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. We would be very grateful if you could make a donation of $100, $50, $25, or $10 today towards our work producing these Friday Fives and fighting for your values on the public square!
1. NC VALUES: We did it. Cooper’s veto was overridden. Babies will be saved, and mothers will be cared for.
We are excited to share with you that earlier this week, the NC General Assembly successfully overrode Governor Cooper’s veto of pro-life legislation SB20. This week marks the beginning of North Carolina’s first real step towards becoming a pro-life state as the “Care for Women, Children and Families Act” becomes law of the land. Pro-life North Carolinians have waited over 50 years to roll back the gestational age for sanctioned killing of pre-born children. With this veto override, legislators have rejected Governor Cooper’s extreme, unreasonable position of abortion without restriction up to birth.
Read more: https://ncvalues.org/we-did-it-coopers-veto-is-overridden/
Also check out my editorial with SBA Pro-life America’s Majorie Dannenfelser, entitled “North Carolina’s 12-Week Protection Bill Represents Public Consensus “ at: https://townhall.com/columnists/marjoriedannenfelser/2023/05/13/north-carolinas-12-week-protection-bill-represents-public-consensus-n2623188
2. NC VALUES: Meet Chloe S. Edwards, the latest addition to the NC Values team.
Chloe is fiercely passionate about defending the lives of the preborn and protecting the Biblical values of marriage and family. Chloe attended Azusa Pacific University on athletic and academic scholarships and graduated with her Bachelor’s in English in 2020. She then attended Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy where she studied State and Local Government and American Politics as her specializations and was the Vice President of the Conservatives of Public Policy. Chloe graduated with her master’s degree in the Spring of 2023. Driven by her desire to see all life protected and honored in this country, Chloe moved to North Carolina to pursue full-time work in the pro-life movement. Chloe serves as the Donor Relations Officer at NC Values. In this position she has the opportunity to meet with the many supporters of NC Values and the privilege of building relationships with the vast number of amazing people around the state that make the work of this organization possible.
Join us in wishing her a warm welcome!
Read more: https://ncvalues.org/meet-chloe/
3. TIME: North Carolina General Assembly Overrides Governor’s Veto of Abortion Limit
“’Today marks the beginning of North Carolina’s first real step towards becoming a pro-life state,’ Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the socially conservative North Carolina Values Coalition, said after the House vote.
Senate Republicans said Cooper ignored $160 million within the measure that would boost funding to increase contraceptive services, reduce infant and maternal mortality and provide paid maternity leave for state employees and teachers. ‘This bill provides resources for the pregnant woman. It provides broad resources and a significant knowledge base to enable her, to equip her in finding a path forward — a path forward for her, and a path forward for her unborn child,’ said Rep. Kristin Baker, a Cabarrus County Republican and psychiatrist.”
Read more: https://time.com/6280438/north-carolina-abortion-ban/
4. WRAL: ‘Just the beginning’: NC Republicans say more abortion restrictions possible after 2024 elections
“Republican lawmakers are already receiving subtle pressure from conservative and religious groups who want stricter limits on the procedure.
The N.C. Values Coalition, a Christian conservative group, called the new abortion restrictions that became law Tuesday night ‘the beginning of North Carolina’s first real step towards becoming a pro-life state.’
The Catholic Dioceses of Raleigh and Charlotte similarly said they viewed the law as just a start. ‘Together these provisions represent progress toward building a culture of life in North Carolina,’ the state’s two Catholic bishops wrote in a joint statement.”
Also check out this great article from the Carolina Journal, entitled “I am one of many OBGYNs in NC who supports protecting unborn children”:
https://www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/i-am-one-of-many-obgyns-in-nc-who-supports-protecting-unborn-children/
Finally, another article worth noting is the Texas case challenging the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill drug mifepristone for use in chemical abortions, which was heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/appeals-court-hears-arguments-fda-approval-popular-abortion-drug-likely-supreme-court
5. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Who are you calling an extremist?
“Finally, progressives say it would be ‘extreme’ for the General Assembly to prohibit the use of surgery, hormones, or puberty-blockers to treat gender dysphoria in children, or to protect biological females from having to compete against transgender females in sports. Whatever you think of these measures, they reflect the majority view. A recent Washington Post poll found that 68% of Americans oppose access to puberty-blocking drugs for children ages 10-14 and 58% oppose access to hormonal treatments for those aged 15 to 17. Most also take the side of biological girls and women who say allowing biological males into their sports is unfair and potentially dangerous.”
Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/who-are-you-calling-an-extremist/
WEEKLY PRAYER: FREEDOM
LORD, you have blessed us with a spiritual liberty that is so wonderful and beyond description, that it can only be understood through experiencing a life-giving relationship with Christ. However, we also recognize that in your grace, you have blessed our country with a political liberty that enables us to openly proclaim the experience of a life lived in the freedom of the Gospel.
LORD, as individuals and as a nation, may we never take the inalienable right of religious freedom for granted. Right now our country has faced a rapid increase in the number of attacks made against this cherished right. We have seen groups across our public arena increase in boldness and frequency their smears against religious liberty. They claim it is bigotry, when we know it is the security of the greatest of all possible loves.
Be with your people and our country as it continues to protect the constitutional right protected by our nation’s Founders. Be with legislators and the Supreme Court, as they determine through their actions the protection of this particular and fundamental freedom.
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)
“Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” (1 Peter 2:16)
Amen
Tami & Team
NC Values
