Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families.

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1. THANK YOU: The NC House has Passed the Newborn Safety Devices Act (HB 139)

We’re grateful to the NC House for passing the Newborn Safety Devices Act (HB 139) this week with bipartisan support! This life-saving bill expands our Safe Surrender Law by allowing baby boxes—secure, anonymous devices for infant surrender—giving desperate mothers a safe, legal pro-life alternative to abandonment.

Thank you, NC Representatives, for standing up for vulnerable lives!

We look forward to the NC Senate taking up the bill next. If you would like to contact your Senators and ask them to pass the Newborn Safety Devices Act (SB 91), visit our easy time-saving click-to-contact tool: https://ncvalues.org/baby-box-bill/

2. WATCH: NC Values Held a Press Conference in Support of HB 606 and HB 791

Earlier this week, the NC Values Coalition hosted a legislative day of action and press conference in support of HB 606, a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for detransitioners to sue for medical malpractice, and SB 516/HB 791, the Women’s Safety and Protection Act.

Speaking in support of the bills, NC Values Coalition Executive Directive Tami Fitzgerald said, “We need to roll back the harmful effects of gender ideology in NC by protecting women and girls from policies that deprive them of safety and privacy, and by creating a path to justice for detransitioners who have been taken advantage of for profit and are now suffering from irreversible, life-long damage to their bodies.”

Read more: https://ncvalues.org/watch-nc-values-press-conference-in-support-of-hb-606-and-hb-791/

3. CAROLINA JOURNAL: From Trauma to Triumph, NC Women Back Biological Sex-based Safety Law at NCGA

“Several young women who have faced severe  medical consequences due to gender-transition  procedures or from injuries playing sports with  transgender individuals stood outside North  Carolina’s legislative building on Wednesday to  advocate for more legal protections for women’s  private spaces.

The NC Values Coalition press conference  highlighted the Women’s Safety and Protection  Act,  a piece of legislation in both the House and  Senate  that would mandate public facilities be used  only by  individuals of the same biological sex at the  same  time, except for specific situations like family  use or  emergencies. ”

Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/from-trauma-to-triumph-nc-women-back-biological-sex-based-safety-law-at-ncga/

4. NC VALUES: OP-ED: The Path to Justice for Victims of Gender Transition Interventions in NC

On April 29th, the Carolina Journal published the following op-ed by Ashley Vaughan, NC Values Press Director, entitled “The Path to Justice for Victims of Gender Transition Interventions in NC”:

“Prisha Mosley was a young teenager when doctors in Gaston County, North Carolina, started her down the path of so-called ‘gender-affirming care.’ She was prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, and then at 18 she had a double mastectomy — removing her normal, healthy breasts. Now an adult who fully embraces her biological sex, her body bears the permanent scars of those medical and surgical interventions.”

Read more: https://ncvalues.org/op-ed-the-path-to-justice-for-victims-of-gender-transition-interventions-in-nc/

5. AP: Roberts Might Hold Key Supreme Court Vote Over First Publicly Funded Religious Charter School

“Chief Justice John Roberts appears to hold the key vote over whether the Supreme Court will allow the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school in Oklahoma.

Roberts was the only justice whose vote seemed in doubt after the court heard more than two hours of arguments Wednesday in a major culture-war clash involving the separation of church and state.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-religious-catholic-charter-school-oklahoma-983ed57aabeae53e4b58367c5021f5e1

WEEKLY PRAYER: Life

LORD, we recognize that you are Sovereign over all creation. We recognize you made man from the dust, and in your mercy, you crowned creation with man and woman made in your image. What a wonder it is that you would bestow upon us this blessing and responsibility!

LORD, may we not take this blessing for granted. We pray that this great responsibility and dignity may motivate us to love You, our neighbors, and our families more. LORD, may we as a culture truly see and believe that children are a blessing from the LORD—born or unborn; able or disabled. All children should have an opportunity to experience the liberty of life. LORD, make us your vehicle to change our culture into one that cherishes and protects life. Keep at the forefront of our minds our responsibilities to respect, cherish, and serve the youngest and oldest in our society.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’” (Matthew 18:1-6)

Sincerely,

Tami & Team

NC Values