Thursday, November 28, 2024

10 March 2021

Wednesday, March 10, 2021, 22:11
This news item was posted in Presbyterians Week category.

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“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6

 

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]

 

Presbyterians Week Headlines

 

[1] New Christian Observer Articles for March 2021

[2] Democrat Representative Says God’s Will “No Concern of This Congress”

[3] Bail DENIED: Pastor Who Refused to Turn People Away from Church Jailed Until May Trial

[4] ‘A Crucial Moment for Church Freedom in Scotland’

[5] Politicians Hear Evidence Revealing Harms of DIY Home Abortion

[1] New Christian Observer Articles for March 2021

New Christian Observer articles for March 2021 include:

You Don’t Need the Government’s Permission to Do That Which the Lord Commands – by Ben Davis of Cauldron Pool, a conservative and Christian website based in Australia;

Cancel the “ Cancel Culture” Being Encouraged by Many of Our Schools – by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – “We need to stand up and seek to cancel the “Cancel Culture” ideology that is present today in our society, which has to a great extent been spawned from our educational systems.  In a society there is no way that culture itself can be canceled, but it certainly can be changed. This is what those of the radical left are seeking. This is something not just recently developing, but it something that has been in process over the past hundred or years;”

Plus, links to ReVision devotionals on the Fellowship of Ailbe website by CO Contributing Editor T.M. Moore.

 

Christian Observer, PosOffice Box 1371, LexingtonVirginia 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

 

[2] Democrat Representative Says God’s Will “No Concern of This Congress”

The following is excerpted from “Nadler,” ToddStarnes.com, Feb. 25, 2021: “Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) triggered a bunch of God-hating Democrats after he pointed out that God makes people uniquely male or female. Steube said, ‘When men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity, they are making a statement that God did not know what he was ding when he created them. … The gender confusion that exists in our culture today is a clear rejection of God’s good design. Whenever a nation’s laws no longer reflect the standards of God that nation is in rebellion against him and will inevitably bear the consequences. We are seeing the consequences of rejecting God here in our country today.’ That comment drew a fiery response from Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). ‘What any religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.’ … May God have mercy on our nation…”

 

+ Way of Life Literature, Post Office Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, 519-652-2619, fbns@wayoflife.or

 

[3] Bail DENIED: Pastor Who Refused to Turn People Away from Church Jailed Until May Trial

Pastor Coates was denied bail just one week after the same prison released a convicted child rapist, forcing police to issue a warning to the public to stay vigilant as it’s likely the rapist will offend again. 

The Canadian pastor who was jailed after he refused to turn people away from his Alberta church will remain behind bars until May after being denied bail.

Pastor James Coates of GraceLife church will be imprisoned until his May 3-5, 2021 trial after he was arrested two weeks ago and charged under the Public Health Act for violating public health orders, including being over capacity and failing to adhere to social distancing requirements.

Read More:

https://caldronpool.com/bail-denied-pastor-who-refused-to-turn-people-away-from-church-jailed-until-may-trial/

+ CauldronPool, Contact Page

 

[4] ‘A Crucial Moment for Church Freedom in Scotland’

A judicial review into Scottish ban on gathered worship will start on Thursday 11 May 2021.

Tomorrow (Thursday 11 March), the Scottish government will be in court to face a full judicial review hearing over its policy to ban and criminalise gathered worship during the current lockdown.

This is the first time that a judicial review will be heard in the UK which challenges the legality of a government’s decision to criminalise in-person, gathered worship.

The decision will not only be important for Christians in Scotland but put a marker down for Christians across the UK.

 

Please pray for Janys Scott QC who will be arguing the case and for Brent Haywood (Solicitor Advocate).

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, 27 Scottish church leaders, from a range of Christian denominations, brought forward the legal challenge back in January, following First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that it would become a criminal offence, in the highest tiers in Scotland, to hold in-person services.

The move to criminalise gathered worship is unprecedented in Scotland, where churches have enjoyed long-established freedoms to conduct their own affairs, free from state interference.

The Scottish government has now announced that churches will be free to open once again from 26 March, in time for Easter. However, this does not negate the legal challenge: the government needs to realise that pastors have always been best placed to make the decision to open or close their churches, depending on the community’s needs.

Keep an eye out for more resources coming soon on our website on why this case is so crucial – not only for Scotland, but the UK as a whole.

You can also read more from our Communications Manager, Paul Huxley, on why worshipping together in-person is so important.

+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page

 

[5] Politicians Hear Evidence Revealing Harms of DIY Home Abortion

A cross-party group of politicians from both houses of Parliament were last night (Thursday 4 March) presented with evidence revealing multiple serious incidents of DIY home abortion, including evidence of an average of 36 calls to 999 every month following the taking of abortion pills at home.

