WASHINGTON (BP)—The U.S. Supreme Court on April 14 placed a temporary hold on a week-old decision that suspended the federal government’s 2000 approval of mifepristone, a drug used to end pregnancies.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito ordered a stay of the federal court ruling out of Texas Wednesday night, April 19.

Alito, who is assigned motions that arise from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, said a response to the emergency request by the Biden administration for the hold must be filed by noon Tuesday, April 18.

While Alito’s order is not based on the merits of the lower court’s decision, it means the April 7 nationwide injunction halting distribution of mifepristone will not take effect until after April 19, if then.

The order is “standard operating procedure” for an emergency application, according to Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing pro-life doctors and associations in their challenge to the FDA.

“It gives the court sufficient time to consider the parties’ arguments before ruling,” ADF Senior Counsel Erin Hawley said in a written statement.

Jennifer Dalven, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project, called Alito’s administrative stay “the only sensible action here, which was to hit pause on a profoundly dangerous decision.”

Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Amarillo said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration failed in 2000 to address safety concerns in approving mifepristone, the first drug in a two-step process commonly referred to as medical or chemical abortion.

He delayed its implementation for seven days to permit the Biden administration time to pursue “emergency relief” from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

After the Department of Justice urged the appeals court to block the federal judge’s order while the lawsuit is under consideration, a three-judge panel of the circuit court ruled April 12 the statute of limitations had expired regarding a challenge to the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. The panel rejected, however, a FDA request to block Kacsmaryk’s prohibition on actions taken by the federal agency in 2016 and thereafter.

Those FDA actions beginning in 2016 included increasing mifepristone’s use from seven weeks to 10 weeks of a pregnancy, reducing the number of in-person visits with a doctor from three to one and allowing distribution of the drug by mail.

The Fifth Circuit decision “puts important safety precautions back in place for vulnerable women and saves more preborn lives,” said Hannah Daniel, policy manager for the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, after the ruling.

Mifepristone, often known as RU 486 and authorized by the FDA under President Clinton, causes the lining of the uterus to release the embryo, terminating the pregnancy. Misoprostol, a drug approved by the FDA to treat ulcers, is typically taken one to two days later and causes the uterus to contract and expel the embryo.

Medical/chemical procedures as a percentage of all abortions have increased dramatically the last two decades. They rose between 2001 and 2020 from five percent of all abortions to 53 percent, the Guttmacher Institute reported in December.

The case is Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.

Additional reporting by Managing Editor Ken Camp.

NEW ORLEANS (BP)—A federal appeals court has blocked a nationwide injunction suspending the two-decade-old approval of the abortion pill but prohibits its distribution by mail and places other limits on its access.

In an opinion issued late April 12, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans halted a federal judge’s April 7 stay of the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone, the first drug in a two-step process commonly referred to as medical or chemical abortion.

The panel, however, upheld for now the lower court’s prohibition of a series of FDA actions beginning in 2016 that pro-life advocates said reduced safeguards for women’s health.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced April 13 the Department of Justice would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Reaction to ruling

Southern Baptist public policy specialist Hannah Daniel said the ruling “puts important safety precautions back in place for vulnerable women and saves more preborn lives.”

“Chemical abortion drugs not only end the life of a precious child but also put the health, safety and welfare of women at serious risk,” said Daniel, policy manager for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

“Though this case is far from over, this is a moment worth celebrating as women will be better protected from the predatory abortion industry and more lives will be saved.

“The ERLC will be closely monitoring this case as it continues to develop rapidly and remains committed to building a culture of life that cares for both women and their children.”

Erin Hawley, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said the FDA “put politics ahead of the health of women and girls when it impermissibly failed to study how dangerous the chemical abortion drug regimen is and when it unlawfully removed every meaningful safeguard that it previously implemented.”

She described the Fifth Circuit ruling as “a significant victory for the doctors we represent, women’s health, and every American who deserves an accountable federal government acting within the bounds of the law.”

ADF represents the pro-life doctors and medical associations that brought the lawsuit.

The leader of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said she was “furious” with the decision.

“This baseless case is a politically motivated attack to further restrict access to abortion that will place care out of reach for patients—and we will not stand for it,” federation President Alexis McGill Johnson said.

Jennifer Dalven, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project, called the ruling “a loss, both for people who need abortion care and for all Americans who may need access to critical life-saving drugs.”

“Make no mistake about it: Unless the Supreme Court steps in, this decision will prevent many people from getting abortion care and force them to remain pregnant against their will. And the implications of this decision go far beyond abortion and have the potential to deny people access to other critical, life-saving drugs,” Dalven said.

“Everyone should be deeply concerned about the effect this decision will have on their health and lives and those of their loved ones.”

Amarillo judge cited safety concerns

In granting a stay April 7, Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Amarillo said the FDA failed to address mifepristone’s safety issues “based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions.”

He delayed his stay’s implementation for seven days to permit the Biden administration time to pursue “emergency relief” from the Fifth Circuit Court. On April 10, the Department of Justice urged the court to block the federal judge’s order while the lawsuit is under consideration.

The Fifth Circuit panel found the statute of limitations had expired regarding the pro-life challenge to the FDA’s approval of mifepristone in 2000.

Yet, it rejected the request by the FDA and Danco Laboratories, which manufactures and distributes mifepristone in the United States, to block Kacsmaryk’s prohibition on actions taken by the federal agency in 2016 and thereafter.

