Texas Senate Committee Meets to Discuss 1st Amendment

Bee Moorhead of the Austin American-Statesman wrote an article on February 19 discussing a meeting that the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs held over the issue of religious liberty.
In the article, Moorhead expresses her concern that the committee reviewed only half of the matter in the meeting and expertly provides reason for why there should have been more to the discussion.
It seems most of the meeting was spent focusing on the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, which is important, but she argues the Establishment Clause (which protects the rights of religious minorities) should have been brought up as well. Near the end of the article, she explains why these are not interchangeable clauses but they rely on each other to provide balance and equality for all parties involved. What is effective about this article is that not only does her argument work well for both religious and non-religious parties, but she also explains why for every point that she makes.
She brings in to the conversation the Framers of the Constitution and helps the reader to remember the original intentions these men had for our country, and not the bias of modern issues (though I believe that in certain instances they must be taken into account). State Senator Sibley passed the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1999, which Moorhead presents as an effective legislation that she says correlates the importance of having religious rights with other important government interests, such as health and safety.
A secular government means it has the ability to protect those of every faith rather than picking and choosing. She also points out that those who are not religious will not be forced to pay taxes that fund faiths they do not wish to support. Moorhead provides three principles she believes should be applied to every future legislation. Though they seem pretty basic, I was curious as to where she got them or if they were her own. She didn't go into any detail on that.
She finished off the article with a quote from James Madison that reiterates her point that religion can not maintain its freedom and purity if the government entangles itself in it, even if it is trying to promote that religion. I think the article was well-balanced with the author arguing her own opinion but also providing plenty of valid reasons to prove the importance of true religious liberty in our country.
Bee Moorhead seems to be a credible source as I found many other articles of hers on the Austin American-Statesman website. She has a Masters in Public Affairs and is the Executive Director of the Texas Impact, a statewide religious grassroots network. She does have a background working in religious organizations and her writing reflects this. Though I'm sure much of her audience tends to be those of various faith's, especially with her work at Texas Impact, her writing for the Statesman newspaper can provide valuable information for non-religious people as well, considering the fact that she is arguing for a secular government.

Attacks Against Planned Parenthood

After a recording of a private conversation discussing medical research was brought to light, Planned Parenthood was accused of illegally selling fetal tissue. This was a prime opportunity for Republicans, who were already fighting to take the organization down, to pounce upon. And they did, some would say to their own detriment. The recording was later discovered to be a fake, set up by anti-abortion activists who were indicted for the fraudulent activity.

            Despite losing their proof of Planned Parenthood conducting illegal activities, Republican officials (including Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton) continue to press on in their investigations into the organization. Sen. Charles Schwertner supported the further investigation and didn't see "the announcement...fundamentally changing the situation".

            While they may not be getting far in their battle to take Planned Parenthood to court and shut them down, they are doing a fine job of cutting off as many resources as possible from P.P. While in the process of moving to boot Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program, which would reduce funding by $1.3 million a year, politicians have prohibited anyone affiliated with abortion providers (this includes P.P) to continue contracts under the state’s Abstinence Education Services program. The provider that P.P. uses for HIV testing, prevention, counseling and education has also chosen to make a political move to support the Republicans and not renewed their $600,000 contract.

            This article found in the Texas Tribune proved worth reading most when it broke down each of the efforts of politicians to work against Planned Parenthood and the few results that have actually come from the the time and (our) money that they are spending doing so.

  

To read the article, click here