Devastating Families of Color in Connecticut

 

A few years ago the Regent University Journal of Global Justice and Public Policy published The Intersectionality of Race and Class in Bioethics, 7 J. Global J.& Pub. Pol’y (2021). That article considered how legal racial inequality, even racial discrimination, intersects with class and legal status in human reproduction, by applying critical race theory to reproductive choice in the context of race. Download it right now at SSRN to read more.

 

The State of Connecticut is considering several bills that will effectively enshrine that racism, and other aspects of legislation against protecting women and children in abortion, particularly targeting, albeit possibly unintentionally, unborn babies of color. Here’s a recent summary from the Family Institute of Connecticut that explains how this could happen:

HB 7213 will hide evidence that Planned Parenthood targets Black communities in Connecticut. Abortion extremists within the Democrat Party voted "nay" on Amendment D to HB 7213 which would have reinstated reporting requirements on abortion in Connecticut.  HB 7213 will remove all reporting requirements for abortion providers to report their disproportionate and discriminatory outcomes on abortion.  Black and Hispanic people accounted for 57% of abortions in Connecticut but only accounted for 19% of the overall population. This is what abortion extremists in Connecticut want to hide, and voted to hide, with HB 7213.  An amendment to bring back these reporting requirements was defeated by a majority of Democrats in the Public Health Committee. We must stop this bill before it gets to another vote. Regulations adopted in response to "fetal experimentation" are at risk in HB 7213. In 1973, Yale-New Haven Hospital was accused of performing "fetal experimentation" on infants born alive during abortion.  A scandal erupted. Public hearings were held.  The next year, in response to the scandal, Connecticut adopted a regulation provision which requires all doctors to "support life" when an infant is born alive during an abortion (Sec. 19-13-D54(g) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies).  That regulation has been the law for 50 years. It has been followed by hospitals, surgical centers and outpatient clinics alike.  For 50 years, infants have had this layer of protection against being experimented with if they survive abortion.   Don't believe it couldn't happen again.  Planned Parenthood, universities and other organizations are regularly exposed for trafficking in fetal body parts, some harvested while the infant's heart is still beating.  We must protect our laws against this inhuman and demeaning practice because it HAS happened in the past and can happen again today in Connecticut without restrictions.   Abortion extremism on display at the Connecticut State Capitol in debate on HB7213. Notwithstanding these long-existing safeguards, on Wednesday night, March 26, all except one Democrat on the Connecticut Public Health Committee, voted to delete the "infants born alive" protection with their vote on House Bill 7213.  What is worse . . .  legislative dirty tricks. That regulation - the one in response to the Yale scandal - was only added for removal that morning (LCO 6886)!  It never got a public hearing. The proposed deletion was completely excluded from the bill during the public hearing a week earlier (LCO 5865).   In fact, it was denied during the hearing that the regulation (Sec. 19-13-D54) would be a target for erasure.  It is disreputable and outrageous to proceed with a bill even though there was no public notice or hearing.  And an unbelievable slap in the face of common sense and against people who want infants born alive to receive care.  We must resist this abortion extremism.   Longstanding conscience protections also voted to be removed. All Democrats, except two, would not even budge on exemptions for conscience protections during the 12 hour debate.  The bill, based on a change the morning of the vote, would now also remove Connecticut protections for persons who refuse to participate in abortion based on their judgment, philosophical, moral or religious beliefs.  We need you to contact your legislators and demand that they protect doctors, nurses and staff who refuse to participate in the evil of abortion. HB 7213 skirts the Regulation Review Committee process where it belongs. This bill subverts the Legislative Regulation Review Committee process outlined in the Connecticut Uniform Administrative Procedures Act that started in 2023 for this regulation. The legislature should allow that process to continue instead of rushing - in the dead of night - to delete reporting requirements, conscience protections, and protection of infants from our Connecticut laws. Demand that parental notification be added to HB 7213 Parental notification for minors seeking abortions protects victims of sex trafficking and our young people. It is time for legislators to seek an amendment to HB 7213 that requires parental notification.  Recall that the West Hartford Planned Parenthood performed an abortion and released Adam Gault’s 15-year-old victim who was kept hidden in a closet for almost a year.  Other victims were suspected, and Adam Gault is now serving a 25-year sentence along with others who were involved in the crime.  Adam's crimes against a 15-year-old child went undetected at Planned Parenthood.  Instead of deleting our abortion regulations, they should be enhanced with more reporting, more vigorous counseling, better informed consent for minors, and also a parental notification provision for minors.