Impact of appeals court decision

As a result, the Fifth Circuit decision includes the following effects for now:

• Mifepristone’s use is returned to the first seven weeks of a preborn child’s gestation instead of the 10-week limit the FDA instituted in 2016.
• In-person visits required with a physician are restored to three after they were decreased to one in 2016.
• Only doctors may prescribe and administer the abortion pill in contrast to a 2016 change.
• Women must appear in person to receive mifepristone, ending a 2021 FDA decision permanently allowing the drug to be dispensed by mail.

In January of this year, the FDA announced retail pharmacies would be able to carry and dispense mifepristone for the first time. The decision was another in a series of actions taken by President Biden and his administration in an effort to minimize the effect of the Supreme Court’s reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In June 2022, the high court returned abortion policy to the states by overturning Roe, which legalized abortion throughout the country.

About 32,000 fewer abortions were reported in the six months after the Supreme Court’s June opinion in contrast to the period before the decision, according to a study issued April 11 by the Society of Family Planning.

Pro-life medical associations challenged approval of mifepristone in a 2002 citizen petition, but the FDA waited until 2016 before denying it. When pro-life organizations submitted another petition in 2019 to contest changes made in 2016 that weakened requirements for the drug’s use, the FDA failed to respond until it again issued a denial more than two years later.

The FDA “stonewalled judicial review—until now,” Kacsmaryk wrote.

On the same day as Kacsmaryk’s ruling, a federal judge in Washington state issued a conflicting decision. Thomas Rice of  Spokane ordered the “status quo” should remain in effect regarding mifepristone’s availability.

Rice’s ruling applied to the District of Columbia and 17 states: Arizona; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Hawaii; Illinois; Maine; Maryland; Michigan; Minnesota; Nevada; New Mexico; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Vermont; and Washington.

How the drug works

Mifepristone, often known as RU 486 and authorized by the FDA under President Clinton, causes the lining of the uterus to release the embryonic child, resulting in his or her death. Misoprostol, a drug approved by the FDA to treat ulcers, is typically taken one to two days later and causes the uterus to contract, expelling the body.

Medical/chemical procedures as a percentage of all abortions have increased dramatically the last two decades. They rose between 2001 and 2020 from 5 percent of all abortions to 53 percent, the Guttmacher Institute reported in December.

The FDA spent four years considering the application for mifepristone’s distribution in this country and says the drug is safe for women to use.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute, however, reported in 2021 a new study it conducted found “chemical abortion is consistently and progressively associated with more postabortion [emergency room] visit morbidity than surgical abortion.”

An analysis of Medicaid claims information from 17 states that pay for abortions showed the “rate of abortion related ER visits following a chemical abortion increased 507%” between 2002 and 2015, according to CLI, a pro-life, research organization.

The case is Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.

Brandon Porter, associate vice president for convention news at the SBC Executive Committee, and Managing Editor Ken Camp contributed to this report.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (BP) – Un proyecto de ley sobre inmigración que avanza en la asamblea legislativa de Florida atentaría contra la libertad religiosa de las iglesias para atender a los inmigrantes en ese estado, afirman pastores y otros líderes evangélicos.

El proyecto de ley 1718 del Senado, presentado por el senador republicano Blaise Ingoglia, acusaría a las iglesias de un delito grave de clase tres de contrabando si proporcionan transporte a inmigrantes indocumentados, ya sea a sabiendas o no de la situación de los mismos.

En un seminario web organizado el 30 de marzo por la Mesa Evangélica de Inmigración y World Relief, Gary Shultz Jr, pastor principal de la First Baptist Church de Tallahassee; Jody Ray, pastor de misiones de la Chets Creek Church en Jacksonville; y José Vega, ministro de Chets Creek para los internacionales, todos dijeron que el proyecto de ley afectaría negativamente sus ministerios a los inmigrantes, incluidos los alcances benignos como llevar a los miembros de la comunidad a un servicio de culto o comidas.

El proyecto de ley afecta negativamente al corazón mismo de la identidad de Chets Creek como iglesia, dijo Ray.

“Justo dentro de un mes vamos a poner la primera piedra de un edificio multimillonario cuyo único propósito es el ministerio de compasión hacia los refugiados y la población inmigrante aquí en Jacksonville”, dijo, “Así que el ministerio a los inmigrantes es realmente el núcleo de lo que es la Chets Creek Church”.

“Y cualquier ley que obstaculice nuestra capacidad de atender a los necesitados sería una violación de nuestra libertad religiosa, la capacidad de llevar a cabo nuestra llamada misional. Así que el proyecto de ley 1718 del Senado tiene el potencial de obstaculizar eso y como una iglesia aquí en Jacksonville, obstaculizar la pieza central de lo que hacemos”.

Además de su culto dominical en inglés, Chets Creek celebra cultos dominicales en español, birmano, la lengua jemer de Camboya, portugués y la lengua africana kinyarwanda, explica Ray. La iglesia imparte clases de ciudadanía y de inglés como segunda lengua.

Los participantes en el seminario web pidieron al gobernador de Florida, Ron DeSantis, y a la Legislatura de Florida que se opongan al proyecto de ley o lo modifiquen para proteger los ministerios eclesiásticos de la responsabilidad. Su petición es pastoral y no partidista, dijeron los líderes, y expresaron su esperanza de que la violación del proyecto de ley de la libertad religiosa sea un descuido.

