Proposed Fayetteville Ordinance Threatens Religious Liberty

7 CommentsHomosexuality, Transgender, ,

The Fayetteville City Council is currently considering “Proposed Chapter 119: The Civil Rights Administration.”

Proponents are billing this proposal as an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting the rights of homosexuals and transgender people (i.e. people who disagree with their biological gender) in Fayetteville. However, the ordinance carries a number of unintended consequences:

1. The ordinance affects churches. Under this ordinance, churches who have religious objections to homosexuality or disagreeing with one’s biological gender could face criminal prosecution if they refuse to hire a gay or transgender job applicant to fill a “secular” staff position (e.g. bookkeeper, receptionist, etc.).

Many churches do not distinguish between “secular” and “non-secular” staff positions. This ordinance would force them to do so.

Churches could also be forced to open their fellowship hall or similar portions of their property for same-sex “wedding” receptions and similar functions they find objectionable.

2. The ordinance inadvertently allows men to use women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas. (more…)

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Calling Your Child a Boy or Girl is Child Abuse?

Homosexuality, Transgender,

A blogger at Slate has written an article saying that calling your newborn baby a boy or girl could do irreparable harm to your child.

The article reads,

“With infant gender assignment, in a single moment your baby’s life is instantly and brutally reduced from such infinite potentials down to one concrete set of expectations and stereotypes, and any behavioral deviation from that will be severely punished—both intentionally through bigotry, and unintentionally through ignorance.”

Eric Metaxas at the Chuck Colson Center for Christian worldview analyzed the bizarre comments, saying,

“Yes, she’s saying—she’s actually, seriously saying—that a doctor who tells you the sex of your baby could be doing the baby irreparable harm, by not taking into consideration that in later years, that child might not want to belong to that sex. . . .

“Why am I taking this kookiness seriously, even enough to mention it? Because I think we need to recognize what got this culture to the point of such absurdity—and where we might go from here.

“For years now we’ve been hearing ever louder arguments that we need to free children and everyone else from the tyranny of gender, with all the practical implications that argument has—laws that say that boys can use girls’ bathrooms if they identify as girls, for instance.”

You can listen to Metaxas’ full analysis of the article and its implications below.

[audio:http://bit.ly/XEJsAN|titles=Eric Metaxas – Gender Assignment as Russian Roulette?]

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Overview of Abortion in Arkansas (2013)

Abortion, , ,

Recently we wrote about the Arkansas Department of Health’s report on abortions in Arkansas for 2013. We have analyzed some of the facts and figures in the 2013 report and the department’s reports for prior years. Below are some simple bullet points offering an overview of abortion in Arkansas for the year 2013.

Abortion Overview (All Time)

Abortion Statistics for Arkansas (Since 1973):

  • Since 1973, Arkansas has aborted approximately 210,665 unborn children. That’s 5,138 children each year, on average.
  • On average, abortion in Arkansas rose from 1973 to 1991.
  • Abortion peaked in 1991, with 6,889 abortions performed.
  • Abortion has been on a downward trend in Arkansas since 1991. (Figure 1)
  • The number of abortions performed in Arkansas has declined consistently each year since 2006.
  • Abortion’s decline in Arkansas does not appear to be tied clearly to increased access to contraception.

Abortion Overview (2013)

Abortion Statistics for Arkansas (2013):

  • 3,732 abortions were performed in Arkansas.
  • Abortion in Arkansas declined for the seventh straight year in a row.
  • 2013 was the lowest year for abortion in Arkansas since 1977.
  • 58% of abortions were performed on women ages 20 to 29 (Figures 2, 3, & 4).
  • 32.5% of abortions were performed during the first seven weeks of pregnancy (Figures 5, 6, & 7).
  • 87.5% of abortions were performed during the first trimester (Figures 5, 6, & 7).
  • 87% of abortions were performed on unmarried women (Figures 8, 9, & 10).
  • 41% of abortions performed in Arkansas in 2013 were on women with 1 or more previous abortions (Figures 11 & 12).
  • 7.5% of abortions performed in Arkansas in 2013 were on women with 3 or more previous abortions (Figures 11 & 12).

Abortion in Arkansas, All Time
Figure 1

Abortion by Age of the Mother (2013)

(more…)

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