U.S. Dept. of Labor addresses religious freedom

I recently participated in a call with the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives. The White House provided the following highlights of that meeting:

• Department of Labor’s new Final Rule, “Implementing Legal Requirements Regarding the Equal Opportunity Clause’s Religious Exemption.” This rule will encourage the full and equal participation of religious organizations as federal contractors.

New federal rule protects conscience and opens the door to pro-life family planning programs

Action: Read and send my pre-written message.

Your supportive comments by July 31
can help make sure this proposed rule
is finalized and becomes reality.

If a new proposed federal rule is finalized after a public comment period ending July 31, pro-life medical professionals and programs finally will be able to take advantage of family planning grants opportunities.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has proposed a new federal family planning rule to govern federal family planning (Title X) funds. Your supportive comments by July 31 can help make sure this proposed rule is finalized and becomes reality.

Meanwhile, the Christian Medical Association is joining with other national pro-life organizations to prepare training resources that can help you apply for a federal family planning grant (more on that training to come…).

By voicing your support now for this new rule, you also can help protect conscience freedom in healthcare. The new rule removes abortion participation requirements and enforces federal conscience law.

Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar industry that every year
rakes in half a billion tax dollars and
performs nearly a third of a million abortions.

Breaking up the abortion industry's monopoly on federal family planning funds

Shining light on the human trafficker

He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the hiding places he kills the innocent;
His eyes stealthily watch for the  unfortunate.
He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair;
He lurks to catch the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.
He crouches, he bows down,
And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.
He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
-- Psalm 10:8-11

Photo by Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department

The despicable exploiter portrayed in Psalm 10 counts on God "never seeing" his crimes as he lurks in the shadows. Likewise, today's human traffickers count on health professionals "never seeing" their crimes.
Many health professionals will recall seeing patients who raised red flags. Something about the injuries, the patient's affect or the person accompanying the patient didn't seem right.
In fact, a study of rescued victims revealed that nearly nine in ten victims during their captivity had been taken, typically by a pimp or trafficker, to see a health professional. But researchers found no evidence that any health professional had reported a single one of these victims.
Imagine the difference in the life of a victim—think of her as your own daughter--if just one health professional had asked a probing question or made a phone call to authorities.
Thankfully, awareness campaigns and medical curricula are helping professionals learn to spot the signs and take appropriate action. The Christian Medical Association, for example, has developed ten online training modules with continuing medical education credit to equip health professionals with lifesaving skills.
Alert and action-ready health professionals can shine a light to break through the shadows in which the trafficker lurks. The God who remembers the victim and sees the injustice can use you in His plan to rescue, redeem and restore precious individuals.
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National Human  Trafficking Hotline: 

888-373-7888 

www.acf.hhs.gov/endtrafficking
health and trafficking brochure

Baby parts investigation in Congress heats up

Rep. Marsha Blackburn

The lamestream media largely has moved on and returned to promoting rather exposing than Planned Parenthood--a billion-dollar "nonprofit" that rakes in a third of a billion in our tax dollars while performing a third of a million abortions every year.

Congress, however, remains focused on conducting a thorough and sweeping investigation of the dark and deadly industry, including Planned Parenthood, that traffics in baby body parts.

Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has announced that the Panel would be moving forward with an initial set of subpoenas. 

In this release, Chairman Blackburn announces that subpoenas have been issued to StemExpress, the University of New Mexico, and Southwestern Women’s Options. 

To read the subpoenas click on the following links: 

• StemExpress
• University of New Mexico
• Southwestern Women's Options

Rep. Blackburn also provided interview about the Select Panel available on her Facebook and Twitter pages.

Join us Wed. noon at FRC or online for Faith Steps discussion on winsomely engaging in public policy

Jonathan Imbody, author of Faith Steps: Moving toward God through personal choice and public policy
November 04, 2015
Time: 12:00 pm (ET) - 01:00 pm (ET)

Click here to register for this event

Marriage and sexuality, religious freedom, abortion, assisted suicide, stem cell research and human trafficking: The stands we take and the choices we make on such vital issues, as individuals and as a nation, matter now and for eternity. Faith Steps encourages and equips people of faith to winsomely engage friends and the culture on critical matters --not as partisans but as ambassadors.

Decisively rejecting the stifling notion that Christians should remain mute on controversial social issues and shun the political arena, Faith Steps reveals how courageous and compassionate engagement can help our neighbors and transform culture.