 

Rather than advancing family restoration, these laws will devastate families of color and other families in Connecticut. If you want to do something about it, contact the Family Institute of Connecticut.

Families & Pediatric Sexual Assault - What You Need to Know

 

On January 15, 2025, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Free Speech Coalition vs. Paxton. This case will determine the fate of 19 state laws protecting children from access to online pornography through mandatory age verification requirements.   Truth Exposed is a podcast of the Family Policy Alliance. This episode posted below is about the tragedy of pediatric sexual assault. There’s no question that exposure to pornography, particularly for minors, is a risk factor for sexual violence to minors. In this episode, Joseph Kohm, the policy director at Family Policy Alliance, is joined by Heidi Olson, a registered nurse and the founder and president of Paradigm Shift Training and Consulting, which equips healthcare workers with skills-based training to identify human trafficking and exploitation.   As a nurse Heidi has personally examined and treated numerous victims of pediatric sexual assault, and she courageously uses her voice to raise the alarm about the disturbing relationship between pornography exposure and these heinous crimes, aspects that definitely destroy families. Truth Exposed: The Connections Between Pornography and Pediatric Sexual Assault

Audio podcast available here.

April is Abortion Recovery Awareness Month

 

Study shows nearly twice the risk of suicide for abortive women – April can bring help

Are women who have experienced abortion at higher risk for suicide? Can anything be done to experience recovery and restoration from that experience?  The answers to both of these questions are yes, and April is Abortion Recovery Awareness Month.

A new study considered suicide risks associated with pregnancy outcomes.  According to MSN’s report on that study, women who had abortions or experienced natural pregnancy loss were twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to women who successfully delivered their babies. These higher rates of suicide are traced in the study entitled “Suicide risks associated with pregnancy outcomes: a national cross-sectional survey of American females 41-45 years of age,” from the collaborative effort of the Elliot Institute and the Charlotte Lozier Institute. 

The study was a topic-blind study which surveyed 2,829 American women between the ages of 41 and 45 about their reproductive histories and any past suicide attempts. Scholars and researchers who designed the study consulted with experts in abortion and mental health research in preparing a questionnaire on the prevalence and effects of abortions that conflict with women’s own maternal preferences and moral beliefs.

The participants who consented to take part in the survey understood that “sensitive info” may be addressed, though opportunities to complete surveys did not disclose the subject or content of the surveys. Respondents were free to cease participation in any given survey at any time, making their participation clearly and completely voluntary and deliberate. To a degree, the results reveal that participants wanted to tell their stories to researchers, even though they were “completely in the dark as to what the purpose of the research was.” Concurrently, the researchers learned that while “all forms of pregnancy loss may involve feelings of loss and grief, case reports indicated that at least a subset of women who have had abortions reported feelings of guilt and self-hatred” which tended to fuel “their subsequent suicidal thoughts and behaviors.”

Published in the January 2025 issue of the Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, these groundbreaking results reveal that women who have experienced pregnancy loss are at a higher risk of suicidal and self-destructive thoughts and behaviors. These women were twice as likely to have attempted suicide compared to women who successfully delivered their babies.  Most compelling was the fact that women who were exposed to abortion, especially when the abortion was contrary to the values and preferences of the pregnant women, experienced higher rates of suicide attempts, suicidal thoughts, and self-destructive behaviors.  Here’s what it found:

A history of attempted suicide was highest among women who have undergone abortions. Over one-third (35%) of the post-abortive women surveyed reported that they had attempted suicide. Women who only had successful deliveries of their children had the lowest suicide attempt rate at 13%.

Furthermore, women who were coerced into having abortions had the highest rates – 46% of whom tried to end their own lives. The study concluded, “Aborting women, especially those who underwent coerced or unwanted abortions, were significantly more likely to say their pregnancy outcomes directly contributed to suicidal thoughts and behaviors compared to women in all other groups.”  Abortion was the cause of harm to these women, creating a very real higher risk of suicide. This news is disturbing and tragic.

