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religious liberty Archives – Page 2 of 4 – Concerned Women for America

Mar 03 2021
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CWALAC Letter Opposes Becerra for HHS

By | Legal, Legislative Updates, News and Events | No Comments

Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) submitted a letter to the U.S. Senate opposing the nomination of Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. The letter concludes:

Gen. Becerra is a prosecutor and activist with no experience in the healthcare industry, no respect for the conscience rights of American citizens, and no compassion for the lives of the most vulnerable. CWALAC urges all Senators to oppose Xavier Becerra’s nomination to be Secretary of HHS. He is simply the wrong choice for this important position.

Read CWALAC’s full letter here.

Click here to read our general counsel Mario Diaz’ op-ed on the nomination as feature on The Stream.

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Mar 02 2021
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The Federalist: Biden’s DOJ Appointees Plan To Persecute Nuns, Police, And Female Athletes

By | Legal, News and Events, Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s choice for U.S. attorney general, confirmed his focus on “ensuring racial equity” and “meeting the evolving threat of violent extremism” at his confirmation hearings last week.

“If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol,” he said in his opening statements, calling the events on Jan. 6, “a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.”

Combined with other nominations being put in motion, the statements indicate we may be going back to the days of extraordinary politicization of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other administrative agencies to go after Democrats’ enemies.

—Click here to read the rest of this op-ed as featured in The Federalist.

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Feb 19 2021
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Penny on CBN: Religious Freedom at Stake

By | CEO, Media, News and Events, Religious Liberty | No Comments

Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America discussed Kristen Clarke, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. Clarke is set to face a contentious nomination in the U.S. Senate next week. Penny had this to say when asked about the nominee, “People of faith should be very concerned about possible persecution under the kind of people that Joe Biden is appointing.”

Watch Penny’s interview.

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Feb 09 2021
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Rejecting the Idolatry of Safety with Faith and Faithfulness

By | LBB, Legal, News and Events, Religious Liberty, SCOTUS | No Comments

As in the time of Babylon, there are those in power today who, like King Nebuchadnezzar, demand we bow down to an image. It is not a golden image, to be sure, but it is an image, nonetheless. It is the image of safety—the image of security.

The two weeks to stop the spread of COVID-19 has turned into an indefinite violation of our civil liberties. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki recently said that “Even after you’re vaccinated, social distancing, wearing masks are going to be essential.”

“Essential” is a crucial word. You see, for the government, wearing a mask and social distancing is essential to public health, but faith is not. Despite mountains of evidence showing how important the church community is, they insist on unconstitutionally limiting the free exercise of religion.

Friday night, the United States Supreme Court issued an injunction on California’s draconian restrictions on indoor activities for houses of worship, affirming the churches challenging the restrictions are likely to prevail on the merits of the case. That means that the restrictions are likely to be found in violation of the First Amendment.

This is good news, but it was not enough. The Court denied the appeal for an injunction “with respect to the percentage capacity limitations,” and “with respect to the prohibition on singing and chanting during indoor services.”

At least two justices recognized that those are likely also to be violations of our religious liberties. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch would have granted the injunction in full. Justice Samuel Alito also would have gone a lot further, giving the state 30 days to prove that “nothing short of those measures will reduce the community spread of COVID–19 at indoor religious gatherings to the same extent as do the restrictions the State enforces with respect to other activities it classifies as essential.”

Chief Justice Roberts concurred that “the State’s present determination—that the maximum number of adherents who can safely worship in the most cavernous cathedral is zero—appears to reflect not expertise or discretion, but instead insufficient appreciation or consideration of the interests at stake.” But he also unexplainably concluded, “that singing indoors poses a heightened risk of transmitting COVID–19.” The evidence of this does not come even close to withstand judicial review.

Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barret said the record was insufficient to make such a determination on singing, saying, “[I]f a chorister can sing in a Hollywood studio but not in her church, California’s regulations cannot be viewed as neutral,” which, of course, is precisely what the government has done time and again.

Black Lives Matter riots, good; religious gatherings, bad. Thanksgiving dinner for regular folk, really bad, but indoor dinner for liberal elites, completely fine. You get the picture.