Drawing on Jonathan Imbody's many years of experience in Washington, DC in government relations and communications, the book provides practical, in-the-trenches communications strategies to address and engage individuals and society on the most controversial and consequential issues of our day. Join FRC and Jonathan Imbody as he comes to discuss this important book.

A veteran writer of over 30 years, Jonathan Imbody has published over 100 commentaries in various national publications. He has also written numerous magazine articles, marketing materials and educational curricula. Jonathan's writing focuses on health-related ethical issues including conscience protections for healthcare professionals, healthcare reform, human trafficking, abortion, assisted suicide, stem cell research, the role of faith in health, international health, abstinence and HIV/AIDS. His on-site research on euthanasia in the Netherlands formed the basis for the "No Mercy" video and a presentation at an international conference in The Hague.

Currently, he serves as Vice President for Government Relations and director of the Christian Medical Association's Washington Office. As CMA's liaison with the federal government, he has participated in nearly 30 White House meetings and events and makes more than 200 personal contacts with Congressional leaders and government officials each year. Jonathan has testified in the U.S. Senate on euthanasia and assisted suicide. He received his bachelor's and master's degree from Penn State and earned a certificate in biblical and theological studies from the Alliance Theological Seminary in New York. Jonathan and his wife Amy have four grown children and live in Ashburn, Virginia.

 

Click here to register for this event

Excerpts from new book that encourages and equips people of faith to engage on controversial issues

Faith Steps

Logion Publishing, Washington, DC - published 2015

How can we remain true to the core teachings of our faith and winsomely engage others on controversial issues like sex, marriage, abortion, religious freedom, human trafficking and end of life issues?

As aggressive activists and ideologues try to eject persons of faith from the public square, we need to know and hold fast to the truth … and help others choose the path that leads to life, liberty and true happiness.

Excerpts

Engaging others: "People make their own choices; we are simply informing their self-interest. In love and compassion, offering evidence and reason, we simply present the clear choices and draw a line to the benefits or harms likely to result from those choices."

Marriage: "By uprooting and replacing the definition of marriage with a subjective notion based on emotional relationship … no rational parameters remain that would exclude further redefinitions of 'marriage' as between multiple partners, related persons, or even persons and non-persons."

Faith freedom: "While we can take comfort in the companionship of such a 'great cloud of witnesses' who have suffered for the faith, we also must fight for religious freedom while we have the freedom to do so."

Abortion: "Abortion advocates commonly contend that health and safety regulations, such as regulations required of other surgical facilities, would shut down their clinics. What does that tell you about the level of safety women encounter in abortion clinics?"

Worldview: "If we are each making up our own truth, each arriving at different conclusions, what do we do when our individually made-up worldviews conflict? One of two things can happen: coexistence or domination."

­­­Euthanasia: "Then, Xandra says, her father-in-law suddenly cried out. He said, 'I don’t want to die!' Xandra frantically looked to the doctor and at the others in the room. 'But no one was reacting.' Franz died from that second injection, whether he really wanted to or not."

Human trafficking: "The big ideas in our White House meeting agenda included developing a strategy to conduct medical research to establish the links between human trafficking and prostitution, AIDS, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases."

Sex ed: "Totally bereft of any reason to convince teens to wait, 'comprehensive' sex education focuses on trying to merely reduce rather than avoid the harm."

Faith & politics: "Christian engagement in government and policy advocacy offers an opportunity to show skeptics that faith can work in the real world–even in the intensely challenging, often battering world of public policy."

Engaging in culture: "We will seek to understand critically where a work of art, music or literature syncs with God's principles and where it diverges."

Endorsements

"Faith Steps is a perfect book for our time. Mr. Imbody offers solutions for how we can--and must--take back the high ground. This book is exceptionally well written by a man of great courage, knowledge and commitment." – Diana Lightfoot, Advisor, Carson for President

"A clear, poignant presentation of how to become a person of faith and have that faith transform your life and culture." – Gene Rudd, MD, Exec. VP, Christian Medical Association

"The chapter on worldview is worth the cost of the book by itself! A must-read for anyone who is serious about living out their faith." –Col. Donald Thompson, MD, Director, Global Health Outreach

Author

Jonathan Imbody (cmawashington@icloud.com) draws on decades of insider experience in Washington, DC in government relations and communications. He directs the 30,000-strong Freedom2Care coalition on freedom of faith, conscience and speech. He is also VP for Govt. Relations for the Christian Medical Association. His commentaries are frequently featured in USA Today, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and other national media.

Get it today...

Amazon paperback: http://tinyurl.com/nhanq29

Kindle e-book: http://tinyurl.com/p2q8ywg  

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