El proyecto de ley 1718 del Senado tipifica como delito, en virtud del artículo 787. 07 de los Estatutos de Florida, para incluir a cualquiera que “transporte a o dentro de este estado a un individuo que la persona sabe, o razonablemente debería saber, que ha entrado a los Estados Unidos violando la ley y no ha sido inspeccionado por el Gobierno Federal desde su entrada ilegal desde otro país; y oculta, alberga o protege de la detección, o intenta ocultar, albergar o proteger de la detección, en cualquier lugar dentro de este estado, incluida cualquier estructura temporal o permanente o a través de cualquier medio de transporte, a una persona que la persona sabe, o razonablemente debería saber, que ha entrado a los Estados Unidos violando la ley y no ha sido inspeccionada por el Gobierno Federal desde su entrada ilegal desde otro país”.

Schultz mencionó los ministerios de First Tallahassee para las personas sin hogar, los refugiados, los embarazos en crisis, los supervivientes del tráfico sexual y las personas que pueden recibir clases de inglés como segunda lengua.

“En todo eso estamos tratando de hacer lo que Jesús nos manda hacer, que es hacer discípulos de todas las naciones, para ministrar a las personas que necesitan escuchar el Evangelio, que Dios ha traído a nuestra puerta y a nuestra comunidad. También estamos tratando de hacer lo que Jesús nos mandó hacer y amar a nuestro prójimo como a nosotros mismos”, dijo Schultz. “Este proyecto de ley en particular plantea algunas implicaciones preocupantes de lo que podríamos tener que hacer y no ser capaces de hacer en el cumplimiento de esos mandamientos bíblicos.

“Y de ninguna manera yo, como pastor, querría tener que decir a mi personal pastoral, a nuestros diáconos o a los miembros de nuestra iglesia que podría haber ramificaciones legales por ministrar o transportar a personas necesitadas. Y estamos llamados a amar a la gente no sólo con el Evangelio, espiritualmente, sino también físicamente, y a ayudar con cuestiones como el transporte, la asistencia sanitaria, la ayuda financiera y otras cosas que podrían ser cuestionadas por este proyecto de ley.

Además de pastores bautistas del sur, participaron en el seminario Dale Schaeffer, superintendente del distrito de Florida de la Iglesia del Nazareno; Steve Gregg, pastor asociado de Creekside Community Church, una congregación de la Evangelical Free Church of America (Iglesia Evangélica Libre de EE.UU.) en Gainesville; Gabriel Salguero, pastor de The Gathering Place, una congregación de las Asambleas de Dios en Orlando, y presidente de la Coalición Nacional Evangélica Latina.

El Presidente y Director General de World Relief, Myal Greene, moderó la mesa redonda, destacando entre los muchos socios de World Relief a la Comisión de Libertad Religiosa y Ética de la Convención Bautista del Sur.

“Como organización guiada por los principios de las Escrituras”, dijo Greene, “estamos comprometidos tanto a servir como a acoger a los inmigrantes, incluidos los que no tienen estatus legal y que a menudo se encuentran entre los más vulnerables, respetando simultáneamente la ley y el papel de las autoridades gobernantes que las Escrituras nos dicen que Dios ha establecido para mantener el orden”.

Los pastores afirman que, si el proyecto se convierte en ley, seguirán ejerciendo su ministerio con ciertas salvaguardias, ninguna de las cuales los protegería de la ley.

“Ciertamente tendríamos que considerar y tendríamos que comunicar”, dijo Schultz, “las posibles ramificaciones legales de este proyecto de ley. Mi esperanza es que sigamos haciendo lo que estamos haciendo para atender a todas esas poblaciones”.

Salguero estuvo de acuerdo.

“Vamos a seguir haciendo lo que Cristo nos llamó a hacer”, dijo Salguero. “Somos la Iglesia, y nuestro compromiso moral y pastoral es ser Sus manos y Sus pies. Pero tendríamos que comunicar claramente las posibles ramificaciones legales a todos esos voluntarios y personas del ministerio”.

La oficina de DeSantis se ha hecho consciente de las objeciones al proyecto de ley, dijo Salguero, pero nadie en la llamada dijo que había hablado con el gobernador directamente sobre la legislación. El proyecto de ley se encuentra todavía en comisión, según el sitio web de la Legislatura.

La oficina de DeSantis no respondió a la solicitud de información de Baptist Press antes de la fecha límite.

AMARILLO (BP)—A Texas judge sought to halt the prescribing of Mifepristone, the FDA-approved drug commonly referred to as the abortion pill.

The preliminary ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk—announced late Friday afternoon, Apr. 7—potentially has nationwide implications.

“The court does not second-guess FDA’s decision-making lightly but here, FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns—in violation of its statutory duty—based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions,” Kacsmaryk stated.

However, a ruling by a federal judge in Washington state complicated the matter.

Then on April 10, the U.S. Justice Department appealed the Texas court ruling, asserting the decision was “extraordinary and unprecedented.” The Justice Department submitted the request to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Alliance Defending Freedom argued the case urging the federal district judge to issue an injunction suspending or revoking Mifepristone.

“This is a significant victory for the doctors and medical associations we represent and more importantly, the health and safety of women and girls,” ADF tweeted following the announcement.

ADF Senior Counsel Erik Baptist argued against the case in the Northern District Court of Texas on March 15.

“By illegally approving dangerous chemical abortion drugs, the FDA put women and girls in harm’s way, and it’s high time the agency is held accountable for its reckless actions,” Baptist said.

Around the same time as Kacsmaryk’s decision was handed down, Thomas Rice, a Washington state federal judge, ordered against “altering the status quo and rights as it relates to the availability of Mifepristone under the current operative January 2023 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy under 21 U.S.C. § 355-1 in Plaintiff States.”

Rice’s order applies to Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania, according to D.C.-based ethicist Edward Whelan.