When the government is trying to impose its power, there are always those who will point to the Christians and chastise them for not bowing down to the image of the age. In the times of King Nebuchadnezzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego defied the edict to bow down to the golden image, and they were brought before the king to be thrown into the fiery furnace.

Such is the case today. Churches are being forced all the way to the Supreme Court to fight for their religious freedoms. They ought to have a lot more support from the American public as a whole. They ought to have overwhelming support from the body of Christ— the Church at large.

But the threat of the fiery furnace is compelling to those who have their eyes set on the things of the world. Cancel culture today is an incredible incentive to comply with the Spirit of the Age.

We should learn from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and stand against it. Remember what they told King Nebuchadnezzar as they were about to be “canceled” by the fiery furnace? “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).

Faith and faithfulness, that is how they pushed back against the evil in their time. Faith that God can and would deliver them from the hands of evildoers, but also the faithfulness to say, “even if He doesn’t, we will not bow down.”

That is exactly how we must fight today. We must be courageous in the face of evil. Trusting God and remaining faithful until the end.

Nov 06 2020
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Fulton v. Philadelphia Argument Recap

By | Briefs, Case Vault, LBB, News and Events | No Comments

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in an important religious liberty case this week, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. Sharonell Fulton and other foster parents who work with Catholic Social Services (whose work goes back 200 years in the city) brought suit after the City of Philadelphia tried to kick them out of the foster care and adoption arena because of their faith.

The city wants to force them to violate their faith and place children with same-sex couples. Concerned Women for America submitted a brief in support of the foster parent’s religious liberty.

This should be a simple case. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits any law prohibiting the free exercise of religion. That is exactly what the city is doing here in trying to prevent Catholic Social Services from serving the poor and needy in the way they have done for centuries.

Lori Windham, of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who represented the foster parents put it succinctly for the justices. “The City has no compelling reason for excluding Catholic Social Services, which has exercised its faith by serving at-risk children in Philadelphia for two centuries,” she said in her opening presentation.

The real motivation behind this law, a blatant attack on Christians, was exposed in Court as Justice Samuel Alito asked a simple question: “How many same-sex couples in Philadelphia have been denied the opportunity to be foster parents as a result of Catholic Social Services’ policy?”

To which Ms. Windham responded, “Zero. In fact, Justice Alito, none have even approached Catholic Social Services asking for this approval and endorsement.”

Still, the liberal justices wanted to see a big problem here, suggesting, as they always do, that the situation is akin to Catholic Social Services discriminating against African Americans. But both, Ms. Windham for the foster parents and the federal government who also presented arguments in their support were careful to bring back the issue to what was really before them. “What the City’s trying to do here is tell religious groups who have been doing this prior to when the City got involved, ‘We’re going to exclude you; you can no longer carry out this work unless you take actions that are contrary to your faith.’”

Ms. Windham concluded saying, “In our pluralistic society, a properly functioning Free Exercise Clause is supposed to prevent this kind of unnecessary and harmful conflict. There are children in need of loving homes waiting for them. Neither Philadelphia nor [precedent] should stand in the way.”

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hashim Mooppan also presented in support of religious liberty on behalf of the United States. He took the argument from where Ms. Windham left off. “Philadelphia has not afforded Catholic Social Services the tolerance of religious practice that is required by the Free Exercise Clause and vital to our pluralistic nation,” he said.

He was strong also in responding to the liberal justices’ contention that this requirement was neutral and did not target faith specifically. He highlighted that the city indeed made many exceptions to their supposed rule, including in law. “[U]nder 55 Pennsylvania Code 3700.64,” he highlighted, “the City requires agencies to consider both familial status and disability in certifying foster children — foster parents. The City has tolerated racial and ethnic-based outreach to — for foster parents. And then the City itself considers race and disability when placing children.”

But now, when it comes to taking into account faith, they want to bully Christian agencies to violate their deeply held beliefs to accommodate the city’s desired preferences.