The study concluded: “These findings should be used to improve both pre-abortion screening and counseling and post-abortion care.”  So, can anything be done to experience recovery and restoration from the abortion experience? While this study covered the experiences of less than 3,000 women, millions of women in America have been harmed by abortion, severely damaged by the “devastating psychological consequences” of abortion as stated in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).  In Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) the Supreme Court of the United States noted: “…some women come to regret aborting the infant life they once created and sustained… Whether to have an abortion requires a difficult and painful moral decision, fraught with emotional consequence.” The Court also noted that “severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” an abortion.

Something can be done to bring help, healing, and restoration to women who have experienced abortion, and it can be done right now. April is Abortion Recovery Awareness Month.  Supported by Operation Outcry and The Justice Foundation, Abortion Recovery Awareness Month offers anyone an opportunity to promote abortion recovery programs across America, in churches, schools, workplace wellness centers, campuses, and communities.  A quick internet search of the term “April is Abortion Recovery Awareness Month” reveals at least 10 organizations already working toward abortion recovery for women, men, and families.  The Abortion Recovery International Network (ARIN) is ready to serve you or anyone you may know who can benefit from abortion recovery services, helping to find safe, healthy alternatives to abortion.

Women who have experienced pregnancy loss through abortion are at twice the risk for suicide as a woman who has not experienced an abortion. Help someone you know who has been a victim of abortion to experience recovery and restoration from that experience, today, this month. Yes, there is help.  April is Abortion Recovery Awareness Month.

Regent Law Breaks Into the Top 100 U.S. News Rankings

 

 

For the first time in school history, Regent University School of Law has been ranked among the Top 100 law schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report—landing at #94 in the 2025–26 rankings. Even more remarkable, Regent Law has climbed 14 spots from last year and 53 spots over the past four years, making it the fastest-rising law school in the country over that timeframe.

 

Other recent accolades include top national rankings for teaching quality and professor accessibility from The Princeton Review, and a “Best Value” designation from preLaw Magazine.

 

In a field of nearly 200 ABA-approved law schools, this kind of momentum is rare—and it didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of a Christ-centered community sustained by prayer, generosity, mentorship, and a shared commitment to excellence across generations of students, alumni, faculty, and friends.

 

As Dean Brad Lingo noted, “Regent Law’s renaissance shows that a law school can be both committed to a Christ-centered mission and academically excellent. In fact, it’s the commitment to our mission that draws outstanding students and world-class faculty to our law school and fuels our success.”

 

This isn’t just a ranking—it’s a reflection of our legacy and God’s grace at work through it all. And it means that lawyers are learning how to restore families!

How the DOE's Closing Could Strengthen the Family

 

The federal Department of Education’s closing may be a very good thing for your family that will bring the educational needs of your child to the local level to get the attention needed.  

The Executive Order signing at the White House last week signaled the beginning of a transformative new chapter in American education. This will empower parents and restore decision-making authority to state and local communities, reducing the influence of Washington bureaucrats over children’s education. Greater parental involvement will be encouraged to play a key role in improving academic outcomes.

Importantly, the steady decline in reading and math scores since the establishment of the U.S. Department of Education highlights a troubling reality—the federal government has fallen short of its mission to enhance student achievement.

This new direction offers hope for a brighter, more accountable future in education, and just might work to the restoration of the family to education, rather than reliance on government.

See the summary of this change from Moms for Liberty:

Trump Orders a Plan to Dismantle the Education Department While Keeping Some Core Functions

The Effect of Divorce on a Child’s Education

 

 

This guest post is courtesy of Ashley Ogden, Regent Law 2L:

Divorce is undoubtedly a challenging time of life for all parties involved, whether you are the one initiating the divorce or not. Even more so, divorce is particularly difficult for any children involved. The effect of divorce on children broadly impacts a child’s self-esteem, social skills, behavior, and mental health. Often overlooked, however, is the substantial negative impact divorce has on a child's educational development.

