KFUO Radio News Break

In today's News:

New York rules for faith-based adoption 

A federal court has concluded that a New York-Based Christian adoption agency cannot be forced to close because of its policy of only placing kids in married heterosexual families. New Hope Family Services filed suit against state officials after it was told that its faith-based policy of only placing children in married heterosexual homes violated a 2013 state law. U.S. District Court Judge Mae D'Agostino granted New Hope a preliminary injunction against the New York Office of Children and Family Services’ (OCFS) interpretation of the law. In her decision on Monday, D'Agostino concluded that the OCFS interpretation of the state adoption law against New Hope “demonstrates some animosity towards particular religious beliefs.” 

Supreme Court will hear adoption case 

In a related story, on Nov. 4, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia to decide whether the city can shut down Catholic Social Services (CSS), an adoption and foster care provider, because of the organization's religious beliefs about marriage. CSS has worked with foster families in the Philadelphia area for more than a century. It has always believed that a child is best raised by a married mother and father and has served children and families according to this belief. But in March 2018, just days after the city issued an urgent call for 300 more foster families, it cut all referrals to CSS. The city of Philadelphia claims Catholic belief concerning marriage is bigotry according to its law. By all accounts, any same-sex couple in Philadelphia that wants to adopt may do so. In fact, four Philadelphia agencies have received the LGBT Human Rights Campaign's "Seal of Approval." No same-sex couple has ever even asked Catholic Social Services for help fostering or adopting kids. 

Court asked to dismiss charges against a journalist 

Sandra Merritt of the Center for Medical Progress has filed a petition to the California Supreme Court asking it to review and dismiss all eight remaining felony charges pending against her. Merritt’s requests were previously denied by the San Francisco Superior Court and the California Court of Appeals. Multiple counts have already been dismissed. The criminal investigation and heavy-handed tactics began under then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris, now senator and vice presidential candidate, and then her replacement, Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who filed 15 charges for Merritt’s undercover journalism work in exposing Planned Parenthood’s trafficking in baby body parts. Becerra has not shown probable cause for any of the motivated charges. Merritt did not violate any laws but used legal undercover techniques to investigate and expose potential fetal-trafficking abuses and crimes being committed by Planned Parenthood. Under California law, conversations that “may be overheard” are, by definition, not “confidential,” and can be recorded without consent.

In today's News:

SCOTUS ruling blasted by two justices 

Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued a broadside against the high court's 2015 same-sex marriage decision yesterday when the court declined to hear a case brought by a former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue a marriage license for such couples. The two justices agreed with the decision not to hear the case but used the occasion to take a legal baseball bat to the court's 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which declared that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the 14th Amendment guarantee to equal protection of the law. Writing for himself and Alito, Thomas said that the court's decision "enables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots, making their religious liberty concerns that much easier to dismiss." Amy Coney Barrett, Trump's nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has indicated her disagreement with the 2015 decision. Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett have all been staunch supporters of robust religious rights, de-emphasizing the concept of separation between church and state, while emphasizing the importance of the free exercise of religion. In November, the justices are scheduled to hear a major test of laws that apply generally and neutrally across the board. At issue is Philadelphia’s decision to terminate a contract with Catholic Social Services for screening and certifying parents for foster care. The city terminated the contract because Catholic Social Services, citing its religious objections, refused to certify qualified same-sex couples. 

New Jersey wants abortion up to birth law 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy introduced legislation Friday to expand abortions in his state amid speculation that the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade. The Democrat governor and his wife joined Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle and other state lawmakers in supporting the Reproductive Freedom Act, which would keep abortion on demand legal in New Jersey even if Roe is overturned. The goal of the bill is to “expand access to essential reproductive health care … including abortion,” according to a press release from the governor’s office. To do this, the legislation would force private health insurers to cover elective abortions and eliminate abortion regulations that protect women as well as their unborn babies. 

Human rights group supports abortion up to birth 

Amnesty International has announced a new abortion policy that calls for countries around the world to introduce abortion-on-demand, for any reason, up to birth and allow sex-selective abortion. The self-declared human rights organization says that, in addition to campaigning for the full "decriminalization" of abortion around the world, they will call for “a universal access to safe abortions for all people who need them.” Amnesty International claims it “does not take a position on when human life begins,” however, its new policy states that the right to life doesn’t commence until birth.