Radical liberal attorney Neal Katyal represented the City of Philadelphia and tried to persuade the Court that they extended those exemptions at a different stage and so that made it different. It was not persuasive. Justice Alito, again, got to the heart of the matter: “[I]f we are honest about what’s really going on here, it’s not about ensuring that same-sex couples in Philadelphia have the opportunity to be foster parents. It’s the fact that the City can’t stand the message that Catholic Social Services and the Archdiocese are sending by continuing to adhere to the old-fashioned view about marriage. Isn’t that the case?”

Katyal, of course, denied it and tried to deflect to another matter.

The new member of the Court, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, also asked important questions about the ramifications of the government’s actions in this case. She asked Mr. Katyal:

[L]et’s imagine that the state takes over all hospitals and says from now on, you know, we are going to be responsible for hospitals, but we will contract with private entities to actually run them. And so there’s a Catholic hospital and gets a contract with the City to run it. In fact, it’s a Catholic hospital that’s in existence before the state adopts this policy. And its contract with the state provides that there are — in the contract the state gives everyone is that you can get some exceptions for some medical procedures, but every hospital has to perform abortions.

The deflection continued. Justice Barret made an important point because as the size of government continues to grow, this sort of anti-religious bullying will only expand to more and more areas. Justice Alito, later on talked about homeless shelters, and one could think of any number of other spaces.

The city’s position is not only that people of faith cannot get government funding to serve the poor in those cases, but that they couldn’t operate at all.

Thankfully, the oral arguments show their position is likely to be rejected by a majority of the Court.

Jun 30 2020
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Religious Bigotry Law Rejected by Supreme Court, Despite Liberal Justices Objections

By | Blog, Education, LBB, News and Events, Press Releases, Religious Liberty, SCOTUS | No Comments

Washington, D.C.— In a 5-4 decision in Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue, the United States Supreme Court invalidated a Montana law that targeted religious institutions for discrimination. Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), the largest public policy organization for women in the nation, had this to say:

“We applaud the Supreme Court’s majority today for recognizing that Montana’s exclusion of religious schools from the state scholarship program violates the U.S. Constitution. Tax dollars should not be used in such a blatant discriminatory way. The First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause is clear, no law should aim to punish Americans for the free exercise of their faith.

“What is concerning is that all four of the liberal justices of the Court are fully on board with that type of religious discrimination. Shame on them. This should have been a unanimous decision. It is as simple as they come.

“Americans should beware of how close we are to losing our religious liberties in our country. Come election time, CWA member from around the country will make sure people know what is at stake when it comes to the courts.

“We have made progress, but there is much more work to be done.”

Mar 26 2020
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Trump Nominates For OMB Director A Man Bernie Sanders Savaged For Being A Christian

By | Blog, Legal, News and Events, Religious Liberty | No Comments

You might remember that Vought was viciously attacked for his Christian faith at his previous nomination hearings. Indeed, this reminds us the radical, anti-Christian left is now the mainstream of the Democratic Party, as it was Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), a front-runner for his party’s presidential nomination, who led the attack.

President Trump fights a more significant battle than just this nomination by appointing him. He fights for the liberties of all Americans, regardless of faith.

Click here to read the entire article, as featured on The Federalist.

Feb 14 2020
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Act Now to Protect First Amendment Rights for College Students

By | Blog, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Religious Liberty | No Comments

Act Now to Protect First Amendment Rights for College Students. 

Religious freedom is under attack on college campuses. Imagine being falsely told your First Amendment Rights don’t apply at a public university. That is the reality for many college students involved in faith-based clubs on campuses across the country.

The U.S. Department of Education has proposed a new rule on the Eligibility of Faith-Based Entities to provide religious freedom protections in higher education. The rule protects faith-based clubs on public campuses from discrimination and makes other improvements to ensure First Amendment rights in education.

There is a short turn around to comment with your support and help the President protect the rights of religious groups on campus before the deadline Tuesday.

This proposed rule is the regulatory form of the Equal Campus Access Act. Like the bill, this rule ensures students in faith-based groups receive equal access to public university resources and funds as other non-religious groups.

