News From The Week Of March 2 – 6, 2020

Friend:

On Wednesday, I was inside the Supreme Court to hear the oral arguments in June Medical Services v. Russo, an abortion case that poses a serious threat to reproductive freedom AND religious freedom everywhere.

The issue before the Court involved a Louisiana law that, in effect, blocks abortion access across the state by requiring doctors to have unnecessary “admitting privileges” at local hospitals. friend, while there is no explicit tie to religion, we know this case is also about whether the government can impose a narrow set of religious beliefs on all of us.

Reproductive freedom is religious freedom. That’s what AU staff said at the rally outside the Court on Wednesday, and that’s what I told former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer Thursday on his new TV show, “Spicer & Co.” I offered the “opposing viewpoint” for his conservative audience; the other guest was the head of the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. Click here to watch our debate: [link removed]

Given how the arguments went in the courtroom, I am hoping the decision won’t be a disaster, but make no mistake: These are dangerous times for both reproductive freedom and religious freedom, and we must all do whatever we can to preserve the right to make our own decisions about these core aspects of ourselves.

Americans United and our allies will be back at the Supreme Court in less than two months for another major reproductive freedom case concerning a Trump rule that would allow employers and universities to use religion to deny birth control coverage for their employees and students.

I’m thankful that our growing movement is ready to meet each and every one of these challenges head on – and that’s due to your commitment and support. It’s time, friends, to summon our loudest voices so that we can remind our neighbors how essential the separation of religion and government is to so many of our freedoms.

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO

A Supreme Court Abortion Case Highlights The Dangers Of Religion-Based Laws:
Anti-abortion laws are part of a larger Christian nationalist agenda to codify a 'Christian' nation – one that reflects far-right, fundamentalist views.
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Katherine Stewart’s New Book About Christian Nationalism Is A Must Read:
Katherine Stewart is an old-fashioned shoe-leather journalist. She travels, she talks to people, she gathers information and she reports what she has experienced.
READ MORE » [link removed]

A Texas Teacher Punished For Talking About Her Same-Sex Partner Just Won A Big Legal Victory:
The school district clearly was in the wrong. Marriage equality is the law of the land. If Bailey had been straight and talked about the man she planned to marry, no one would have complained, and she certainly would not have been punished.
READ MORE » [link removed]

Release Of Documentary Spurs Creationist Ken Ham To Spew More Untruths:
Last month, PBS stations around the country aired a documentary titled “We Believe in Dinosaurs," which Ham called “an agenda-driven propaganda piece” and asserted, once again, that his attraction did not receive taxpayer support. That is simply false.
READ MORE » [link removed]

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