In today's News:

ILC welcomes a new church body 

The Board of Directors of the International Lutheran Council held online meetings Sept. 21, 2020, during which time the board voted to accept the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania – Lake Tanganyika Diocese (ELCT-LTD ) into membership. The church, which is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), counts more than 10,000 members, 35 pastors, and 22 congregations. It grew out of mission work in the ELCT’s Rukwa region and was formally constituted in 2014. The ELCT-LTD was registered as a legally autonomous diocese in 2015. 

Christian photographer challenges state law 

A Christian wedding photographer in Virginia is challenging a recent state law that would force him to defy his religious beliefs about marriage or face hefty penalties. Alliance Defending Freedom, the religious freedom legal group representing photographer Bob Updegrove, filed the case Monday night challenging the Virginia Values Act, which requires professionals to create content for same-sex weddings if they’re also creating content for weddings between a man and a woman. Updegrove captures photographs for churches, schools, businesses, and has photographed more than 300 weddings over the course of his career. Business owners who defy the law face up to $100,000 for each violation, according to Alliance Defending Freedom. The Virginia Values Act was approved by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and put into effect in July. 

Pro-life display vandalized 

Pro-abortion students at the University of North Texas made a game out of vandalizing an abortion memorial put together by the Young Conservatives of Texas on Wednesday. The pro-abortion students created four teams to play capture the flag — stealing the pro-life student group’s flags placed to raise awareness about the number of lives lost to abortion. The Young Conservatives of Texas had received permission from the university to put up 1,000 small pink flags to represent the lives lost to abortion. The display was also to include signs such as “abortion is murder” and “overturn roe v. Wade.” As soon as the display was announced, pro-abortion students began to plan how they would vandalize it. On the day of the pro-life event, pro-abortion students started stealing the signs and flags, with the theft captured on video. The pro-life campus group also received hate on social media. 

Abortion harassers are sued 

Obscene harassment, stalking and harmful assault by radical abortion militants have led Erika Schanzenbach to sue for recompense in Tennessee’s Sullivan County Chancery Court. Thomas More Society attorneys filed a lawsuit last Friday seeking damages and an injunction on behalf of Schanzenbach, a peaceful pro-life witness, as a result of the physical harm and emotional distress that she has suffered at the hands of members of a radical pro-abortion organization. The lawsuit names Denise Skeen, her adult daughter Alethea Skeen, and the Bristol Regional Women’s Center abortion facility as the abusers responsible for the wrongs perpetrated against Schanzenbach.

In today's News:

Religious liberty threatened in Virginia 

Three Christian schools and a Christian network of pregnancy centers are suing Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring in order to prevent Virginia from implementing two pro-LGBT laws that force “people of faith to adopt a particular government ideology under threat of punishment.” The two laws purport to prevent “discrimination” against LGBT people but force Christian ministries to choose between violating their sincerely-held religious beliefs or paying hefty fines, as much as $100,000 per offense. Virginia Values, which Gov. Ralph Northam signed the day before Easter Sunday, compels churches, religious schools, and Christian ministries to hire employees who do not share their stated beliefs on marriage, sexuality and gender identity. A companion law requires ministries and others like them to pay for transgender surgery in employee health care plans, a procedure that violates these ministries’ convictions. 

AMA supports abortion 

The American Medical Association (AMA) is advocating openly for abortions. Yesterday, it joined Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and other pro-abortion groups in a petition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down President Donald Trump’s Protect Life Rule, The Hill reports. The Title X rule requires Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers to completely separate their abortion businesses from their taxpayer-funded services. That means housing their family planning services in separate buildings with separate staff from their abortion businesses and a denial of funds if they fail to do so. Planned Parenthood refused to comply and gave up about $60 million federal funding. The billion-dollar abortion chain also is suing to overturn the rule, and federal courts have issued conflicting rulings on the matter. Now, Planned Parenthood is turning to the Supreme Court for an answer, and the largest doctors’ association in the U.S. is supporting it. 

Lawmakers push for abortion up to birth 

Massachusetts lawmakers may try to push through a bill this fall that would legalize abortions through all nine months and allow young teens to get abortions without a parent’s knowledge or consent. The Roe Act has been stalled in the state legislature for 20 months, but abortion activists are demanding that lawmakers pass it in the wake of the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, according to the New Boston Post. The bill would eliminate most regulations and restrictions on abortion in Massachusetts. It would allow abortions through all nine months of pregnancy, even if there is no physical threat to the mother’s life and could put young sexual abuse victims at greater risk by eliminating the state parental consent requirement. Massachusetts Citizens for Life said the bill also allows for “passive infanticide” by eliminating a requirement to provide medical care to a baby who is born alive after an abortion.