Join us to protect the students and campus ministries in your lives.

Dec 13 2019
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America Stands with Hong Kong

By | Blog, News and Events, Religious Liberty | No Comments

Last Sunday, 800,000 protestors took to the streets of Hong Kong, the largest pro-democracy demonstration yet. The number of demonstrators has steadily increased since the start of the protests six months ago with no sign of slowing down. This movement is so significant that despite ongoing trade negotiations with China, the Trump administration entered the fray to ensure China respects Hong Kong’s autonomy and fundamental right to protest.

Protests began in June in response to a new Beijing-backed extradition law that would have allowed people arrested in Hong Kong to be imprisoned in China. The first couple months of protests were peaceful and extraordinarily respectful, as demonstrators apologized to those inconvenienced by facilities closed due to the protests, even moving out of the way to allow emergency vehicles to maneuver through the massive crowds. They sang “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord” as their anthem.

Momentum swelled as a record number of people came out to vote in Hong Kong’s local elections in November despite the increase in police force and violence, including the shooting of two protestors. An astonishing 452 local seats flipped from pro-Beijing to pro-democracy officials, a significant and peaceful victory. Chinese President Xi dismissed this as “window dressing,” but it is impossible to ignore. The election could very well be a bellwether of changing times.

As Hong Kong protests and China waits, the United States is acting. President Trump signed into law Sen. Rubio’s (R-Florida) bill supporting the protestors and creating a U.S. congressional oversight mechanism to ensure China does not violate its agreement for Hong Kong to have autonomy at least until 2047.

Predictably, China was not thrilled. In response, the Chinese foreign minister Hua Chunying said China would no longer review requests for U.S. ships and aircraft to stop in Hong Kong.

To be clear, China generally does deny these requests; they are just announcing they won’t even look at the requests. This is more bark than bite.

Hong Kong is a Chinese territory that is supposed to have its own autonomous government. In 1997 the U.K. handed Hong Kong, its then colony, over to China under the agreement of “one country, two-systems” for the first 50 years. It is unknown what will happen after the year 2047.

The watching world exposes and puts a check on China. Between Beijing-backed police increasing violence towards protestors in Hong Kong and the concentration camps of around 1 million Uyghur Muslims, China’s violations of human rights are egregious and in the limelight.

Secretary Pompeo’s formation of the Commission on Unalienable Rights provides another mechanism by which China can be held to account. The commission’s purpose is to ground U.S. foreign policy on human rights in American’s founding principles of individual liberty. While the Commission is advisory, it will also help create a standard by which to measure the nations, exposing those, like China, who provide pseudo rights to veil their egregious violations of human rights.

Though the extradition law has been withdrawn, Hong Kong’s hunger for liberty has only grown. The world watches to see what action, if any, China might take. In the chaos one thing is clear, the United States stands with the people of Hong Kong as they fight for freedom.

Nov 08 2019
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child and mother

Trump Administration to Reverse Obama-era Regs that Sidelined Faith-Based Adoption and Foster Care Agencies

By | Blog, Legislative Updates, News and Events, Religious Liberty | No Comments

UPDATE:

President Trump just issued the new proposed rule that would reverse an Obama-era regulation that harmed faith-based adoption and foster care providers. This Obama “nondiscrimination” mandate, imposed just days before President Trump was inaugurated, jeopardized the status of faith-based adoption and foster care providers who work with adoptive and foster families who shared their beliefs. President Obama added categories to HHS nondiscrimination laws that require grant recipients to accept unorthodox, ideological views on gender and sexuality. The result has become government discrimination against faith-based providers used as a weapon for lawsuits and disqualifying them from serving families and children.

In the new rule, the Keep Kids First Rule, the Trump Administration has reversed this activist policy and clarified that discrimination laws enacted by Congress, not imposed by unelected bureaucrats, apply to adoption and foster care providers. The Administration’s effort to restore religious freedom and include all child welfare providers on the playing field is especially important as the need for loving families is on the rise.

