Explainer: What you should know about COVID-19 booster vaccines

Federal regulators are likely to approve booster vaccines for all three approved COVID-19 vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson — starting six months after inoculation, according to recent news reports. The Biden administration and companies have said that there should be enough supply for boosters that they plan to begin distributing more widely on Sept. 20.

This Week in Washington, D.C.

From The Public Square

Lawsuit seeks to block Arizona ban on Down syndrome abortion
Associated Press

Abortion-rights advocates have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn parts of a new Arizona law set to take effect next month.

Safeguard Gaps Leave Refugees Vulnerable to Sexual Abuse, Exploitation
Christianity Today

Jordan church got hundreds of thousands of dollars in international Christian aid, but little to no oversight.

How to Help Children Cope With the Tragedy in Afghanistan
Institute for Family Studies

Giving children something they can do to help those in need is the secret to helping them cope with adversity.

5th Circuit En Banc Upholds Texas "Dismemberment Abortion" Ban
Religion Clause

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law enacted in 2017 that bans abortions performed through the dilation and evacuation procedure.

What You Need to Read

Jason Thacker with Why Christians should navigate questions of vaccine mandates and religious exemptions with wisdom

Many denominations, including the Southern Baptist Convention, have long supported vaccines, advocated for their use, and even assisted in distribution. In recent decades, the International Mission Board has become one of the largest vaccine-givers — beginning with the ground-breaking polio vaccines in the 1950s — throughout the eastern United States. This is due to the necessity of vaccines in order to send missionaries across the world to share the hope of Christ to the nations.

Julie Masson with 3 ways parents can talk to their kids about Afghanistan

The news about the Taliban taking over Afghanistan is nearly unavoidable, and rightly so. We are watching a horrific human rights atrocity happen before our very eyes. Our children are likely seeing the images but are not as tuned in to this historic event, and that’s OK. But as Christian parents, it’s important that we teach our children to mourn with those who mourn. Here are three things my husband and I did with our children to help them understand what is happening right now and how Christians should respond.

Jordan Wootten with Explainer: Texas law banning abortion procedure upheld by court of appeals

Last week, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans, Louisiana, upheld a Texas law prohibiting certain uses of an abortion method known as dilation and evacuation (D&E), a procedure “commonly used to end second-trimester pregnancies.” The law, officially known as Senate Bill 8 as it was being considered by the Legislature, was initially blocked by a “three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals” just last year but was granted a re-hearing by the full court at the request of the state of Texas. As a result, the law was officially upheld by the court.

This Week at the ERLC

Featured Podcasts

This week on Capitol Conversations, Chelsea Sobolik sits down with Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute. Levin’s work in recent years have been instrumental to many of us here at the ERLC in thinking well about what has gone wrong in the public square and to see clearly why now is a time to build toward renewal.

On WeeklyTech, Jason Thacker is joined by Dr. Evan Lenow of Mississippi College and Dr. Mark Liederbach of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary to talk about their new book Ethics as Worship: The Pursuit of Moral Discipleship.