Further evidence was presented on the increased demand for the abortion reversal pill, with over 110 calls for help in the last 9 months. The expected average per year is 10-20 calls.

DIY Abortions and Complications: The Evidence

Last night, Thursday 4 March, a coalition of pro-life groups backed an online Parliamentary Briefing hosted by Lord Mackay of Clashfern, DIY Abortions and Complications: The Evidence. The briefing was well-attended by a cross-party group of politicians from both chambers of Parliament and a number of other interested parties.

The briefing was organised in response to the government consultations in England, Scotland and Wales, which have all proposed to make the temporary DIY home abortion policy, introduced nearly a year ago in March 2020, a permanent fixture. The policy was brought in despite assurances from the government that there would be no change to abortion law. After extensive research from multiple parties, which was last night presented to parliamentarians, various groups have now found that the policy raises serious concerns about the safety of women.

Medical risks of pills-by-post

Dr Dermot Kearney, of the Catholic Medical Association, first presented attendees with the concerns for taking the two abortion pills – Mifepristone and Misoprostol – either in clinic or at home. The recognised side effects of using the pills can include haemorrhage, sepsis, sever paid and distress, and psychological trauma. The risk of complication is much higher if the pills are taken after 10 weeks’ gestation. However, gestation cannot be fully assured unless there is proper clinical assessment.

However, Dr Kearney argued that on top of the medical risks already recognised, taking these pills at home is further concerning because it enables coercion and the surreptitious use of drugs to induce an abortion, with no assessment made of the risk of abuse. The lack of a physical assessment also means that gestation cannot be verified and ectopic pregnancies may be missed.

Demands for Abortion Pill Reversal

Dr Kearney also noted that the demands for abortion pill reversal have sky-rocketed since the DIY abortion policy was first introduced.

Abortions have been proven to be reversable, particularly following a number of studies in the USA, following the taking of drugs to counter the effects of Mifepristone. This progesterone therapy is of no greater risk to the baby if it survives the effects of the Mifepristone, and is of no risk to the mother.

Dr Kearney said that abortion pill reversal currently has between a 50-60% success rate in the UK, but greatly depends on how quickly the woman asks for help.

Dr Kearney was one of two medical professionals to set up an Abortion Pill Rescue Service in the UK in April 2020, following the introduction of the DIY home abortion policy. The service is available 24 hours a day – unlike abortion service providers – and has seen over 110 calls for help in the last 9 months.

Systemic underreporting of DIY abortion complications

Kevin Duffy, an independent health consultant and former director at Marie Stopes International (Now MSI Reproductive Choices), then presented findings gathered from a number of freedom of information requests on complications resulting from DIY home abortions.

Neither the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) or abortion providers have successfully captured all the data about events that have taken place after abortion pills have been posted. In the case of the DHSC, data collected on the safety of the policy is based solely on information submitted from HSA4 forms.

Between April and June 2020, out of 23,061 medical abortions, the DHSC has recorded just one complication.

However, after making freedom of information inquiries to the CQC and the NHS, it became evident that complications were much more common. FOI requests found that 6 hospitals had reported 69 complications following the taking of abortion pills – this is five times higher than the DHSC states.

The FOI requests also found that an average of 36 calls per month were made to 999 emergency services following the taking of abortion pills, with an average of 20 ambulance responses per month.

Meanwhile, abortion providers do not deem surgical interventions for incomplete abortions to be a ‘complication’.

Between April and June 2020, 208 women were treated surgically in hospital for the removal of retained products of conception.

Mr Duffy urged the DHSC to listen to all of the data, not just the HSA4 forms.

Devastating stories of home abortion

Finally, Rachel McKenzie of Rachel’s Vineyard, which supports women post-abortion, shared the stories of two women who had devastating experiences of DIY home abortions, showing the video of one woman, Kirsty.

Kirsty found out she was pregnant in April 2020, but was coerced by her partner into contacting an abortion provider and taking the pills at home. She shared of how she was too scared to take them at first, and by the time she eventually did, she was past the 9 week 6 day legal limit.

Kirsty said: “The home abortion is made to think you are doing it in the comfort of your own home. But instead, you have the memory of what you have done in your own home forever. My home is no longer my happy safe space, it is the place where I took away my child.”

Miss McKenzie shared how requests for help to Rachel’s Vineyard have increased since the introduction of DIY abortion, with many more women now suffering trauma from having been left to take these pills alone and with no follow up care.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, one of the groups involved in backing the briefing, commented: “Abortion pills are powerful drugs and the idea that women are receiving them through the post and taking them without proper medical supervision hardly bears thinking about.

“The statistics speak for themselves, yet behind each of these figures are women who have been neglected and failed by the abortion industry.

“Alarmingly, the government is now considering making this dangerous policy permanent – without looking at all the evidence. Women deserve better than this. Women deserve proper care.”

 

+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page

 

 

 

 

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