The Trump Administration needs your help to make the Keep Kids First Rule a reality.  Public comments supporting the rule are the key to guaranteeing the religious freedom of all providers and ending government discrimination against them. Your positive comment supporting the Keep Kids First rule must be submitted by December 19 at 11:59 p.m. 

Click Here to learn more.  

 

Last Friday the Trump Administration announced its intention to reverse Obama-era regulations that have sidelined faith-based adoption and foster care agencies. CWA has been working with Congress and the Administration on this change for nearly two years!

President Obama added categories to nondiscrimination laws that require grant recipients to accept ideological views on gender and sexuality. Such government discrimination has been weaponized against faith-based providers – several are facing lawsuits; others have discontinued operations. The Administration’s effort to restore religious freedom and enable all qualified child welfare providers to be eligible for placing children in loving homes is especially important as the need for loving families is on the rise.

As with other proposed rules that represent major changes, like the Protect Life rule and the Conscience Care Rule, supportive comments of the new rules will be crucial! The timeline to comment will only be 30 days. We will need your help to get the word out. We are awaiting publication in the Federal Register this week before we are able to submit comments, and we will alert you as soon as the comment period begins!

Nov 07 2019
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Judicial Attack on Conscience Protections for Healthcare Professionals Must Be Appealed

By | Blog, Legal, News and Events, Press Releases | No Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2019
Contact: Toni DeLancey
Direct Line: (202) 266-4816 | Mobile: (202) 527-3434
STATEMENT by CWA CEO & President Penny Nance

Judicial Attack on Conscience Protections for Healthcare Professionals Must Be Appealed

 

Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), had this to say regarding U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Engelmayer’s decision to strike down a rule by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) protecting the right of conscience of healthcare professionals that object to participating in procedures like abortions.

“The mask comes off once again with this ruling. Not only is the left adamant about having the “choice” to end the life of the pre-born child, they also want government to force everyone to participate in it. They want to force healthcare professionals to participate in the procedure, and they want every American to support abortion through our tax dollars.

“It is simply outrageous for a judge to interject his personal preference as judicial findings, saying that a simple rule such as this one, giving medical professionals the right to simply say, “I do not want to participate in something that violates my conscience,” is a “solution in search of a problem.”

“The Trump Administration must appeal this misguided decision and continue to stand for the right of all Americans to act according to their conscience. As James Madison said, “Conscience is the most sacred of all property.” And we must continue to fight against the left’s continued push to infringe on this God-given right.”

Oct 22 2019
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Penny Nance on Religious Liberty Case

By | Blog, News and Events, Religious Liberty, Social / Cultural Issues | No Comments

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and over 40 members of Congress filed an amicus brief to support Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington. CWA’s CEO and President Penny Nance made the following statement in support:

“Conservative women understand the fundamental principles of liberty enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We are thankful for Members of Congress who are unwavering in their commitment to protect them from recurring threats. To compel someone, as the Washington Supreme Court did in the case of Barronelle Stutzman, to use her artistic expression to support something that violates her conscience and tenets of her faith is an anathema to the Founders intent and to our Constitutional principles. It simply must not stand.”

Read the Entire Press Release from Sen. Marsha Blackburn Here:

Oct 11 2019
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Woman and children in Africa

CWA Thanks President Trump, Secretary of State Pompeo, and Secretary Azar for their Defense of Life and Religious Liberty

By | Blog, News and Events, Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life | No Comments

In three separate letters to President Trump, Secretary of State Pompeo and Secretary Azar, CWA CEO and President Penny Nance and our Vice President for International Affairs Dr. Shea Garrison send heart-felt thanks for their work to promote international religious freedom and defend life at the United Nations 74th General Assembly.

CWA Letter to President Trump

CWA Letter to Secretary of State Pompeo

CWA Letter to Secretary Azar

 

Oct 04 2019
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Will Christians Become Outcasts at Public Universities?

By | Blog, Education, Family Issues, News and Events, Religious Liberty, Social / Cultural Issues, Uncategorized | No Comments

Our CEO and President, Penny Nance and Cathy Ruse, JD, Senior Legal Fellow for the Family Research Council partnered together to write an opinion article for The Christian Post about the impacts of liberal indoctrination and ‘gender fluidity’ on college campuses.

