The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote as early as Wednesday on a bill to nationally ban abortions based on the sex of a baby.

Under a House rules agreement, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (H.R. 3541), which would ban sex-selection abortions, will be considered this week, but it must receive a two-thirds majority in order to pass. That’s why your representative especially needs to hear from you right now.

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PRENDA, as the bill is also known, would make it a federal offense for anyone to perform or to accept payment for an abortion with knowledge that such an abortion is sought on the basis of the sex of an unborn baby. The bill would also make it a federal crime to transport a pregnant woman into the U.S. or across state lines for the purpose of undergoing such an abortion. In addition, individuals who coerce a pregnant woman to abort her baby based on the unborn child’s sex could face prosecution or civil penalties under the bill. A woman who undergoes a sex-selection abortion, however, could not face penalty.

Astonishingly, no such federal ban on sex-selection abortion exists—even as studies show these types of abortions are occurring here in the United States.

It is high time that Congress enacts this common-sense ban. But your voice is critical to help make that happen.

If you agree that abortions based on the sex of an unborn child should not be permitted, please urge your representative to vote YES on the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (H.R. 3541). You can reach him or her through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or send an email here.

Thank you in advance for standing for this basic civil rights protection for the unborn.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention

Today, the Senate had the opportunity to uphold freedom of religion and conscience on matters like abortion under health care. Sadly, a majority of senators defeated that effort.

In an extremely disappointing vote, 51 senators voted to table—or effectively kill—a proposal that would safeguard employers and individuals from being forced to violate their religious and moral convictions on such things as contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Only 48 senators voted in support of advancing Sen. Roy Blunt’s (R-MO) Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011, offered as an amendment to a transportation bill.

To see how your senators voted, please click here.

The Senate’s decision to kill the Blunt Amendment is an outrage. If the government can tell its citizens that their First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom and conscience is subject to its dictates, then the First Amendment offers no protection to people of faith.

Make no mistake, the Senate vote was not about contraception but about the right of people of faith to be able to live out the values of their faith free from government coercion. This insensitive response to our pleas to the Senate to protect religious freedom from government coercion cannot go unchallenged.

We will continue to press this battle for freedom to the very end. We hope you will continue to stand with us in this must-win struggle against government tyranny.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention

For several weeks, we have been keeping you informed in our e-FFV newsletter about the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) mandate that nearly all employers’ health insurance plans soon provide free coverage of contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs, and sterilization. As we continue to emphasize, this issue is not about contraceptives. Instead, it is about conscience and religious freedom. And we must not allow this assault on our First Amendment freedoms to stand.

Now we have a clear opportunity to kill this mandate legislatively.

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Under an agreement reached by Senate leaders, the Senate is expected to vote next week on the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (S. 1467), which essentially would stop the contraceptives mandate from taking effect. This would safeguard employers and individuals from being forced to violate their religious convictions on contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs under health care. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), will be voted on as an amendment to a transportation bill.

Your senators need to hear from you right now! With our First Amendment freedoms of religion and conscience at stake, we cannot afford to be silent.

If you agree, please contact your senators immediately and urge them to support the Blunt Amendment—the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act—to the transportation bill under Senate consideration. You can reach them through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or send them an email here.

We also hope you will notify those in your church about this important vote. For a factsheet on the HHS mandate, please click here. Let me encourage you to consider downloading or copying this factsheet to share with your church or include as a bulletin insert this Sunday.

For more information:
Richard Land’s letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on the HHS mandate and the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act
Richard Land responds to President Obama’s revised contraceptive mandate
On the Obama administration’s abortion rule
Revised contraceptive mandate is no compromise

Thank you in advance for standing with us to protect our God-given freedoms of religion and conscience. Your voice is critically important in this hour.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention

Congress is finalizing a major government funding package for the coming year. While a draft version includes the much-needed Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 361) to protect against a growing attack on the conscience rights of those who oppose abortion, many lawmakers are trying to strip this important conscience provision. I need your help to make sure that doesn’t happen.

If this is a concern to you, please contact your representative and senators today and urge them to include the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act in the FY2012 appropriations package.

Each year since 2005, Congress has renewed a provision known as the Hyde-Weldon Amendment to bar the government from discriminating against health care entities that refuse to “provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortion.”

