abortion

Feb 06 2026

Right to Life Michigan Sues Over Law Requiring Hiring of Pro-Abortion Employees

Right to Life of Michigan (RLM) and Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC) filed a lawsuit challenging a state employment law that requires them to hire pro-abortion employees.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the suit on behalf of the pro-life organizations, explaining in a press release:

Michigan amended its employment law to re-define “sex” discrimination to include “the termination of a pregnancy.” It is now illegal for Right to Life of Michigan and Pregnancy Resource Center to recruit and hire only those employees who share their pro-life views.

ADF, a legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life and parents’ rights, added, “The law also requires these organizations to offer abortion coverage in their insurance plans in direct conflict with their very mission.”

ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart stated:

It makes no sense to force pro-life organizations to hire employees who disagree with that view. Pro-life groups should be free to share the message of hope and joy with women and families experiencing a difficult season through employees who share their common goal.

According to the ADF press release:

Right to Life of Michigan offers life-affirming education and advocates for pro-life policies across the state. Pregnancy Resource Center provides women with medical care, resources and support structures to help them through their pregnancies. Both hire like-minded individuals who share their convictions about the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. They depend on their employees to promote their pro-life views to the public and to encourage other staff.

But state employment law now requires them to hire individuals who disagree with their work and their deeply-held pro-life beliefs.

Michigan enacted the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act in 1976, prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations, employment, housing and education on the basis of “religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status.”

The act prohibited “sex-based discrimination due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy,” but it specifically excluded “nontherapeutic abortions not intended to save the life of the mother.”

In 2022, Michigan voters passed Proposal 3, the “Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative,” a law enshrining abortion as a constitutional right.

To bring the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act in line with Proposal 3, the legislature passed Senate Bill 147, which deleted “nontherapeutic abortion not intended to save the life of the mother.”

That change meant that “sex discrimination” included anyone who had an abortion or supported abortion.

The legislature also approved Senate Bill 4, adding “sexual orientation and gender identity or expression” as categories protected from discrimination.

Amber Roseboom, president of Right to Life of Michigan, spoke in a press release about the challenge to the state’s employment law:

Non-profit organizations like Right to Life of Michigan should have the right to recruit and hire employees who unequivocally support women in choosing life-affirming pregnancy care and who compassionately advocate for that choice. … Our legal challenge aims to ensure that Right to Life of Michigan has the freedom to hire employees who share its vision without the threat of government punishment so that we can continue to advocate for life-affirming options now and into the future.

Among other allegations, the lawsuit states that Michigan’s employment law violates RLM and PRC’s First Amendment rights to expressive association and assembly; to freedom of speech and press; and to free exercise of religion and to religious autonomy.

The case is Right to Life of Michigan v. Nessel.

National Pro-Life Summit: Equipping Students to Lead with Courage

As many as 2,000 high school and college-aged students attended the 2026 National Pro-Life Summit on January 24 for advocacy, leadership and policy engagement training.

The annual Summit, which Students for Life hosted for the fifth year in a row, is held the day after the National March for Life in Washington, D.C., bringing together pro-life advocates, students and leaders for training, workshops and strategy sessions.

Over the past five years the Summit has expanded in scope and attendance. The first Summit was held about six months before the Dobbs decision overruled Roe v. Wade.

The legal, cultural, and medical landscape has changed quite significantly since then, with an increased emphasis on state-level pro-life legislation, pro-life apologetics, and becoming influencers for life on campus and online.

This year marked the first-ever live Summit debate held the evening before the event. Two pro-life advocates, including Students for Life President Kristen Hawkins, debated two abortion activists.

The debate demonstrated why advocates for life must be intellectually prepared as well as morally grounded to make the case for life — especially on college campuses that can be more hostile to the pro-life movement.

At last year’s Summit, Charlie Kirk was honored with the Defender of Life Award. He challenged attendees not to be afraid to engage in politics to advance the cause of life.

Participants at this year’s Summit were encouraged to continue the Kirk’s good work by standing for life on their campuses.

Students for Life also honored Kirk and his legacy at the National March for life by making and distributing special signs. One sign read, “Freedom for Preborn Babies.” The other included an outline of Charlie Kirk with his first in the air and read, “Get married and have babies. You won’t regret it.”

Those signs were among the most popular at the March for Life.

The heart of the one-day Summit is a line of workshops and keynote speeches.

The workshops were divided into three tracks: Leading to Win, Changing Minds, and Serving Women and Saving Live.

The Leading to Win track focused on policy, with workshops like “Defunding Big Abortion: In Congress & the States,” “Beyond Roe: Legal Landscape of Pro-Life Laws & Litigation Post-Dobbs,” and “Raising Your Political Voice.”