“We are Christian women, mothers of college students and college-bound children, who have serious concerns about how the “gender fluidity” movement has taken root at public schools and universities.

The idea that gender is fluid and self-determined, as opposed to biologically determined, has been germinating for decades. But today it has grown into a multi-million dollar political cause that threatens the privacy, safety, and religious freedom of all students, and especially women.

One of us, Penny Nance, President and CEO of Concerned Women for America (CWA), in a recent op-ed, gave a first hand account of how students, beginning at orientation, are being indoctrinated into this anti-Christian ideology at Virginia Tech (VT), the hard science school of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The response was overwhelming. CWA received emails from many VT students, parents, employees, professors, alumni, and state elected officials upset about the indoctrination.  Many complained of coercive “diversity training” and policies.  Some students reported fear of reprisal, and some school employees fear job loss. Many feel bullied into silence and believe their First Amendment rights are being infringed. The school is opening itself up to a variety of lawsuits.

VT’s response has been to post their mantra regarding civility, saying students were not forced to share their pronouns. But coercion comes in many forms, and the pressure is palpable. It is sad to say, but if you express traditional Christian beliefs at VT, you will be left outside of the community. Of course, VT is far from alone in this new woke trajectory.”

Read the Entire Article Here:

Oct 03 2019
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Legal Victory Confirms Need for Equal Campus Access Act

By | Blog, Legislately, Legislative Updates, News and Events | No Comments

Great news for First Amendment rights at public universities! InterVarsity at the University of Iowa won big at a federal district court, the same that heard the Business Leaders in Christ case. This decision reaffirms the need for Congress to enact the Equal Campus Access Act.

Congress should see this decision on its merits and pass the Equal Campus Access Act to bring the clarity and force of law to this issue. The Equal Campus Access Act is a bill that adds one sentence of language to law, ensuring students don’t lose their first amendment rights on public college campuses—specifically pertaining to faith-based clubs.

The decision by the court not only upholds InterVarsity’s ability to require leaders to adhere to its core Christian mission, but also goes a step further to find, for the first time, that university officials can be held personally liable. This is a change from the norm of the university paying damages if university officials are found to have knowingly acted unconstitutionally or unlawfully.

In this instance, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa found that specific officials at the University of Iowa should have known they were acting unlawfully in no longer recognizing InterVarsity as an official club on campus due to its leadership requirements.

Enacting the Equal Campus Access Act into law will alleviate any confusion public universities may have regarding the rights of religious clubs and faith-based organizations on campus. It would make clear that faith-based clubs cannot be discriminated against for following their sincerely held beliefs.

Congress must act. No longer should this be an issue left for the courts to untangle.  As this decision demonstrates, it should already be clear in the light of the Constitution.

In the Senate, the Equal Campus Access Act is S. 1168 and has 27 cosponsors. The identical bill is in the U.S. House as bill H.R 3243 and has four cosponsors.

CWALAC and our field leaders recently lobbied on this bill on our lobby day resulting in an additional four cosponsors on the Senate bill. Your voice makes the difference. Please make your views on this bill heard by using our action center to ask your senators and representative to cosponsor this bill, if they have not already done so.

 

 

Oct 01 2019
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How China ‘Is Home to the Worst Human Rights Crises of our Time’: It’s Why the US Commission on Unalienable Rights is so Necessary

By | Blog, International, News and Events, Religious Liberty, United Nations, United Nations | No Comments

United Nations headquarters in New York City, USA

CWA’s Dr. Shea Garrison, the organization’s Vice President of International Affairs, writes a new opinion piece featured this week in The Washington Times.

“The Trump administration led the fight for human rights at the U.N. General Assembly last week, calling out China for forced internment of more than 1 million Uighurs in “training camps” to be “re-educated” and “saved” from their culture, language and faith.

According to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, China is the perpetrator of “the worst human rights crises of our time.” China denies this, touting itself a defender of human rights by providing “development, health, nutrition, and housing” — its own “approach” to human rights that has nothing to do with individual freedoms.

