ACLU Files Lawsuit Arguing Abortion Pills Should be Available in Pharmacies

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ACLU Files Lawsuit Arguing Abortion Pills Should be Available in Pharmacies

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ACLU Files Lawsuit Arguing Abortion Pills Should be Available in Pharmacies


Women should be able to get abortion-inducing drugs at their local pharmacies in addition to abortion facilities, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argues in a new lawsuit.

The group sued on behalf of a Hawaii abortionist and three medical entities against federal regulations of the drug RU-486, also known as mifepristone and the brand name Mifeprex.

The drug works with the drug misoprostol to cut off nutrients to babies during early pregnancy and send the mother into labor.

Under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations of Mifeprex, abortionists must order, carry, and dispense the drug themselves or send women to a clinic, medical office, or hospital that carries it. The FDA relaxed the regulations on Mifeprex in 2016 by allowing abortionists to administer it later in pregnancy than before and removing the requirement that the companion drug, misoprostol, be administered at an abortion facility.

Some abortionists have difficulty stocking the abortion drugs, the ACLU said, and the FDA should loosen the restrictions on mifepristone even further. “Once a woman has been prescribed Mifeprex, there is no medical benefit to requiring that the pill be handed to her at a medical office, clinic, or hospital rather than handed to her at her local pharmacy or via a mail-order pharmacy,” the suit states.

But pro-life advocates disagree: The drug is risky enough for women without further easing of restrictions.

“The marketing spin is to repeat the mantra of ‘safe’ over and over again when the reality is, these are dangerous drugs,” Donna Harrison, executive director of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told me. “Women have died from them. Women have hemorrhaged from them. Women have had to have emergency surgery. These are not safe.”

ACLU of Hawaii director Mateo Caballero called the drug a “safe, proven method to end a pregnancy,“ and said the FDA’s requirements were “politically motivated.”

But Harrison cited a 2009 Finnish study that compared 42,619 surgical and chemical abortions over six years. Researchers found that women who had chemical abortions had a 20 percent chance of “adverse events” that included hemorrhage and incomplete abortion, while women who had surgical abortion faced a 5.6 percent chance of complications.

National Right to Life’s Randall O’Bannon pointed out that the FDA initially took measures to inform women of the risks of complications from abortion drugs and only relaxed its standards after “bowing to the abortion lobby.”

“The ACLU and the abortion lobby don’t like the FDA reminding women of those risks, and they want the drugs available from every pharmacy in the country,” O’Bannon told me. “Anything that allows prescribers or patients to be less informed of the risks or less attuned to the warning signs—which is what the changes the ACLU and the abortion industry seeks would do—is grossly irresponsible and dangerous.”

The lawsuit, if successful, would also affect pharmacists with conscientious objections to dispensing mifepristone. In 2015, Christian business owners in Washington who protested stocking their pharmacy with emergency contraceptives Plan B and Ella lost a federal appeal in Stormans Inc. v. Weisman. The following year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.


 


Courtesy: WORLD News Service


Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstockphotos.com


Publication date: October 13, 2017

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Churches Holding ‘Love One Another’ Unity Vigil in Response to National Division

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(Photo: Facebook/Gary Lewis)A worship service at First Baptist Church of Rincon, Georgia.

A group of Georgia churches are holding an event in response to the recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the overall state of division in the United States.

First Baptist Church of Rincon, Jerusalem Lutheran Church of Rincon, and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church of Rincon are organizing the “Love One Another” worship service and candlelight vigil, scheduled to take place next Thursday at FBC Rincon.

FBC Rincon Senior Pastor Gary Lewis told The Christian Post in an interview Friday that the event came “in response to a group of men who initiated the conversation” and that they have “invited many” from the surrounding area.

“We have a Lutheran Church, an A.M.E church, and an Episcopalian church who are all uniting with our Baptist church for this effort,” said Lewis.