Unfortunately, it’s not a permanent law. And the list of cases of discrimination against entities and individuals who refuse to perform or remain complicit in abortion services is growing by the day. One such example is a proposed mandate by the Department of Health and Human Services that all private health insurance plans offer FDA-approved contraceptives—including abortifacients. Making a bad proposal worse, the very weak religious exemption would not exempt countless pro-life institutions.

Click here for more information on conscience rights violations.

The Abortion Non-Discrimination Act would largely address this growing problem. Not only would it write the Hyde-Weldon conscience clause into permanent law, but it would also provide additional protections by enabling victims of conscience violations to challenge those violations in court.

We must not let this opportunity pass. If you support protecting conscience rights, please contact your representative and senators immediately and urge them to include the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act in the FY2012 appropriations bill. You can reach them by dialing the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or by sending an e-mail here.
Thank you for your commitment to life and the right of conscience to protect it at all stages.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land

President

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Southern Baptist Convention

In just a few short days, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)—a critically important independent watchdog agency that monitors religious freedom around the world—will be forced to shut down unless Congress acts to keep it alive. I need your help in preventing that from happening.

In September, the House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 2867 by a 391-21 vote to extend the life of USCIRF for another two years. But unless the Senate also approves H.R. 2867—and does so this week—the commission could be forced to shut down. It is currently set to sunset this Friday, Nov. 18.

It is our understanding that one senator has placed a hold on the bill over a non-related issue. His action jeopardizes the existence of USCIRF, and his hold must be released. We support H.R. 2867 to keep the commission alive.

To allow the life of USCIRF to end would be a costly decision for the untold numbers of people around the world—many of whom are Christians—suffering at the hands of regimes that deny freedom to believe and to worship according to the dictates of their consciences. We must not allow that to happen.

If you agree, please contact your senators immediately and urge them do what they can to ensure that the House-passed H.R. 2867 is released for a Senate vote before the end of this week. You can call them through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or send them an email here.

As an appointed USCIRF commissioner since 2001, I can personally attest to the need for and the effectiveness of the panel. Among its work, USCIRF produces a detailed annual report, country by country, of the state of religious liberty violators worldwide. Each year it also provides the secretary of State with a list of “countries of particular concern”—the most egregious violators of religious freedom. In addition, USCIRF makes policy recommendations to the State Department, the president, and Congress to help advance religious liberty around the globe. Truly, the work of the commission is both unique and valuable.

I hope you will call or email your senators today to urge them to ensure an immediate vote on H.R. 2867 to make certain that USCIRF’s work continues. Time is of the essence. Thank you in advance for taking the time to weigh in on this important measure.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention

The Senate is expected to vote on Saturday, July 23 on the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act (H.R. 2560). This crucial bill offers a real solution to our nation’s serious economic problems. As you recall from our article in this week’s Faith & Family Values e-newsletter, H.R. 2560:

• Cuts spending by $111 billion in the next fiscal year;
• Caps spending as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the next decade; and
• Requires congressional passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment before the debt limit can be raised.

This bill passed the House by a vote of 234-190, with five Democrats voting for it. Yet, unless the Senate hears from thousands of Americans in the next 48 hours, the bill will die in the Senate. One Democrat senator has already declared H.R. 2560 “cruel, stupid, and dangerous.” I fail to see how rescuing our country from runaway spending and economic disaster is anything but sane.

Your voice is needed now. If you agree that our government must cut its spending now, limit its future spending to a reasonable percentage of our nation’s annual economic output, and assure this fiscal sanity for future generations through a constitutional amendment that limits spending, then your senators need to hear from you.

You can reach your senators by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or by e-mailing them here.

Friends, our nation stands at the brink of economic meltdown. I hope you will join me in calling on the Senate to pass H.R. 2560. I ask you to please also consider sharing this e-mail with all your family and friends. We have this moment. Let us not lose it.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention

As you know, our nation is in dire financial straits and on the verge of defaulting on its obligations. What has taken us down this perilous path is undisciplined spending, which will only continue unless serious reforms are adopted. Now a sensible solution is before Congress.

