The night before the women’s NCAA Championships, where a man was allowed to compete "and defeat women", a group of former Texas Longhorn women swimmers sent a letter to the University of Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte and executive senior associate athletic director Chris Plonsky in opposition to biological male Lia Thomas participating in the competition with biological women.  They wrote:

“While we believe in the mission of the NCAA – to cultivate an environment that emphasizes academics, fairness and well-being across college sports – we feel that the NCAA has failed a large segment of its constituency with regards to fairness when making its most recent decision to allow transgender women to compete against biological females at the upcoming 2022 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.”

The letter was signed by members of the 1990 Women’s National Championship Swimming and Diving Team and other members of multiple UT National Championship Swimming and Diving teams in 1980s, as well as a now pro-golfer.
 

Texas Values Team Member Publishes Article Explaining the Legal Landscape of the Texas Heartbeat Law

Mary Elizabeth Castle, Texas Values Senior Policy Advisor, wrote an article at the Society of St. Sebastian on how the Texas Heartbeat Law succeeded recently with a unanimous decision at the Texas Supreme Court on what she characterizes as “its last and what is expected to be the final challenge in the Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson case.”  This victory, coupled with its multiple victories at the U.S. Supreme Court, leaves it undefeated with essentially a court challenge score of 4-0.  Castle explains the intricacies of the challenges and the wins, and why the pro-abortion argument ultimately failed at the Texas Supreme Court.

State Board of Education Will Meet Next Week to Discuss Social Studies Requirements

The Texas State Board of Education will meet next week April 5-8, 2022. During the meeting, board members will receive an update on the Social Studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for K-12 students. Texas Values team members have already been involved in several meetings with education officials. No action or vote will be taken by the board; however, the board will discuss the progress the workgroups have made on drafting the TEKS. Social Studies topics for K-12 students include U.S. Government, U.S. History, World Geography, World History, Psychology and Sociology, Personal Financial Literacy, and Economics. The first reading of the TEKS is scheduled for September this year and the final vote is in November. The time is now to speak up if you want to work with us and make a difference.

Governor of Idaho Signs Texas-Style Heartbeat Bill!

Last week, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed a heartbeat bill into law that has private enforcement modeled after the successful Texas Heartbeat Law.  The Texas Heartbeat Law has become a model for at least 10 other states including Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The Idaho bill bans abortions starting at six weeks when the heartbeat of an unborn baby can be detected.  The law will go into effect after 30 days.

Last year Texas led the fight by passing the Texas Heartbeat Law, the first of its kind in the nation to go into effect. There are some differences with the Idaho legislation. While Texas allows any citizen to sue anyone who is involved in committing an illegal abortion, Idaho’s bill modifies existing law. The mother, father, grandparent, sibling, or aunt or uncle of the unborn child could sue for a minimum of $20,000 if the abortionist commits an illegal abortion after the baby’s heartbeat is detected. With the new Idaho law, lawsuits against abortionists can be brought up for up to four years after the abortion takes place.