Month: May 2022

Blog

6 days to save girls’ sports

In just six days, our state legislators will debate whether to override the governor’s veto of HB 1041, the bill which would have been a crucial step forward to save girls’ sports in Indiana.

There has been a damaging myth among some folks that HB 1041 would somehow prevent a child suffering from gender dysphoria from participating in sports. That’s not true.

In fact, HB 1041 still allows co-ed teams to exist. What it does do is ensure that only biological female athletes participate on women’s teams and that biological males participate on men’s teams.

This is absolutely necessary to ensure that opportunities are not taken from female athletes and that women’s sports are not erased.

Please click here to send a message to your Indiana state Representative and Senator and urge them to override the governor’s veto and SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS.

This debate is scheduled to happen just six days from now. Hoosier legislators need to know that their constituents expect them to override the governor’s veto. When Gov. Holcomb vetoed HB 1041, he ignored the will of the people.

Thank you for taking action to save girls’ sports in Indiana!

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We filed another amicus brief to SCOTUS

As we await the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs case, several other issues pertaining to abortion remain up-in-the-air and need our attention. Another case is going to the court that has implications for a post-Dobbs world, regardless of its outcome, and IFI is actively engaging in this battle as well.

A friend-of-the-court brief was filed last week by over 30 state organizations, asking the US Supreme Court to leave the decision of whether abortions are covered by Medicaid up to the states. We signed onto this brief, encouraging the court to allow each state its own autonomy in choosing whether or not to use taxpayer dollars to fund abortions and the centers that perform them.

The case, Kerr v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, addresses a question that must be answered whether or not Dobbs results in the overturning Roe. With your support, we’ll continue to speak out and work to change not just the law, but the culture surrounding abortion as well.

The Planned Parenthood clinic involved in the Kerr case could have chosen to appeal their disqualification from Medicaid coverage in a South Carolina state court, but instead chose to pursue the issue in a federal court. This is possible because Medicaid works as a cooperative effort between the federal and state governments, but it indicates a more deeply rooted issue– this case isn’t just about women’s health. It’s about taking away states’ choice and forcing them to allow more open access to abortion by funding those centers with tax dollars.

We don’t know when we’ll get the official decision on the Dobbs case, but one thing is certain: even if Roe is reversed, there is still work to do to protect the lives of the unborn and the lives of women in our states.

We appreciate your support and your prayers as we engage in this fight, and value your partnership in working to change our culture to one that values life as it should be.

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Our ally’s office was fire-bombed

Over Mother’s Day weekend, the left fought back against the Dobbs draft leak with a series of malicious attacks against pro-life advocates and our SCOTUS justices.

On Saturday night, a mob surrounded the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and screamed outside his door. “You don’t get to take away our bodily autonomy and enjoy your Saturday night at home. You get to do one or the other,” one protestor told a reporter. 

On Sunday, a leftist anarchist group attacked our sister organization, Wisconsin Family Action, by throwing two Molotov cocktails into their office, breaking windows, and lighting the building on fire. The arsonists also vandalized the outside of the building with a message that read, “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.”

Julaine Appling on Tucker Carlson.png

Meanwhile on Sunday, approximately 100 pro-choice demonstrators targeted a Catholic church in New York City, forcing the church to cancel a monthly pro-life event. A crisis pregnancy center in Denton, Texas was vandalized with the words “Not a clinic.” Leftists also wrote “[expletive] CPCs” in graffiti on a clinic in Portland, Oregon and “My body, my choice” on a Catholic church in Boulder, Colorado.

It seems that the left is as barbaric and unreasonable as ever. Instead of presenting a coherent argument when they don’t get their way, they resort to throwing tantrums and even engaging in violence. 

The left should be ashamed of their moral depravity and complete lack of respect for those with opposing viewpoints. Every individual should be free to speak the truth without fear of bodily harm and every one of our elected officials should stand firmly against the left’s inhumanity.

While pro-abortion radicals attempt to threaten us into submission, we must remain unafraid and fight even harder for the truth and the unborn.

Indiana Family Institute is not going anywhere. We have spent decades preparing for this moment – the moment that Roe is overturned. Now more than ever, pro-life advocates must stand strong. We will do that.

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The AP reverses course; “woman” is okay to say again

One day, they’re clamoring for so-called “women’s rights.” The next, they refuse to say “women” and instead call expecting mothers “pregnant people.” (On that note, we wish a belated Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers in are community!)

If it did not have such potentially deadly consequences, the Associated Press’ recent actions would be laughable. According to a report, last week, the AP “updated its style guide on pregnancy and abortion Wednesday to discourage journalists from using gender-neutral phrases when writing about abortion despite having previously encouraged the terms.”

Interesting how the messaging changes depending on the circumstances, right?

This isn’t shocking. The legacy media and radical left are constantly moving the goalposts with their narratives. On the topic of abortion, their line once was, “safe, legal, and rare.” Now, the message is: “abortion on-demand, without restriction, funded by the taxpayers.” Our own President Biden (and many others) even admit that abortion kills a child, despite that fact that very recently, activists insisted that children in the womb are “just a clump of cells.”

Next time you’re having a conversation with someone who may be on the fence about their opinion on abortion, point out this ever-changing messaging, compared to the message that we stand by: Life is precious. All human life has dignity. Life should be protected, cherished, and valued at every stage. We are created in His image. How could we ever contemplate destroying a person made in His image?

Our message remains the same and we’re committed to continuing to share that message – even when it brings increased persecution.

We do this because it’s the truth, and because we know that even if it changes just one mind and one life is saved, it will be worth it.

Take courage and keep sharing the joy that is life!

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What we will do if Roe is overturned

This week, I’m sure you’ve witnessed and experienced the buzz from coast to coast about the expected overturning of Roe v. Wade. Again, the draft written by Justice Samuel Alito that was leaked was just that – a draft – but we have reason to believe that even if it is not final, the tide will turn in favor of life.

Still, our US Supreme Court justices need your prayers, and yesterday being the National Day of Prayer was particularly fitting. A radical left-wing group has published the supposed addresses of six of the SCOTUS justices and is encouraging protestors to descend upon their homes. This, of course, is an attempt to intimidate the justices into changing their votes on the Dobbs ruling.

Our justices – and the nation at large – need our continued prayers.

Despite these disturbances, we have abundant reason for hope.

In a statement to 13WTHR News, Curt Smith, Chairman of IFI, remarked,

“To send the issue of abortion back to the states would be a major step forward. That means each state, all 50 state legislatures, will set abortion policy. Indiana’s a pro-life state, so we would anticipate that it would be largely illegal here if not completely illegal. But, of course, other states might make a different path. But it was shocking news, but heartening news.

In Indiana it means two things: we will quickly, if not immediately, move to update our laws to take full advantage of the opportunity to be a pro-life state. And then I think it means pro-lifers –  we’ve got to redouble our work to support women and babies and let the world know that we really are pro-life.”

Like Curt said, we’ve got to redouble our work!

Thanks to your support, IFI is able to do things like sign onto amicus briefs to the US Supreme Court in support of Dobbs.We are incredibly grateful for your continued support as we prepare to lay the groundwork for a post-Roe Indiana.

We depend on faithful citizens like you. Thank you for your partnership!

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