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 Legislation, Litigation, News

A persuasive op-ed appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on July 24, 2023. Its authors are L. Lewis Wall and Douglas Brown, Emeritus Professors in the Washington University School of Medicine. They describe the ways in which the “personhood” claim relative to abortion riights violates the religious liberties of citizens. All of this is relevant to our suit against the state of Missouri. Read (or listen to) the whole essay here.

 

By Posted on Posted in Legislation, News

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch republished on June 5, 2023, an editorial from the Kansas City Star that urged Governor Mike Parson not to sign a bill (SB 34) passed in the most recent legislative session. It would allow public schools to offer elective courses on the Bible.  We have testified against this bill every time it has been proposed over the last few years, and managed to kill it until 2023.  We don’t trust the Christian right nor the legislature to define appropriate boundaries for these courses, which will often be taught in public schools in which a vocal if diminishing Christian majority often dominates. Other religious texts are not included

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Our long-time Board member, Rev. Rudy Pulido had his Letter to the Editor published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 1, 2023:

In a feRudy Pulidow weeks, our nation will celebrate its birthday. America’s foundation is based on the Constitution, which our forefathers refused to accept without the inclusion of the 10 amendments called the Bill of Rights. The first of these rights reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof”. In a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a church group, Jefferson saw the phrase as a wall that separates church and state.

The wall is a unique contribution to the welfare of our country.  Without it, people of faith, even those within the Christian faith, could become subject to a particular expression of faith.  Because of deep convictions people of faith have about their particular expression, we can easily imagine the chaos that would result from any law written by and in favor of a specific religious group.

We are grateful our nation’s forefathers knew the history of the sufferings of individuals where the separation of church and state was nonexistent and also knew their Bible. Maybe it’s time for some of our legislators and members of the judiciary to pick up a history book and a Bible and read both.

Rev. Rudy Pulido    St. Louis

By Posted on Posted in Legislation

Click on the underscored bill number to see the text. Contact your legislator or the bill sponsor to register your opposition or support.

HB 136 (Brad Hudson [R]) Prohibits public institutions from discriminating against religious student organizations. [Such organizations often limit leadership to members of “their” religion, in contravention to the institutional rules about discrimination.] Senate General Laws Committee Hearing 4/26 was cancelled.

Josh Hurlbert (R) has a slew of bills to expand the Mo Empowerment Scholarship program, which provides vouchers to the parents of private school students. HB 242 and HB 572 (Sander (R) expand the program to any elementary or secondary student in the state, and requires that all students receive a grant equal to the state adequacy target. HB 243 expands the program to Boone, Cass, Franklin, Greene, Jasper, and Platte counties. (Same as HB 875) Second reading 1/5. HB 244 defines all enrolled students as “qualified” for scholarships. Second reading 1/5. HB 245 allows parents receiving the “scholarships” to forgo the grant for a year,  without having losing eligibility or having to requalify. These are Dead – reported “do not pass” by House Rules Committee, and not on calendar. Dead

HB 293 Alex Riley [R] Establishes the so-called Religious Freedom Protection Act. Hearing held 1/25. 6 testifying in support, 4 in opposition, including our Brian Kaylor. Dead. Reported “Do pass” by House Rules Committee, but no action in the Senate.

HB 398 (Keri Ingle [D]) Prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion in the placement of foster children. This is one we can support, but it went nowhere in this legislature. Dead – not assigned to a committee.

HB 484 (Ben Baker [R]) and SB 34 ) Enables public schools to offer elective courses in “the Hebrew Scriptures” and the New Testament. We testified against this two years ago, and it was introduced again last year, too. Sunday School an additional five days per week. The Senate version of this is SB 34. (Karla May [D] 4/18 . Was delivered for the Governor’s signature

HB 485 (Ben Baker [R]) Allows firearms in churches and other places of worship with a concealed carry permit. This actually prevents places of worship from excluding guns.  4/17 reported Do Pass (7-3) by Rules Committee – not on Calendar. Amended onto  HB 282 , which allows open carry almost everywhere. Was not sent to the Governor, despite having votes in House and Senate.

HB 632 (Dirk Deaton [R]) Establishment of the “Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Religious Liberty Advocate” for the purpose of strengthening and expanding the role of faith-based organizations in providing social services, information about state grants and other state partnerships, and promoting the fundamental human right to religious liberty. Dead – not assigned to Committee

HB 768 (Herman Morse [R]) Private schools that meet “state requirements” (which ones?) for public school districts can receive public funding. Dead – not assigned to Committee.

Contacts for Missouri legislators can be found at Missouri.gov.