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission included a focus on efforts to end the proliferation of chemical abortions in their 2023 State Policy Review.

“This much-anticipated decision recognizes the incredible danger to women and children posed by the abortion pill. The [Texas] judge was right to halt the FDA’s reckless approval of this drug,” said Brent Leatherwood, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president.

“Unfortunately, a ruling by a separate court in Washington appears to directly conflict with this case. That means more appeals and, in all likelihood, a date at the U.S. Supreme Court for an ultimate resolution. As Christians, our advocacy must continue until every preborn life is safe from annihilation and every mother is protected from a predatory abortion industry,” Leatherwood said.

Whelan believes the rulings do not carry equal weight.

“My initial read is that the rulings don’t conflict and that the Texas ruling would instead render the Washington ruling irrelevant,” said Whelan, distinguished senior fellow and Antonin Scalia Chair in Constitutional studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Vice President Kamala Harris took to Twitter to denounce the ruling by the Texas judge.

“Simply put: this decision undermines the FDA’s ability to approve safe and effective medications—from chemotherapy drugs, to asthma medicine, to blood pressure pills, to insulin—based on science, not politics,” Harris said.

“In the face of attacks on a woman’s right to access an abortion, our Administration will continue to fight to protect reproductive freedom and the ability of all Americans to make health care decisions with their doctors free from political interference,” she added.

The FDA said the approval followed four years of deliberation and included extra safety restrictions, the Associated Press reported.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as well as the World Health Organization, recommend Mifepristone.

The FDA encourages women to seek medical care in the case of prolonged heavy bleeding and other complications.

Diana Chandler, Tom Strode and Ken Camp contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—A broad array of faith leaders and religious groups spoke out against a proposed federal rule that would deny asylum to migrants who arrive at the United States southern border without first seeking protection in any country the migrants passed through.

Put forward in late February by the Biden administration, the measure imposes dire limitations on asylum for migrants of any nationality, other than Mexicans, who less rarely travel through a third country to reach the United States.

The new rules mirror restrictions set forth by the Trump administration eventually blocked in court by migrant activist groups, including the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant. The Berkeley, Calif., nonprofit was founded in the 1980s by six congregations committed to providing sanctuary for Salvadoran and Guatemalan refugees. They were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“If the Biden administration goes through with the proposed asylum ban, we’ll sue just as we did successfully with the Trump asylum bans,” Katrina Eiland, an attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, told Religion News Service.

Eiland and other critics say Biden’s proposed measure combines two things in the Trump administration’s version: blocking asylum for people who entered the country without going through an official border crossing and barring asylum for migrants who didn’t apply for protection in another country before reaching the U.S. southern border.

U.S. officials say the Biden administration’s measure is different from Trump’s because it offers more exemptions and it makes other legal pathways available, in particular humanitarian parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Ukrainians.

But Eiland argued not all people fleeing danger fall into these nationalities, adding, “Seeking asylum is a legal pathway, regardless of how one enters or the route that they take to this country.”

During the 30-day public comment period, which ended March 27, the ACLU detailed in a 30-page letter its opposition to the proposed rule that “would cause countless people seeking asylum immense, avoidable suffering.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center’s 29-page letter calls the new proposal “a new iteration of similar asylum bans the Trump administration attempted to advance.”

Advocates have criticized the Biden administration for not giving groups more time to respond to a rule of this magnitude, that if finalized, will be in place for two years. Administration officials expect the measure to begin when a pandemic-era health order that denies asylum on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19 ends.

‘Restrictive changes’ to asylum

HIAS, a Jewish organization that is one of six faith-based agencies contracted by the federal government to resettle migrants, objected to what it refers to as “restrictive changes to the U.S. asylum system.”

“We are there for refugees and asylum seekers when and where they need help most,” said Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres, policy counsel for HIAS, in a letter addressed to federal immigration officials.

“We see firsthand why people are making the unbearably difficult decision to flee their home countries to make the dangerous trip to the U.S.-Mexico border,” she said.

HIAS operates along the migration route from Venezuela, through South America and Central America, as well as in Mexico, and helps migrants with their asylum claims as well as with accessing health, employment and social services. The organization provides free legal representation to refugees and asylum-seekers of all faiths.

Biden’s plans, HIAS said, would “unlawfully deny protection to asylum seekers and require them to seek asylum in countries that do not have functional asylum systems and where they may still be in harm’s way.”

‘Sow confusion and instill fear’

A coalition of 130 faith organizations representing different religions and denominations drafted a letter urging Biden not to reinstate family detention and called on him to reconsider proposed asylum restrictions.

“We’re concerned that the proposed asylum rule may exacerbate the issues prevalent in detention, around access to counsel and due process. It’s plain to see that these policies will sow confusion and instill fear,” the coalition wrote.

The coalition included Hope Border Institute, Church of the Ascension, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, the Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church-General Board of Church and Society.

Mark J. Seitz, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, has also been outspoken about this proposed rule, saying it is a “significant step backwards at a time when we really need meaningful reform.”

“It is also a policy that perpetuates the misguided notion that heavy-handed enforcement measures are somehow a solution to the realities at the border,” Seitz said in a statement.

Seitz added: “The Catholic Church in the United States has consistently rejected policies that weaken asylum access for those most in need of relief and expose them to further danger.”

‘Be a beacon of liberty and hope’

The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, another of the faith-based resettlement agencies that contract with the federal government, worked with partners in the Interfaith Immigration Coalition to launch a public comment campaign to mobilize opposition to the Biden administration’s proposed rule.

