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This week, ADF Senior Vice President of U.S. Legal Division and Communications Kristen Waggoner gives more reasons why the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) should be ignored by mainstream outlets in light of the scandal that led to the exit of its top leaders. Also, Michigan adoption providers fight to operate according to their beliefs, Illinois prepares to fund so-called “sex change” surgeries with tax dollars, and a presidential candidate voices his support for abortion up to birth. All of this from the Alliance Alert team!
ADF in the News
The Wall Street Journal: We Were Smeared by the SPLC
Writing at the Wall Street Journal, Kristen Waggoner brings to light the very real threat Alliance Defending Freedom and others face as a result of slander and lies perpetuated by the morally bankrupt and discredited Southern Poverty Law Center. Waggoner, who serves as ADFs Senior Vice President of U.S. Legal Division and Communications, says the SPLC’s “hate group” label has “forced itself into [her] daily life in uncomfortable and unexpected ways.” While calling on the nation’s influencers to “show the SPLC the door,” Waggoner calls upon everyone to “aspire to be a country characterized by tolerance, freedom of conscience and love of neighbor.”
Religious Freedom
The Federalist: Christian Adoption Agency Sues Michigan And HHS For Religious Discrimination
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently settled a lawsuit against the state, agreeing to bar religious adoption providers from receiving state funds if they believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. Now, some religious adoption providers are fighting back. St. Vincent Catholic Charities is suing both the state of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. St. Vincent says the recent settlement and an Obama-era HHS policy contradict a 2015 Michigan law that allows religious adoption providers to receive funds.
Marriage and the Family
The Daily Signal: Illinois Proposes Taxpayers Pay for Some Gender Reassignment Surgeries
Illinois is moving toward tax-payer funding for “sex change” surgeries. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services announced it intends to create a policy that allows state Medicaid payouts for these invasive and often irreversible surgeries, which Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says is "the right thing to do." Family Research Council President Tony Perkins says this move ignores incredible amounts of risks that these surgeries have realized, and he warns that taxpayer funding for these operations will likely spread beyond Illinois.
Sanctity of Life
National Review: Bernie Sanders Backs Unrestricted Abortion Through Birth
At a recent Fox News townhall, Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders pushed an alarming opinion on late-term abortion. When asked if he believes that a woman should be able to have an abortion up to birth, Sanders said, "the decision over abortion belongs to a woman and her physician, not the federal government, not the state government." This attitude reflects the extreme position of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam who said a baby should only be kept alive based on the wishes of the mother and family after a discussion with physicians.
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Religious Freedom
No, Prince Harry, the First Amendment Isn’t “Bonkers”In a new episode of Dax Shepard’s podcast “Armchair Expert,” Prince Harry sharply criticizes the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Religious Freedom
Barronelle Makes a Bold Move: How Will the U.S. Supreme Court Respond?Today, with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, she filed a supplemental brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging it to decide her case directly in the wake of the Fulton decision.
Religious Freedom
Church Autonomy: What It Is and Why It’s ImportantA church or house of worship needs to maintain independence from government control in certain fundamental ways.