| 08/26/2022 | | Presented by Edifi |
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| | UW hid concerns over puberty blockers in trans study amid media praise, leaked emails show | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Friday, August 26, and today's headlines include internal emails that reveal the University of Washington ignored concerns regarding a study about the experimental gender medicalization of trans-identified youth, a federal appeals court upholding a temporary block on Arkansas' ban on puberty blockers and trans surgeries for children, and a poll highlighting Evangelical approaches to women in church leadership. | | Internal emails from the University of Washington show the institution stayed quiet regarding concerns about a study detailing the supposed benefits of experimental gender medicalization in trans-identified youth amid glowing media coverage. The study, "Mental Health Outcomes in Transgender and Nonbinary Youths Receiving Gender-Affirming Care," was published earlier this year on JAMA Network Open in partnership with Seattle Children's Hospital. While the report claimed that experimental puberty-blocking drugs yielded positive mental health outcomes for trans-identified teenagers, critics say the framing of those supposed benefits were flawed and required significant edits to the promotional materials used to publicize the research. The university ultimately stopped promoting the study because the edits were so profound, but its communications office didn't respond to questions because it had received glowing media reports. | | Emails obtained by the Seattle-based "Jason Rantz Show" on talk radio station KTTH suggest that university officials ignored "some pretty concerning claims" in the study because the news coverage was so positive. A press release claimed that so-called gender-affirming care—a euphemism trans activists use that refers to administering sterilizing hormones and medically unnecessary surgeries—"dramatically reduces" depression and is "lifesaving," while also asserting the research team found that such interventions "caused rates of depression to plummet" in adolescents who identify as nonbinary or transgender. However, in an April 6 essay on Substack, journalist Jesse Singal pointed out, "[T]here isn't genuine statistical improvement here from baseline to the final wave of data collection. At baseline, 59% of the treatment-naive kids experienced moderate to severe depression. Twelve months later, 56% of the kids on GAM experienced moderate to severe depression." The leaked email correspondence shows UW communications leaders calling the article "pretty concerning" and determining silence was their best recourse due to "the extremely positive pick up by mainstream media." Read more. | | P.S. Volume 3 of CP Magazine is here! If you'd like to help support Christian journalism, this digital-only offering runs just $19.99 annually—or get your free copy when you sign-up for a free Christian Post account. Inside the latest issue: What’s next in a post-Roe world. Sign-up to download your flipbook or PDF copy today. |
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| Court upholds block on Arkansas' ban on trans surgeries for minors | | A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit unanimously ruled Thursday to uphold a lower court decision temporarily blocking the enforcement of Arkansas' state ban on the use of puberty blockers and gender mutilating surgeries for minors suffering from gender dysphoria, siding with a group of plaintiffs that included trans-identified children and their parents. Circuit Judge Jane Kelly, an Obama appointee, wrote in the court opinion that the plaintiffs "will suffer irreparable harm" if they are not given "a preliminary injunction." Last year, Arkansas lawmakers passed House Bill 1570, also known as Act 626 or the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act, overriding a veto from Gov. Asa Hutchinson and making Arkansas the first state to ban puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and genital-mutilating surgeries on children suffering from gender dysphoria. Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | Judge blocks Arkansas law banning puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender surgery for kidsACLU files lawsuit against Arkansas ban on puberty blockers, trans surgeries for kidsArkansas lawmakers override governor’s veto of bill banning sex change procedures for kidsTrump blasts Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson for vetoing bill banning 'chemical castration of children' | | Poll shows Evangelical approaches to women in leadership | | A new poll from Lifeway Research is shedding light on Evangelical denominations' approaches to women in leadership. The poll, which surveyed 1,000 Protestant pastors across a range of denominations, revealed that 94% of respondents' churches allow women to minister to children, while 92% permit women to serve as committee leaders and 89% can minister to teenagers at the church. The poll also found that women are allowed to teach coed adult Bible studies at 85% of the respondents' churches and serve as deacons in nearly two-thirds. A slight majority (55%) reported that women can become senior pastors at their churches. Just 1% of the sample led churches that forbid women from serving in all of those roles. Lifeway Research Executive Editor Scott McConnell said in a statement that "the reason some pastors make a distinction between women leading as pastors or deacons or even teaching men compared to other leadership roles is because of how they interpret the Bible." Read more. |
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| The Mar-a-Lago raid: A constitutional ‘tipping point’? | | Christian Post Executive Editor Richard D. Land addresses the FBI's raid on former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida, writing, "Let us be clear! The Biden Justice Department violated the Fourth Amendment coming, going, and everywhere in between. ... the FBI agents would not allow Trump’s attorneys to accompany them during their search and they demanded that all security cameras be turned off during their search. They don’t say, 'democracy dies in the dark' for no reason. No one was watching the federal agents as they conducted their searches." Noting that past behavior is the greatest indicator of future performance, Land asks, "In such a situation, would the federal agents plant evidence?" Read more. | | Faithful in this time and place | | John Stonestreet and Timothy Padget discuss the state of the world today, and why the mission for Christians remains unchanged. "So, whatever comes, great victories or the full evaporation of progress, our task is the same: faithfulness, not success," they write. Read more. |
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| Hillsong Church purges global board in push for diversity | | Hillsong Church has announced a number of changes aimed at improving leadership in the megachurch network, including a purge of several directors from the church’s global board to create a more diverse body that will be at least 40% women. The purge has left only five members standing on the global board, which church leaders plan to make a 10-member body after the update. Read more. |
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| Israel Houghton, wife thank ‘God’ for baby via surrogacy | | Worship leader Israel Houghton and his wife, Adrienne Bailon Houghton, are celebrating the birth of their first child together via surrogacy after years of not being able to conceive naturally. The worship leader took to Instagram last week to share that "God is true to His word and His promises," saying, "For this child we have prayed." Read more. | | WATCH: Marvin Sapp talks 'Never Would Have Made It' | | In this interview with The Christian Post, Marvin Sapp, multi-platinum recording artist and senior pastor of The Chosen Vessel Cathedral, discusses a new film that details his own struggles in life, taking viewers inside the grief that birthed his hit song, "Never Would Have Made It." Sapp narrates the film, which "chronicles the prominent gospel music artist and preacher’s Michigan upbringing, battle against teenage alcohol abuse, love for MaLinda Prince, rise in the music industry, and growth in his faith." Sapp says he hopes that sharing his life through "Never Would Have Made It: The Marvin Sapp Story," which premiered last week on TV One, "will inspire people, let them know that no matter how traumatic things may have been that there's still triumph after it." Watch the interview here. | | | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again on Monday! -- CP Editors |
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