“Voices from the faith community spoke with moral clarity when the prior administration attempted to ban asylum, and today we continue the fight,” said Jill Marie Bussey, director for public policy at LIRS, in a statement.

The public comments, which appear on a federal database, include the voices of priests and ordinary people of faith opposed to Biden’s plan.

Karen Scherer, who is identified as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, wrote: “Walking alongside people who have fled their homes and people who need help is a core commitment as a Christian living out teachings of our faith. The right to seek asylum is an essential protection for people seeking safety from persecution.”

Michael Wallens, a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, said he’s “concerned as a person of faith and an American that our nation is not living up to the commitment to be a beacon of liberty and hope for all people.”

Wallens said he’s part of the Rio Grande Borderland Ministries that serves along the border from Big Bend National Park in West Texas to the Arizona state line.

“I believe this proposed rule would put families and other vulnerable migrants seeking protection along the U.S. southern border in further danger,” Wallens wrote.

Karleen Jung, a Lutheran pastor serving two congregations in the Louisville, Ky., area, wrote in opposition to the proposed measure, citing a long history in the Lutheran church “of welcoming in and re-settling refugee families, including asylum seekers.”

“We have done this, not only because of the traditions of our faith, but also because of the traditions of our nation as a refuge and haven for the persecuted and destitute,” Jung wrote.

“This proposed rule is heartless and not at all consistent with my values as pastor and believer, and as a U.S. citizen,” she added.

MEMPHIS (BP)—The swift criminal indictment of five police officers and the release of camera footage after the death of Tyre Nichols are positive steps toward transparency in policing, Pastor Bartholomew Orr said after meeting with local and federal officials.

But preventing police brutality and achieving widespread reform will require a holistic approach that addresses the many facets of such evil, said Orr, senior pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church in the Memphis suburb of Southaven, Miss.

“I believe the consensus is that the police chief (Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis) and the D.A. (Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy) have acted appropriately in this situation,” Orr said.

“No one can control anyone, and unfortunately, we’re going to always have this issue because we’re dealing with human beings, and they’re flawed. Their hearts are flawed, and we just need ways that when this happens, we can be able to deal with it.”

While cases of police brutality, such as the 2020 murder of George Floyd, often center on racial disparities in policing, all of the police officers charged in the death of Nichols, a 29-year-old Black father, are also Black.

Orr has led Brown Missionary in praying for Nichols’ family.

“First of all, our hearts go out to the family,” Orr said, noting Nichols’ aunt is a member of his church.

“No one should have to bury their young person senselessly due to violence. The community has definitely rallied together, Black and white, and everyone has expressed deep hurt and remorse for the family and is lifting the family up as well in prayers. We have been praying specifically as a church and as a community for the family.”

Pursue ‘the things that lead to peace’

Orr paraphrased Proverbs 11:11, “By the blessings of the upright, the city is exalted, but by the treacherous talk of the wicked it is torn apart,” in exhorting communities to pursue “the things that lead to peace.”

“The Black-on-Black crime is so apparent in many communities, even without the police element involved,” Orr said. “And so, it’s so important that we get at the root causes, and that is we have evil people in our society whose heart needs to be changed.”

Nichols was hospitalized after Memphis police officers beat and tasered him during a Jan. 7 traffic stop. Nichols died three days later while hospitalized for his injuries.

No reason for the traffic stop has been established. While police initially said Nichols was driving erratically, Davis said there’s no evidence of such.

Five police officers have been charged in Nichols’ death, and at least one police officer, two Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies and two Memphis Fire Department employees have been relieved of their duties for acts related to Nichols’ arrest.

Charged with second-degree murder and other offenses are former Memphis officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith, the law enforcement officials announced.

Need for trust

Orr met in a small group with Davis and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, and attended a separate meeting with U.S. Department of Justice officials as reports of the tragedy began.

“We have been involved in the past when these things have happened in Memphis, and the things that we were trying to advocate for, in this situation we do feel as if those things that we have advocated for in the past, that they actually did a great job addressing those issues,” Orr told Baptist Press. “To me it’s a matter of just trust.

“The community needs to trust the law enforcement that we have given and granted the authority to help maintain the order and peace in our community. And for that trust to take place, we do need transparency, we do need to rely on technology especially in terms of bodycam, and timing is so important as well, because in the past, oftentimes, things have been delayed.”

Orr describes the Nichols tragedy as a “crime issue,” not a “color issue.”

“I believe that as the community, we need to look at the root causes of all of this. I spoke with the chief years ago in Southaven about what could really change the crime situation that we find ourselves in. And he said, ‘Brother Orr, the bottom line is we need people with changed hearts, and the only answer to a changed heart is Jesus Christ.’”

The evil of police brutality should spur Christians in evangelism, Orr said.

“For believers, the reason our work is so important, as we evangelize, as we share the gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, ultimately only a changed heart is going to stop the senseless killing, the crime imbalance that’s consuming our society.”

TAMPA, Florida (BP)—A Florida man and woman have been indicted in U.S. District Court on charges of attacking a pregnancy support center in the Sunshine State.

Caleb Hunter Freestone and Amber Marie Smith-Stewart face charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act between May and July 2022 by painting threatening graffiti on pregnancy support centers in Hollywood, Fla., and Hialeah, Fla.

“I am glad to see progress made towards justice for a few of these centers and hope that other centers that faced violence will also be granted that opportunity,” Hannah Daniel said.

Daniel serves as a policy manager based in Washington, D.C., for the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Dozens of pregnancy support centers reported attacks and vandalism in the days and weeks following the May 2022 leak of a draft decision in a U.S. Supreme Court case suggesting Roe v. Wade would be overturned.

