect God’s gracious love for every human life.

From The Public Square

Mississippi asks Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade
POLITICO

The State of Mississippi filed a brief with the Supreme Court on Thursday defending the state’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and asking the court to overturn Roe v. Wade when it hears arguments on the case in the fall, raising the stakes of what was already set to be the term’s biggest reproductive rights case.

US churches reckon with traumatic legacy of Native schools
ABC News

More than 150 boarding schools for Indigenous children in the United States were operated by religious groups between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries — and churches are now reckoning with their traumatic legacy.

Supreme Court Misses Critical Opportunity to Offer Guidance in Clash of SOGI Laws and Religious Liberty
Religious Freedom Institute

It is regrettable that the Court chose not to take up Stutzman’s case, but the clash between SOGI laws and free exercise of religion is not going away anytime soon. The justices will eventually have to engage this controversy directly.

28 Abducted Baptist School Students Freed in Nigeria
Associated Press

Parents reunite with sons and daughters at Bethel high school, yet more than 80 children remain with Kaduna kidnappers.

What You Need to Read

Josh Wester with Why we need a comprehensive approach to ending abortion

Supporting incremental measures to reduce abortion isn’t choosing a morally compromised strategy over one that is morally pure. Rather, it is about choosing not to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. It is reprehensible that the abortion regime remains firmly ensconced in America’s legal and cultural fabric. And because it is, I continue to have a deep respect for those who are committed to seeing the immediate destruction of abortion in America. But even so, I remain convinced that the best and most serious effort to reach that goal is found in the comprehensive strategy of incrementalism that seeks to take every step possible to end the culture of death and secure for us a pro-life future.

Chelsea Patterson Sobolik with 4 important SCOTUS cases for life and religious liberty: Looking back and looking ahead

The ERLC engages our culture with the gospel of Jesus Christ in the public square to protect religious liberty and promote human flourishing. One of the ways we do this is by advocating for these things before the Supreme Court. The most recent term of the court contained some important cases that advanced the cause of religious liberty in the United States. Additionally, the court has granted cert (agreed to hear the case) for some important cases pertaining to the issue of life and religious liberty next term.

ERLC staff with Explainer: What’s going on in Cuba with protests and new sanctions?

Thousands of Cubans are taking to the streets in an historic anti-government protest, demanding change after 62 years of communist rule, says NBC News. As the Financial Times, adds, the communist government is facing a major challenge to its authority for the first time without a member of the Castro family in charge. According to international observers, there are three main drivers behind the protest: the COVID-19 pandemic, Internet access, and the economic crisis.

This Week at the ERLC