RELIGION HEADLINES

(SRN NEWS) – Abortion advocates will try to get more voters to pass amendments enshrining the procedure in their state constitutions.  Lawmakers in Hawaii and Virginia, where the legislature is controlled by Democrats, have proposed abortion amendments for 2026.  The Virginia resolution is moving through the legislature but would need approval from both chambers again next year before it can go to the people.  Voters in seven states approved abortion amendments in the November elections while three other states rejected such legislation. 

Lawmakers in several states that now ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy are considering further restrictions.  In Oklahoma, a GOP representative has introduced a bill that would allow women who obtain abortions to be charged with murder.  A similar measure was introduced in South Carolina in 2023 but quickly stalled.  A measure introduced in Mississippi, which echoes laws adopted in the past two years in Idaho and Tennessee, criminalizes helping a minor girl obtain an abortion without the consent of the child’s parent or guardian. 

President Trump has already issued a number of executive orders.  One of them declares that the federal government will recognize only two immutable sexes: male and female.  Under the order, federal prisons and shelters for illegal immigrants and rape victims are to be segregated by sex as defined by the order.  Mr. Trump’s action also states that federal taxpayer money can not be used to fund sex-change operations.  The president has also revoked rules that promoted transgenderism in the military, established by his predecessor Joe Biden. 

As Syria begins recovering from 50 years of autocratic rule by the Assad family, an international envoy says Christians want their rights and freedoms to be preserved under a new constitutional settlement.  Salina Shambos is the newly appointed special envoy for Christian communities and minorities in the Middle East.  She says religious leaders in Syria are expressing a “strong sense of patriotism” and hope that their country will be more inclusive now.  Syrian Christians made up 10 percent of the population before the civil war began in 2011.