President Trump Keeps Pro-Life Promise

In his first major pro-life action in office, on January 23, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order barring federal funds from organizations that promote abortion around the world, including the 100 million taxpayer-dollar recipient International Planned Parenthood Federation. Additionally, in the first successful strike against the nation’s largest abortion network, VP Mike Pence cast the deciding vote to allow states to strip federal family planning funds from Planned Parenthood.

According to Congressman Sean Duffy, Planned Parenthood PACs donate millions to the abortion friendly Democrat Party. So it’s no surprise that during Obama’s remaining months in office, he announced a new regulation that required state and local governments to distribute federal Title X funding for services related to family planning, regardless of whether they also perform abortions. Fortunately, according to the Congressional Review Act (CRA), Congress and a new president can overturn rules issued in the waning days of a previous administration, which is exactly what the Trump administration did. We have many hopes for our country as our new president and his administration settle into office.  As we continue to pray, we will keep a watchful eye on their progress.

Daniel 2:21 “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”

Easter Objection Overruled

Is there evidence for believing that Jesus is really God’s son – the Messiah? Absolutely! In 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered near the Dead Sea in Israel. The scrolls include the entire Old Testament except for the book of Esther. In fact, the discovery proves that our present-day Old Testament is virtually identical to the scrolls.

Transcribed up to 200 years before Jesus Christ walked this earth, the scrolls contain the same Old Testament prophecies that foretell the coming of Christ the Messiah, God’s son. Historical evidence shows that ancient Jewish Rabbis taught that the Old Testament Scriptures prophetically described the future Messiah.

For example, Isaiah 52-53 describe a man who was afflicted, pierced, wounded, killed with criminals as a sacrifice for souls, and placed in a rich man’s tomb.

 “…the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

There are many Old Testament Scriptures written well before the time of Jesus Christ that describe his coming in detail, his life with accuracy and his death with precision.

So join us as we celebrate this blessed Easter weekend, knowing with confidence, that all objections to the deity of Christ have been overruled!

“According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3

Fighting for Pro-life in Superior Court

On April 6^th, we were in court for 3 hours arguing against the new California state law that requires Christian-based crisis pregnancy counseling centers to provide a notice to the young women they serve—advising the women that free and low cost abortions are available. And the notice must include a phone number to a county agency that will refer the women for an abortion. We represent the Scharpen Foundation which runs one of the pro-life counseling clinics in Riverside County. We had a very positive hearing in the Superior Court for the County of Riverside, California. The California Attorney General filed a motion asking the court to dismiss our case. We argued that we have developed sufficient facts to prove that the new law, known as the Reproductive Fact Act, intentionally discriminates against pro-life pregnancy counseling centers.

After dozens and dozens of hours of research, we have been able to uncover evidence that the new law targets these pro-life ministries. The Reproductive Fact Act essentially exempts all for-profit licensed clinics that provide medical care. The law also exempts all other licensed clinics that provide comprehensive women’s medical care—i.e. abortions. What’s left are approximately 92 licensed non-profit clinics. Approximately 82 of these are pro-life and the other 10 clinics do not provide abortions. This evidence is revealing. After exempting thousands of clinics, the law only applies to 92 clinics, including all of the 82 pro-life clinics in California. This took a lot of work, but our attorneys figured it out. Attorneys Nada Higuera and Christine Torres did a great job uncovering this evidence!

Please pray for our judge in Riverside County Superior Court. If she denies the request by the Attorney General, then we will have the opportunity to present this evidence in a full trial on the merits to prove discrimination statewide based on a clinic’s pro-life position. The judge will soon be issuing a written decision.

Meanwhile, we are also waiting on the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the High Court will accept our federal case for review. We have two different legal strategies ongoing.

Please continue to pray. We are in the thick of this battle—among others! If you have the ability to donate today, we could really use your financial support as well. Thank you!

Fighting for Pro-life in Superior Court Today

We would like to thank you for your prayers this morning! Today we were in court for 3 hours arguing against the new California state law that requires Christian-based crisis pregnancy counseling centers to provide a notice to the young women they serve—advising the women that free and low cost abortions are available. And the notice must include a phone number to a county agency that will refer the women for an abortion. We represent the Scharpen Foundation which runs one of the pro-life counseling clinics in Riverside County.

