Category: Event

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Our Annual Picnic held September 29 featured our guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning Tony Messenger, columnist of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the popular singer, Laka, with her band! We had over 60 people in attendance, and everybody had a wonderful time.

Mr. Messenger, author of “Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice”, spoke about how the far-right uses laws intended to further religious freedom to impose the narrow religious interpretations  of  a small minority on the rest of society.

By Posted on Posted in Event, Legislation, Litigation

The meeting that was to be at The Heights, was postponed to Saturday evening April 27, 7:00-9:00 pm.  It featured an update on our lawsuit against the state of Missouri by Denise Lieberman, AU’s local attorney for the case, and comments by some of the plaintiffs.    We had a report on the status of bills in the Missouri legislature that impinge on church/state separation.

The business meeting included an update on our finances, plans for the annual picnic and other activities, and the election of new Board members.

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On Monday, February 26, 7:00 pm, at the Mid-County Library Branch, 7821 Maryland Avenue, we will meet to view the video, “Deciding Vote”. This NewYorker.com short documentary reconstructs the moral dilemma associated with the passage of the 1970 New York law that made that state a “pre-Rowe vs Wade” sanctuary for legal abortion.  Join us to share the video and our group reaction to it.  We will have some refreshments before the video. Please let us know you are coming through our MeetUp page but come in any case. Trivia question: “Which state was first to pass legislation legalizing abortion in the 1970s?”

Representative George Michaels in the NY

 

The initiative petition seeking to get the Missouri abortion ban rescinded will be available to sign at the meeting.  [This effort is not connected to our own AU suit against the state of Missouri, which would determine the ban to be unconstitutional because it infringes on religious freedom.]

 

By Posted on Posted in Event, Litigation, News

On January 25, our Chapter Treasurer, Hal Harris, presented an update on the status of the suit by AU and the Women’s Law Center against the state of Missouri to the Phelps County Democratic Club.  (AU is a non-partisan educational organization, but we present factual information to the public regardless of political affiliation.) We are suing on the ground that Missouri’s comprehensive and cruel abortion ban infringes on freedom of religion. The Missouri defendants (including the Governor, the Attorney General, and the health-related officers of the State) have tried to claim that the plaintiffs do not have standing and that judge should issue a summary judgement against us.  The claim that we did not have standing was dismissed within two weeks, but the second motion is under consideration.  A ruling was expected “in January”, but has not so far been issued. Any day now …

By Posted on Posted in Event, Litigation, News

On Thursday, November 9, Brian Silva, Vice President of Outreach and Engagement for AU, described the current status of our lawsuit to strike down Missouri’s abortion ban as a clear violation of the Missouri state constitution.  The talk wasco-sponsored by us, Women’s Voices for Social Justice and the National Council of Jewish Women in St. Louis.  It was an excellent illustrated lecture, with many good questions afterward.  A crowd of about 100 attended. The next step is a hearing on November 16 at 11:00 in the Carnahan Municipal Courthouse in St. Louis, where the AG will attempt for the second time to have the suit thrown out. The same judge will be hearing the same arguments again, so we have every expectation of prevailing as we did last summer, but this is Missouri, so you never know.

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Believe it or not, the St. Louis Chapter just celebrated its 75th anniversary! We hope you were able to join us on November 1, 2023, at the History Museum in Forest Park. We had a good group of about 75 who enjoyed hors d’oevres and drinks, and remarks from our Chapter President, Cynthia Holmes and our national CEO, Rachel Laser. Ms. Laser summarized the status of our lawsuit against the Missouri law that bans essentially all abortions and celebrated this historic milestone of one of the oldest, if not the oldest AU Chapter in the country.

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Our Annual Picnic was at the Shaw Park South Shelter on September 17, featuring “Church and State” editor Rob Boston. We also had music this year! – “Number 9 Coal” played bluegrass and  old timey music. Were you there, or were you square?

By Posted on Posted in Event, Litigation, News

The St. Louis Chapter held its Annual Meeting virtually on April 27, 2023.  We were updated by our guest speakers. Michelle Henry (left), is the lead AU attorney in the lawsuits in Missouri and Kentucky challenging abortion bans on the basis that they violate church-state provisions in the state constitutions. Alex Luchenitser (right), Interim AU Legal Director, reported the status of other AU suits and amicus briefs.

We hope you were able to join us on the 27th!   If you are on our mailing list, you should have already received a message about this, which was to include the Zoom link. Unfortunately, there was a glitch in that process, and we are not able to provide it.

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Rob Boston, Editor of Church and State and AU Senior Advisor appeared in a hybrid presentation at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, 12 Millstone Campus Drive in Maryland Heights, on March 13, 2023. Our own  Chapter President, Cynthia Holmes also participated.  Details are in the poster below:

Of course, it’s too late to click on “RSVP HERE”.

By Posted on Posted in Event, News

On Thursday, January 19, AU and the National Women’s Law Center sued the state of Missouri for infringing religious freedom by banning abortions. St. Louis Chapter Board members joined AU President and CEO Rachel Laser and thirteen clergy from six different religious denominations in filing “Rev Blackmon v State of Missouri” in the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis, asking that the court enjoin enforcement of Missouri’s comprehensive ban on abortions. If you are a member of AU, you should have already received an email about this historic action. More information about the basis of the suit and what you can do are available on the AU Website. The 83 page text of the suit can be found here. It requests a permanent injunction against enforcement of the abortion ban, and declaration that the law violates the constitution of Missouri.