Surrogate mother who fled to Texas gives birth to baby with severe heart defect

“After heartbreaking consultations with medical providers and their own research about the suffering and quality of life HLHS babies endure, A.B. and C.D. made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy,” the filing read, referring to Gilkar and Ahmed with anonymized initials. “It is undisputed that West initially agreed and that she herself made the initial appointment. She then unilaterally changed her mind, cut off all contact with A.B. and C.D., and withdrew medical releases allowing A.B. and C.D. to have contact with all medical providers.”…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/12/surrogate-mother-texas-gives-birth

 

Texas moms SUE to block Ten Commandments law!

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qOHwKzOg4X0

 

This 'Chilling' Right-Wing Movement Is Taking Over Classrooms — And It's Only The Beginning. | HuffPost Life

The religious justification being used in these cases isn't general, it's specific. "The ruling essentially says religion is more important than your identity, and not just any religion, but specific types of religious interpretations," Pieklo explains...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/schools-religious-freedom-book-bans_l_68fbc537e4b011e80886474c 

 

 

Catholic School Fires Widowed Gay Teacher (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #590)

— ACLU sues Michigan school after Palestinian teen bullied by teacher over Pledge protest. (2:20)

— Catholic school fires widowed teacher over same-sex marriage. (14:42)

— Oklahoma sued over school standards that mix Christianity with right-wing lies. (38:18)

— Supreme Court opens door to religious veto of public school lessons, starting with LGBTQ books. (55:55)

— Trump policies force global Humanist conference to abandon U.S. plans. (1:11:42)
Interview: 

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2025/07/03/catholic-school-fires-widowed-gay-teacher/

Weekly Roundup: US-Iran Tensions and SCOTUS Rulings on Trans Rights (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

In this weekly roundup, Dan begins with the escalating tensions between the U.S., Iran, and Israel, examining recent airstrikes and the Trump administration’s controversial military decisions.

Dan breaks down the fractured response within the MAGA coalition, uncovering the religious and ideological fault lines behind the debate.

The episode then turns to the Supreme Court’s latest rulings, including: 

• Gender-affirming care for minors 
• Deportation policy limits 
• The reach of nationwide injunctions 
• Parental rights around LGBTQ+ inclusive education 

Dan highlights the Christian nationalist undertones shaping public discourse and judicial outcomes. He ends with a rare note of optimism, pointing to a surprising cross-ideological ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act as a sign that compromise is still possible.
Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-us-iran-tensions-and-scotus-rulings-on-trans-rights/

Texas sues Biden administration over teenage access to birth control - The Washington Post

Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said he was protecting parental rights in Texas; analysts say it's an effort to upend a federal rule for the whole country...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/27/texas-teen-birth-control-lawsuit/

An Ohio ballot measure seeks to protect abortion access. Opponents' messaging is on parental rights. - POLITICO

"It's clear that the misinformation about abortion is not winning," said Elisabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights. "It didn't win in Michigan. It didn't win in Vermont. It didn't win in Kansas. It didn't win in Kentucky. So instead, we are seeing anti-abortion factions in search for that new, winning talking point…

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/02/ohio-ballot-measure-abortion-00113840

Christian home-schooler Michael Farris made parental rights a GOP issue - The Washington Post

"Everyone should be aware of Michael Farris and his influence on the Christian right," said R.L. Stollar, a children's rights advocate who was home-schooled and has long warned of the conservative home-schooling movement's political goals. "To Farris's credit, he is really good at what he does. He is really good at taking these more extreme positions and presenting them as if they are something that would just be based on common sense."

Farris, 72, has a long track record of taking stands on the right. He argued in 2003 for the authority of states to criminalize gay sex, a position the Supreme Court rejected in the landmark case Lawrence v. Texas. He aided the legal effort to keep Trump in power by overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election and has urged what he calls a "Joshua Generation" of young home-schoolers to "engage wholeheartedly in the battle to take the land," expanding the political and cultural power of conservative Christians…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/08/29/michael-farris-homeschoolers-parents-rights-ziklag/

Biden immigration enforcement memo prioritizes family unity, replaces Trump guidance | Reuters

ICE Acting Director Tae Johnson said in an email to staff that the agency is "committed to safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system and preserving the parental and guardianship interests of noncitizen parents and legal guardians."…

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-immigration-enforcement-memo-prioritizes-family-unity-replaces-trump-2022-07-14/

Texas Gov. Abbott introduces new 'parental bill of rights' | TheHill

…Abbott directed the Texas Education Agency to develop standards preventing the circulation of "pornography" and other "obscene content in Texas public schools." 

This time, he referenced Maia Kobabe's heavily challenged "Gender Queer: A Memoir" and Carmen Maria Machado's "In the Dream House." Both titles detail same-sex relationships and mature content, such as domestic abuse, but are recommended for high school-aged readers…

https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/591270-texas-gov-abbott-introduces-new-parental-bill-of-rights

Moms for Liberty has turned ‘parental rights’ into a rallying cry for conservative parents - The Washington Post

…The audience groaned when they heard the school system teaches students "starting in kindergarten" how to be cognizant of bias. They laughed when they heard one textbook lists ".gov" Web addresses as an example of a website that can be trusted for accurate information. And some members booed when they heard that elementary school students are being taught about climate change and "environmental racism," with references to President Barack Obama, John F. Kerry and Oprah Winfrey…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/moms-for-liberty-parents-rights/2021/10/14/bf3d9ccc-286a-11ec-8831-a31e7b3de188_story.html

Opinion | The Dangerous Legal Illusion of ‘Parental Rights’ - POLITICO

…When it comes to society's interest in protecting children, the legal precedent is unambiguous: The rights of their parents come second. Parents do have the freedom to direct the health care and education of their children, but these rights are not unlimited. As the Supreme Court said in Prince v. Massachusetts, parents are not free "to make martyrs of their children" by putting them in harm's way…

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/09/03/no-parent-right-unmask-child-509090

Alabama banned abortion for rape victims. It also protects rapists’ parental rights - The Washington Post

When a young woman came to the Family Services of North Alabama office last year for help with trauma, saying she had been raped by her step-uncle when she was 15, rape crisis advocate Portia Shepherd heard something that “killed me, shocked me.” The step-uncle, who was getting out of jail after a drug conviction, wanted to be a part of their child’s life. And in Alabama, the alleged rapist could get custody.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-alabama--where-lawmakers-banned-abortion-for-rape-victims--rapists-parental-rights-are-protected/2019/06/09/6d2aa5de-831b-11e9-933d-7501070ee669_story.html