Latest news with #abortion
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Southern Baptist policy head resigns after 4 years of navigating internal conflicts
The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's policy arm has resigned after nearly four years leading the staunchly conservative agency, which in recent years has fended off critics within the nation's largest Protestant denomination seeking to push it even further to the right. The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission on Thursday accepted the resignation of its president, Brent Leatherwood, the agency confirmed. The ERLC has advocated against abortion and transgender rights while promoting a strongly pro-Israel stance, a longtime evangelical priority, and an expansive view of religious liberty in the public square similar to how it's been defined in recent U.S. Supreme Court cases. Church representatives at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in June voted decisively to retain the commission — effectively a vote of confidence against efforts to abolish it. Some critics within the convention wanted it to take a harder-line stance on immigration and to endorse criminal penalties for women seeking abortions. 'In all of our advocacy work, we have sought to strike a balance of conviction and kindness, one that is rooted in Scripture and reflective of our Baptist beliefs,' Leatherwood said in a statement. 'That has meant standing for truth, without equivocation, yet never failing to honor the God-given dignity of each person.' Scott Foshie, chair of the commission's trustees, credited Leatherwood for demonstrating 'loving courage in the face of a divisive and increasingly polarizing culture in America.' Commission Vice President Miles Mullin was named acting president. Leatherwood has led the agency for four years, first as acting president and then as president. A year ago, the agency issued an embarrassing retraction of an announcement of Leatherwood's firing after he complimented then-President Joe Biden — deeply unpopular among conservatives — for ending his reelection campaign. It turned out that the chairman who announced Leatherwood's firing had acted without a required vote of the board's executive committee. The commission's board subsequently gave Leatherwood a strong vote of confidence but cautioned against stirring unnecessary controversy. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Associated Press
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Southern Baptist policy head resigns after 4 years of navigating internal conflicts
The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's policy arm has resigned after nearly four years leading the staunchly conservative agency, which in recent years has fended off critics within the nation's largest Protestant denomination seeking to push it even further to the right. The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission on Thursday accepted the resignation of its president, Brent Leatherwood, the agency confirmed. The ERLC has advocated against abortion and transgender rights while promoting a strongly pro-Israel stance, a longtime evangelical priority, and an expansive view of religious liberty in the public square similar to how it's been defined in recent U.S. Supreme Court cases. Church representatives at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in June voted decisively to retain the commission — effectively a vote of confidence against efforts to abolish it. Some critics within the convention wanted it to take a harder-line stance on immigration and to endorse criminal penalties for women seeking abortions. 'In all of our advocacy work, we have sought to strike a balance of conviction and kindness, one that is rooted in Scripture and reflective of our Baptist beliefs,' Leatherwood said in a statement. 'That has meant standing for truth, without equivocation, yet never failing to honor the God-given dignity of each person.' Scott Foshie, chair of the commission's trustees, credited Leatherwood for demonstrating 'loving courage in the face of a divisive and increasingly polarizing culture in America.' Commission Vice President Miles Mullin was named acting president. Leatherwood has led the agency for four years, first as acting president and then as president. A year ago, the agency issued an embarrassing retraction of an announcement of Leatherwood's firing after he complimented then-President Joe Biden — deeply unpopular among conservatives — for ending his reelection campaign. It turned out that the chairman who announced Leatherwood's firing had acted without a required vote of the board's executive committee. The commission's board subsequently gave Leatherwood a strong vote of confidence but cautioned against stirring unnecessary controversy. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Forbes
a day ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Court Blocks Whole Law Defunding Planned Parenthood Medicaid Contracts