In today's News:

Satanists claim abortion is a ‘religious ritual’

After declaring abortion a “religious ritual” earlier this year, the Satanic Temple is suing an advertising company for refusing to place its pro-abortion billboards in Arkansas and Indiana. On Monday, the satanic group announced its lawsuit against Lamar billboard company, accusing it of religious discrimination and a breach of contract. The Satanic Temple said it wants to put up eight billboards that advertise its “abortion ritual” near pro-life pregnancy centers in Indiana and Arkansas. According to the satanic group, the company rejected its ad designs for being “misleading and offensive.

Legislation introduced to restrict abortion funding

On Sept. 23, 2020, Oklahoma Senators James Lankford and Jim Inhofe proposed The Women’s Public Health And Safety Act, which would allow states to exclude abortion businesses from receiving Medicaid payments. The bill would reverse a current law that requires states to allow any qualified provider to take part in the state Medicaid program. According to Students for Life of America, Planned Parenthood could be heavily hit if the bill is signed into law. Over three years, the abortion corporation received more than $1 billion in Medicaid reimbursements. The current ratio of federally qualified healthcare providers to Planned Parenthood businesses in the united states is 28 to 1, according to Students for Life. Women do not need Planned Parenthood.

Undocumented teen aliens may get abortions

Federal officials announced on Tuesday a new policy that will make it possible for undocumented teenage immigrants in federal custody to procure abortions, after nearly three years of litigation with the ACLU regarding the matter. In a memorandum released on Tuesday, The Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that staff and providers with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) would not “obstruct or interfere” with abortions or abortion counseling of “unaccompanied alien children.” But the policy also provides for opt-outs for religious providers and clarifies that federal funds cannot be used for legal petitions, if a judicial bypass of state law regarding parental consent is requested.

College coach forced out for Biblical statement

A former Illinois State University football coach said his sudden departure from the program last week came after some players were offended by a sign he posted on his office door that read: “all lives matter to our lord & savior Jesus Christ." Kurt Beathard, the son of former National Football League quarterback and General Manager Bobby Beathard, was in his third season as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the Redbirds when it was announced last Wednesday that he was no longer part of the program. Beathard, who was in his second stint with the school after taking time off during his wife’s battle with cancer, told The Pantagraph daily newspaper that his sudden departure from the program came after he posted the sign on his office door.

In today's News:

Congressional call to investigate abortion doctor 

Led by Kansas Congressman Doctor Roger Marshal, 49 members of Congress have sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr calling for an investigation of abortionists who violated the partial birth abortion ban passed in 2003. This information has been corroborated in testimonial videos published by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). The members of Congress have asked for an investigation of specific actions taken by the Vice President of Abortion Access at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Tram Nguyen, who admitted under oath to killing babies “intact” so as to harvest their body parts. As the Congressional press release reads, the abortionists were “deliberately killing a partially delivered baby.” Late last month, CMP released this video testimony from the April 2019 court hearing. 

Nevada voters may change marriage definition 

Voters in Nevada will decide in November whether to change the text of the state constitution to remove language defining marriage as a union between only one man and one woman. Nevada is one of the about 30 states that passed state constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage before such rules were struck down by the 2015 Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, which established a right to same-sex marriage nationwide. However, the text of the amendment remains in the Nevada constitution even though it is unenforceable. 

Court order bans school officials from lying to parents 

A Wisconsin state court issued an order Monday that prohibits the Madison Metropolitan School District from lying to or deceiving parents about the gender identity that their child may have adopted at school. The court’s injunction is in effect while a lawsuit against the district is on appeal. The lawsuit, filed in February by Alliance Defending Freedom Attorneys (ADF) together with lead counsel from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), challenges a school district policy that instructs district employees to assist children of any age to adopt a transgender identity at school upon the child’s request without notice to or consent from parents, to conceal from parents the fact that school personnel are doing this unless the child “consents” to the parents being told, and even instructs district employees to conceal these facts from parents. WILL and ADF attorneys represent multiple families at the school district in challenging the policy, which violates constitutionally protected parental rights. 

Court rules for gender-confused student 

A school district in Minnesota must allow trans-identified students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, a Minnesota appeals court ruled Monday. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the parents of a biological female high school student who identifies as a male. The family sued The Anoka-Hennepin School District in 2019 and alleged that the student, identified in legal documents as N.H., was required to use a separate locker room when she participated on the boys' swim team. The court ruled that locker room segregation based on sex is a violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, among other identifiers, including race and religion. Thus, the female student will be allowed to enter the boys' locker rooms and showers.