We had a very positive hearing in the Superior Court for the County of Riverside, California. The California Attorney General filed a motion asking the court to dismiss our case. We argued that we have developed sufficient facts to prove that the new law, known as the Reproductive Fact Act, intentionally discriminates against pro-life pregnancy counseling centers.

After dozens and dozens of hours of research, we have been able to uncover evidence that the new law targets these pro-life ministries. The Reproductive Fact Act essentially exempts all for-profit licensed clinics that provide medical care. The law also exempts all other licensed clinics that provide comprehensive women’s medical care—i.e. abortions. What’s left are approximately 92 licensed non-profit clinics. Approximately 82 of these are pro-life and the other 10 clinics do not provide abortions. This evidence is revealing. After exempting thousands of clinics, the law only applies to 92 clinics, including all of the 82 pro-life clinics in California. This took a lot of work, but our attorneys figured it out. Attorneys Nada Higuera and Christine Torres did a great job uncovering this evidence!

Please pray for our judge in Riverside County Superior Court. If she denies the request by the Attorney General, then we will have the opportunity to present this evidence in a full trial on the merits to prove discrimination statewide based on a clinic’s pro-life position. The judge will soon be issuing a written decision.

Meanwhile, we are also waiting on the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the High Court will accept our federal case for review. We have two different legal strategies ongoing.

Please continue to pray. We are in the thick of this battle—among others! If you have the ability to donate today, we could really use your financial support as well. Thank you!

Can California Ban Moral Standards of Religious Employers? They're Trying!

Should a church be allowed to remove a high school youth pastor from his position if he coerced his pregnant girlfriend to get an abortion? What if the youth pastor was female, pregnant and unmarried? Today, church leaders have the ability to take the appropriate employment action that they believe is best in that situation. I suspect that you agree that the First Amendment protects the church’s right to make the best decision that the leaders see fit for that particular situation based on their religious beliefs.

But the California Legislature will soon decide whether the church is capable of making the right decision. If passed, AB 569 would outlaw the right of religious organizations, including churches, pro-life organizations, non-profits and Christian colleges to maintain employment standards regarding “reproductive health.” These are just liberal code words for abortion and birth control.

What if a Catholic nun became pregnant by a priest and later had a partial birth abortion? Will the California legislature really have the nerve to tell the Catholic Church that the church has no ability to take appropriate disciplinary action?

Assembly Bill 569 stomps on religious freedom by forbidding religious organizations from requiring that their employees maintain the moral standards taught by the individual organization.

We will certainly oppose the legislation and encourage you to do the same.

ACTION ITEM: It is absolutely vital that members of the Assembly hear your concerns. To see if your Assemblymember is on the committee, click here. To find your Assemblymember and contact information, click here.

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         At the end of February, I was invited by Jim Domen of Church United, to participate in a briefing with pastors at the California State Capitol. We met with numerous politicians to pray with them in the Capitol Building. I was honored to have the opportunity to provide a legal briefing and to encourage the pastors to engage in today’s culture.

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Litigation Update           Reproductive Fact Act Lawsuit: You may recall that we are aggressively challenging this abusive law that requires pro-life licensed medical clinics to post a notice to patients in the waiting room or in the clinic’s intake paperwork. The notice states that free and low cost family planning services and abortions are available by calling a particular phone number. Last week, along with our co-counsel at the ACLJ, we filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to accept our case for review after the Ninth Circuit ruled that forcing this speech on pro-life organizations is not unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, on April 6, 2017, we will be in the California State Superior Court where we are taking a second strategic path of litigation against the California Attorney General’s Office. We have uncovered important evidence that will help us prove discrimination by exempting most all other that the State engaged in viewpoint licensed clinics from the law. Our case will either be dismissed by the court or set for trial. Please pray that we receive a fair hearing and favor before the state court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Our cost of litigating these cases are significant and we urgently need your support so that we can continue to battle to protect the unborn and our First Amendment right to free speech and free exercise of religion - all in the same litigation.