The SCOTUS decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was announced on June 24, 2022.

Freestone and Smith-Stewart are the first two to be indicted on related federal charges.

Last week, the FBI announced a reward of up to $25,000 for information that led to arrests in cases across the country.

The pair are accused of painting messages such as “YOUR TIME IS UP!!”, “WE’RE COMING FOR U.” and “We are everywhere.” and “If abortions aren’t SAFE then niether (sic) are you.”

“While some abortion activists chose violence and vandalism to express their outrage following the Dobbs decisions, pregnancy resource centers across the country rolled up their sleeves and pressed on doing the important work of serving mothers and their children that they’ve been doing for decades,” Daniel stated.

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (BP)—Pastor Victor Chayasirisobhon likens the Asian Lunar New Year to the traditional American Thanksgiving, complete with “extremely important” family gatherings of love and prayer.

A mass shooter’s choice of Lunar New Year’s Eve to kill 11 and injure nine others is a wound particularly painful for East Asian communities—Christians and nonbelievers, Chayasirisobhon told Baptist Press.

Churches seeking to comfort the community would benefit from knowing the communities’ cultural customs, said Chayasirisobhon, Southern Baptist Convention first vice president and senior pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Anaheim, about 30 miles south of the crime.

“I think that it’s always good for churches as a whole in the current climate to reach out and express their condolences and their care whenever anything like this happens,” he said.

“Sometimes, in Asian communities, (we’ve) not always felt like we’re seen. So, when people of many different cultures, particularly of church culture, reach out and express their sympathy and their condolences in times like these, it is well received and appreciated.

“Typically at times when something happens in our community, depending on which culture of Asia you’re dealing with, it’s typically handled within that particular community; but it’s handled as a community.”

‘A very sensitive time’

Chayasirisobhon has reached out to Southern Baptist pastors in Monterey Park but said typically the community will craft a response by first learning the names of the victims and their immediate families.

 “I think this is a very sensitive time, and I think that helping in the appropriate moment is more important than just jumping in without knowing what’s really happening,” he said. “Typically, the way we would help is (by asking) does anyone know anyone who’s related to any of those people that were murdered, and we would try to reach out through those networks first.

“We’re a quieter culture. But that’s where food will show up. We’ll send food. We’ll send money. If these people went to church and are part of the church community, all of those services and resources and care will be given through that way.

“Finding a church or a ministry that’s connected to some of the victims of the shooting is typically how we would do that, rather than some sort of big, visible campaign.”

Peter Yanes, associate vice president of Asian American relations for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, expressed condolences.

“This tragic and senseless killing shouldn’t be happening to anyone. My heart goes with the families of the innocent victims and everyone affected—those grieving losses and healing as a community,” Yanes said.

“As churches lock arms together to pray for the Monterey Park community, the assurance of comfort, peace and hope may be found in Jesus Christ in these troubling times.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna released the names of two of the people killed in the rampage, 65-year-old My Nhan and 63-year-old Lilan Li. All victims, including those killed and injured survivors, are in their 50s, 60s and 70s, police said. The death count rose to 11 Jan. 23, with six survivors still hospitalized.

The alleged shooter, identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran of Vietnamese descent, was found dead on Lunar New Year’s Day of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in a white van about 25 miles from the scene of the crime, Luna reported.

Tran also is accused of attempting a shooting the same night at Lai Ballroom & Studio in nearby Alhambra, but patrons there tackled him and took the gun before he fled. No injuries were reported in Alhambra.

Police are searching for a motive, but early reports described it as a domestic dispute.

In secular culture, the Lunar New Year is celebrated as long as several weeks and is seen as an important forecaster of luck for the new year.

While many Asian Christians celebrate certain customs such as family meals and gifting younger generations with red envelopes containing cash, Chayasirisobhon said, he also encourages celebrants with the gospel.

“You actually have a new year every day when you have Jesus,” he said. “We pick these days that mean something to our culture, but [in] our Christian culture, we can start every day new in Christ Jesus.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Numerous faith-based organizations and congregations are pleading with the Biden administration, in a letter sent Jan. 23 to President Joe Biden and other leaders, not to enact new immigration restrictions.

The letter—signed by 165 faith-based local, national and international organizations and congregations—expresses “grave concern” with policies Biden announced earlier this month.

While those policies expand a program offering humanitarian parole to Venezuelans to include individuals from Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba, they also include a proposal to bar people from seeking asylum if they enter the United States without inspection or do not seek protection in other countries along the way, the letter said.

The administration has said it plans to launch an app that individuals can use to schedule an appointment for inspection instead of coming directly to a U.S. port of entry in order to reduce wait times and crowds at the border.

The letter urges the Biden administration not to move forward with what it calls an “asylum ban,” calling it “harmful, inhumane and deadly for the most vulnerable.”

“Across faith traditions and practices, the message is clear: We are called by our sacred texts and faith principles to approach one another with love—not fear,” the letter reads.

“Our diverse faith traditions compel us to love our neighbor, accompany the vulnerable, and welcome the sojourner—regardless of place of birth, religion or ethnicity. Importantly, our faiths also urge us to boldly resist and dismantle systems of oppression.”

Parole is no substitute for access to asylum, according to the letter.

Signers include three of the six faith-based agencies that partner with the U.S. government to resettle refugees: Church World Service, HIAS (formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.

Several denominations also signed on to the letter, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA) and United Church of Christ. Other signers are the American Friends Service Committee; General Board of Global Ministries and General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church; Hindus for Human Rights; Anti-Defamation League; Christian Reformed Church Office of Social Justice; Mennonite Central Committee U.S.; National Council of Churches; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; Union for Reform Judaism; and Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice.

