Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Trump Admin. Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Pro-Life Law, Citing Gosnell ‘Atrocities’

Michael Foust | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Monday, January 6, 2020

TRUMP ADMIN. URGES SUPREME COURT TO UPHOLD PRO-LIFE LAW, CITING GOSNELL ‘ATROCITIES’

The Trump administration is urging the Supreme Court to uphold a Louisiana pro-life law that requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, asserting the law is constitutional and benefits women’s safety.

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments March 4 in a case brought by abortion providers against the 2014 law, which requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic. It has yet to go into effect.

The high court struck down a similar Texas law in 2016 in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, but since then, the makeup of the court has changed.

Pro-choice groups fear the court will overturn that 2016 decision and gut Roe v. Wade. They also say the law will force clinics to close.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco, representing the Trump administration, argues in a Jan. 2 briefthat the abortion clinics lack standing – that is, the legal right – to bring the case. Francisco urges the court to overturn its 2016 decision, if needed.

“[T]he Act’s purpose is ‘to improve the health and safety of women undergoing an abortion’ by ensuring that their provider can qualify for hospital-admitting privileges,” the brief says.

Unless the law is allowed to go into effect, Francisco argues, Louisiana law will favor abortion providers over other doctors in the medical field.

“The law should not ‘elevate the status’ of abortion providers ‘above other physicians in the medical community,’ … and Act 620 advances that interest in evenhanded regulation by closing the regulatory gap that previously required physicians at [ambulatory surgical centers] – but not at abortion facilities – to obtain admitting privileges,” the brief says.

Francisco also references Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted of murdering infants who were born alive and whose clinic was found to be unsanitary, with blood and urine stains covering the floor. A flea-infested cat roamed the office.

“Given the profound ethical concerns presented by atrocities at abortion clinics like those run by Kermit Gosnell … Louisiana has a strong interest in assuring the public that abortion providers are subject to adequate health and safety regulation,” Francisco’s brief says. “The burdens of Act 620 are minimal – principally, a modest increase in the waiting time (less than an hour) to obtain an abortion. The benefits described above are more than sufficient to justify that burden.”

The Supreme Court struck down the Texas law when Justice Anthony Kennedy – who supported Roe v. Wade – sided with the majority in a 5-3 decision. But since then, Kennedy has been replaced by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Neil Gorsuch has taken the seat formerly held by Antonin Scalia, who opposed Roe but who died four months before the decision was released.

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Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Kagenmi

Former Members of the LGBTQ Community Share How God Changed Their Lives

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Monday, January 6, 2020

FORMER MEMBERS OF THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY SHARE HOW GOD CHANGED THEIR LIVES

Many former members of the LGBTQ community told their stories of changeat Capitol Hill recently.

The group is part of the CHANGED community, an organization of people who previously identified as LGBTQ and believe their sexual identity was changed because of Jesus.

April Lockhart, of New Mexico, told attendees at the event that she wanted to change from her lesbian lifestyle.

"I had fully believed in this lie that gets perpetuated that people don't change, they can't change, and if you try to change them, it's detrimental to their health. And I just want to say that's a lie,” she asserted.

“Nobody has the right to tell you (that) you can't be what you want to be. And I did want change. And through the power of God, the Creator of heaven and earth, this was able to happen. These days were able to happen. These moments. And I'm a happy woman.”

Luis Ruiz, of Florida, said he was devastated when he found out he was HIV positive because of his homosexual lifestyle.

"And His name is Jesus. I was able to find a church where they loved me. And they taught me that my identity is not my behavior. My identity was not who I thought it was. But it was a child of God. So I stand here to say that I was a homosexual, a former 'ho.' And now I am a child of God."

CHANGED movement cofounder Elizabeth Woning also spoke at the event, saying she had originally found “solace and comfort” in the LGBTQ community, but today, she has seen restoration because of her faith.

“Our faith compels us to share what we have received,” she said. “We simply want to offer vision to those who feel conflict in their sexual orientation. But also to ask that America recognize there are multiple options for people who experience LGBTQ. People deserve the right to choose their own path and follow their religious convictions, especially in matters of their sexuality."

Photo courtesy: Teddy Osterblom/Unsplash

Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.