China’s approach is not surprising given that international human rights advocacy is so “watered down” by political agenda that it’s hard to tell the difference between protecting God-given natural rights and government entitlements.

To help rectify this, Mr. Pompeo recently announced the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights to ground U.S. foreign policy on human rights in America’s founding principles of individual dignity and freedom. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, as well as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), are guides for the commission.”

Click to read the entire article here:

Click here for additional articles from Shea Garrison:

 

Oct 01 2019
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CWA Represents Your Voice at the United Nations General Assembly 2019: Religious Freedom, the Value of Family and Life, and Women’s Empowerment

By | Blog, International, News and Events, United Nations, United Nations | No Comments

Last week the 74th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) met in New York City.  President Trump, Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo and HHS Secretary Azar gave magnificent speeches, including on the issues of religious freedom, the value of family and life, the importance of nationalism, and economic empowerment.

CWA was at UNGA representing your voice through the media, at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and with foreign delegations. Our CEO and President Penny Nance was honored to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, as part of a small group of evangelical leaders, to discuss religious freedom in Egypt as well as the important issue of women’s rights and wellbeing.

The group thanked President el-Sisi for his work in Egypt to improve religious tolerance and equality for Christians, such as building Nativity of the Christ Cathedral (the largest cathedral in the region, and it is next to a mosque of equal size to symbolize tolerance and equality), rebuilding Christian churches demolished by the Muslim Brotherhood, and reforming religion textbooks for schools to increase tolerance and understanding between Muslims and Christians, as well as remove any extremist sections.

In addition, Penny thanked him for highlighting the necessity of education and training for women and girls in Egypt, as well as reducing barriers to their wellbeing such as domestic violence and harmful cultural practices.

President el-Sisi’s speech in March for this year’s Egyptian Women’s Day outlined seven points of engagement his administration plans to take on behalf of women. He has committed to address issues including women’s access to the marketplace, education, the problem of illegal underage marriage, gender-based violence and harassment, and to improve divorce laws so they do not put women and children in an “inadequate” situation.

CWA is grateful for increased leadership roles in Egypt for women; however, as women struggle for equal justice and opportunities in Egypt, there is still more work to be done.  President el-Sisi appointed the first two female governors ever in Egypt, the second one being a Christian. Manal Awad Mikhail is the first Christian woman in Egypt ever to be governor. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, appointed by Sisi in June 2018, has selected a historic number of eight women to his cabinet. There is also an effort to increase women’s position and rank in the judicial system with 16 female judges being promoted to higher level positions.

President el-Sisi has also strived to decrease female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C). While FGM/C has been illegal in Egypt for over 10 years, since 2008, it is still widely practiced. This is a stubborn cultural issue with over half of Egyptians, both men and women, in support of the practice. Egypt’s National Council of Women, religious leaders, Islamic scholars, and the government are working with President el-Sisi to delink FGM/C from religious practices saying it is religiously forbidden.

President el-Sisi made FGM/C a criminal act in 2016, going a step further than the 2008 law, prior to his coming to power, that made it illegal. His criminalizing FGM/C is a bold move on a sensitive issue with deep cultural roots.

The number of girls in Egypt undergoing FGM has declined some over the last 12-15 years, but the number who experience this harmful cultural practice is still shocking:

  1. The number decreased from 97% cut in 2005 to 92% in 2015 of ever-married women ages 15-49 (a woman qualifies as “ever-married” if she has been married at any time in her life, even if she currently is not married)
  2. There was more improvement in girls ages 0 to 17 , according to a secondary analysis (analysis of data already collected for a different purpose) of the data, with a drop from 69% in 2005 to 55% in 2015(14% decrease) of girls who go through or are likely to go through FGM/C before turning 18.

In his Egyptians Women’s Day speech, President el-Sisi acknowledged that underage marriage is an act of violence towards girls and hinders their education. The legal age of marriage in Egypt is 18; however, 22% of girls are married before 18, and 15% are married before the age of 16. Some of these are “temporary marriages” to visiting foreigners, mostly from the Gulf states. These temporary marriages are often a cover for prostitution.