Pro-Abortion License Plates on the Horizon

California may soon have thousands of rolling “billboards” supporting abortion, thanks to proposed legislation that would authorize automobile license plates promoting a woman’s right to choose. Senate Bill 309, authored by Santa Barbara Democrat Hanna-Beth Jackson, would also serve as a fundraising vehicle for abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood. The bill is sponsored by NARAL Pro-Choice California, which is also pushing several other pro-abortion bills this year. In proposing the measure, Jackson took a swipe at President Donald Trump and the Republican majority in Congress, saying their attempts to cut federal funding for to reproductive health care services is what propelled her effort.

“We will not stand idly by and let this happen,” Jackson said, adding, “This license plate represents one way that we can demonstrate that we will stay true to our values and the right of every woman to safe, affordable and quality reproductive health care.

The initial cost for the “California Trusts Women” plates would be $50, but at least 7,500 of them would have to be ordered in advance before manufacturing could begin. The annual renewal fee for the plates would be $40. The plate’s design would be determined through a contest among Golden State artists.

According to a Los Angeles Times opinion piece, the phrase “Trust Women” is a nod to late-term abortion doctor George Tiller. The Kansas doctor was killed by an extremist in 2009 and has become a hero for many abortion supporters.

Not surprisingly, California is NOT among the 29 states that offer Choose Life license plates. Additionally, groups in 16 other states are working to get similar pro-life plates approved. In fact, California is one of only five states in which there is no active effort for the pro-life specialty plates.

Planned Parenthood Funding on the Chopping Block

The pendulum finally appears to be swinging. After Obamacare forced all employers in the United States, including Christian-owned businesses and non-profits, to offer and pay for abortions, the new GOP proposal to replace it would strip all federal funding for abortions (there are limited exceptions when it involves saving the life of the mother or in instances of rape or incest). The GOP’s American Health Care Act would also ban federal subsidies for any health care plan that covers abortion. The Republican plan is a serious blow to Planned Parenthood, which accounts for at least one-third of all abortions in America. “As long as Planned Parenthood continues to perform abortions, and especially as long as abortion is their core business, they should not receive the hard-earned money of American taxpayers,” said Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, a policy adviser for The Catholic Association,  after the new GOP proposal was unveiled on March 7.

Planned Parenthood receives half a billion in taxpayer dollars annually and performs more than 300,000 abortions each year. While officials with Planned Parenthood maintain abortions are already exempt from federal funding and only account for 3 percent of its services, the practice is clearly a cash cow for the organization. Predictably, Planned Parenthood officials are not happy, claiming that such cuts would deprive women of vital health services, such as mammograms. The truth, though, is the organization has never offered the cancer screenings, but instead refers patients to outside sources for such preventive care.

What is not being reported in the mainstream media is that many of those who support defunding Planned Parenthood are also calling on the federal government to redirect those funds to community health organizations that do not perform abortions. That means that federal funding for women’s health would not evaporate, despite what abortion supporters are lamenting. The money would just be shifted to organizations that are not committed to the death industry.

The plan still faces a fight in Congress, where at least two Republican Senators and one GOP Representative have said they would not support any change in Obamacare that includes defunding of women’s health services. Stay tuned!

Prolife Community Loses an Icon

America’s prolife community is mourning the death of Norma McCorvey, the Roe v. Wade plaintiff who later turned the tables to become staunchly prolife. The about-face came in 1995 with her dramatic conversion to Christianity, and later Catholicism. She died Feb. 18 after a long illness. She was 69. Her family said in a statement that she was dedicated to undoing the abortion ruling. “Though she was the Jane Roe of Roe vs. Wade, she worked hard for the day when that decision would be reversed … Mom suffered much during her life, but we are grateful to God that she took His hand, found His peace, and now has that peace in its fullness.”

Norma was just 22 and vulnerable when her quest to abort her child led to the landmark Roe v. Wade case. Throughout the case she 

remained an anonymous figure as her attorneys manipulated McCorvey’s plight in their determined push for abortion. In fact, she learned about the historic decision not through her attorneys, but by reading it in the newspaper. One national magazine labeled McCorvey a “mascot” for the abortion movement. A decade after the ruling, she went public with her identity and often shared the stage with some of the nation’s most famous abortion proponents.

