Christian Girls Team Banned From Competition for Refusing to Play Against Male Player
The team was accused of violating anti-discrimination policies
A girls’ basketball team that forfeited a game against a team that included a male student who identified as a girl has been banned from competition in state athletics.
The Mid Vermont Christian School told Valley News that for the girls to play against a team that included a male player “jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety” of its team members.
However, the Vermont Principals’ Association subsequently determined that the private religious school had violated the state athletic program’s “commitment to racial, gender-fair, and disability awareness,” and “gender identity” when it declined to play the Division IV playoff game against Long Trail on February 21.
In a Monday announcement, the governing body for state sports announced it had thus made an “immediate determination” that Mid Vermont Christian School and all of its K-12 students would not be ineligible for any state-sponsored athletic activities going forward, as the New York Post reported.
“VPA policies prohibit discrimination and/or harassment of students on school property or
at school functions by students or employees,” the statement from the principals’ association read.
“The prohibition against discrimination includes discrimination based on a student’s actual or perceived sex and gender,” it added.
Link: Girls’ Team Banned From State Basketball After Forfeiting Game Against Trans Player
Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill into law Wednesday that bars new licenses for abortion clinics beginning in May.
The bill also bans abortions after 18 weeks of age in abortion clinics beginning in 2024.
A trigger law banning abortion outright that went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year was subsequently blocked by a federal court in June.
The “Abortion Changes” bill was sponsored by state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee and sponsored in the Senate by state Sen. Daniel MacCay and while it would prevent many clinics from operating and many abortions from being performed, it features a number of notable exceptions by design.
"We in Utah have a long-standing tradition — since before statehood — of protecting the unborn by outlawing abortion," Lisbonbee said when the bill was introduced. "We have compassionate exemptions, and we have compassionate law and services for women who find themselves in a situation, and we as a state ought to support them in making the decision that they need to make. That's what this bill does, in a compassionate and thoughtful way."
The legislation also provides that “inducing or performing an abortion contrary to statutory requirements is unprofessional conduct” for physicians, registered nurses, or midwifes.
While many legal strides have been made in the effort to end abortion through laws that leave exceptions for certain cases, we cannot profess to be a nation that values human life if we continue to discriminate against unborn lives.
Every single life is precious, and we must not rest until every abortion is abolished.
Link: Utah Governor Signs Bill Banning Abortion Clinics and Some Abortions
A British woman has been arrested for the second time for silently praying near an abortion clinic for the second time.
This comes just weeks after a court deemed Isabel Vaughan-Spruce to be “not guilty” of violating one of the established “buffer zones” outside some British abortion clinics.
Six police officers reportedly attended her arrest.
According to a press release from Alliance Defending Freedom UK, bail conditions have been imposed on Vaughan-Spruce, a charitable volunteer, and she is prohibited from entering an area around the abortion clinic that is even larger than the “buffer zone.”
“Only three weeks ago, it was made clear by the court that my silent prayers were not a crime. And yet, again, I have been arrested and treated as a criminal for having the exact same thoughts in my head, in the same location,” she said in a statement. “The ambiguity of laws that limit free expression and thought – even in peaceful, consensual conversation or in silent, internal prayer – leads to abject confusion, to the detriment of important fundamental rights. Nobody should be criminalised for their thoughts.”
On March 7, the United Kingdom Parliament passed a public order bill that would allow for prosecution in cases when a person is determined to have tried to “influence” a woman’s abortion decision, including silently praying like Vaughan-Spruce.
Great news. Keep standing strong ladies against these ridiculous policies!!
Honestly, all of women's sports should refuse to compete until they take these men out of women's sports....if no one competes something will be done.....