In today’s News:
Texas Planned Parenthood wins an extension
On Wednesday, a Texas judge blocked the state from removing Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, after it filed a last-minute lawsuit against the state. The new rule was set to go into effect on Feb. 4 after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state could defund the abortion corporation. Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit alleges that the state did not give Medicaid patients who use Planned Parenthood adequate time to find a new provider. Patients had been given 30 days to find a new health care provider as opposed to the six months Planned Parenthood requested. Now that the grace period has ended, Travis County Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled that patients should be given more time, set a hearing for Feb. 17 and placed a temporary restraining order on the rule.
Kansas voters to decide on abortion
Lawmakers in Kansas last week overwhelmingly passed a ballot proposal that if approved by state voters would amend the state constitution to clarify that there is no right to an abortion. Senators in the Sunflower State voted 28 to 11 last Thursday to support Concurrent Resolution 5003, which places the amendment on the Aug. 2, 2022, state ballot, where a simple majority would be needed to change the state’s constitution. The language of the amendment states that “The constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion.” The measure, known as the “Value Them Both Amendment,” was passed in the Kansas House by a vote of 86 to 38 on Jan. 22, the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a pro-abortion Democrat, denounced the proposed amendment and claimed that it would harm the economy and send the state back “to the Dark Ages.”
School grants a student a religious exemption
A public high school in Illinois has approved a student’s request for a religious exemption from a required sexuality program after a national legal group voiced concern that the student faced the threat of possible discipline for her refusal to take part in the program. The First Liberty Institute announced yesterday that senior Marcail McBride’s parents are satisfied with the offer from administrators at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora for their daughter to complete an alternate assignment instead of participating in the school’s Student Gender and Sexuality Program. In a statement, the legal group said that the academy “reversed its position and approved senior Marcail McBride’s request for a religious accommodation.”
Christian movie studio changes its name
The faith-based studio Pure Flix Entertainment has changed its corporate name to Pinnacle Peak Pictures as it begins production on “God’s Not Dead: We the People.” Pure Flix Entertainment is the studio behind the “God’s Not Dead” franchise. It’s rebranding to Pinnacle Peak Pictures follows AFFIRM Entertainment acquiring the Pure Flix subscription VOD service last year. Pure Flix’s subscription video on demand will keep its name, but because of Sony’s AFFIRM deal, Pure Flix Entertainment became a separate company. Pinnacle Peak Pictures, which has offices in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, will continue to operate as a leading independent faith and family studio. Along with the “God’s Not Dead” franchise, the indy studio’s most popular film releases include “The Case for Christ” and “Do You Believe?” Pinnacle Peak Pictures has also produced, acquired, marketed and distributed more than 100 faith and family-friendly films.