On a call hosted Monday morning by the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of LIRS, shared a number of misconceptions people have about those seeking humanitarian aid.

Not all have valid passports, access to a cell phone, reliable Wi-Fi or a willing sponsor in the United States in order to take advantage of pathways to enter the country, Vignarajah said. For many, their best option is to make an often dangerous journey to the U.S. border to seek asylum.

“That is a high hurdle to clear—one that borders on a wealth test for some of the most vulnerable children and families facing immediate danger,” she said.

Mark Hetfield, president and CEO of HIAS, said his organization is old enough to remember a time before the U.S. had laws allowing people to seek asylum in the country. Hetfield pointed to 1939, when he said the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration refused to allow a ship carrying 900 Jewish passengers who were fleeing Nazi Germany to dock in Florida. It returned to Europe, where 254 of those passengers perished in the Holocaust.

That’s why the United Nations established and the United States adopted the Refugee Convention, he said, “asserting that never again, would people be trapped inside of their country of persecution.”

The Biden administration’s proposal would place the asylum laws the United States now has “out of reach” for many, Hetfield said, which he called “illegal” and “immoral.”

And that “hits home” for many faith-based organizations, “who’ve been serving some of the most vulnerable for decades,” Vignarajah added.

“This isn’t charity for us. This is how our supporters live out their faith and answer that higher call to welcome the stranger in need.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Thousands assembled Jan. 20 to participate in this year’s edition of the anti-abortion March for Life on the National Mall, where throngs celebrated the fall of Roe v. Wade while voicing concern as the abortion debate moves to the states.

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, opened up the 50th iteration of the rally by noting it was the “first march in post-Roe America,” prompting cheers from the crowd. But she was quick to dispel any notion that the anti-abortion movement has slowed following the Supreme Court’s decision to end nearly five decades of nationwide abortion access.

“We will march until abortion is unthinkable,” Mancini said, sparking another roar of approval from attendees.

The event, which appeared roughly the same size as past versions, was framed as something of a pivot point for the broader anti-abortion movement. It was present in the day’s theme,“Next Steps: Marching into a Post-Roe America.” Mancini made a point of promoting smaller versions of the march scheduled to take place in certain states later this year.

“Boy, did we get a huge victory just a few months ago when Roe was overturned,” said Republican Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, one of several lawmakers to address the demonstration. “But as you all know, that’s only the end of the first phase of this battle. The next phase now begins.”

The sentiment was similar in the crowd, where faith was a constant as in years past. Bryson Nesbitt, from North Carolina, explained the need for further action while holding a large Christian flag.

“I believe God will bless the nation for making that change,” he said, referring to the overturning of Roe, “but I think there’s more work that needs to be done.”

Move to the local level

Precise definitions of the movement’s new phase were hard to find at the demonstration, however. Not that there weren’t suggestions: March for Life organizers urged supporters to lobby Congress on legislation such as the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” And the march route symbolically was changed to funnel participants past the western face of the Capitol instead of near the Supreme Court, as in years past.

Yet the legislation, which would make permanent the restrictions on federal funding for abortion, is unlikely to pass a Democratically controlled U.S. Senate, and much of the ongoing debate over abortion is happening at the state level—not in Congress.

The shift wasn’t lost on Dave Pivonka, the president of Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, who stood near the back of the crowd. One of many Catholics in attendance, he said students from his school were not only present in Washington for the march, but also in Columbus, Ohio, where they were urging politicians to pass anti-abortion legislation.

“It’s really going to move more towards a local level,” he said. “The thought was, ‘Let’s overturn Roe v. Wade.’ Well, that was great, but the goal is that more babies are saved. The goal is for an end of abortion.”

Recognizing obstacles ahead

Many march participants were realistic about the obstacles their movement still faces. Despite the festive mood at the rally, public opinion polls continue to show widespread support for making abortion legal in all or most cases, and the 2022 midterm elections resulted in a slew of victories for abortion rights advocates.

Pushback to the anti-abortion movement is growing louder among people of faith as well, with liberal-leaning activists often stressing that support for sweeping abortion restrictions is a minority position in many religious traditions—including among Catholics.

The day before the march, advocates affiliated with the group Catholics for Choice surprised anti-abortion activists protesting in front of a Washington Planned Parenthood by unfurling banners behind them that read “Most people of faith support legal abortion.” Catholics for Choice also put up posters along the March for Life’s route emblazoned with similar messages.

Religious groups have filed lawsuits in several states challenging new abortion bans as well, with many arguing the prohibitions conflict with their own faiths.

There was little mention of such religious opponents at the March for Life, although one demonstrator held a sign that read “Excommunicate Pro-Choice Catholics.”

Two sisters and longtime attenders of the march—Sara Sullivan and Megan Kinsella, both Catholic and from Virginia—characterized the event as an unusually boisterous affair. The pair grew up attending the March for Life, and their children, now in high school, were somewhere in the crowd.

“I’ve been (to) a lot,” Sullivan said. “This is definitely a more cheerful, lighthearted feel, like a celebration.”

But even as they celebrated, Sullivan and Kinsella eventually circled back to the message of the day: steeling themselves for clashes over abortion that will be waged far from Washington’s halls of power.

“The follow-up story is going to be to go into the state,” Kinsella said, pointing out that one of the March for Life’s state-level events is scheduled to take place in Richmond next month.

“That’s where we have to concentrate our efforts, because it’s not over. It’s just going back to the states.”

