ERLC places first international ultrasound machine in Northern Ireland​

Last year, the ERLC made a commitment to expanding it’s pro-life efforts internationally by partnering with other groups to oppose abortion in Northern Ireland. This week, the Psalm 139 Project, a pro-life ministry of the ERLC, placed its first international ultrasound machine with Hope House, a Christian ministry seeking to love both lives of mother and baby in pregnancy and beyond. A group from the ERLC, including Elizabeth Graham, ERLC vice president of operations and life initiatives, personally delivered the ultrasound machine to Hope House to begin training their staff for this life-saving work.

This Week in Washington, D.C.

This week, the ERLC joined an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the freedom of a condemned Texas inmate to have a Southern Baptist pastor lay hands on and pray for him when he receives a lethal injection.

On Sept. 8, just hours before John Ramirez was to be executed for a murder in Corpus Christi, the Supreme Court granted a stay of the execution. Ramirez sued Texas prison officials in August for refusing to permit Dana Moore, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, to minister to him when he is executed.

Brent Leatherwood, ERLC’s acting president, stated that “the high court should overrule Texas’ ban and allow this important and solemn moment of ministry to proceed. Religious freedom doesn’t end as you approach the moment of death, and we have joined a brief saying as much,” Leatherwood said in written comments.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Nov. 1 in the case.

From The Public Square

Texas Sues EEOC Over Interpretation of Transgender Rights
Religion Clause

The state of Texas this week filed suit in federal district court challenging an EEOC Guidance document (full text) issued in June interpreting the application of the Supreme Court's Bostock decision to rights of transgender employees under Title VII.

Abortion bill similar to Texas' controversial ban introduced in Florida
ABC News

The new bill, HB 167, introduced Wednesday in the Florida House of Representatives by Rep. Webster Barnaby, would ban most abortions in the state and would allow people to file civil lawsuits against doctors who violate the law.

How the Satanic Temple is using 'abortion rituals' to claim religious liberty against the Texas' 'heartbeat bill'
The Conversation

Like the Heartbeat Bill itself, The Satanic Temple’s efforts to circumvent abortion restrictions on religious grounds involve a creative and complicated legal strategy.

British Court Says Fetus Has No Rights Under European Convention On Human Rights
Religion Clause

In The Queen v. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, a 2-judge High Court panel in Britain rejected an attack on provisions in the Abortion Act 1967 that permit late-term abortions where "there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped...." This has been interpreted to include Down syndrome fetuses.

What You Need to Read

​Jason Thacker with Is Facebook discipling your church members? How technology is shaping the church and altering our worldview

Given the ubiquity of technology today, we have to ask ourselves how we are being formed by these creations, and to what end. Most importantly, Christians must ask if we are being transformed to be more like Christ through our use of technology, or if we are ultimately being conformed to the likeness of this world instead (Romans 12:2).

Catherine Parks with What is the state of abortion around the world? An international round-up of recent legislative efforts regarding abortion

We should also continue to work in our local communities to see that abortion-vulnerable women are given the care they need. If Roe is overturned, there will be an even greater need for Christians to walk alongside women in crisis, being the hands and feet of Jesus to those whom he created and loves. As we eagerly anticipate and pray for that day, let’s labor to protect every preborn life possible and intentionally serve families so that abortion becomes unthinkable.

Jill Waggoner with Mindy Belz helps Christians think about the Middle East: 9/11, suffering, and the hope we have in Jesus

As Christians in the West consider today’s international crises, as well as reflect on the impact of 9/11 20 years ago, Belz shines a light on both the histories and cultures of these far-off nations, shares her reasons for going into hard places, and points us to the eternal things that should guide our lives.

This Week at the ERLC

Featured Podcasts

On the ERLC Podcast, Lindsay and Brent discuss the SBC Executive Committee task force negotiations, the CDC urging pregnant women to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and our newest content on the state of abortion around the world and the influence of technology on the church.

On the newly launched Digital Public Square, Jason Thacker talked with Dr. Matthew Kaemingk, an ethics and theology professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, about a reformed vision for public theology and ethics.