While working at a Dallas clinic, she befriended one of the prolife protesters, an evangelical pastor, and converted to Christianity. In 2005 she unsuccessfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and later that same year testified before Congress, saying that she had been used and abused by the court system.

“She was victimized and exploited by abortion ideologues when she was a young woman but she came to be genuinely sorry that a decision named for her has led to the deaths of more than 58 million children,” Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, said in a statement after McCorvey’s passing.

Norma’s conversion, and its subsequent fruit, symbolizes the enormous impact a single life—one dedicated to and redeemed by Christ—can bring.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. Ephesians 1:7 (NIV)

Religious Liberty Conference in Zambia

As a faith-based religious liberty legal firm, we take Scripture to heart: “be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 ESV). As I discovered over the holiday, Samaria needs us. My family and I were privileged to travel to Zambia to work at the Breath of Heaven Orphanage with the children and their school teachers. I  participated in a  pastor’s  conference  on religious liberty and traditional  values.  About  100  pastors attended.  The purpose was to encourage pastors to stay  involved in a  cultural  tug-of-war  as the   nation is  faced   with   increased  pressure  from  the   United Nations to embrace a liberal agenda on moral issues.

The Christian nation is facing increased pressure to secularize by those who support abortion and same-sex marriage. Their struggle resembles the one we once faced in America. Beyond the social issues, there is a push to remove Christianity from its Constitution.

The new Zambian president created a new cabinet position—the Minister of National Guidance and Religious Affairs. I was invited to meet with the minister and am looking forward to the possibility of serving her office and Zambia’s parliament in the future with legislation promoting religious liberty.

In His Service,

Robert Tyler President and General Counsel

“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.” Dr. Martin Luther King

Christian Vindicated - WIN in the Ninth Circuit!

I have great news to share with you regarding a case that many of you have followed and supported for many years! On January 11^th, three federal  appellate judges in the Ninth Circuit  issued a final ruling in favor of our  client,  Mark  Mackey, who was arrested back in 2011 for reading the  Bible aloud  in  front of the  California Department of Motor Vehicles in Hemet.

Overzealous CHP officer, Darren Meyer, approached Mark Mackey, grabbed the Bible from his hands, slapped handcuffs on his wrists, and hauled him off to jail. The entire episode was recorded on video and, despite clear evidence that Mr. Mackey and his friends were merely exercising their constitutional rights, the state refused to drop the charges. The video showed Officer Meyer saying that it was illegal to “preach to a captive audience.”

The court also rightly rebuked Officer Meyer for false allegations in his police report. In that report, the officer alleged that Mr. Mackey was yelling at people waiting in line and that a “verbal confrontation” had become “heated and nearing a physical state.”

The Ninth Circuit judge explained, “That version of events is completely belied by video and audio footage which does not reveal any confrontations whatsoever, and merely shows Mackey reading the bible aloud somewhat apart from people standing in line.”

It was obvious to us from the beginning that a great injustice had occurred. An innocent man exercising his religious liberty and free speech was criminally  prosecuted  based on erroneous claims put  forth  by a false and deceitful police report because the officials did not agree with our client’s speech. But that is exactly why our founders created the First Amendment—to protect even disagreeable speech.

Mr.  Mackey  filed a federal lawsuit, but  immediately  offered to drop the  federal  suit  if  the CHP admitted to the unlawful arrest and agreed to properly instruct its officers on how to handle such cases. They declined. Instead they prosecuted him. We successfully prevailed over the criminal charges.

Because of the nature of this case, it received national attention and more than 165,000 people have viewed the online video. But the real work was done behind the scenes as our team invested hundreds of hours investigating legal precedents, drafting briefs and dealing with opposing counsel.

Without dedicated supporters like YOU, who offered consistent prayers and financial backing over the years, Mr. Mackey would never have prevailed. His win in the liberal Ninth Circuit is a win for all of us who hold religious liberty dear. On behalf of Mark Mackey—and those who come after him—We Thank You!

If you would like to financially support the essential work we do here at Advocates for Faith & Freedom, please click here.

Click to view the Press Release.