NASHVILLE (BP)—The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information related to attacks on pregnancy support centers.

“As part of a national effort to bring awareness to a series of attacks and threats targeting reproductive health service facilities across the country, the FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the suspect(s) responsible for these crimes,” the FBI’s statement said.

In Washington, D.C., FBI Director Christopher Wray said, “Today’s announcement reflects the FBI’s commitment to vigorously pursue investigations into crimes against pregnancy resource centers, faith-based organizations and reproductive health clinics across the country.”

Three centers in Portland, Ore., were either vandalized or fire-bombed.

Messages such as “IF ABORTION AINT SAFE NEITHER RU JR” were spray-painted on the Mother and Child Education Center in Portland, the FBI said.

The attacks, which occurred on May 8, June 10, July 4 and July 6 of last year, are all referenced in the release.

The Gresham Pregnancy Resource Center and the Oregon Right to Life building in Portland were included in the attacks. Molotov cocktails were thrown into the facilities, causing significant fire damage in Gresham.

The FBI said video surveillance at the Right to Life building shows a possible suspect driving a white 2017-2018 Hyundai Elantra.

Dozens of other attacks were carried out across the country last spring and summer.

“It is good to see the FBI finally taking steps toward justice for these centers and their personnel who do so much to serve the vulnerable in our communities,” said Hannah Daniel, a policy associate for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, in written comments.

“In the wake of the historic Dobbs decision, we witnessed unprecedented and grotesque levels of violence against pregnancy resource centers. These centers are on the front lines doing the important and often overlooked work of caring for women and their children. “

In Nashville, the Hope Clinic for Women was vandalized last June 30.

“We are grateful for all the support we’ve received from law enforcement,” Hope Clinic CEO Kailey Cornett wrote in an email to Baptist Press. “News of this development reminds me of my initial thoughts when security camera footage was found for our incident—my heart goes out to the woman (or man) whose anger and pain brought them to the point of causing damage like that. We are continuing to pray they find hope and healing.”

The FBI says perpetrators could face up to 20 years in prison for the attacks.

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or to submit their tip at tips.fbi.gov.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Former President Donald Trump is chiding evangelical Christian pastors who previously supported him but haven’t endorsed his new presidential campaign, accusing the faith leaders of “disloyalty.”

During an appearance on the Real America’s Voice show “The Water Cooler” Jan. 16, host David Brody asked Trump about evangelical leaders such as Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas. Jeffress was one of the former president’s most stalwart supporters during his presidency but recently announced he would not endorse Trump unless he wins the GOP primary race.

Despite initially saying he didn’t “really care” about the lack of endorsement from pastors such as Jeffress, who preached a sermon to Trump the day he was inaugurated titled “When God Chooses a Leader,” the former president went on to voice palpable frustration.

“It’s a sign of disloyalty,” Trump said. “There’s great disloyalty in the world of politics, and that’s a sign of disloyalty.”

Trump touts record on abortion

Trump then touted his record on abortion, noting his administration appointed three conservative Supreme Court justices—a move that ultimately resulted in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, ending nearly 50 years of the nationwide right to an abortion.

Nobody “has ever done more for right to life than Donald Trump,” the former president insisted.

Trump appeared to blame evangelical leaders for the Republican Party’s meager showing in the 2022 midterm elections, saying he was “a little disappointed. because I thought they could have fought much harder” on the issue of abortion.

“A lot of them didn’t fight or weren’t really around to fight,” he said. “It did energize the Democrats. … I don’t know, they weren’t there protesting and doing what they could have done.”

Asked about Trump’s remarks, Jeffress lauded the former president but maintained his plans to refrain from endorsing until after the primary, and he noted Trump has not asked for his endorsement.

“Recently, I said to President Trump privately and on Fox News publicly that President Trump was our greatest president since Reagan and had done more for evangelicals than any president in history,” Jeffress told Religion News Service in a statement.

“Furthermore, I predicted that evangelicals would ultimately coalesce around him as the GOP nominee for 2024 and I would happily and enthusiastically support him. Hopefully, President Trump doesn’t think of me as being disloyal for not volunteering a primary endorsement he has not requested from me.”

Asked if he would endorse Trump if requested, Jeffress said that because he doesn’t identify as a Republican he sees “no need to insert myself at this point into a possible Republican primary fight.” He added that he expects Trump to be the 2024 nominee regardless.

Trump’s venting session highlights the former president’s ongoing struggle to amass the same level of fervent support from a subset of evangelical leaders he enjoyed in 2016 and throughout his presidency.

Despite a “Pastors for Trump” initiative launched in December after Trump’s 2024 campaign announcement, conservative Christian leaders who championed his cause for years, such as Jeffress and evangelist Franklin Graham, have yet to throw their support behind Trump’s new White House bid.

Pence speaks at Dallas church

Meanwhile, Jeffress hosted former Vice President Mike Pence—who is expected to be a potential 2024 presidential contender—at First Baptist in Dallas over the weekend, although Jeffress pointed out to RNS he did not endorse Pence.

According to Axios, Pence told the crowd he “couldn’t be more proud of the Trump-Pence administration” but added: “Obviously the administration did not end well. It ended in controversy.”

Pence also appeared to endorse the idea of Christian nationalism, an ideology embraced by Jeffress and championed by Trump throughout his political tenure. The former vice president, who was at the church promoting his new book, So Help Me God, called the term Christian nationalism “something of a pejorative … among the left-wing media.”

“This nation has ever been sustained by Christian patriots who believe in America,” Pence said, later adding, “America is a nation of faith.”