Tag: Massachusetts

Teacher fired for telling parents of daughter’s ‘transition’

Bob Unruh – April 20, 2022

A schoolteacher who shared with parents a statement from their daughter about her purported gender “transition” was fired for the communication, according to a report from Just the News.

That’s even though the parents had told the school district not to have any gender-oriented conversations with their daughter, and officials refused to cooperate.

The report said the case now is the focus of a lawsuit against the district by multiple parents.

It was parents Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri who learned the school in Ludlow, Massachusetts, also was treating their son as a girl in accord with his wishes, according to their complaint against several current and former district and school officials for violating their parental rights.

Interim Superintendent Lisa Nemeth told Just the News the district had no comment.

But the report explained how Baird Middle School teacher Bonnie Manchester started a GiveSendGo fundraiser more than a year ago when she was first put on paid leave for notifying the girl’s parents of her gender transition.

She has not yet filed litigation against the school, but her lawyer said it was being considered.

https://www.wnd.com

Massachusetts Legislature Passes ‘Infanticide Act’ Removing Requirement of Preserving Abortion Survivor’s Life

Dr. Susan Berry – November 23, 2020

The Massachusetts legislature has passed an amendment to a budget bill that would allow abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy, eliminate parental consent, and remove the requirement that abortionists must attempt to preserve the life of a baby who survives abortion.

The state House passed Amendment 759 by a vote of 108-49, while the state Senate approved it by a vote of 33-7. The amendment, as part of the fiscal year 2021 budget bill, is now on the desk of Gov. Charlie Baker (R) who, as Masslive.com reported, was critical of Democrats pushing a late-term abortion proposal in a budget bill.

“I do share some of the unhappiness that was raised by a number of members of the Republican Party that putting policy in the budget was something that both leaders in the House and Senate said they would not do,” Baker said Friday afternoon, according to the report. “It’s pretty hard to argue this isn’t a major policy initiative that is not in the budget.”

As late as last year, Baker disapproved of measures to expand late-term abortion.

“I do not support late term abortions,” the governor said. “I support current law in Massachusetts. It’s worked well for decades for women and families here in Massachusetts, and that’s what we support.”

The Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI) explained why Amendment 759 has been dubbed the “Infanticide Act:”

The reason why this legislation has earned the moniker “Infanticide Act” is because it removes the requirement that an abortionist “shall” save the life of a baby born alive during a botched abortion and replaces it with the requirement to simply have life-saving equipment in the room with no obligation to use it.

https://www.breitbart.com

Massachusetts lawmakers seek to legalize abortion up to birth by adding it to state budget

Ryan Foley – November 11, 2020

As companion bills aimed at allowing abortion up until the moment of birth continue to be stalled, Massachusetts lawmakers are now working to insert an amendment into the state budget that would accomplish the same goal.

State Representative Claire Cronin, the co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, filed Amendment 759, which would be added to the annual budget bill. The leadership of both houses of the Massachusetts General Court have spoken out in favor of the amendment, which is similar to the ROE Act that failed.

“Following last week’s joint statement with Senate President Spika, in which we have expressed concern over the threat to women’s reproductive rights on the national level, it is urgent that the House take up an immediate measure to remove barriers to women’s reproductive health options and protect the concepts enshrined in Roe v. Wade,” state House Speaker Robert DeLeo said in a statement Monday.

DeLeo’s statement came just a week after he argued that the state budget was “not an appropriate place for major policy reform.”

Bill S.1209, “An Act to Remove Obstacles and Expand Abortion Access” (ROE Act), was introduced on Jan. 22, 2019, on the 46th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide.

If passed, the bill would allow abortionists to perform abortions when “the patient is beyond 24 weeks from the commencement of pregnancy and the abortion is necessary to protect the patient’s life or physical or mental health, or in cases of lethal fetal abnormalities, or where the fetus is incompatible with sustained life outside the uterus.”

A companion bill, H.3220, “An Act Removing Obstacles and Expanding Access to Women’s Reproductive Health,” was introduced on the same day. Both bills were referred to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which has a deadline of Thursday to make a recommendation on the legislation. The deadline has already been extended twice since the bills were introduced at the beginning of the 191st General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

As Massachusetts Citizens for Life explained, the legislation has become known as the ROE Act to reflect its promise to “remove obstacles and expand access to abortion.”

https://www.christianpost.com

Satanists Pitch Abortion as a Satanic ‘Ritual’ to Bypass Laws

Ricky Scaparo – October 1, 2020

(ETH) – The Satanic Temple based in Salem, Massachusetts just announced this week that it has sued an advertising company because it refused to display some billboards promoting a ritual offered by the organization to help people bypass abortion rules in some states.

TST has sued Lamar Advertising in Arkansas state court according to a report from CBN News, accusing the Louisiana-based company of religious discrimination.  The organization claims that Lamar refused to display eight billboards in Arkansas and Indiana promoting what the group is calling its “religious abortion ritual.” The group describes the ritual as a “sacramental act that confirms the right of bodily autonomy.”

The group claims that by performing the ritual, people can claim a religious exemption from mandatory waiting periods, counseling, ultrasounds, and other measures that some states require before an abortion can be performed. According to the report, The group claims that it submitted five designs to Lamar to be displayed near pro-life pregnancy centers.