“I hope people walk away from this event moving from the perspective we seem to have presented to us all the time of rift to a new angle of renewal and reconciliation and a re-commitment to serve and love one another.”

On Aug. 12, a so-called “Unite the Right” rally  protesting the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in Emancipation Park was organized by Jason Kessler and attended by white supremacists, members of the KKK and white nationalist socialist groups. It descended into violence when counter protesters and white nationalists — many on both sides armed with helmets, weapons and shields — began fighting. Later that day, 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr., identified as a Nazi-sympathizer, rammed his car into a crowd of counter protesters, killing Heather Heyer, 32, and injuring 19 others.

The Georgia churches’ “Love One Another” event is not the only faith-based response to Charlottesville and other violent incidents.

A Virginia-based organization called the Charlottesville Clergy Collective was recently formed with the expressed goal of being “a God-centered faith community of prayer, solidarity, and impact within the Charlottesville-Albemarle Region of Central Virginia.”

“Our mission is to establish, develop, and promote racial unity within the faith leadership of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Region through fellowship, collaborative partnership, and relationship-building,” the CCC satates on their website.

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Pete Greig brands climate change the challenge of our generation

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Pete Greig brands climate change the challenge of our generation

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He’s among dozens of Christian figures urging world leaders to honour previous pledges to tackle the issue.

They’ve signed a letter calling on world leaders to keep their Paris Agreement promises, ahead of the next round of UN talks on climate.

Greig said: “The real and present crisis of climate change is bigger than political opportunism, bigger than national interest, bigger than us all. Millions of lives are at stake.”

The letter, organised by Tearfund as part of the Renew Our World campaign, says: “We urge each nation’s leaders to keep the promises they made in the Paris Agreement, to restore the natural balance.

As Christians across the globe, we are calling for action on climate change.”

Ben Niblett, senior campaigner for Tearfund told Premier’s News Hour the issue should concern everyone.

“We are God’s people. We know we are brothers and sisters across the world. So we have the mandate to speak up on behalf Christians in other countries when we hear this is affecting them.”

Archbishops across three continents, speaking on behalf of the 85 million-member Anglican Communion, also put their names to the letter, which urges leaders to ensure global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees.

It also asks for more investment in clean off-grid energy that will reach those in poverty who can’t access national electricity sources.

The letter continues: “We’re committing to respond as Christians by living more sustainably, praying, and raising our voices; we’re asking every member of the church – the world’s largest network – to join in, alongside many others, and every national leader to lead the way.”

Listen to Ben Rogers speaking with Premier’s Eno Adeogun here:

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Roma Downey’s Powerful Message About Division, Civility Something Every American Needs to Hear Now .

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Roma Downey’s Powerful Message About Division, Civility Something Every American Needs to Hear Now .

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Actress Roma Downey
Actress Roma Downey (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)

Join us on the new C-Pop podcast where Taylor and Jessilyn discuss, debate and sometimes deride pop culture with a strong sense of humor and a focus on Christ. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

Actress Roma Downey is on a mission to turn the tables on America’s divisiveness, launching a new platform aimed at inspiring the masses with hopeful content that offers an encouraging lens into the good things happening around the world.

Downey, who recently launched Lightworkers alongside her husband, famed TV producer Mark Burnett, appeared on “The Billy Hallowell Podcast” to describe her passion for the project as well as her shock at the current state of civility in America.

“People are fed up with the negativity. I think people are ready for the conversation to turn,” she said. “We don’t have to agree with each other, but what ever happened to courtesy, and grace, and kindness and speaking to each other with dignity? … I don’t understand who we’ve become.”

Listen to Downey discuss her concerns—and the solutions—in the podcast.

Downey said that her goal through Lightworkers is to “steer conversation back where at least we can agree to disagree” and to offer people some of the stunning, hopeful and love-filled stories that are unfolding across the globe.

“There are beautiful stories everywhere,” she said, adding that Lightworkers plans to tell them.

