Political hypocrisy, religious liberty, cutting off Planned Parenthood, an abortionist thwarted, and remembering Walker Percy

Trust Not in Princes. Chuck Colson used to warn people who put too much stock in politics: “Salvation will not fly in on Air Force One.” Politics is important, and Christians should be involved, but we should not put too much faith in the political process to solve what are essentially spiritual problems. Two headlines from the week remind us of the frailty of mankind, and of politicians in particular. The New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, is a liberal Democrat and has been a long-time champion of women’s rights. He’s the same AG who is prosecuting movie mogul Harvey Weinstein for sexual harassment. Now, however, he faces accusations by four women of sexual abuse. He has resigned his post. And to show that neither party is immune to human foibles: In West Virginia, a former mining executive who spent time in prison for his role in a mine disaster that killed 29 people is the front-runner for the GOP nomination for a U.S. Senate seat. New Laws Protect Religious Liberty. Still, we should not give up on the political process. It can and has accomplished good. Two recent examples: Last week the legislatures in Oklahoma and Kansas passed bills to protect religious liberty in cases of faith-based adoption and foster care agencies. Oklahoma’s law allows private adoption and foster cares agencies to pick parents based on the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies. So, for example, a Christian agency would not be required to place a child with a same-sex couple. Kansas’s version of the legislation is similar. Other states that have passed similar laws include Virginia, Texas, Alabama, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Cutting Off Planned Parenthood. Pro-life advocates launched a campaign to persuade the Trump administration to stop sending Title X family planning program funds to Planned Parenthood. Last week, 41 U.S. senators and 153 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, saying the Title X’s regulations “are sorely in need of reform” while urging him to return the program to its roots. Planned Parenthood takes in about $60 million a year in Title X funds. “It is time for the Title X funding stream for Planned Parenthood to be turned off,” the lawmakers wrote. The Reagan Administration first cut Title X funding from abortion providers in 1988, a move the Supreme Court upheld in 1991. A Small Measure of Justice. An abortionist who claims to have killed 40,000 unborn babies pleaded guilty last week to criminal negligence. New York abortionist Robert Rho was negligent in the death of Jaime Lee Morales, a 30-year-old woman who bled to death in 2016 after one of his procedures. According to news reports, Morales was 25 weeks pregnant when she came to Rho for an abortion. After the procedure, Morales staggered and passed out in the lobby of Rho’s office due to blood loss from lacerations in her uterine aorta, uterine wall, and cervix. Despite her condition, Rho discharged her and sent her home with her sister. She passed out in the car and later died at a local hospital. Rho faces up to four years in prison under the plea deal. Milestones. Walker Percy died this week (May 10) in 1990. He is one of the great Christian novelists of the 20^th century. If you don’t know his work, I recommend starting with his 1961 debut novel “The Moviegoer.” You can read my appreciation of Walker Percy here   Image: YouTube

05/8/18