In today's News:

President raises Roe revisit possibility 

President Donald Trump has said it is "certainly possible" that his Supreme Court pick will be involved in a ruling revisiting the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. Trump said he did not discuss abortion rights with Amy Coney Barrett before choosing her for the top court. She has been chosen to replace the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg but awaits Senate confirmation.  

Gender-confused California inmates get to choose 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation during the weekend allowing gender-confused convicts to be incarcerated on the basis of their claimed “gender identity” rather than their actual biological sex. Under the new law, officers overseeing the prisoner intake process must ask inmates if they self-identify as transgendered, nonbinary or intersex, The Hill reported, at which point inmates can request to go to a male or female prison. Requests cannot be rejected solely on the basis of an inmate’s actual sex but on whether the state has “management or security concerns” about that inmate. State officials must further present inmates with a written explanation of any rejections as well as the opportunity to object to them. 

Vermont challenged about religious discrimination 

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a student, her parents and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington filed a federal lawsuit against Vermont officials last Wednesday for discriminating against students and denying them tuition vouchers because they attend religious high schools. Vermont maintains a town tuition program, which provides educational vouchers for students who live in towns without public schools. Towns that pay tuition for their students instead of maintaining a public high school are called “sending towns” and they directly pay the full amount of tuition, up to the town’s approved tuition rate, on behalf of their students. Students at public and secular private schools are eligible, students at religious private high schools are excluded. That includes Rice Memorial High School, which the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington owns and operates. The complaint notes that some Vermont school districts continue to employ a “pervasively sectarian” test, which evaluates whether a child’s chosen school is “too religious” to participate in the town tuition public benefit. Other school districts, like the Grand Isle Supervisory Union, categorically refuse to allow any religious school to participate. 

San Francisco is warned about its church policy 

The Justice Department has warned San Francisco Mayor London Breed that the city’s limitations on indoor worship to one congregant at a time in response to the covid-19 pandemic “is contrary to the constitution and the nation’s best tradition of religious freedom.” In response to the city's policy of only allowing one person at a time to enter houses of worship, the Justice Department said in its letter to Breed that the city could not limit places of worship to a single congregant while “allowing multiple patrons in other indoor settings including gyms, tattoo parlors, hair salons, massage studios and daycares.”

In today's News:

Supreme Court nominee praised by religious liberty group 

This past weekend, President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to the United States Supreme Court to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. The following statement in response to the appointment may be attributed to Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO and chief counsel for First Liberty Institute, who was in attendance at the announcement: “President Trump has nominated a judge to the Supreme Court who we are confident will protect the religious freedoms and constitutional rights of all Americans. Judge Barrett’s record demonstrates her commitment to the Constitution’s text and its purpose. Judge Barrett understands that government exists to protect the God-given rights of the people and the Constitution exists to prevent government from infringing on those rights.  She will make an excellent Supreme Court justice, and we expect the Senate to confirm her without delay.” 

Pro-life speaker assaulted 

Students for Life Action team member who is part of Students for Life’s “SCOTUS squad” was punched while peacefully advocating for the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Police were called and an arrest was made after a woman approached SFLAction Communications and Market Manager 23-year-old Autumn Schimmer, who was speaking on behalf of Judge Barrett. Schimmer spoke with police and reported that additional threatening behavior took place in the context of a crowd that included about 5 percent pro-life advocates and 95 percent abortion supporters. The woman who punched her fled into the crowd. 

DA refuses to enforce a pro-life law 

The district attorney of Nashville, Tenn., refused to enforce a new state law this week that informs women that a drug-induced abortion may be reversed to save their baby’s life. WLTV News 8 reports Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk said the law is unconstitutional, and he will not enforce it. Scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1, the pro-life legislation requires abortion facilities to display signs informing women that a chemical abortion may be reversed after the first dose of the two-drug abortion procedure. It also requires the abortionist to provide the same information during counseling 48 hours prior to the abortion. 

Chinese Communists change the Bible 

A Communist textbook that's being used in Chinese schools falsifies the Biblical account found in John 8:3–11. The textbook claims that Jesus murdered the woman who was found in adultery and said He, too, is a sinner. The textbook, published by the government-run University of Electronic Science and Technology Press, states: “The crowd wanted to stone the woman to death as per their law. But Jesus said, ‘let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.’ hearing this, they slipped away one by one. When the crowd disappeared, Jesus stoned the sinner to death, saying, ‘I too am a sinner. But if the law could only be executed by men without blemish, the law would be dead.’”

