Update on Dismemberment Ban & Other News! Updates on the Pro Life Movement Petition Drive Update- State Board of Canvassers Unanimously Granted Appeal from RTL for a Larger Sample The fight to ban dismemberment abortions in Michigan continues. Last week, the Michigan Bureau of Elections issued a staff report recommending that the Board of State Canvassers refuse to certify the Michigan Values Life petition drive to end dismemberment abortions. Right to Life of Michigan appealed the recommendation to the State Board of Canvassers. The Michigan Board of Canvassers unanimously voted to allow a larger sample of the ballot proposal to be drawn, according to a June 18 press release from Michigan Values Life, backed by Right to Life of Michigan and other anti-abortion groups. The Board of State Canvassers directed the Bureau of Elections to examine a new, larger sample of 1,600 signatures. “We are happy the Board of Canvassers saw reason today, and will allow another sample to be drawn,” Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said. Read more here. Planned Parenthood endorses Biden, plans to triple spending to Support Democratic Candidates in 2020 "The political fundraising arm of America’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, has endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president as the organization and its partner groups have vowed to triple their spending in the 2020 election cycle." Read more. Planned Parenthood looses federal funding; Court Upholds Title X Reform to protect the pre-born A federal court has issued a ruling upholding enforcement of a pro-life rule instituted by President Donald Trump protecting Americans from having to fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. The rule shut down one of the many avenues for federal taxpayer funds (Title X) that Planned Parenthood has accessed over the years. The “Protect Life” rule requires Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers to completely separate their abortion businesses from their taxpayer-funded services. That mean housing their family planning services in separate buildings with separate staff from their abortion businesses and a denial of funds if they fail to do so. Planned Parenthood refused to comply and lost its federal funding. Read more. Victory for Pro-Life Christian Business Owner CTV applauds the work of our friends at the Great Lakes Justice Center, who finally won a long legal battle with the federal government representing a client facing millions of dollars in federal fines for refusing to facilitate abortions. This is a huge win for life and for religious liberty! Read the full story here. Gender Issues and Religious Liberty Supreme Court Redefines “Sex” to Mean Gender Identity This is very bad news from the U.S. Supreme Court. CTV has always stood against judicial activism at all levels. The Courts are not tasked with the duty to write that laws, which is exactly what has been done in this decision. From the linked article: “Redefining “sex” to mean “gender identity” creates chaos, with widespread consequences for everyone. · It undermines dignity, privacy, and equal opportunities for women. · It could compel professionals from all walks of life to refer to colleagues with pronouns and other sex-specific terms according to gender identity rather than biology. · It puts employers like Tom in difficult positions—requiring them to treat men who believe themselves to be women as if they are in fact women, even if that results in violating the bodily privacy rights of other employees. The bottom line is that ignoring biological reality in our laws threatens our freedoms of conscience, religion, and speech.” See the 172 page opinion here. If, however, you want to read a common-sense response to this outrageous decision, read the dissent written by Justice Alito starting on page 39. Another great article on this topic can be found here. New Trump Administration Policy Restores Protection to Biological Women in Homeless Shelters "The Department of Housing and Urban Development will soon propose a rule to undo an Obama-era regulation that required single-sex homeless shelters to admit individuals on the basis of self-professed gender identity rather than biological sex. The new rule would reverse that requirement, permitting each shelter to determine its policy regarding whether it will admit individuals whose biological sex does not align with the one typically admitted." CTV believes this is an important step towards providing physical protection to the most vulnerable and applauds the efforts of this administration to respect biological gender. Read more. MI Governor pushes to make LGBT community a specially protected class under the Elliot Larson Civil Rights Act Earlier this week, the governor stated, "...While we have made progress, we still have so much work to do. That means expanding the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect Michiganders based on sexual orientation and gender identity, because in the year 2020, nobody should be fired from their job or evicted from their home based on who they love, or how they identify." Nowhere in her proclamation does she advocate protection of religious conscience or make any concessions for churches, religious schools, or other institutions whose core teachings are morally incongruent with such alternative lifestyles. Read the governor's proclimation here. Judge allows LGBT ballot Initiative more time CTV has been keeping you up to date a LGBT Ballot Initiative that is seeking to create a special protections under the state civil rights law through voter referendum. Last month, the group filed a lawsuit asking for more time to get signatures, and to be allowed to have only a fraction of the signatures required by another other group, because of COVID-19. Earlier this week, a judge ruled and upheld the number of signatures required, but extended the time the group has by 69 days. CTV remains concerned that this ballot initiative will result in reverse discrimination and fears that it may lead to religious persecution for those with sincerely held religious views that preclude them from embracing alternative lifestyles. Read more about this ruling here. Register your teen now for LEAD Online! Registration is now open for LEAD Online! Our sister organization, SSI, is excited to announce LEAD Online, a new hybrid program that will take place through an online, interactive platform. Our new LEAD Online pilot program will be held during the currently scheduled LEAD weeks. Our goal is to preserve the essence of the LEAD experience in this new format as we continue to engage students through dynamic biblical worldview instruction and practical leadership training. There is still time to sign your teen up for Week 2 (July 13-17) or Week 3 (July 27-31)! Learn more about this exciting new program at [link removed]. CTV Legislative Tracking Resources CTV strives to be a voice for your values in the public arena and to keep you informed about critical issues. We advocate on important topics affecting issues such as: the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, family values, religious freedom and limited government. We regularly monitor legislation and interact with state legislators and other government leaders, seeking to provide a unified voice for traditional Judeo-Christian values. Our experienced staff provide position papers to legislators and testify at public hears and committee meetings to provide an intelligent, informed viewpoint. View our legislative tracking page to learn more about the policy that we are currently monitoring. Concerned about a particular piece of Michigan legislation? Call us at 517-321-1390 or send us an email at [email protected] and let us know. Donate to CTV Citizens for Traditional Values relies on the support of grassroots activists and concerned citizens who care about preserving, protecting, and promoting traditional values in Lansing and our local communities. Click here to donate now. 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