The sudden loss of the family unit resulting from divorce has a profound impact on a child's educational success. The family, after all, is a child's first and most influential learning environment before they graduate to the classroom. When divorce disrupts the equilibrium of the family, the resulting shock has a negative ripple effect on the child's educational journey. The emotional toll following the process of divorce indirectly affects a child's ability to maintain focus and motivation in school. Further, the stress and anxiety related to significant family dynamic changes can likely manifest in lower academic performance, decreased participation in school activities, and behavioral issues in the classroom. It is nearly impossible to hide the effects of divorce from children of any age, and this upheaval in the home can be extremely distracting, leading to irregular homework completion, difficulty concentrating on studies, and increased absenteeism. In some circumstances, children may need to abruptly switch schools, further disrupting their educational continuity which may reflect in subsequent poor academic performance and frustrated social relationships at school.

As previously mentioned, divorce is an emotionally and physically draining experience for all parties involved and while divorce can likely result in a child's decreased educational performance, it is important to remember that the school grounds can also serve as a blessing and source of stability and structure during this tumultuous time. While divorce presents an influx of inconsistencies and unknowns, the routine of school coupled with familiar teachers and friendships can provide a comforting sense of normalcy for children going through a divorce.

School’s Secret Gender Transition Wins Over Parental Rights to Know

 

A Florida middle school’s secret gender transition of a 13 year old has been upheld as against her parents' allegations of interference with parental direction of their child's upbringing.  

A federal appeals court has ruled against two Florida parents who allege a school district aided their child’s “secret” gender transition in a case highlighted by President Donald Trump in his address to Congress last week. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, ruled 2-1 on March 12 that January and Jeffrey Littlejohn could not prevail on their parental-rights claim under the 14th Amendment’s due-process clause because school officials’ actions did not “shock the conscience.”

The story of the Littlejohns and their child, who is female at birth and sought to transition at age 13 in 2020 at their Tallahassee, Fla., middle school, has been an important case, cited by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in his successful effort to enact a law limiting what schools could teach and speak about sexual orientation and gender identity.

This ruling jeopardizes parents’ rights to protect their children while at school, and certainly works to deconstruct rather than restore families.

Families Fight Pornography on the Frontlines

 This guest post is from Benjamin Hands, Regent Law 3L:

Recently, states are passing laws requiring pornographic websites to verify the age of its visitors. The Supreme Court heard Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton on January 15, 2025, to decide what constitutional standard should be applied to these laws regulating pornography. When approaching this legal issue, it is important to keep in mind the holistic impacts of pornography on individuals and society. The proliferation of sin, confusion, and pain caused by pornography burdens our adolescents with a weight that is brought with them into all aspects of their lives. While free speech advocates want to ignore the pain pornography causes to so many Americans, the struggles of our fellow Americans follow them into their marriages, families, and society as a whole.

 The prevalence of pornography is often called an epidemic, and the harmful effects of pornography cannot be ignored. Studies show that pornography use causes depression, low self-esteem, decreased appetite, and poor mood. E.g., Haseeb Mehmood Qadri et al., Physiological, Psychosocial and Substance Abuse Effects of Pornography Addiction: A Narrative Review, Cureus (2023), https://www.cureus.com/articles/131357-physiological-psychosocial-and-substance-abuse-effects-of-pornography-addiction-a-narrative-review#!/. Indeed, pornography can be classed as an addiction as it has all the same hallmarks of substance addictions. E.g., id.; Matthew Fradd, The Porn Myth 24–25 (2017). Not to mention the spiritual harm pornography causes. Pornography encourages lust, therefore distancing from God those who watch and create pornography. Further, Jesus Christ calls us to love our spouses with our entire body and soul, but pornography teaches our adolescents that sex is about gratification, not marital love. Sex should be an important part of fostering a loving marital union designed to reflect God’s love for us and create life inspired by that love. But pornography instead takes love out of the equation.

Our families are on the frontlines of helping and dealing with those who are suffering from pornography addictions. Spouses are harmed by being objectified while children who watch pornography are harmed emotionally and physically, and they carry that pain with them when interacting with those around them. It is vital to heal families impacted by pornography addictions and reverse the effects of pornography on our country. America has a long history of decidedly treating obscenity as not protected by the Constitution. Pornography itself is inherently obscene. Therefore, legally pornography should not be held to a high constitutional standard and states should vigorously tackle pornography to heal the pain and confusion it has caused