Earlier this week, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the whole new Congressional provision, slipped through in the 'big budget bill,' to cut off Medicaid government health care contracting for Planned Parenthood and its affiliates. Its July 28 order expanded an earlier vision last week only blocking the provision as to ten affiliates not themselves performing abortions. It was highly significant for the Republican Congress to try to defund, as government health contractors, Planned Parenthood's affiliates, and the case will have major repercussions. A review of the court's 58 page opinion, expanding on the earlier 36 page opinion, shows the battle to be expected as the case goes on appeal. The Court summed up, 'Defendants also suggest that Congress was free to focus on 'Big Abortion.' But the Member healthcare providers that are defunded by Section 711113 are separate legal entities . . . . [S]ingling them out for exclusion from Medicaid on the basis of their affiliation with each other runs afoul of the First Amendment and the Bill of Attainder Clause.' (Opinion at 48.) As the case proceeds, the challengers of the provision argue the case is not about reducing abortions. Rather, it is about singling out Planned Parenthood's mission of providing of Medicaid health care to poor women, including advocacy of reproductive rights. On the other hand, if and when the Trump Administration takes this case beyond the court of appeals to the Supreme Court, the question is both how the 6-3 conservative majority will treat Planned Parenthood, and whether the Court will use its 'shadow docket' to rule on the case with minimal due process. The measure, section 71113, is basically the latest of a number of legislative efforts to end government health care contracting with Planned Parenthood. It was no surprise after the 2024 election that there would be another such try by President Trump and the majority Republican House and Senate. The striking approach was to evolve a series of measures that frankly described their goal as to defund uniquely Planned Parenthood, and to have it relate enough to Medicaid spending that it could go aboard a budget bill that did not require 60 votes to get past a Senate filibuster – an impassable barrier to any ordinary measure to defund Planned Parenthood.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Washington Post editorial slams Obama judge for blocking 'fair and square' GOP defunding of Planned Parenthood
The Washington Post editorial board slammed Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani's decision to block an "act of Congress" by issuing a preliminary injunction to revoke Congress's decision to divert Medicaid funds away from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. The Post editorial argued on Tuesday that, while some of the Trump administration's attempts to strip federal funding from disfavored programs rightly face scrutiny for bypassing Congress, the Republican effort to cut Medicaid funding for abortion care was passed "fair and square" through the legislative process. "Allocating public money is Congress's core competency. Yet U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani not only countermanded Congress's spending choice in a preliminary injunction, she also refused to stay her ruling pending appeal," the editorial board explained, adding, "This is the kind of lower court activism that gives the Trump administration fodder for its attacks on judges." The tax and spending bill that was signed into law on July 4 contains a provision which states that, as of October 1, certain tax-exempt organizations that perform abortions can no longer receive reimbursements from Medicaid. Planned Parenthood promptly sued the federal government after the bill became law, as they stood to lose a sizable chunk of their federal funding. Talwani agreed with Planned Parenthood and ruled that the provision is an unconstitutional "bill of attainder," which imposes legislative punishment on a specific group without judicial trial, and noted that the concept includes other forms of "legislative punishment." "Many Republican members of Congress who voted for this reconciliation bill no doubt dislike abortion and want to defund Planned Parenthood because it is the country's leading abortion provider. That doesn't make the Medicaid restrictions illegitimate," The Post argued. "The budget process is inherently political, and Congress's tax-and-spending decisions almost always help some groups and hurt others." According to the Post, Talwani "strained" to label Congress's exercise of its spending discretion unconstitutional, noting that she claimed the Medicaid provision "requires Planned Parenthood Members to stop providing elective abortions," and it would prevent them "from engaging in a core part of their operation." "But Congress has no obligation to subsidize any group's operation," the outlet rebutted. "If forward-looking budgetary measures can be scrutinized as bills of attainder, Congress's fiscal function will be incapacitated." The Post contended that Talwani's decision is likely to be reversed on appeal, but her decision "is a reminder that the judiciary, as well as the executive, can overreach at Congress's expense and damage the separation of powers." In closing, the editorial board made the case that, regardless of whether one personally agrees with the policy, Congress' decision to divert Medicaid funding away from abortion services went through the proper constitutional process and deserves more "judicial deference" than an executive order. "By curbing funding for abortion providers, social conservatives have advanced one of their longtime legislative priorities, fair and square. To protect that funding in the future, liberals will need to make the case to voters in 2026 and 2028," The Post concluded. "Judicial fiat cannot substitute for democratic legitimacy."
CBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Quebec anti-abortion group fails to reverse decision banning protests in front of clinics
Social Sharing Brian Jenkins is among the protesters who must continue keeping their distance from Quebec's abortion clinics, after the province's Superior Court upheld a law requiring a 50-metre buffer zone It's a blow to the vice-president of the Quebec Life Coalition (QLC). The organization with a mission of "building a Christian society" challenged a 2016 provincial law preventing groups from protesting within 50 metres of an abortion clinic. It argued that the law infringed upon its civil liberties, including freedom of expression and the right to gather. On Monday, a Quebec Superior Court judge said although an infringement of the rights of QLC and its members has been demonstrated, "protecting the rights to dignity and privacy in access to medical services" warranted the need for the boundary. In her judgment, Justice Lysane Cree said the law ensures the safe provision of health and social services to users. "Evidence shows that a buffer zone is necessary around clinics to ensure privacy in a medical setting and the safety of all those who work or receive care," read the judgment. "The risks associated with not having a buffer zone outside clinics have been amply demonstrated." WATCH | Anti-abortion activist says decision is a 'blow for women's rights': Quebec judge upholds law banning protests within 50m of abortion clinics 23 minutes ago The Quebec Life Coalition, an anti-abortion group, challenged the 2016 law, arguing that it restricts free speech. The Quebec Superior Court decision found that the law does in fact limit freedom of speech, but that limitation is reasonable. The judgment outlined how the group members positioned themselves as "sidewalk counsellors" and would hold up signs with photos of a fetus or messages such as, "Pregnant and scared? …. We can help you," or "Pray for the end of abortion." Advocates for women's reproductive health say the judge's decision prioritizes health care and access. Jenkins calls it "a blow for women's rights. Rights to be informed." Protesters create shame and fear, advocate says Jenkins protests daily in Montreal and tries to speak to women entering facilities to dissuade them from terminating their pregnancy. Forced to stand away from clinics means protesters are "out of the picture," he said. "I can't see how harassment fits into the picture," he said. "We want to be supportive. We want to be helpful." He says he "can't control the reactions of people" who might feel vulnerable or attacked. "In our society we're seeing restrictions on freedom of speech and other areas," he said. TK Pritchard, executive director of Abortion Care Canada, says using this kind of argument negates responsibility. They say it's a way to speak or act without consequence. "You can be 51 metres away from the property and you can still have your signs," they said. "No one is stopping you from sharing your opinions." With abortion already highly stigmatized, Pritchard says this judgment helps prevent more challenges and barriers for patients when they're on site. "When there are protesters, when there are folks with signs that talk about abortion as murder … it creates a lot of shame for people and fear," they said. Courts weighed both sets of rights, lawyer says In Canada, although it's more common to see protests against campaigns organized by anti-abortion groups, Pritchard says the climate in the U.S. influences abortion care here. This raises an interesting question around the contagion effect, said Pearl Eliadis, associate professor at the Max Bell School of Public Policy who teaches civil liberties at McGill University's Faculty of Law. "We've started to lose our focus a little bit on women's reproductive rights and what a massive hit they've taken since the Roe v. Wade case was overturned," she said. She says she is starting to see "a lot more noise" around restricting women's access to basic health-care services, particularly in the U.S. "People can say what they want to say, but that next step, right, when it comes to actually impeding access to health-care services, that takes it to a whole other level," she said, adding the courts in this case were "quite right to shut it down." She says although the courts found that this law was a violation of civil liberties for the QLC, it is a reasonable limit, particularly since it relates to health care access. "The opening lines of the legislation in question talk about the importance of access," said Eliadis. "When somebody bars that access, it's a problem. And so that's how the courts weigh the two sets of rights." Clinique Morgentaler, a centre in Montreal that offers abortion, said in a news release that its staff must be able to go to the clinic without fear. "We sincerely hope that anti-abortion protesters will respect this ruling, which confirms women's right and freedom to choose to access abortion clinics without any constraints," read the statement. Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette says women have the right to access services without being intimidated. "In Quebec, we can have different opinions, we can have our own opinion on the subject, however, it's a personal choice. We must respect personal choices regarding the medical services we receive," he said.