The Changing Minds track focused on intellectual preparedness with workshops on advanced apologetics, how the Christian theology of the body shapes a pro-life culture, and pro-life concerns with in vitro fertilization.

The Serving Women and Saving Lives track offered workshops that helped students consider working in the pro-life movement after college, discuss the latest innovations being used to change minds about abortion, and the essential role the church must play in ending abortion.

This year’s keynote speaker was Riley Gaines. In her speech, she encouraged students to be courageous and bold in defending preborn life, without fear of political consequences.

Gaines, who became a mother in October, championed the strength and beauty of motherhood, calling it the most rewarding thing she’s ever done.

She offered the audience four pieces of advice:

• You don’t need to have every answer to speak the truth. Conviction matters more than perfection.

• Speak even if you feel fear. Courage is acting in spite of fear.

• Be calm and confident as you speak the truth.

• Find community. Community allows us to multiply courage in the movement.

The Daily Citizen applauds Students for Life for equipping the next generation to advocate for a culture of life in America. The pro-life movement is clearly alive and well among young people.

Feb 03 2026

Planned Parenthood Drops Suit After Trying to Force Taxpayers to Fund Abortions

Planned Parenthood has dropped its lawsuit attempting to block a provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill which prohibits taxpayer dollars from going to abortion providers for one year. The abortion giant dismissed its case Planned Parenthood v. Kennedy.

Last year, congressional Republicans utilized the reconciliation process to enact the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which President Donald J. Trump signed into law on July 4.

The bill contained a provision (Section 71113) defunding abortion providers – including Planned Parenthood – of Medicaid reimbursements to the tune of roughly $850 million.

Before the OBBBA’s enactment, while federal taxpayer dollars couldn’t directly pay for abortions, Medicaid dollars could be used for other services, which indirectly subsidized the abortion business. In its 2024 report, Planned Parenthood reported over $2 billion in income.

Thankfully, 50 Planned Parenthood clinics closed last year as a result of the OBBBA.

Within days of the law’s enactment, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit arguing Section 71113 was unconstitutional. Within hours, a federal district judge sided with the abortion giant and issued a temporary restraining order blocking the provision’s enforcement.

The Trump administration promptly appealed the ruling, and a three-judge panel on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned the decision, agreeing that Congress has the constitutional authority to defund Big Abortion organizations.

When Congress utilizes its tax and spending power, it has “‘broad discretion’ to place ‘limits on the use of such funds to ensure they are used in the manner [it] intends,’” the court explained.

As a result, Planned Parenthood agreed to voluntarily dismiss the case rather than appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Planned Parenthood originally filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, knowing any appeal would be heard by the 1st Circuit – a notoriously liberal appeals court. But the abortion giant’s strategy didn’t pan out.

Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a statement, calling the development a “key legal win for the pro-life cause.”

This Department of Justice stands for LIFE. Yesterday, we secured a key legal win for the pro-life cause.

Following strong arguments from our @DOJCivil attorneys, Planned Parenthood DROPPED its own lawsuit against pro-life provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Specifically,…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) February 3, 2026

“The American people do not want their tax dollars propping up the abortion industry,” said Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Counsel Erik Baptist, director of the ADF Center for Life, in a statement.

“This legal action should never have happened in the first place, and now we are assured that Planned Parenthood will not bypass the people’s choice to protect taxpayer funding.”

He added,

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed last year that states have the right to fund real care and exclude organizations like Planned Parenthood that profit off abortion, and we are glad to see the federal government following suit.

Since Section 71113 expires later this year, the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of conservative House lawmakers, has proposed a second reconciliation bill which would extend the defunding provision.

Let’s hope and pray Section 71113 is extended so more babies lives can be saved from the tragedy of abortion.

The case is Planned Parenthood v. Kennedy.

At Focus on the Family, we have been working to turn the cultural tide and save mothers and babies from abortion for years. Since beginning the Option Ultrasound Program in 2004, Focus has helped save over half a million lives. Just $60 will help save a life through Option Ultrasound. Will you partner with us to save lives from abortion?

If you are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy and want to learn more about your options, you can visit My Choice Network.

Related articles and resources:

My Choice Network

I’m Pregnant, Now What?

Dealing With Unplanned Pregnancy

Become an Option Ultrasound Life Advocate

New Insights on the Dangers of the Abortion Pill

Overcoming Abortion and Becoming a Force for Life

Appeals Court Upholds Defunding of Big Abortion Businesses

Photo from Getty Images.

Jan 27 2026

New York Ends Fight to Force Nuns to Pay for Abortions

The state of New York has spent a decade attempting to force nuns and other religious ministries to cover the cost of abortions. But no longer.

In 2017, New York created a statewide abortion mandate requiring employers to cover abortifacients and even surgical abortions in their health plans.

