Victory for Medical Judgment and Conscience Protections
DALLAS, TX – A federal court in Texas struck down an Obama-era rule that forced doctors across the nation to perform “gender-transition surgeries” even if such procedures were against their medical judgment or religious beliefs. The decision by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor reversed a rule from the Obama administration that required doctors to perform “gender transition” procedures upon request on any patient, including a child, even if they had a religious objection or believed the procedure could harm the patient. Doctors who refused to violate their conscience would have faced penalties, including losing their jobs.- Saturday, October 19, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Supreme Court will hear three cases tomorrow regarding whether federal anti-discrimination laws should apply to “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” Liberty Counsel filed two amicus briefs in support of the employers in each of the cases.
The question before the High Court is whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that includes “sex” as a protected category for purposes of employment should be interpreted to also include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” Two lower federal courts disagreed on whether the plain wording of the word “sex” should include “sexual orientation.” A third case ruled that the law should include “gender identity.” To include either term would require the law to be re-written, which is the prerogative of the legislature.
LANSING, MI -- A federal court ruled that faith-based foster and adoption agencies in Michigan cannot be forced to close because they will not compromise their religious beliefs by placing foster children with same-sex or unmarried couples.
Judge Robert Jonker found that the Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the state are discriminating against faith-based agencies such as St. Vincent Catholic Charities, a 70-year-old non-profit organization that specializes in finding foster and adoptive homes for hard-to-place older children, sibling groups, and children with special needs. The state is the sole source of foster care and adoption referrals for agencies like St. Vincent.
WASHINGTON, D.C -- Drugs that are being used as a puberty blocker in gender-confused youth have been linked to tens of thousands of serious reactions and thousands of deaths, as well as other serious medical issues, according to Food & Drug Administration (FDA) data.
The 
TAMPA, FL – Liberty Counsel is in federal court today seeking to permanently block the city of Tampa’s ordinance which violates the First Amendment by prohibiting licensed counselors from providing voluntary talk therapy to minors seeking help to reduce or eliminate their unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, or identity. The ordinance imposes significant monetary fines on counselors who provide this voluntary counseling.
GREENBELT, MD – U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow ignored binding Supreme Court precedent and issued an opinion dismissing Liberty Counsel’s lawsuit seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction against Maryland's law prohibiting minors from receiving voluntary counseling from licensed professionals to reduce or eliminate unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion. Liberty Counsel will immediately appeal this decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In Doyle v. Hogan, Liberty Counsel represents Christopher Doyle, a licensed professional counselor in Virginia and Maryland. Doyle is challenging Maryland's SB 1028, which was signed into law by Maryland governor Larry Hogan and went into effect on October 1, 2018. Doyle counsels minors who voluntarily seek his help and are struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, and identity. Doyle’s counseling is provided solely through speech, but it is prohibited by Maryland’s counseling ban because the state disapproves Doyle’s viewpoint.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Despite threats from the attorney general’s office during the preliminary criminal hearing in San Francisco Superior Court, a stem cell expert testified that hearts from live aborted babies procured from abortion providers are being used for research studies.
Liberty Counsel is defending Sandra Merritt against felony charges brought against her by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for her undercover journalism work which exposed Planned Parenthood’s trade in baby body parts. Merritt and Merritt’s co-defendant, David Daleiden, the founder of the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), are the first undercover journalists to be criminally prosecuted in the history of the state.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today we celebrate Constitution Day – the day the Founding Fathers signed the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787.
Constitution Day, once known as Citizenship Day, commemorates the U.S. Constitution. On this day in 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the document they had created. The original states, except Rhode Island, collectively appointed 70 individuals to the Constitutional Convention. In all, 55 delegates attended the Constitutional Convention sessions, but only 39 actually signed or were able to sign the Constitution. The delegates ranged in age from Jonathan Dayton, 26, to Benjamin Franklin, 81, who had to be carried to sessions in a sedan chair.
NEW YORK CITY, NY – As America marks the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that killed 2,997 and injured more than 6,000 people, the ongoing deathly effects of these acts of terrorism continue to take lives.
Since September 11, 2001 when 23 New York Police Department (NYPD) officers died in the collapse of the World Trade Center, 9/11 remains the single biggest killer of officers in the nation's largest police force. In fact, 241 members of the NYPD officers have now died of 9/11-related illnesses due to exposure from the dust and rubble. Last year alone, 15 officers died of cancer and other illnesses contracted during their service on or immediately after Sept. 11, 2001.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – During the preliminary criminal hearing last week in San Francisco Superior Court, the testimony of StemExpress CEO, known as “Doe 12,” indicates that children are victims of illegal partial-birth abortions and then violently have their organs cut out of them for sale.
Liberty Counsel is defending Sandra Merritt against 15 felony charges brought against her by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for her undercover journalism work which exposed Planned Parenthood’s trade in baby body parts. Merritt and Merritt’s co-defendant, David Daleiden, the founder of the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), are the first undercover journalists to be criminally prosecuted in the history of the state.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A study conducted by scientists from Harvard and MIT once again refutes the “born that way” reason for homosexuality. This massive study of nearly half a million people sought to determine if genetic factors contribute to same-sex sexual behavior.
The research was recently published in Science, a journal for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is the largest study ever conducted on this subject. While previous studies have not been as large, these prior studies have also concluded that there is no genetic cause of same-sex attraction.
