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The events of the past few days have been hard not just for conservatives but everyone with a sense of decency..
We have seen the repulsive video of Planned Parenthood's senior director of medical services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, talking happily about her group's practice of selling the body parts of late-term, aborted babies. She boasts, "We've been very good at getting heart, lung, (and) liver" of unborn children.
We have seen a growing attack on Christian liberty as some policymakers and advocates of radical sexual autonomy openly ponder churches and religious institutions losing their tax-exempt status.
The good news is that there are brave national leaders working to address these issues. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) gave a moving speech in the Senate today on Planned Parenthood's brutality, and conscientious Members of Congress like Fred Upton (R-MI) are planning to hold hearings on the organization's activities.
Sen. Mike Lee's (R-UT) First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which would prohibit any kind of federal penalties against churches or individuals practicing their faith with respect to marriage, was the subject of an address he gave this week here at FRC. The historical case for religious liberty received a powerful review, also this week, at an FRC lecture by distinguished historian Dr. Mark Hall of George Fox University.
And FRC led the successful charge to have the House leadership cancel "a vote … on H.R. 2722, the Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin Act, a measure that would have poured up to $4,750,000 into the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a major donor to Planned Parenthood, America's largest abortion provider." Instead, all of the funding went to non-controversial breast cancer research organization.
The news can be overwhelming. The fight for faith, family, and freedom can be exhausting. And the results are often unpredictable.
But whatever the outcome, unborn children are worth defending, religious liberty is worth sustaining, and prudent, principled political action can make a difference. Maybe not a final or comprehensive difference in the here-and-now, but for Christians, the battle is far more than temporal.
Sincerely,
Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice-President
Family Research Council
P.S. FRC’s Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment, the Hon. Ken Blackwell, was featured on C-SPAN on Monday of this week. Be sure to watch and gain wise counsel from a distinguished Christian statesman.
Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life
Abortion
- BLACKOUT: Media Go Dark On Planned Parenthood Organ Trafficking - Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist
- Human Capital Project, Investigative Footage - Center for Medical Progress (expose on Planned Parenthood’s sale of body parts), Center for Medical Progress
- Media Ignore: Dems Defending Planned Parenthood Got $43K from Abortion Giant - Katie Yoder, Newsbusters
- Planned Parenthood Plans for Bigger Abortion Future - Anna Paprocki, The Federalist
- Abortion Drone Stunt Promoters Outdone by "Johnny." - Human Life International, Human Life International
- The Abortion Industry's hypocrisy, Coming Soon to the Supreme Court – Denise M. Burke, National Review
- Facing the Unborn – Richard Stith, First Things
Bioethics
- Biological Colonialism Bites Back. – Wesley J. Smith, National Review
- Seattle 6th Graders Can't Get a Coke at School, But Can Get an IUD. - Kathleen Brown, CNSNews
- FDA to reconsider Essure contraceptive after receiving more than 5,000 complaints. - Fr. Mark Hodges, Life Site
- Even as Population Growth Dramatically Slows the U.N. Keeps Hyping "World Population Day." - Steven Mosher, Population Research Institute
Obamacare
- A Guide to a Better Alternative to Obamacare - Heritage e-book, Heritage Foundation
- Obamacare Co-ops: Cause Celebre or Costly Conundrum? - Grace-Marie Turner and Thomas P. Miller, Galen Institute
- Sharp partisan divisions over Obamacare –Samantha Smith, Pew Research Center
- Contraception Use, Abortions, and Births: The Effect of Insurance Mandates – Karen Mulligan, Demography
Marriage & Family
Economy and the family
- The Economy, Your Family, and the Political Left - Rob Schwarzwalder, Family Research Council
