California Can’t Force Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers to Promote Abortion

Pro-life pregnancy centers offering women alternatives to abortion won a major free speech victory on Tuesday, Christianity Today reported.The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to block a California law requiring pregnancy centers post referrals to state-funded abortion providers and birth control resources, forcing them to promote services that violate their beliefs, CT stated.CT associate editor, Kate Shellnutt, reported that Christian and pro-life groups celebrated the decision. The legal outcome follows several similar local and state-level reversals across the country in recent years.“We applaud the US Supreme Court for sending a clear statement today that pro-life Americans cannot be discriminated against and targeted by government,” stated Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America.“To be clear, this case was not about abortion. Malicious abortion politics definitely were the motivation behind it, but the case centered on the inappropriate mandate of the state compelling pro-life clinics to promote abortion in violation of their consciences. The case was about forced speech.”

FULL STORY AT CHRISTIANITY TODAY

Alliance Defending Freedom President, CEO, and General Counsel Michael Farris told LifeNews he was delighted by the decision.

No one should be forced by the government to express a message that violates their convictions, especially on deeply divisive subjects such as abortion,” said Farris. “In this case, the government used its power to force pro-life pregnancy centers to provide free advertising for abortion. The Supreme Court said that the government can’t do that, and that it must respect pro-life beliefs.Tolerance and respect for good-faith differences of opinion are essential in a diverse society like ours,” Farris added. “They enable us to coexist peacefully with one another. If we want to have freedom for ourselves, we have to extend it to others.”

LifeNews also reported that NIFPA president Thomas Glessner also was happy about today’s ruling.

The right of free speech protected in the First Amendment not only includes the right to speak, but also the right to not be compelled by government to speak a message with which one disagrees and which violates one’s conscience,” said Glessner in comments to LifeNews. “The court correctly found that the California law clearly offends this principle. We are very pleased with the court’s decision and for what it means for the many pro-life centers that serve and empower women in California and throughout the country.”

'Because of Grácia' True To Teen Life; Moriah Peters Shines Light

It's been a long time since I've been a teenager.However, while watching an advanced screening of Because of Grácia (film released this weekend) I was transported back to my high school days rather seamlessly in this engaging movie that challenges the commonly accepted focus of teens and offers up the truth in the form of one student in particular who is living out their faith in God.In its promotion, Because of Grácia may try too hard to avoid being tagged a Christian film. I root for efforts like these often, but mostly pray for a good film irregardless of its label.Chase Morgan would love to live up to his own name and pursue something great. It's his senior year and he’s still as insecure as ever but Eastglenn High's newest student is about to turn that around. Grácia is a girl with charisma, intelligence and conviction but she’s not as “put together” as Chase and his best friend OB might think. A dark past gives her a unique connection with Bobbi, a misunderstood classmate with a pushy boyfriend and disconnected father. As Bobbi struggles with a life-and-death decision and Chase risks rejection, Grácia challenges her friends, teachers and even herself to step outside the status quo. Because of Grácia’s inspiring strength, those around her are finding it easier to speak up and fall in love.In the end, it's not about how the film is packaged, but the fact that it is well made, funny, real, and carries an important message about life.Writer/director/producer Tom Sines, who teaches film in Canada, said he originally wrote the story as a stage play. When interviewed by the 700 Club, Sines said, "There is a demographic that I don't see in films that I see in my classroom every day and that's Christian young people trying to live out their faith. So, I started writing out a story about a kid named Chase Morgan and all I started with was the premise was that he was in his bedroom trying to get up the courage to call a girl and ask her out."Because of Grácia stars former American Idol contestant, Moriah Peters, who says her appearance on the show mirrors the experience of her character in the film.The Hollywood Reporter stated that Peters, then 16, tried out for American Idol and told judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi and Avril Lavigne that she was a Christian who was saving her first kiss for marriage.Peters said the celebrity judges praised her looks and her singing, but belittled her chaste lifestyle. One judge told her, "You're trying to be too perfect," while another told her, "Go out, kiss a guy, come back," she says.Peters' character is similarly saving herself for marriage. She also sings and is called “perfect” in the movie, just like on American Idol seven years ago."I honestly thought the director built Gracia’s character around my high school experiences," she said. “I was allowed to simply be myself, and it wasn’t difficult to dive into the controversial and tense circumstances."There is more than one hot button topic brought to the surface in Because of Grácia and that makes the film very gratifying to after-movie discussion lovers. Go see and discuss amongst yourselves.

RECENT POLL: Moviegoers See a Pro-Choice Bias in Hollywood

Is Hollywood pushing a pro-choice agenda? Americans seem to think so.Sure, movies like The Cider House Rules, Dirty Dancing and Fast Times at Ridgemont High make a strong case for legalized abortion, but pro-life groups have praised the likes of Arrival, Juno and even the raunchy comedy Knocked Up — all movies where lead female characters choose to give birth rather than abort.When push comes to shove, though, moviegoers see more pro-choice messages in films than they do pro-life messages, according to a poll made public for the first time Friday.The scientific poll, conducted by Barna Group, indicates that, when abortion is presented onscreen, 29 percent of Americans think Hollywood is favoring the pro-choice position, while 25 percent say it is favoring the pro-life position. Only 14 percent say no agenda is pushed, while 18 percent don’t recall seeing a movie in which the topic was even discussed.As the audience gets older, they are far more likely to see pro-choice messages. Thirty-six percent of boomers (ages 52-70), for example, think Hollywood makes movies sympathetic to the pro-choice position, while only 13 percent think it makes more pro-life films.On the flip side, 36 percent of millennials (ages 18-32) think that Hollywood’s messages are primarily pro-life, while 28 percent think they are mostly pro-choice.The results also break down according to party, with Democrats seeing more pro-choice messages and Republicans seeing more pro-life messages, which could be attributed to confirmation bias or the simple fact that conservatives and liberals are oftentimes choosing to see different movies, especially when they know that the touchy issue of abortion will be a major plot point.Like the public at large, registered Independents also see Hollywood largely pushing a pro-choice agenda — 27 percent, compared to 16 percent for pro-life.A recent Gallup Poll indicates that Americans are almost exactly split on the issue of abortion, with 47 percent calling themselves pro-choice and 46 percent saying they are pro-life.As for the Barna movie poll, it was commissioned by the filmmakers behind Because of Gracia, an independent title planned for a theatrical release in September. The film stars former American Idol contestant Moriah Peters as a high school student ridiculed for her commitment to save sex until marriage.Because of Gracia includes a parallel story of abortion — hence the filmmakers were curious to poll American moviegoers on the topic — and also stars John Schneider, who previously made two films with strong pro-life messages: October Baby and Doonby.Barna is a Christian polling firm. Participants in the Barna study were provided through the Harris Panel.The above article was originally published at The Hollywood Reporter.