News from the Week Aug. 8 - Aug. 12, 2022
Friend:
Reproductive freedom is religious freedom. AU has been arguing this for years. But if you’re skeptical about the claim that abortion and reproductive health care are church-state separation issues, Indiana legislators offered up some substantial evidence when they passed into law the first abortion ban since the Supreme Court abolished the constitutional right to abortion in June.
“We’re standing up for what we believe our Lord and savior wants us to do, to value all life,” said Republican state Sen. Mike Gaskill during debate on the bill. “I’m up here today to represent Jesus. I love Jesus more than I love being in the Senate.”
Rep. John Jacob condemned fellow Republicans for including exemptions in the bill that may allow abortions in instances of rape, incest or to protect the health of the mother: “I invite you to repent before God and trust Christ for forgiveness.” He voted against the near-total abortion ban because, he said, “I promised that when I came here that I was going to do everything within my power, and for God to help me, to not compromise.”
State Rep. John L. Bartlett tried to use abortion opponents’ faith-based arguments against them when he proposed an unsuccessful amendment that would have banned erectile dysfunction drugs: "If, in fact, an unwanted pregnancy is an act of God, then impotence is an act of God. I think the onus should be put on men for these pregnancies."
Just three days after Kansans voted overwhelmingly to keep abortion protections in their state’s constitution, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed his state’s abortion ban into law over a multitude of objections, including that it violated church-state separation. He ignored a coalition of nearly 400 multi-faith clergy, who argued: “Indiana should not privilege one particular Christian belief above other religious beliefs by codifying [the belief that life begins at conception] into law. To do so violates the separation of church and state and robs other people of faith—who understand conception, reproduction, pregnancy, and autonomy differently—of the freedom to make these decisions in accordance with their core religious beliefs.” You can read more about the Kansas vote here: [link removed]
Religious freedom demands the right to an abortion so people can make their own reproductive decisions according to their own principles. That’s why, with your support, Americans United is readying religious freedom litigation that will bring this argument to our courts. Abortion bans undermine religious freedom by imposing one religious viewpoint on us all. That violates the separation of church and state. AU will not let these violations go unchallenged.
Warmest regards,
Andrew L. Seidel
VP of Strategic Communications
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Attention, Students: Raise Your Voice Through AU’s Student Essay Contest:
This year’s AU Student Essay Contest invites students to reflect on the Supreme Court’s recent decisions that attack church-state separation and their impact on the country. AU’s annual essay contest is one way we encourage young people to reflect on religious freedom and take action to speak up for church-state separation.
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Members Of Congress Tell The IRS That Christian Nationalist Groups Aren’t Churches:
The Family Research Council (FRC), one of the largest Christian nationalist pressure groups in the country, won reclassification as a church. Some members of Congress asked the IRS to review its decision.
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Less Than 1% Of The Books In A Michigan Town’s Library Deal With LGBTQ Themes. Religious Conservatives Have Voted To Close It.:
Of the 67,000 books in the Patmos Library’s collection, about 90 of them contain LGBTQ themes. But it was enough to spur a band of far-right activists to rally voters to defund the library.
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In The Wake Of Lopsided Vote, Anti-Abortion Groups Struggle To Figure Out What’s The Matter With Kansas:
Not only did Kansas voters protect abortion rights in their state constitution, they did it in the face of millions of dollars that anti-abortion groups, many of them affiliated with the Catholic Church and other religious organizations, poured into the election.
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Get Involved—Check Out AU’s Upcoming Events:
Find additional details and a full list of events at [link removed]
Aug. 20, 7 p.m. ET (Virtual): Eddie Tabash, a constitutional lawyer who serves on AU’s Board of Trustees and the Center for Inquiry’s Board of Directors, will discuss the recent Supreme Court cases that damaged church-state separation. Presented by AU’s Orange County, Calif., Chapter. Sign up here: [link removed]
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