- Younger Families Losing Wealth: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Study – Brian Kelly, KMOX TV
- Parents' comparisons make siblings different –Brigham Young University, Science Daily
Fatherhood
- Billy Graham’s Influence as a Father and Grandfather – Decision Magazine
- In Their Own Voices: The Hopes and Struggles of Responsible Fatherhood Program Participants in the Parents and Children Together Evaluation - Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
- The Death of Adulthood in American Culture – A.O. Scott, New York Times Magazine
Homosexuality and Gender Issues
- Decisions: Be Faithful to Christ and His Word – Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia – Liam Goligher, Tenth Presbyterian Church
- A Biblical Response To The Supreme Court Decision – David Murray, Heart and Hand
- Dark Days Ahead for the Rule of Law? - Dr. John Eastman, The Claremont Institute
- Love’s Language Lost - Bradley C.S. Watson, The Claremont Institute
- The Insidious Logic of the Court’s Marriage Decision – Daniel Heimbach, Cannon and Culture
- Highest Ideal of Love Is Not Marriage, There's Something Greater: A Response to the Supreme Court – Rosaria Butterfield and Christopher Yuan, Christian Post
- Will Marriage Dissidents Be Treated As Bigots Or Pro-Lifers? – Ryan T. Anderson, The Federalist
- Oregon Allows 15-Year-Olds to Get State-Subsidized Sex-Change Operations—Without Parental Consent – Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition
- A Sad Day for the Social Sciences - MARRI, MARRIBlog
- Round Two: Decrying a Growing Academic Corruption - MARRI, MARRIBlog
- Disorder in the Court - Steven Pruzansky, Rabbi Pruzansky's Blog
- Christians React to the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage: 9 Key Findings - Barna Group, Barna Group
- Into the Abyss: From the halls of academia to the cover of Vanity Fair - Gertrude Himmelfarb, The Weekly Standard
- 40 Questions for Christians Now Waving Rainbow Flags – Kevin DeYoung, The Gospel Coalition
- Gay Marriage: Flawed Thinking, Inevitable Consequences -Michael Easley, Michael inContext
- Justice Kennedy and the Lonely Promethean Man of Liberalism – David Azerrad, The Witherspoon Institute
Human Trafficking
- Workers trafficked for Ohio egg farms had little contact, lived in poverty - Holly Zachariah, The Columbus Dispatch
- Church, State, and Human Trafficking - Public Discourse, The Witherspoon Institute
Marriage
- Majority Report: The Future of Marriage & the Natural Family – Allan Carlson, Touchstone
- Better for Baby? The Retreat From Mid-Pregnancy Marriage and Implications for Parenting and Child Well-being – Jessica Houston Su, Rachel Dunifon, and Sharon Sassler, Demography
Pornography
- Capitol Hill Anti-Pornography Conference: Make this a health issue – Jennifer Calfas, USA Today
- 50 Cent's Bogus Revenge Porn Bankruptcy - Kate Briquelet, The Daily Beast
Religious Liberty
- Attorneys General of 15 states Write Congress Asking for Legislation to Protect Religious Schools, Other Groups – Associated Press
- People of Faith Deserve Protection from Government Discrimination - Heritage Fact Sheet, Heritage Foundation
- Sen. Tammy Baldwin: 'Freedom of Religion' Is For 'Institutions of Faith' Period - Newsbusters
- Are Senate Dems Already Willing to Threaten Religious Tax Exemptions? – David French, National Review
- Colo. cake artist’s freedom of belief, livelihood at stake - Alliance Defending Freedom, Alliance Defending Freedom
- Can Court Clerks Decline to Do Gay Marriages? How It’s Playing Out in the States - Ken McIntyre, The Daily Signal
- “Christian bakers fined $135,000 for refusing to make wedding cake for lesbians - Todd Starnes, FoxNews
- Whatever Happened to Religious Freedom? – Rodger Pilon, Wall Street Journal
Religion in Public Life
- Evangelicals Are Strangers in America — and Everywhere - Rob Schwarzwalder, The Stream
- 5 Reason Young Christians and Pastors Avoid Politics Like the Plague – Shane Idleman, Charisma News
- U.S. Has Established a State Religion: What Now for Christians? - Fay Voshell, American Thinker
Education
- Rubio: College 'cartels' need busting in new economy - Tom LoBianco, CNN
- Gay Marriage and the Future of Evangelical Colleges - David R. Wheeler, The Atlantic
- University Researchers: We Have to Accept People Who ‘Identify as Real Vampires – Kathrine Timpf, National Review
