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Radical Sex Ed Bill Advances - Almost 3,000 MFC Supporters Took Action!

Minnesota’s students deserve better than “comprehensive” sex education (CSE) in their K-12 classrooms, and yet, there is once again a push to mandate it throughout the state. Representative Sydney Jordan recently introduced H.F. 358, a bill that would require the development and implementation of a CSE curriculum in K-12 schools. The bill passed the House Education Policy Committee during a hearing on Wednesday, though not without almost 3,000 MFC supporters sending messages to legislators opposing the bill. That's 3/4 of all messages that were sent in opposition to the bill - your support helps legislators stand strong! 

There isn’t one set definition for CSE, but in general, CSE includes information and classroom discussion on gender identity, sexual expression, sex practices, and abortion access. Examples of CSE curriculum which have been proposed or adopted have included programs that begin sex-ed in kindergarten, lessons designed for middle-schoolers involving sexual role-playing, detailed descriptions of sexual acts, and a book called It’s Perfectly Normal, with illustrations so explicit that they were censored by Facebook.

While Representative Jordan’s bill does not stipulate the exact curriculum that would be used if state-wide mandate for CSE were adopted, It’s Perfectly Normal is already being used in a number of MN schools. Furthermore, looking at the radical curriculum that has been adopted and proposed elsewhere in the country, there is good reason to be concerned about the explicit nature of CSE. 

The next step for the CSE bill will be a hearing in the Health and Human Services Policy Committee. Stay tuned and be ready to send committee members on that in the next few weeks!

Planned Parenthood using Teens with Gender Dysphoria as a Cash Cow, says Former Employee

It is no secret that Planned Parenthood has a history of disregarding human life and dignity. While committing over 300,000 abortions per year, the abortion giant has been caught injuring women disregarding their safety, aiding sex-traffickers, and profiting off of the body parts of unborn babies who have been killed in abortions, when they are not disposing of those babies as medical waste. Planned Parenthood’s recent expansion into “gender medicine” once again demonstrates their willingness to put profits over people as they dole out harmful “treatments” to teenagers with almost no questions asked.

Abigail Shrier recently wrote that about her interactions with a former Planned Parenthood “reproductive health assistant” whose job was to screen patients and take down their health history. The former employee told Shrier, “[Planned Parenthood’s] recent roles in trans activism are abhorrent,” explaining that during her 18 months working for Planned Parenthood, an average of 1-2 girls arrived at the clinic seeking testosterone every day.

There were no doctors on staff at the clinic, and the clinic employed a “gender counselor” who had no professional credentials or training. Teens seeking cross-sex hormones would speak with the clinic’s “counselor” who would forward his notes to a licensed mental health professional off-site. The licensed therapist would then approve the client for cross-sex hormones without even meeting him or her, much less giving a mental health evaluation.

The former employee who spoke with Shrier mentioned that she saw a consistent pattern when taking down health histories of emotional pain and distress, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and evidence of recent self-harm. These concerns went unaddressed as the clinic ushered young people into “transition” rather than helping them find help for serious mental health struggles.

For National Marriage Week, Make Kindness the Cornerstone of Your Marriage

This piece was originally written by Dan Hart for Family Research Council

In America, most marriages fail, either ending in divorce/separation or degenerating into turmoil and resentment. However, three out of 10 people who are married remain happily married for the rest of their lives. A natural question arises here: Is there something that is missing from failed marriages that is common to successful ones?  

In 1986, psychologist John Gottman began an illuminating study of married couples, which was summed up by Emily Esfahani Smith in an excellent Atlantic article a few years ago. In the study, Gottman observed how newlywed couples interacted with each other while asking them questions about their relationship, like how they met, good memories, and how they handle conflict. While asking these questions, he measured their vital signs in order to gauge their physiological reactions as they talked about their relationships. After gathering this data, Gottman sent the couples home and followed up with them six years later to see if they were still married.

The data revealed that there were two distinct types of couples. One group, nicknamed the “masters,” were the couples that were happily married six years later. They felt calm in each other’s presence and were almost always warm and affectionate in their interactions. These couples made it a habit of finding positive ways to compliment their spouse in their day to day lives, even down to seemingly “mundane” things like acknowledging and responding positively when their spouse tries to connect in a small way (e.g., “Honey, aren’t the stars especially clear tonight?”).

In contrast, the other group, nicknamed the “disasters,” often found ways to nitpick each other with criticisms. During Gottman’s study phase, their physiologies showed signs of being in “fight-or-flight mode,” as if they were always prepared to verbally attack or be verbally attacked by their spouse. Not surprisingly, these couples had either divorced or had highly dysfunctional marriages when Gottman followed up with them six years later.

The main takeaway from Gottman’s studies and other research on married couples is clear—it all boils down to kindness:

Much of it comes down to the spirit couples bring to the relationship. Do they bring kindness and generosity; or contempt, criticism, and hostility?

…

Kindness … glues couples together. Research independent from theirs has shown that kindness (along with emotional stability) is the most important predictor of satisfaction and stability in a marriage. Kindness makes each partner feel cared for, understood, and validated—feel loved.

For believers especially, the results of these kinds of studies about marriage should come as no surprise, but they do validate what we Christians know from the truths of Scripture.

 Thank you for sharing Minnesota Family Council’s vision for strong families and communities through Christ. As we pivot from a contentious election to the challenges ahead, we need your support now more than ever. Click here to give now. We are grateful for your partnership with us through prayer and financial support.

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