CWA also thanked President el-Sisi for Egypt joining the U.S. and 19 other nations in a joint statement calling on the UN to stop using abortion-related terms in UN resolutions, negotiations, and other documents. Terms like “sexual reproductive health” (SRH) or “sexual reproductive rights” are ambiguous abortion-related terms which mask the promotion of legalized abortion.  Here is an excerpt from the joint statement read by Secretary Azar:

We believe that health of women, men, children and adolescents supports and improves the overall health of our families and communities, and that the family is the foundational institution of society and thus should be supported and strengthened…

We do not support references to ambiguous terms and expressions, such as sexual and reproductive health and rights in U.N. documents, because they can undermine the critical role of the family and promote practices, like abortion, in circumstances that do not enjoy international consensus and which can be misinterpreted by U.N. agencies.

Such terms do not adequately take into account the key role of the family in health and education, nor the sovereign right of nations to implement health policies according to their national context. There is no international right to an abortion and these terms should not be used to promote pro-abortion policies and measures.

CWA was glad to be your voice as Penny met with President el-Sisi of Egypt. She thanked him for his steps to increase opportunities and rights for women and girls, as well as religious freedom for Christians. We encouraged him to continue his progress on these issues and hope to be helpful in the future.

Sep 13 2019
0

Concerned Women for America Celebration Luncheon with Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo

By | Blog, International, News and Events, Press Releases, Religious Issues, Social / Cultural Issues, United Nations | No Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                        CONTACT:   Toni DeLancey, Ph.D.
September 13, 2019                                                                                            [email protected]     202-527-3434

Washington, D.C. – For 40 years, Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization, has promoted Biblical values, constitutional principles and pro-women policies across America and around the world. As a part of CWA’s 40th year anniversary celebration, CWA’s founder Dr. Beverly LaHaye, CEO and President Penny Nance, and CWA’s Vice President for International Affairs, Dr. Shea Garrison welcomed Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, who delivered a keynote address to CWA and its supporters during a luncheon at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.

“We are so pleased to have Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan with us today,” Penny Nance said. “CWA’s involvement in the International arena is increasingly significant and has intensified with our staff addition of Dr. Shea Garrison. Secretary Pompeo has approached his job in a way that demonstrates a shared vision with CWA and our founder, Mrs. Beverly LaHaye, to expand pro-woman and pro-liberty policies at home and Internationally.”

In his remarks, Secretary Pompeo discussed religious liberty as the first American freedom enshrined in the U.S. Constitution as an unalienable right for all people. He also discussed his experiences leading the U.S. Department of State to fight for that freedom as a U.S. foreign policy priority for millions of people around the world, including through the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom and the Commission on Unalienable Rights.

“Concerned Women for America’s work in the International arena is not new. With God’s guidance and direction, we made our first foray 23 years ago at the U.N. World Conference for Women in Beijing,” said Mrs. Beverly LaHaye. “Impacting international women for Christ’s work has always been a vision for CWA, and I am pleased and gratified at  how much progress CWA has made internationally under Penny’s leadership along with the expertise of Dr. Shea Garrison.”

CWA’s work internationally has focused on family and life, empowering women, and advocating for religious freedom around the world. To see more about CWA’s international department and its work, click here to see a video.

Read Secretary Pompeo’s Speech and Q and A With Penny Nance Here.

See the Speech and Q and A on Facebook Here (begins around 13:20).

See News Report from the Event from The Washington Examiner.

Aug 28 2019
0

Washington Watch: Freshmen Orientation at Virginia Tech was Full of Leftist Propaganda

By | Blog, News and Events, Religious Liberty, Social / Cultural Issues | No Comments

Penny Nance, CWA’s CEO and President, continues her effort to share how liberal our tax-payer funded college campuses have become during an interview with Tony Perkins from Family Research Council.

Listen to Penny Nance on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins Here (Scroll forward to 38:45):

Tell Your Story at [email protected]

Read Penny’s original Op-Ed in The Federalist Here:

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