Dear Colleague, 


You may be interested in the most recent commentary from the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society and its allies:


Biden Abandons Religious Freedom as First Among Rights  <[link removed]>
The Daily Signal
Grace Melton, Senior Associate
Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells reporters that “religious freedom is not more or less important” than any other right as he discusses the annual Report on International Religious Freedom on May 12 at the State Department in Washington.
 
Biden Administration Promotes LGBTQI Rights in Foreign Policy, Threatening International Religious Freedom  <[link removed]>
Providence Magazine
Grace Melton, Senior Associate
Efforts by the US to bully countries into conforming their laws on marriage or other issues of sexual morality to align with the values of American progressives will cause friction with many religious believers, especially in Muslim- or Christian-majority countries. “Gender ideology” is viewed as a form of ideological colonialism that specifically threatens their values.
 
The Harms of Surrogacy  <[link removed]>
South Dakota Catholic Conference
Feat. Grace Melton, Senior Associate
Grace Melton makes the case for why the political and cultural discourse on surrogacy is sadly one-sided and introduces key factors that need to be in the conversation, such as the medical risks to women and children and the gravely troubling legal shift that occurs when society permits the commodification of human beings.
 
Over Legal Objections, Biden Moves to Reinstate Family Planning Funds for Abortion Providers  <[link removed]>
The Daily Signal
Melanie Israel, Policy Analyst
The Biden administration is seeking to roll back important provisions of the Trump administration’s 2019 “Protect Life” rule. At issue in the debate is the federal Title X family planning program. The law that established the program—Title X of the Public Health Service Act (1970)—says that no funds appropriated “shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”
 
Protection of the Family and Family-Oriented Policies in the Time of COVID-19 <[link removed]>
Center for Family and Human Rights & Family Watching International
Feat. Melissa Moschella, Heritage Visiting Scholar
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the urgent need for legal and social protection of the family and family-oriented policies. In the recovery period following the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of creating an environment conducive to family formation and stability should be borne in mind, so that life within the family can be a source of consolation and renewal for all after the COVID-19 crisis.
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Sincerely,
DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society
Institute for Family, Community and Opportunity
The Heritage Foundation

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