Good Morning!
The late Fred Rogers, host of the Emmy award-winning children’s television program, “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” used to speak fondly about his mother’s advice:
“In times of trouble, look for the helpers. You will always find people helping.”
We begin with Focus on the Family president Jim Daly speaking with NPR about the ministry and pro-life community’s commitment to serving women and children in need:
- Anti-abortion advocates bring fight to Colorado
Focus on the Family president Jim Day, as reported on NPR:
DAN BOYCE, BYLINE: The Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family has long been one of the most prominent national voices opposing abortion rights and arguing Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided in the first place. Organization president Jim Daly.
JIM DALY: Well, you know, we’ve always thought these kinds of social issues need to be dealt with in the legislative branch, not the judicial branch. And so we’ve always supported that. We think it’s right for the Supreme Court to throw it back to the legislative branch.
BOYCE: And throw it back to the states, where Focus on the Family is eager to fight it out.
DALY: Now it’s a 50-front battle zone for ideas and hopefully solutions. And we think we have a great solution to help women keep their child – or allow their child to be put up for adoption, we think, is the better option.
BOYCE: Daly says this new landscape gives his organization a chance to show themselves as not just fighting for the unborn but also providing resources to low-income and single parents as well.
DALY: Job training, job placement, lots of resourcing, cribs, diapers, formula, along with budget training, household training, all kinds of things – so I think people are far more engaged and ready to take on that role of helping women in this moment of hardship.
- End of Roe v. Wade Brings Cheap Shots Against Clarence Thomas
From the Wall Street Journal:
Justice Thomas signed on to Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion in Dobbs, but in a solo concurrence he urges the court to reconsider prior rulings that rest on the same legal reasoning used to justify Roe. Asked about Justice Thomas’s concurrence on “CBS Mornings” Tuesday, Hillary Clinton never addressed the substance of his argument and instead resorted to pop psychoanalysis. “He’s been a person of grievance as long as I’ve known him—resentment, grievance, anger,” she told host Gayle King. Apparently, anyone who disagrees with Mrs. Clinton’s judicial philosophy needs therapy.
Two days earlier Jim Obergefell, lead plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which legalized same-sex marriage, appeared on CNN and accused Justice Thomas of putting “a target on the back” of other civil rights, which “should terrify everyone in this nation.” As examples of decisions the court should reconsider, Justice Thomas cited Obergefell along with two other cases, Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which affirmed, respectively, constitutional right to obtain contraceptives and to engage in private consensual sexual acts.
When the Supreme Court established—critics might say “created”—a constitutional right to an abortion in Roe (1973), and then reaffirmed it in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the rulings rested heavily on the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause, which says that the government must provide “due process of the law” when it deprives a person of “life, liberty, or property.” But the theory that a woman’s decision to abort an unborn child is a constitutionally protected liberty has long been controversial.
Writing for last week’s majority, Justice Alito explained that while the concept of due process has been used by the court in the past to guarantee rights not expressly mentioned in the Constitution, “any such right must be ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition’ and ‘implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.’ ” The right to abortion falls short of that standard for two reasons, the court said. First, the Constitution says absolutely nothing about abortion and, second, American society traditionally has proscribed the practice. “Until the latter part of the 20th century, such a right was entirely unknown in American law,” Justice Alito writes.
The Dobbs majority reiterates what the late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his Casey dissent. “The States may, if they wish, permit abortion on demand, but the Constitution does not require them to do so,” Scalia observed. “The permissibility of abortion, and the limitations upon it, are to be resolved like most important questions in our democracy: by citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting.” Justice Thomas joined that Scalia opinion, and he likely would apply similar reasoning to other areas, such as gay marriage and contraception, in which the court in his view has wrongly used due process doctrine to justify inventing new constitutional rights.
- Corporations Line Up to Pay for Employees’ Abortion Costs, But Not Cost of Birth
From the Daily Citizen:
It used to be the case that political conservatives viewed corporations, large and small, as political allies due to shared beliefs in lower taxes and that companies add value to American lives.
But no longer – and for good reason.
Over the past few years, companies, especially large technology corporations, have singled out conservatives for negative treatment. Conservatives have been deplatformed, suspended and locked out of their social media accounts at disproportionately higher rates than liberals.
Now, following last week’s momentous Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, dozens of companies have again revealed their true colors by pledging to cover the cost for their employees who incur travel expenses for abortions.
- HHS Secretary Becerra: Biden admin may ‘assist’ transporting women wanting abortions across state lines
From Fox News:
The Biden administration is considering the possibility of providing taxpayer-funded transportation to women seeking to have an abortion across state lines.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra mentioned the idea during a Saturday interview with NBC News’ Kate Snow at the Aspen Ideas: Health conference.
“We are looking into everything, including assisting in transportation, something that HHS doesn’t typically do,” he said.
When asked if he could legally provide such services, Becerra smiled and said: “talk to me later.”
- Abortions can resume in Texas after judge blocks pre-Roe v. Wade ban
From Reuters:
Abortions can resume in Texas after a judge on Tuesday blocked officials from enforcing a nearly century-old ban the state’s Republican attorney general said was back in effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure nationwide.
The temporary restraining order by Judge Christine Weems in Harris County came in a last-ditch bid by abortion providers to resume services after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed the right of women to obtain abortions.
The order allows clinics to resume services, for now, in a state where abortion was already severely restricted to only up to six weeks of pregnancy under a Texas law that took effect in September that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Twitter said he was immediately appealing the judge’s “wrong” decision, saying the pre-Roe laws “are 100% in effect & constitutional.” A further hearing is scheduled for July 12.
