Explainer: Baptist nurse practitioner files religious liberty lawsuit
A nurse practitioner in Texas has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that CVS Pharmacy violated her religious liberty.
How is your church responding to a post-Roe world?
The Dobbs decision marks a true turning point in the pro-life movement — a moment that Christians, pro-life advocates and many others have worked toward tirelessly for 50 years. As we respond to the ruling in this case, we want to be faithful to pray.
This free Dobbs prayer guide contains a list of 48 specific prayer requests to guide you, your family, and your church in your prayers over the coming weeks and months.
This Week in Washington, D.C.
Following last summer’s Dobbs decision, there has been increased attention from lawmakers and advocates given to how we can do more to support women in crisis and families. As Southern Baptists, our goal is not just for abortion to be illegal but for it to be viewed as an unthinkable act of cruelty by all of our neighbors and for our nation to truly embody a culture of life.
Messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention committed to “partnering with local, state, and federal governments to enact pro-life and pro-family policies that serve and support vulnerable women, children, and families” in order to “eliminate any perceived need for the horror of abortion,” during its annual meeting in June 2022.
As part of that commitment, the ERLC will advocate for policy changes that strengthen families and marriages, promote the well-being of children, recognize the dignity of work, and wisely steward financial resources. As this new legislative session begins, advocacy to this end will be a top priority for the ERLC.
You can read more about our advocacy for pro-life, pro-family policies here.
Featured Podcasts
This week on the ERLC Podcast, Lindsay and Brent discuss this year’s March for Life, George Santos’ deception, and the classified documents debacle.
From The Public Square
In conservative states, abortion opponents push back on Republicans
Politico
The advocates fear GOP-controlled legislatures — many convening for the first time since Roe v. Wade was overturned — will water down their near-total abortion bans that took effect last year and stir up politically contentious debates over laws that have already been vetted.
Religious leaders sue to block Missouri’s abortion ban
Associated Press
A group of religious leaders who support abortion rights filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Missouri’s abortion ban, saying lawmakers openly invoked their religious beliefs while drafting the measure and thereby imposed those beliefs on others who don’t share them.
State Religious Freedom Laws Vary, and Are Crucially Important
Juicy Ecumenism
Religious Liberty in the States, a report on religious liberty protections in each of the fifty states, was issued by the First Liberty Institute’s Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy in the second half of 2022. It offers statistics of each state’s religious liberty protections regarding twenty-nine issues of concern in thirteen general areas of religious liberty today.
Dobbs Dealt a Blow to the Supply Side of Abortion; Now Pro-lifers Should Focus on the Demand Side
Marvin Olasky
Going forward, pro-lifers need to emphasize compassionate approaches that can reduce demand for abortions.
What You Need to Read
Hannah Daniel with A Vision for a Pro-Family World
We long for a world where a woman experiencing an unplanned pregnancy would have such overwhelming support from her community that she feels confident that she can keep and raise her child. We desire for our nation’s laws to incentivize family formation and prioritize using our resources to support families. Ultimately, we seek justice and flourishing for our neighbors so that they may see and seek the joy, fulfillment, and eternal life only found in Christ. Public policy that prioritizes the family serves that end and is an essential piece in creating a culture that truly values life.
Anna Claire Flowers with 3 lessons from the March for Life 2023
Last Friday, thousands of enthusiastic individuals from every corner of the pro-life movement gathered on the National Mall for the March for Life. This year was my first March, but many around me had traveled hundreds of miles each January for 50 years. This time, they gathered with a sense of victory in light of the overturning of Roe—but also with a solemn awareness that there will always be reason to keep going.
Patrick Schreiner with The political nature of Jesus’ kingdom
A baptismal dove conquers the imperial eagle. The dove shows Jesus’ kingdom was one of peace. Jesus was not after Caesar’s throne. He was constructing a different kind of kingdom, so much so that when Caesar saw it, he wouldn’t even recognize Jesus as a King of a kingdom. Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom, but it came by the flight of a dove.