Today, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011 (H.R. 2560), a bill that would help to get our nation back on fiscal track.

The bill accomplishes three goals:

• cuts spending for fiscal year 2012 by $111 billion;
• caps spending as a percentage of the gross domestic product each year over the next decade;
• and requires congressional passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment before the nation’s debt limit may be raised.

These steps are critical for our country’s fiscal wellbeing and would help to ensure a solid economic foundation for future generations. Currently, 41 cents of every dollar our government spends is borrowed money. Such irresponsible borrowing is immoral and must be stopped. The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act would help to end this generational theft.

If you agree, please contact your representative and encourage him or her to vote for the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011. You can reach your member of Congress by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or by sending an e-mail here.

Your efforts are vitally important in helping to strengthen our country’s financial framework and to prevent future generations from inheriting an unbearable load of debt.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention

The crack of the bat, the crunch of peanuts, the camaraderie of the seventh inning stretch—all of these have been part of American family life for decades. But so is the sight of big league ballplayers popping wads of smokeless tobacco into their mouths, chewing on it with vigor, and spitting out streams of brown gunk—all on camera, before millions of fans.

The glamorization of deadly tobacco use must stop.

We know that smokeless tobacco use causes cancer, several serious mouth diseases and increases the risk of heart disease. We also know that as cigarette sales have declined, the tobacco industry has stepped up its marketing of smokeless tobacco, targeting much of this advertising at our kids. And it’s having an effect: smokeless tobacco use by high school boys has climbed 36 percent since 2003!

Join me in calling on the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA)—the players’ union—to agree to a ban on all tobacco use by players, managers, coaches and staff at baseball games.

Just this week, I signed onto a letter to the MLBPA with 24 other national faith leaders, calling on the players and their union to set the right example for kids. In our letter to the union, we tell the story of Sean Marsee, a top high school track star in Oklahoma, who became addicted to smokeless tobacco at age 12 and was dead at 19 after a terrible year of surgeries that took his tongue, jaw and much of his neck muscle. Sean argued with his mother, a nurse, for years that all of these sports stars used the product and that if they were fine, he would be too. Just months before he died, Sean was honored as his school’s most outstanding athlete.

We don’t want Sean’s story to be repeated for any more kids, in any more families.

Act Now! Send a personal message to the players’ union that it’s time to rid Major League Baseball of tobacco.

Our coalition of faith leaders joins 10 major public health and medical organizations, top health officials in MLB cities, and baseball insiders like former Mets manager Bobby Valentine and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig in the effort to Knock Tobacco Out of the Park. We hope we can count on you to join the campaign by taking action today.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention

In a giant first step toward ending taxpayer funding of abortion, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3) last evening by a vote of 251-175. To see how your representative voted, click here. The bill codifies a series of policies banning federal funding of elective abortion that must be renewed each year and applies the ban government-wide.

This is a great victory and a tremendous credit to your calls and e-mails to your representative.

But our work is not finished. The Senate now must do its part. I encourage you to call your two senators and urge them to support swift passage of the House-passed No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act in the Senate. You can reach them through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Thank you once again for helping to promote the ethical use of taxpayer dollars.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3). This bill is one of the best solutions to the problem of taxpayer funding of abortion.

Currently, the government operates under a patchwork of policies barring federal dollars from being used to pay for abortions under certain programs. Many of these policies must be reauthorized every year. As a result, these pro-life provisions, or riders as they are known, are vulnerable to being dropped in any given year. And some government programs, such as the unpopular health care reform of 2010, do not even bar abortion funding.

H.R. 3 would end this state of limbo by creating a government-wide permanent ban on taxpayer funding of elective abortion. It would also add conscience protections to bar recipients of federal funding from discriminating against health care providers for refusing to provide or refer for abortions.

This bill is long overdue. It is time that Congress once and for all make permanent the patchwork of policies barring abortion funding and apply it to every federal agency, ensuring that the millions of taxpayers who object to abortion are not forced to pay for it.

If you agree, please contact your representative and urge him or her to vote “yes” on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3). You can reach your representative through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or send him or her an e-mail here.

Thank you for standing with us to help prevent the government from using your tax dollars to end unborn human lives.

In His Service,

Dr. Richard Land
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention