ALLIANCE ALERT 08/14/2020

	Your Help Needed: Join This Diverse Movement to Defend Free Speech
When’s the last time you saw an ideologically diverse group of people come together over a common cause? If you’re racking your brain trying to think of an example, and coming up blank, you’re not alone. So far, 2020 has been a year marked by staunch disagreement—over a virus, over race issues, over riots, over an election. We must commit to a better way forward as a nation—particularly as a nation that was founded on the principles of free speech and civil discourse. Let's take a look

ADF in the News Fox News: Philadelphia group launches movement to fight for free speech amid 'cancel culture' movement  Image source: Alliance Defending FreedomAs "cancel culture" runs amok, many Americans wonder what the future holds for free speech. That's why organizers of the Philadelphia Statement are rallying Americans to return to a basic principle: the right to disagree. ADF Senior Counsel Jeremy Tedesco recently joined Fox & Friends to discuss the Philadelphia Statement, saying that Americans who sign are committing to a better future and to working alongside others with whom they disagree. Tedesco also discusses the need for corporate America and Big Tech to respect the views of all Americans—not just a few. -The Editors Read more at Fox News ‘Philadelphia Statement’ Defends Free Speech From Cancel Culture -The Daily Signal Bursch: Espinoza Makes First Splash in Appellate Courts -National Review More public colleges ditch unconstitutional policies to avoid litigation, law group says -The College Fix Students at Christian schools can’t be banned from Vt. dual enrollment program: appeals court -The Christian Post Religious Freedom USA Today: Coronavirus: Churches are essential. If protesters can assemble, so should people of faith.  Image source: Alliance Defending Freedom"The world we inhabit today, with a pandemic upon us, poses unusual challenges. But there is no world in which the Constitution permits Nevada to favor Caesars Palace over Calvary Chapel." U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch said this in a dissenting opinion after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a Nevada church arguing that the state government is favoring casinos over churches. In this USA Today op-ed, Hillsdale senior Isabella Redjai discusses the current state of religious freedom and how government officials are favoring liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries, and protests over church gatherings. She argues that, just as protests can't happen over Zoom, churches also require community and gathering together. Redjai observes that keeping churches closed "misdiagnoses the deeper problems within society" and that churches should be allowed to open. -The Editors Read more at USA Today Judge won't order sheriff to enforce restraining order at Newbury Park church -Ventura County Star Religious Liberty Will Prevail Over the Pandemic -Newsweek More Than Half of Americans Praying to Cope with Pandemic, but Has Binge-Watching Replaced the Bible? -CBN News White House Weighs Bill in Response to Big Tech on Free Speech -The Daily Signal Marriage and Family CBS 4 Denver: Colorado Athlete Madison Kenyon Joins Fight To Save Women's Sports In Idaho  Image source: Alliance Defending FreedomWhen Idaho State athlete Madison Kenyon found out she would be competing against a biological male in a women's track and field competition, she knew the result before even lining up. Sure enough, after spending hours working to shave fractions of a second from her lap time, Madison saw her opportunities slip away as the male athlete charged ahead of her. After personally experiencing the unfair competition—and seeing her teammates and friends going through the same trial—Madison decided to join in a lawsuit to protect women's sports in Idaho. Madison is standing up for women's sports because, in her own words: "I feel like when girls talk about this, they get a lot of backlash, and it shouldn’t be like that because this is just promoting fair competition. And we just want to have the opportunities that Title IX is supposed to protect to us." -The Editors Read more at CBS 4 Denver When men compete in women's sports, women lose -The Washington Examiner 300+ Female Athletes Demanded The NCAA Protect Women’s Sports. They Got Doxed And Ignored. -Independent Women's Forum Transgender Ideology Threatens Future of Women’s Sports -The Daily Signal Twitter Appears To Censor Joe Rogan Episode With Gender Identity Ideology Expert Debra Soh -The Federalist Sanctity of Life National Review: The Federal Government Must Stop the Deadly Abortion Pill  Image source: Alliance Defending FreedomMifeprex has caused the death of millions of children and 24 women, and it is known to have over 4,000 adverse effects. So why did a federal judge approve its distribution without in-person consultation? U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and Live Action founder Lila Rose co-author this op-ed to spell out in plain detail the dangers of this abortion-inducing pill. Not only are there zero medical benefits, but the approval of the pill itself is rife with controversy, including the death of one woman before it was approved. The FDA has required in-person consultation before distribution of the drug, but a federal judge recently cited the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to allow women to access the drug without any safeguards. In the end, the authors plainly state an obvious truth: pregnancy is not a disease and the pill cures nothing. -The Editors Read more at National Review Conn. city agrees to exempt pro-life pregnancy center from sign ordinance -The Christian Post What Pro-Lifers Can Learn From the Notre Dame Abortion Survey -National Catholic Register The Washington Post Celebrates Saving Unborn Children -National Review Nebraska passes dismemberment abortion ban -Catholic News Agency Latest News Releases Over 40 prominent scholars, legal experts, religious leaders sign Philadelphia Statement affirming free speech, civil discourse -August 11, 2020 Four more victories for First Amendment freedoms at public colleges, universities -August 10, 2020 ADF lawsuit prompts city of Hartford to respect beliefs, speech of pro-life ministry -August 7, 2020