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Good afternoon! It's Thursday, June 23, and today's headlines include legislation introduced by two Republican congressmen that would allow adults who underwent "sex-change" surgeries as minors to sue the doctors who operated on them, the FBI's investigation of attacks on pro-life clinics and organizations, and a former North Carolina youth pastor who died while in police custody.
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Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced legislation on Wednesday that would allow adults to sue doctors who performed body mutilating gender-transition surgeries on them as minors. The Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice Act allows a minor harmed by a gender-transition procedure until 30 years from their 18th birthday to file a civil action against a medical practitioner seeking "declaratory or injunctive relief," "compensatory damages," "punitive
damages" and "attorney’s fees and costs." The bill makes an exception for surgeries performed on individuals with disorders of sexual development, chromosomal anomalies sometimes referred to as intersex conditions. The measure also calls for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to withhold federal funding from any state requiring medical providers to perform gender-transition procedures. It defines a "gender-transition procedure" as the "prescription or administration of puberty-blocking drugs for the purpose of changing the body of an individual so that it conforms to the subjective sense of identity of the individual," "the prescription or administration of cross-sex hormones" or "a surgery to change the body of an individual" for the same purpose.
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Cotton addressed the proposed legislation in a statement, writing, "Radical doctors in the US are performing dangerous, experimental, and even sterilizing gender-transition procedures on young kids, who can’t even provide informed consent. Our bill allows children who grow up to regret these procedures to sue for damages." Read more.Also of Interest ...
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P.S. Looking for a way to close out your week? Stay in the know with In Case You Missed It, a Friday-only newsletter that features a roundup of the top stories of the week and a selection of faith-based highlights. Subscribe here.
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The FBI has announced it is investigating the recent string of attacks and threats targeting pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations across the U.S., stating, "The FBI takes all threats seriously and we continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners and will remain vigilant to protect our communities." A source told The Christian Post the FBI is looking into potential FACE Act violations in certain cases. The legislation
makes it a federal crime to use force or threat of force to prevent access to reproductive health services. The bureau is also investigating violent crime matters depending on the facts of each case. The investigation comes in the wake of a series of firebombs and vandalism by abortion extremists following Politico's leak of a draft majority opinion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that would overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion across the U.S. Read more.
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Also of Interest...
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Fox News recently aired a segment about a trans-identified child, sparking shock and outrage among many conservatives. In this episode of "The Inside Story," Christian Post senior investigative reporter Brandon Showalter breaks down what unfolded, why he was "appalled" by Fox’s handling of the segment—and why he believes the medicalized gender transition of children is "one of the greatest medical scandals the world has ever seen." Listen now.
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Also of Interest...
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North Carolina authorities are investigating the death of Christopher Hensley, a 35-year-old former youth pastor and father who died in police custody last Wednesday while he was being restrained. While the audio of the video where Hensley can be heard screaming at different points isn’t clear, a website called The Ashville Blade, which is described as a " leftist local news co-op," claims that Hensley "can
be heard using his limited breath to shout ‘I can't breathe, I can't breathe’" to officers. Anjanette Grube, public information director at the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, told The Christian Post that the bureau's investigation is ongoing. Once completed, it will be submitted to the local district attorney, who "will determine whether criminal charges are appropriate." Read more.
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Michael Brown warns that there will likely be a wave of violence should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. With pro-abortion arsonists, terrorists, and protesters "furious and violent because they cannot do violence to their own flesh and blood," Brown asserts the pro-life movement "espouses care," concluding, "May we overcome evil with good. And may the beauty of life prevail over the ugliness of abortion." Read more.
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The Daily Signal's Jarrett Stepman writes about the Left's push to transform culture by indoctrinating school children with a pro-trans agenda. Pointing toward the push for drag queen shows for minors, Stepman notes, "It appears that taking young children to drag shows, where cross-dressing, sexualized adults perform and may occasionally expose themselves is becoming all the rage." Read more.
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Women and girls in poverty face more obstacles simply because they’re born female. But imagine if every girl could grow strong.
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She could be healthy.
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She could go to school.
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She could discover her value.
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She could marry when she wants.
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She could start a business.
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When her God-given potential is unleashed, extreme poverty doesn’t stand a chance.
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Help a girl grow strong.
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Worcester College in Oxford, England, has apologized for tarnishing the name of a Christian organization with misleading claims in a letter to students after it canceled a conference in response to outcry from student activists alleging the conference’s content was "hateful." The Wilberforce Academy, an affiliate of the Evangelical advocacy group Christian Concern, has held a one-week conference at the college for more than a decade to provide students and young professionals with guidance on applying the Christian faith to their vocations. After students complained about the conference in March, the college apologized for causing the students "significant distress" and canceled the upcoming September 2022 event. Following the former chair of the LGBT charity
Stonewall and the United Kingdom Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) being tapped as provost of Worcester College, the school says it received complaints from students about leaflets regarding LGBT conversion therapy being passed out on campus last fall. After an independent review launched by Christian Concern found "no evidence" for the move, Worcester now says the school stands for "the right to freedom of speech and religious belief and the dignity of all people." In a joint statement released Tuesday, Christian Concern and Worcester College announced the dispute was resolved and that it was "misleading" for Worcester to suggest anything improper had occurred at the conference. Read more.
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Also of Interest...
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Christ Church UMC in Southwick, Mass., a 206-year-old church, has voted to permanently disband on July 1 due to dwindling numbers. The Rev. Ken Blanchard addressed the closure during the church’s final official service on Sunday, indicating he would also be retiring. The church started in 1816 with just eight members who met in private homes and district schoolhouses. Methodist ministers known as "circuit riders" traveled by horseback throughout numerous towns preaching, the church explained on its website. Church officials described in their brief history account that they started to accept they were at the "end of an era" around 2019. Members agree, noting that the absence of the younger generation has proved challenging for the church. The closure is one of several
permanent closures across the U.S., a trend that many say the COVID-19 pandemic has hastened. Kathy Smith, who was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Des Moines in Iowa before it closed its doors last April after nearly 175 years, stated, "We were declining and the pandemic killed us." Read more.
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The ministry Sight & Sound, which has spent decades providing biblically-based entertainment at performance theaters in Lancaster, Pa., and Branson, Mo., is expanding its entertainment portfolio by creating content for the silver screen. In a video posted on Friday, President and Chief Story Officer Joshua Enck said the entertainment company plans to take its passion for storytelling from the big stage to the big screen with true stories about historical figures and events that "changed the world because Christ first changed them." Company leaders say they began discussing the move into film prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Katie Miller, the director of marketing and communications, explaining they initially thought COVID would delay their plans. "It felt like the
Lord just allowed that season to not only give us the space to venture into feature films but actually sped it up, something that we really thought was going to slow us down," she noted. Read more.
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Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors
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