The genesis of the digital platform came one night when Burnett was watching the news on television and Downey remarked about how negative it all was, telling her husband at the time that she wouldn’t be able to sleep if he kept the news on before bed.

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FEMA is Withholding Disaster Relief Aid from Religious Organizations So Churches Took Legal Action

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FEMA is Withholding Disaster Relief Aid from Religious Organizations So Churches Took Legal Action

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FEMA is Withholding Disaster Relief Aid from Religious Organizations So Churches Took Legal Action


Houston-area Catholic and Jewish congregations have filed legal briefs in support of three churches suing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for denying disaster relief funds because of their religious identity. The churches—two non-denominational and one Assemblies of God—are united in their fight against religious discrimination that could spell financial ruin for congregations across the storm-ravaged United States. 


During and after the hurricanes that have plagued the country and its territories since August, first responders included congregants from churches and synagogues. Their damaged houses of worship served as FEMA command stations. And while happy to take advantage of those congregations’ hospitality, FEMA policy since 1998 forbids the agency from providing them grants to repair their buildings.


One caveat to FEMA’s religious use ban is its “mixed-use” policy, which offers emergency funding only if religious functions do not exceed 50 percent of a facility’s usage. Such an arrangement is untenable for Jews and Catholics mindful of the government’s historic discrimination against them, attorneys said in their friends of the court briefs.


“In order for FEMA to determine whether a Jewish 501(c)(3) is too religious—or in this case, too Jewish—to qualify for hurricane assistance, the government must wade deeply into what constitutes the Jewish faith. … This type of religious line-drawing impermissibly entangles the government with religion,” argued attorneys for Jews for Religious Liberty and Congregation Torah Vachesed. “This policy requires that FEMA discriminate against any facility deemed too Jewish either in purpose or practice.”


Houses of worship, along with other non-profit groups, also can apply for FEMA’s Emergency Work and Permanent Work Public Assistance programs but only after applying for a Small Business Administration low-interest loan—a prohibitively large financial commitment for some congregations.


“These churches are already living paycheck to paycheck, so to speak, and have little margin,” Kenneth Priest, strategies director for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, told me. “Many of the churches are in low income areas [and] provide a great community service of ministering to the needs in their community.”


Without these churches, the burden of providing aid would shift to the government, or the people would do without.


Churches know they must look to each other for aid, as they always have. But for those just one financial crisis away from closing their doors, a FEMA grant could help purchase drywall, lumber, and other supplies a volunteer crew could use to make essential repairs, Priest said.


The Catholic, Jewish, non-denominational, and Pentecostal congregations argue the faith that compels them to render aid should not be used against them. If not for their faith, these houses of worship would qualify for FEMA grants. Diana Verm, an attorney from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty working on the case, noted the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Trinity Lutheran v. Comer should have resolved the problem of faith-based discrimination in government grant programs.


FEMA responded to the lawsuit by claiming the plaintiffs—all churches with significant structural damage, one of which FEMA used after the storm—do not have standing to sue because they haven’t yet had their applications denied.


Regardless of FEMA’s discrimination, congregations in Texas and Florida will continue to serve their communities, wrote Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston; Rabbi Barry Gelman of United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston; Thomas Wenski, archbishop of Miami; and Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of Boca Raton Synagogue. 


“We will feed the hungry, care for the orphan and elder, shelter the homeless, and welcome the immigrant,” the faith leaders declared in an opinion piece for USA Today.


 


Courtesy: WORLD News Service


Photo courtesy: Getty Images


Publication date: October 13, 2017

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Beloved Baltimore Preacher Barry K Hargrove Suffers Fatal Heart Attack

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(Photo: Facebook)Pastor Barry K. Hargrove of Prince of Peace Baptist Church in East Baltimore, Maryland, died October 6, 2017.

Friends and family of Barry K. Hargrove, a beloved Baltimore preacher and social justice champion, are now mourning his death and getting ready to celebrate his life after he died last Friday of a heart attack. He was 51.

