The Weekly is a highlight of the work the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is doing to strengthen you and our churches for God’s glory.

Editor's Note: The Weekly will resume on July 12. We hope you enjoy your July 4 weekend with friends and family.
 

Forced abortion ruling is overturned, but concerns remain

Last week a UK court ordered that a mentally disbled women must be forced to have an abortion against her will. However, a few days later a Court of Appeal in London overturned the unjust decision.

The unidentified British woman is in her 20s and has the mental capacity of a 6- to 9-year-old child, according to court reports. She is currently 22 weeks pregnant and under the care of an NHS trust, part of the UK’s National Health Service. The circumstances of the pregnancy were unclear but are being investigated by local police.

Doctors at NHS trust petitioned the court to abort the woman’s pregnancy. According to the Catholic News Agency, the trust argued that due to her diminished mental capacity, the abortion would be less traumatic for the woman than giving birth, especially if the baby would then be placed in foster care. The woman’s mother, a Nigerian and former midwife, objected to the abortion citing her and her daughter’s Catholic faith. A social worker in charge of the women’s case also disagreed that it was in the best interest for her to have a forced abortion.

This Week at the ERLC

• Jason Thacker was on the Bible Broadcasting Network’s Weekend Connection talking about AI and ethics.

• Phillip Bethancourt was on Mornings with Carmen LaBerge talking about abuse and the Southern Baptist efforts to make churches safe. 
   
• Dan Darling was on Moody Radio talking about 3 friendships that can wreck your ministry. 
   
• Jenn Kintner writes for The Gospel Coalition about the need to acknowledge hidden trauma in your church.

What You Need to Know

• Laws matters and make a difference in society. And though some might disagree, this is the case with legislation regarding abortion. Casey B. Hough and Chelsea Patterson Sobolik cover the importance of these regulations as we work toward the day when abortion is illegal. Check out their article here. 

Our legal policies affect moral issues like abortion. Those who value human life cannot be indifferent to legislative efforts to restrict and ban abortion. To be indifferent to this legislation is to be indifferent to human dignity. Functionally, this is an outright rejection of loving one’s neighbor, even if that neighbor is still in the womb. If all people at every stage of life bear the image of God, then Christians should care for and work to protect them, which includes working through proper channels of legislation.

• Having money and means dramatically affects how someone is affected by breaking the law. Kate Trammell from Prison Fellowship addresses this, writing about how poverty skews justice. Read her article here. 

For Lindsay Holloway, second chances were an expression of God’s love and mercy toward her. And gratitude has made her into a tireless advocate for others. She says, “There’s a lot of people, even Christians, that just think, ‘Lock ‘em up and throw away the key, but that was never an option for me.’”

• Growing in Christ doesn’t have to be relegated to Bible study. It can even happen for our children while they are at school. Jessica Burke draws on her experience as a teacher and writes about four ways our kids can grow spiritually while learning. Read her article here. 

Education is so much greater, so much higher than acing the final exam every year and finishing with a diploma. Grades and degrees aren’t the goal of education; knowing God is. Accolades and awards aren’t the purpose of time in the classroom; ordering our affections and loving truth is. Our achievements are not the point; bringing glory to God is.

News From Capitol Hill

The ERLC responded throughout this week to the outcry over issues at the United States–Mexico border that broke out after reporting from the Associated Press revealed unconscionable conditions for child migrants in government custody in a facility near El Paso, Texas. The AP story highlighted concerns from a group of attorneys who interviewed 60 children at the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) site. Their accounts revealed safety and sanitation concerns with the housing conditions and a lack of adequate adult supervision.

Thankfully on Tuesday, the AP followed up with news that most of the children at the Texas facility had been transferred to shelters run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) who are equipped to care for children. While the initial situation is resolved, humanitarian issues at the border remain. Travis Wussow and Jeff Pickering wrote an explainer on what you should know about this situation at the southern border.

On Thursday morning, while Congress considered emergency funding bills for the border issues, the ERLC, along with the Evangelical Immigration Table, sent a letter to President Trump, Vice President Pence, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader McConnell expressing concern for the inhumane conditions in which children are being held at the southern border. The letter calls for multiple actions and policy changes including supplemental funding, additional personnel trained to care for children, respect for asylum laws and family unity, and restoration of foriegn aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Russell Moore signed and commented on the letter: 

“As Christians, Jesus calls us to respond to the cries of those in need around us. The conditions at the border ought to prompt all of us to remember that these migrant children are not a mere problem to be solved. They bear the image of God, and are endowed by him with dignity and worth. Jesus loves them, and so should we. The problems at the border will require complex solutions and long-term strategies by our government—both Congress and the administration coming together. In the meantime, we should do everything we can do to help alleviate the suffering of those who are attempting to flee violence in their home countries.”

Featured Podcasts

From The Public Square

Illinois becomes the 11th state to legalize marijuana
Meghan Keneally, ABC News

The state's new Democratic governor signed a bill Tuesday legalizing the use of the drug.

Sudan Christians fearful amid deadly revolution
Diana Chandler, Baptist Press

Persecuted Christians in Sudan are discouraged and fearful after the military massacre of protesters seeking civilian rule that, amid Sharia law, could protect religious freedom.

Why Democrats Ditched the Hyde Amendment
Emma Green, The Atlantic

There used to be a middle ground in the national conversation on abortion. Not anymore.

How the US Is Promoting Religious Liberty Around the World
Daniel Davis, The Daily Signal

Around the world, religious liberty remains under threat. In China, a million Uighurs Muslims are now in internment camps—and it’s not the only nation where there’s no true freedom of religion.