In one of the images, a bowl of cake batter is shown with the text, “not a cake,” next to an image of a sperm and egg with the text “not a baby.” It’s accompanied by text saying, “Our religious abortion ritual averts many state restrictions.” Lamar reportedly rejected the billboards from the group stating that their content was “misleading and offensive,” according to the suit.

This latest report follows a recent story that was also first distributed by CBN News in August, where TST announced that it was raffling a free abortion to promote the organization’s Satanic abortion ritual while arguing that its members’ religious rights are exempt from any state laws or any regulations that might block access to abortion services during the first trimester.

This is because the organization claims that those who practice the Satanic abortion ritual are automatically exempt from being subjected to waiting periods, mandatory counseling, forced viewing of sonograms, and reading materials as required in many states.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Atheist Loses Attempt to Remove ‘So Help Me God’ From US Naturalization Oath

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BOSTON — A French-born woman who lives in Massachusetts has lost her appeal effort to have the phrase “so help me God” removed from the United States naturalization oath, as the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that its inclusion is not unconstitutional.

“[W]e hold that, under the most recent framework used to evaluate whether established practices with religious content violate the Establishment Clause, the phrase ‘so help me God’ in the naturalization oath as a means of completing that oath does not violate the Constitution,” wrote Judge Juan Torruella, nominated to the bench by then-President Ronald Reagan, on behalf of the three-judge panel.

The court also noted that the woman can opt out of using the phrase, while not denying the right of others to speak it if desired.

“[T]he government has not prevented Perrier-Bilbo from expressing her atheistic religious beliefs. Nor can Perrier-Bilbo claim that the regulation prescribing the oath prohibits her from having a public ceremony during which she does not have to say the phrase ‘so help me God,’” Torruella outlined.

“Rather, the regulations enable her to alter the oath, and the government has given her alternatives to accommodate her beliefs so that she is comfortable during her ceremony and is able to naturalize.”

“Perrier-Bilbo’s actual complaint seems to be that the Government will not change the oath for everyone attending the public ceremony so that no one utters the words to which Perrier-Bilbo objects. Perrier-Bilbo certainly does not have a protected liberty interest in that,” he added.

https://christiannews.net

Convention of ‘Christian Witches’ to Gather In Salem on Easter Sunday

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz– February 18, 2020

A group of self-professed “Christian witches” announced they will be holding their annual convention on Easter in Salem, Massachusetts. The gathering of  “Witches, Sorcerers/Soceresses, Wizards, Warlocks, Necromancers, Readers” and “like-minded Magickal Beings” is being organized by Rev. Valerie Love (aka KAISI). Scheduled for April 10-12, it will coincide with the Christian holiday of Easter and feature elements of witchcraft as well as Christian prayers.

Love bills herself as a spiritual life coach and “ordained Minister of Spiritual Consciousness.” On her website, Love claims to have been born a witch, and, as a child, “saw spirits and communed with otherworldly entities.”

She also claims to be a practicing Christian Witch and founded the Covenant of Christian Witches Mystery School which she claims is in the “Solomonic tradition.” In an Instagram post, Love stated that the Book of Psalms “is really a book of spells.”

The convention will include lectures on “Magickal Practice in the Christian Witchcraft Tradition”, a cemetery walk, Tarot, palmistry, and Angel readings. There will be a Harry Potter-themed costume party. The witches’ convention will culminate with a Church service on Sunday.

On her personal website that focuses on personal enlightenment, love also offers coaching programs for an investment of $5,000 to $50,000. Love also holds seances.

Despite Love’s claim that witchcraft can coexist with a Bible-centered existence, the Bible explicitly prohibits witchcraft in two separate places.

Incorporating witchcraft into Christianity is the most recent manifestation of what is becoming a common trend as black magic makes a comeback, even surpassing the Church. A later study by the Pew Research Center in 2014 found that 0.4 percent of Americans, or around 1-1.5 million people, self-identify as Wiccan or Pagan. To put this in perspective, a report in the Christian Post on this study compares this to other religions.

“There may now be more Americans who identify as practicing witches, 1.5 million, than there are members of mainline Presbyterianism (PCUSA),1.4 million,” the article wrote.

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com

Massachusetts Bill Would Give Doctors ‘Birth or Death’ Decision, Allowing Abortion up Till Moment of Birth

Steve Warren – January 3, 2020

A new measure introduced to the Massachusetts state legislature would permit a woman to get an abortion after 24 weeks if a doctor determines that “the abortion is necessary to protect the patient’s life or physical or mental health.”

The National Review reports that abortion is legal in The Bay State for any reason before fetal viability, which is generally somewhere between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The bill known as the “Roe Act” defines “mental health” in the exact language that the Supreme Court used in the Roe v. Wade companion case Doe v. Bolton: “all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the person’s age-relevant to the well-being of the patient.”

This essentially allows for abortion on demand up until the moment of birth, according to the National Review.

The Roe Act would also allow abortion if a doctor surmises the unborn child would be “incompatible with sustained life outside the uterus.” While the right to abortion is already in the Massachusetts state constitution, the measure would effectively guarantee the doctor’s right as well.

State law currently requires minors to get permission from parents before trying to get an abortion, but the new bill would change the requirement. It would allow any woman or “pregnant person” to obtain an abortion as long as she has given informed consent.

https://www1.cbn.com