In today's News:

A church gets its day in court 

Attorneys for Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church prevailed in yet another hearing yesterday in Los Angeles Superior Court, arguing that MacArthur and the church are entitled to a full trial on the merits of their challenge to the constitutionality of the government shut-down orders and the preliminary injunction. Los Angeles County has sought to shut down the church and hold MacArthur in contempt, but Thomas More Society attorneys argued that a final determination on the constitutionality of the orders must occur before the county could seek contempt against MacArthur for merely holding church. Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff indicated that he agreed there are serious constitutional concerns that have not been fully tried, and he reiterated that his prior ruling on the preliminary injunction was not a decision on the merits regarding the constitutionality of those orders. Because a contempt hearing is a quasi-criminal proceeding, Beckloff agreed that MacArthur and Grace Community Church are entitled to constitutional protections at any such trial. 

Prayers will continue outside an abortion clinic 

A church operating outside an abortion clinic in Washington State will continue holding services directly adjacent to the facility after a court order was issued this week and forced it to make changes. A Washington Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction Monday ordering the Church at Planned Parenthood, a monthly service held outside a Planned Parenthood facility in Spokane organized by Covenant Church, to move its services across the street from the facility and coordinate service times to avoid coinciding with the clinic’s hours of operation. 

Black leaders protest black abortion rate 

Black pro-life leaders, including Alveda King, gathered in Montgomery, Ala., Tuesday in support of Life Legal’s petition to protect black children from abortion. Life Legal filed the petition with the Alabama Supreme Court this Tuesday, arguing that black children deserve equal protection under the law. More than 60 percent of abortions in the state are committed on black children — yet blacks make up less than 27 percent of the total population of Alabama. Black children are more than three times more likely to be aborted than children of other races. 

Chinese teachers can’t talk about God 

Teachers in China who mention God or religion risk employment termination as communist authorities increasingly control education materials and expand their list of banned topics teachers are not allowed to discuss in classrooms. According to Bitter Winter, a publication produced by the Center for Studies on New Religion that reports on human rights issues in China, the Chinese Communist Party is strictly monitoring what teachers say in schools and universities. Teachers are observed in their classrooms by authorities who watch for “reactionary thoughts” or “improper remarks,” ensuring students are not taught about democracy, religion, or exposed to any criticism of the regime. Schools in china are government-controlled, and therefore communist in ideology.

In today's News:

A church fights a shutdown in the nation’s capital

A Christian church in Washington, D.C., is suing Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser for her ongoing ban on religious gatherings of more than 100 people. The lawsuit claims a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as well as the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Unlike other states with restrictive measures imposed during the coronavirus crisis, churches in the District of Columbia don’t have the option of moving religious services outdoors to allow for greater crowds. Instead, the same limits apply.

The Bible is now available in American Sign Language

After nearly four decades, the complete Bible is now available in American Sign Language for the first time ever. Deaf Missions, a ministry dedicated to communicating “the Gospel of Jesus with deaf people through their heart language, culture and identity,” began the project in the early 1980s. The final books needed — Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel — were completed this fall. Now, the entire Bible is available to the world’s 70 million people who are deaf for free online, through social media, and on a smartphone app. The translation was led by people who themselves are deaf and trained in the Biblical languages.

Attorney General warns about ‘militant secularists’

U.S. Attorney General William Barr said yesterday that “no concept is more misunderstood than the notion of separation of church and state,” and explained that “militant secularists” have long seized on that slogan “as they drive religion from the public square.” Barr offered his remarks upon receiving the “Christifideles Laici Award,” presented to him during the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. Barr spoke from his Department of Justice office during the virtual gathering. After recounting the important role that religion played in the founding of America as a free nation, Barr lamented, “unfortunately in the last half-century, that foundation of our free society has been increasingly under siege.”

The president signs an executive order protecting newborns

Congress refused more than 80 times to authorize medical care for babies who survive abortions. With Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats rejecting the Born Alive Bill more than 80 times, allowing abortionists to essentially get away with infanticide, President Trump announced an executive order yesterday that would require medical care be given to infants who are born alive after failed abortion attempts. The full text of the executive order has yet to be released, but it is expected to be similar to the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act that would provide for criminal penalties for abortionists who fail to provide proper medical care for babies who survive abortions. The order would likely cover hospitals and other public clinics where abortions sometimes occur. H.R. 962, the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, introduced by Missouri Republican Representative Ann Wagner, ensures that a baby born alive after a failed or attempted abortion receives the same medical care as any other newborn. It would also penalize doctors who allow such infants to die or who intentionally kill a newborn following a failed abortion. Former Vice President Joe Biden has never denounced the rejection of the anti-infanticide bill and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris voted to block it in the senate.