A report in The Baltimore Sun said Hargrove passed away at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Hargrove had been the pastor of Prince of Peace Baptist Church at the time of his death and served as the president of the Maryland chapter of the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

“Pastor Hargrove was hardworking, not only for our church but for our community. He wanted to make a difference,” Rita Smith, a trustee and a founding member of Hargrove’s church, told The Baltimore Sun.

Hargrove had been the church’s senior pastor since 2006.

“He always said there was more that we could do for the community that was positive. He wanted to leave a footprint,” she said. “He wanted our church to be a light in the community, and until his last breath, he was making plans for the church and community.”

Hargrove explained on LinkedIn that under his leadership, the church focused in a major way on health and wellness, social justice, community partnerships and outreach. He encouraged his congregation to exercise and practice good nutrition habits and to participate in local politics.

“Among our many activities are the ‘100% Project’ to be sure all eligible members are registered to vote and actually participate in the electoral process. We partner with the African American Ministers Leadership Council to facilitate educational opportunities toward this end. We partner with several community entities to provide civic participation education throughout the year,” he said.

Members such as church deacon Wanda D. Wilkerson described him as more than a pastor.

“Pastor Hargrove was just not a pastor, he was a friend,” she said. “I was looking for a new church, and when I came to Prince of Peace, I gave my testimony. I’m a recovering addict, have been now for 22 years, but when I finished, Pastor Hargrove said, ‘God told me there was something special about you.’ He made me stay focused on God. He told me that Christ was my home,” she said.

“As a pastor, he was so steadfast, and his favorite saying was, ‘We’re going to move mountains.’ He was just an awesome pastor,” Wilkerson added. “He worked so hard and saw the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Pastor Hargrove, who received a kidney transplant twice in his life, was passionate about helping others who struggled with kidney disease. He raised funds for that cause through the Rappel for Kidney Health program and served as a spokesman and religious affairs adviser for the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland, The Baltimore Sun said.

“He gave a lot of support to everybody. He was open, honest, a kind and gentle soul who was very loving,” Raymond A. Harris, a kidney transplant recipient, who met Hargrove three years ago while volunteering said.

“He was inspirational and motivational. Our paths crossed for a reason through kidney disease,” he said. “I really looked up to him. He was a friend, pastor … and a mentor.”

Hargrove is survived by his parents, a sister, Bernika Simmons of Newark, New Jersey; a nephew and a niece, as well as longtime friend, Aleta Williams of Washington.

A viewing will be held on Friday, Oct. 13 at the Prince of Peace Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. A wake in his honor is set for 11 a.m. to noon Oct. 14 at the Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church in Baltimore. His funeral service will take place at the same venue beginning at noon.

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Churches cautioned against harmful investments

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Churches cautioned against harmful investments

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Delegates attending the gathering at St Andrews & St George’s West church were urged to avoid channelling funds into firms which may be worsening climate change.

James Corah from CCLA investment management – which sponsored the event – told Premier: “That biggest pitfall is this idea that our financial lives are separate from our spiritual lives.

“We don’t necessarily think about what we’re doing with our money apart from giving to the collection on a Sunday. We do need to just make that connection and recognise that we can make a positive difference.”

John Giles/PA Wire

 

The event on Thursday coincided with Good Money Week and was organised by the Church of Scotland. Representatives from Christian Aid and Oxfam addressed the guests.

They encouraged churches – and individual Christians – away from investing in companies employing environmental unfriendly practises which may be fuelling famines, droughts and other extreme phenomena’s around the world.

The work of the Church of Scotland and its partners during Good Money Week was recognised by the Scottish Parliament earlier this week.

Members backed a motion which “applauds these charities for highlighting the links between personal choice and the effect on the global environment.”

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Lance Wallnau Praying for ‘Some Hollywood Ninja’ to Get a Hold of Harvey Weinstein .

