News From The Week Of October 28 – November 1, 2019

Friend:

Thanks to Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this was a banner week for fighting discrimination.

Yesterday, just hours after Trump announced the appointment of televangelist Paula White as advisor to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, HHS proposed a new rule to strip key protections against discrimination on the basis of religion, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity from federally funded programs agency-wide.

As you know, discrimination based on religion is never OK, and we will continue to hold this administration accountable to our Constitutional commitment to religious freedom for all.

Click here to read my statement on this proposed rule: [link removed]

This announcement comes on the heels of a big development in our lawsuit against another discriminatory rule, the Denial of Care Rule. On Wednesday, our lawyers went before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of all patients to ensure that health care workers will not be invited to impose their religious beliefs on us when we need medical care.

Ken Upton, Senior Litigation Counsel at AU, recorded a quick video outside the courthouse right after the hearing finished to summarize how the arguments seemed to go – click here to watch it on our Instagram: [link removed]

On Nov. 14, our legal team will be in Baltimore arguing our second case against the Denial of Care Rule. The team and I will be sure to keep you informed about our progress fighting the Trump administration's attempts to discriminate – both in our health care system and more broadly.

Americans United will never stop fighting this relentless weaponization of “religious freedom” to advance a regressive political agenda.

While times are tough, we know we will ultimately prevail. We not only have the Constitution on our side, we have the majority of Americans – and your enduring support, for which we are so grateful.

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO

AU And Allies Are In Court To Block Trump’s Harmful Denial Of Care Rule:
AU’s legal team will make the case to a California judge today that President Donald Trump’s Denial of Care Rule is a dangerous violation of religious freedom that puts all of our lives at risk and must be stopped from going into effect next month.
READ MORE » [link removed]

TV Preacher Paula White Secures Official Perch At White House:
There’s a certain irony in a person who believes poor people just need to have more faith in God to get rich advising the government on the provision of social services, but White, who has no experience in public service, will probably spend most of her time shoring up Trump’s conservative evangelical base.
READ MORE » [link removed]

Kay Hagan And The Specter Of ‘Godless Americans’:
Elizabeth Dole’s Senate campaign used 'godless' Americans as a foil, a group of people to fear and overcome. Thankfully, the voters of North Carolina saw through her mean-spirited attempt at division.
READ MORE » [link removed]

For Some Christian Nationalists, Trump Can Literally Do No Wrong:
Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) issued a new report last week about the state of the American electorate in advance of the 2020 election.
READ MORE » [link removed]

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Americans United for Separation of Church and State
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