According to Becket, a religious freedom legal firm, New York initially planned to respect conscience rights by exempting employers with religious objections. But under pressure from abortion activists, the state greatly narrowed the exemption to protect only religious organizations that “primarily employ and serve people of their own faith.”

“For nearly a decade, New York bureaucrats tried to strong-arm nuns into paying for abortions because they serve all those in need,” said Lori Windham, senior counsel at Becket and an attorney for the religious groups.

“At long last, the state has given up its disgraceful campaign,” Windham added. “This victory confirms that the government cannot punish religious ministries for living out their faith by serving everyone.”

A coalition of religious groups from a variety of streams of Christian faith sued New York “arguing that the law forced them to violate their deeply held religious beliefs about the sanctity of life,” Becket notes. “The groups include Roman Catholic dioceses, an order of goat-herding Anglican nuns, Baptist and Lutheran churches, and Catholic ministries.”

However, when New York courts failed to protect the organizations’ religious freedom rights, the ministries asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their case. In 2021, the Court reversed the lower courts and asked them to reconsider the case in light of the Court’s decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia.

In that case, the Supreme Court upheld Catholic Social Services’ (CSS) constitutional right to refuse to place children in foster homes with same-sex couples. The Court held Philadelphia’s refusal to contract with CSS because of the organization’s religious beliefs violated the First Amendment’s free exercise clause.

However, the New York courts once again sided against the religious organizations, forcing the ministries to again seek relief from the Supreme Court.

In 2024, the Court again sent the case back down to the New York courts for reconsideration in light of the Court’s unanimous ruling in Catholic Charities. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled the First Amendment prohibits states from requiring organizations to meet certain theological criteria to qualify for exemptions from unemployment taxes.

Considering that ruling, New York agreed that its abortion mandate ran contrary to the Supreme Court’s decision in Catholic Charities and decided to end the case.

“The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that religious groups shouldn’t be bullied for staying true to their faith,” said Windham. “We are glad that New York finally agreed to settle this case and protect religious objectors from discrimination.”

The case is Diocese of Albany v. Harris.

Related articles and resources:

My Choice Network

I’m Pregnant, Now What?

Dealing With Unplanned Pregnancy

Become an Option Ultrasound Life Advocate

New Insights on the Dangers of the Abortion Pill

The Power of Prayer to Defeat the Darkness of Abortion

Photo from Becket.

Jan 22 2026

Trump Administration Delivers Pro-Life Wins Ahead of March for Life

Ahead of the annual March for Life being held Friday, January 23, 2026, in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration announced two policy changes designed to protect preborn life and promote the sanctity of human life.

On Thursday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a policy ending the use of human fetal tissue – derived from the bodies of aborted human babies – in NIH-supported research.

Taxpayer money will “no longer be used to support research involving human fetal tissue from elective abortions,” NIH said. The policy applies all NIH-supported extramural research, including grants, cooperative agreements, other transaction awards, and research and development contracts.

NIH-supported research using fetal tissue from aborted babies has declined since 2019, with 77 projects funded in Fiscal Year 2024.

“NIH is pushing American biomedical science into the 21st century,” said NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya.

“This decision is about advancing science by investing in breakthrough technologies more capable of modeling human health and disease,” he added. “Under President Trump’s leadership, taxpayer-funded research must reflect the best science of today and the values of the American people.”

Additionally, the State Department announced the expansion of the Mexico City Policy, which bars taxpayer dollars from subsidizing abortions. The expansion will now also bar funds from supporting gender and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, Fox News reports.

The Mexico City Policy, first implemented by former President Ronald Reagan in 1984, requires foreign nongovernmental organizations receiving U.S. taxpayer dollars to certify they will not perform or promote abortions.

The policy was rescinded by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. It was reinstated and expanded by Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump.

After it was revoked by former President Joe Biden, President Trump reestablished the policy in a memorandum on January 24, 2025.

According to Fox News, President Trump expanded the policy in his first term to cover around $8 billion in foreign aid. Now, the new policy will go even further and “cover all nonmilitary foreign assistance to the tune of more than $30 billion.”

In President Trump’s second term, the Mexico City Policy has already cost International Planned Parenthood Federation and other major abortion providers around $100 million.

The dual initiatives are a good step forward for the pro-life movement, especially as hundreds of thousands of Americans gather to march for life. It should remind all pro-life supporters of the importance of raising our voices and advocating for life.

If you are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy and want to learn more about your options, you can visit My Choice Network.

Related articles and resources:

My Choice Network

I’m Pregnant, Now What?

Dealing With Unplanned Pregnancy

Become an Option Ultrasound Life Advocate

New Insights on the Dangers of the Abortion Pill

Overcoming Abortion and Becoming a Force for Life

Photo from Getty Images.