12/2/2013 - Dec 2013 SLI Newsletter
December 2013
Dear Friends and Supporters,
As we draw another year to a close, we have much for which to be thankful. At the same time, we have much for which to be concerned. We appreciate your prayer and financial support throughout the year. It is a great encouragement to us.
We had two significant accomplishments this past year. The first was the passage of The Women’s Health and Safety Act, by the Alabama Legislature. The purpose of that Act is to properly regulate abortion clinics so as to provide a higher standard of healthcare to women and to better inform them of the very important decision which they are making. Though abortion rights advocates have filed a lawsuit and the law is being defended by the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, we believe it is constitutional and will be in force in the not too distant future.
The other was the passage of the American and Alabama Laws for Alabama Courts Act. This is a proposed constitutional amendment which will be on the November 2014 ballot in the general election. Its purpose is to strengthen Alabama’s public policy in regards to laws from the sister states and from foreign countries or cultures that conflict with our own constitutional and statutory rights. We live in a time of rapid change when events around the world are known to us virtually as they happen. While we live in such a greater community of information and proximity, we must still protect the boundaries of law that separate us and that make Alabama such a good place to work and live.
Last month, we were surprised to find a local board of education questioning students’ religious rights at a public school. This reminded us that the advent of Christmas is another time when those rights might be questioned. Because it has been a number of years since we outlined those rights, we decided to do so in this month’s Educational Update. Please share this with any public school official or government official, or larger employer. We are glad to provide advice and guidance on these issues.
We look forward to the coming year. There is a great deal to be done. There is the issue of the Alabama State Department of Education’s attempt to regulate church schools. We have drafted a bill to protect church schools and will be working on that. There are sanctity of life bills which we have drafted. We will be providing detailed information of these efforts in the coming months.
Please remember us with the largest financial gift possible at this end of the year. We are dependent upon financial contributions to be able to continue this work. We do not charge for our services and we are not paid fees. However, expenses in today’s legal and political world are very high. Thank you for your support and we wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas.
Yours very truly,
A. Eric Johnston
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