6. Don’t Believe the Abortion Activists’ Scare Tactics and Propaganda
From the Daily Citizen:
In the wake of Friday’s historic reversal of Roe at the Supreme Court, it didn’t take long for abortion activists to begin peddling their propaganda. On social media, at concerts and at rallies and protests, versions of the following warnings and charges began trending:
“So many women and girls are going to die.”
“Women will be beaten and abused.”
Misinformation has long been a tool of leftists. There’s a reason the late Dr. Adrian Rogers referred to Satan as the “sinister minister” of deception. He demeans, and then he tries to divide.
Not only will women not die with the outlawing of abortion – but babies will live.
Abortion activists believe it’s in their best interest to paint a dark and foreboding picture of a future without abortion. The opposite is true. They somehow think the loss of 60 million plus lives since 1973 has been a net positive for culture. They’re wrong.
The “culture of death” created and championed by activists has had a deleterious effect on our world and nation. If it’s okay to slaughter an innocent baby in the womb, it’s no wonder violence is glorified outside of it.
But brace yourself. Activists and entertainers will warn that protecting innocent life is inexplicably going to harm everyone else’s. It’s a lie. But for years, they’ve been operating under a system that holds a lie repeated enough times somehow becomes true.
It’s true that unplanned pregnancies present new challenges and unique needs. But anyone who thinks killing a baby to either avoid or solve a challenge needs to seriously reconsider their priorities and convictions.
Throughout history, anti-life propaganda campaigns have devastated cultures and decimated civilizations. Have we not learned? It’s time for Christians, especially, to stand up to those who are lying about the risks of a pro-life America. What God creates, Christians should celebrate.
7. 29-Year-Old ‘Transgender’ Skateboarder Beats 13-Year-Old Girl in Women’s Competition
From the Daily Citizen:
In yet another setback for real girls and women, a 29-year-old biological male, who identifies as female, won a women’s skateboarding competition, The Boardr Open at New York City.
Ricci Tres, who also goes by the name Ricci And Tres, served in the Navy and is the father of three children. Tres was the oldest contestant in the event, beating second place finisher Shiloh Catori, age 13.
Catori has a global ranking of 133, while Tres is ranked 838. Taking third was 16-year-old Jordan Pascale, and 28-year-old Chrissy Brown placed 4th.
According to DailyMail.com, Tres attempted to enter the Women’s Street USA Skateboarding National Championships in 2021, to gain points to qualify for the Olympics, but he was rejected because of testosterone levels that were too high.
8. 5 Statistics That Reveal Christianity’s Good for the World
From the Gospel Coalition:
[There is] a wide and growing gap between cultural narratives about Christianity and the reality of Christianity. Here are just five examples.
Cultural narrative #1: Christians aren’t really pro-life; they’re just pro-birth. In addition to establishing almost every Pregnancy Resource Center you’ve ever seen to care for vulnerable women, as well as countless child-sponsorship programs, the adoption rate among practicing Christians more than doubles that of the average U.S. household. Christian groups have a proven track record of providing safe alternatives to abortion.
Cultural narrative #2: Christians are sexually repressive and anti-sex, creating a toxic purity culture: Churchgoing, conservative Christians are in the category with the most fulfilling sex lives in America. Putting a premium on covenant marriage, it turns out, creates a relational dynamic filled with the kind of passion the world wants us to think is produced only by liberation from Scripture’s “outdated” sexual mores.
Cultural narrative #3: Christianity is emotionally repressive and bad for your mental health: According to the Washington Times, regular churchgoers were the only segment of the population whose mental health actually improved in a pandemic-wracked 2020.
Cultural narrative #4: Christians don’t care about the poor—only political power: People who pray daily and regularly attend church significantly outpace their irreligious neighbors in generosity to the poor, both with their time and money.
Cultural narrative #5: Christianity is gender-oppressive, a tool of the abusive patriarchy, and creates toxic relationships for women: Contrary to the narrative, theologically conservative, gender-traditional, church-attending women are in the category of the happiest relationships with the least abuse in the country.
- 92 million US workers now have the opportunity to work remotely: survey
From the Verge:
58 percent of US workers now have the option to work where they want at least one day a week, while 35 percent can work remotely up to five days a week, according to a new survey conducted by management consulting company McKinsey. The report concludes that flexible work arrangements implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are here to stay.
“After more than two years of observing remote work and predicting that flexible working would endure after the acute phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, we view these data as a confirmation that there has been a major shift in the working world and in society itself,” reads the report.
The survey found that when given the choice, 87 percent of workers embrace the opportunity to work remotely and spend an average of three days a week at home. That means 92 million American workers have the opportunity to work remotely and 80 million are currently doing so at least part time, when the survey data is extrapolated to the entire US population. 41 percent of those surveyed say they don’t have any option to work remotely.
10. ‘Big rig man’ Clarence Thomas gets away from it all
From the Washington Examiner:
While it’s been reported that he takes summer trips in his RV, it is in the interviews for the book released this week that both Clarence and Ginni Thomas opened up about their love of being on the road. They’ve been to nearly 40 states over 20 years, often meeting people who don’t have a clue he’s a judge or that she’s a political lawyer and activist.
Thomas tries to keep it on the down-low, but he’s sometimes recognized, even at truck stops.
“So I’m in there with big truckers, the 18-wheelers. I think it was a Pilot truck stop in Pennsylvania,” Thomas recalled. “And you have to go through a process — you put on your fueling gloves, and you have to kick the tires. I never figured that out, but you do it because you’re a professional. I was walking to pay, and this black trucker comes over. He looks at me, and says, ‘You that judge?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone.’ And he said, ‘Wow. You know, I heard you a big rig man like us, but I didn’t think I’d ever meet you.’”