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Lance Wallnau Praying for ‘Some Hollywood Ninja’ to Get a Hold of Harvey Weinstein .

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Business entrepreneur and prophet Lance Wallnau offered a unique prayer to the Lord on behalf of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Weinsten has been accused of sexual harassment multiple times, sparking a discussion on the film industry’s ethics that’s long been ignored.

For Wallnau, though, it’s not about who Weinstein is, but who he could be in Christ.

Take a look.

 

Jessilyn Justice is the director of online news for Charisma. Born and raised in a pastor’s family in Alabama, she attended Lee University and the Washington Journalism Center. She’s passionate about sharing God’s goodness through storytelling. Tell her what you think of this story on Twitter @jessilynjustice.

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President Trump Signs Executive Order Halting Aspect of Obamacare

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President Trump Signs Executive Order Halting Aspect of Obamacare

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President Trump Signs Executive Order Halting Aspect of Obamacare


President Donald Trump announced this week that payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act would stop “immediately.”


Trump also said he’s looking to Democrats to negotiate a “fix” to what he called an “imploding” law.


“ObamaCare is a broken mess,” he said. “Piece by piece we will now begin the process of giving America the great HealthCare it deserves!” 


The Justice Department has already notified a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. as lawsuits are expected over the change.


“We will discontinue these payments immediately,” said acting Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Eric Hargan and Medicare administrator Seema Verma.


State attorney generals are expected to sue over the change. Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, said Trump’s decision was “sabotage.”


“If these reports are true,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Califsaid in the joint statement, “the president is walking away from the good-faith, bipartisan Alexander-Murray negotiations and risking the health care of millions of Americans.”


The Alexander-Murray negotiations are bipartisan talks led by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.


The announcement comes after Trump signed an executive order that would make lower-premium health insurance plans more accessible.


The change, however, may not happen until 2019, according to reports.


 


Photo courtesy: Flickr.com


Publication date: October 13, 2017


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

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Study shows Christian persecution is on the rise

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Study shows Christian persecution is on the rise

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Speaking at the launch of ‘Persecuted and Forgotten’ by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the study’s co-author, John Pontifex, told Premier Christianity is on the brink of being wiped out in certain countries.

He said: “We’ve got a ticking bomb going on here, in that Christians in certain parts of the world haven’t got very much time left for their situation to be resolved.

“The ticking bomb is particularly expressed in the extent to which there is a migration of Christians. In Iraq there were 1.2 million Christians 15 years ago and there are now barely 200,000 left.

“If that rate of decline continues, what we’re going to see is an end to Christianity in the foreseeable future.”

His claim was supported by Archbishop Issam John Darwish, Melkite bishop of Zahle, in Lebanon, who was one of four speakers invited to the charity’s event at the House of Lords to give personal accounts of Christian persecution in their countries.

Aid to the Church in Need

Decapitated statue of Our Lady in the destroyed St Addai’s Church, Karemles, northern Iraq

 

He told the attendees of the event chaired by Lord Alton of Liverpool, that the number of Christians in the Middle East is declining because so many have fled.

He added: “We urge Syrians, and especially Christians to return to the homeland. We ask that Western Governments stop facilitating the immigration of Christians from the Middle East.”

The report also found that the scale of persecution against Christians in China, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria and Turkey had worsened in overall terms between 2015 and 2017, than within the preceding two years.

Aid to the Church in Need

 

Saudi Arabia was the only country out of the 13 reviewed where this persecution remained unchanged.

The report highlighted the point that “it’s now or never to save Christians from persecution” and it’s vital to share light on the plight of Christians around the world.

The report concluded: “At a time in the West where there is increasing media focus on the rights of people regardless of gender, ethnicity or sexuality – to name but a few – it is ironic that in many sections of the media there should be such limited coverage of the massive persecution experienced by so many Christians.”

Listen to John Pontifex from Aid to the Church in Need, speaking with Premier’s Eno Adeogun:

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