2. WHY A VIRAL TWEET ABOUT MATERNAL MORTALITY SHOULDN'T BE TAKEN AS FACT
from: LiveAction
SYNOPSIS: This article debunks a recent viral tweet, referring to two-year-old now-disproven data, falsely claiming that maternal mortality is higher in pro-life states due to abortion bans. The claim by data from the Gender Equity Policy Institute (GEPI), reveals the skewed data and misleading conclusions. The Heartbeat Act in Texas, which took effect in 2019, was followed by a decrease in maternal mortality, contradicting the tweet's assertion.
Two recent studies, including one from JAMA Network and one from AJPH, found no significant increase in maternal mortality in states with pro-life laws. Other factors, such as poverty, advanced maternal age, IVF use, and maternity care deserts, contribute to maternal mortality, not solely pro-life laws. The article emphasizes that 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable and are mainly caused by conditions other than lack of abortion access. It concludes that the claims are a propaganda tactic to increase support for abortion.
Pray for people to be more discerning and check the facts when a tweet, photo, or article doesn't quite ring true. There are a lot of AI-generated fakes floating around these days.
3. 'WE DO NOT LEARN THE TRUE COST OF PEACE FROM TEXTBOOKS': OCU PRIMATE ON WORLD WAR TWO
from: RISU
SYNOPSIS: On Remembrance Day, Metropolitan Epifaniy, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), reflected on the cost of peace and the ongoing war in Ukraine. He emphasized that the current conflict mirrors past aggressions and highlights the importance of exposing and punishing evil. Ukraine's struggle is seen as a fight for its own existence, independence, and the freedom of all people.
The Primate calls for remembering those lost in past and present wars and for working towards a just peace. The article connects the historical context of World War II to the current conflict, stressing the need for truth and accountability. This includes soldiers and civilians, adults and children, all whose lives were cut short by the cruelty of this war.
Ask the Lord for a truce and peace agreement soon between Ukraine and Russia with a fair settlement of all issues.
4. SCOTUS REFUSES TO STOP ILLEGAL MAIL-ORDER ABORTION REGIME; ALITO, THOMAS DISSENT
from: SBA Pro-Life America
SYNOPSIS: This article highlights SBA Pro-Life America's disappointment with the Supreme Court's decision not to stop the mail-order abortion drug regime. Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of SBA Pro-Life America, criticized the FDA's actions, citing concerns about coercion, lack of oversight, and safety issues. The organization is investing $160 million to elect pro-life leaders in the 2026 and 2028 elections.
The press release references a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling and highlights the public's opposition to mail-order abortion drugs.
The website provides resources and information, including a scorecard, and opportunities to take action and support the effort to forbid the mailing of abortion pills to anyone in any state, regardless of that state's laws against the abortion pill. Women who never wanted to abort their babies have been coerced and poisoned because of the lack of oversight. By the FDA’s own admission, the research never supported removing in-person doctor visits and approval.
Pray that the indiscriminate, uncontrolled mail-order distribution of baby-killing abortion pills will be outlawed.
5. ONE MAN HAS FILED 1,800 ADA LAWSUITS. STORE OWNERS ARE FED UP
from: Disability Scoop
SYNOPSIS: This article discusses the rise of ADA lawsuits in California, focusing on the actions of serial plaintiffs. Anthony Bouyer and others use the Americans with Disabilities Act to sue businesses for violations, often represented by the firm Manning Law. Small business owners express frustration, claiming they are being targeted for minor infractions and facing significant financial burdens.
The article highlights the financial incentives for both plaintiffs and lawyers involved in these cases, with settlements often preferred over costly legal battles. The legal firm Manning Law is under scrutiny, and its owner’s license has been suspended for allegedly making false statements about billable hours involving dozens of ADA lawsuits. Efforts to reform the law, such as a bill to give businesses more time to fix violations, have stalled in the legislature.
Ask God for people to stop misusing the laws to "work the system" for personal gain, depriving others of much-needed help.
6. SCIENTISTS MAKE OLD BLOOD STEM CELLS YOUNG AGAIN IN MAJOR ANTI-AGEING BREAKTHROUGH
from: Science Daily
SYNOPSIS: Scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital have discovered a way to rejuvenate old blood stem cells in mice. The research focuses on repairing defects in lysosomes, the cells' recycling centers, which become damaged with age. Restoring proper lysosomal activity reversed stem cell aging, improving their ability to regenerate blood and immune cells.
Blocking excessive lysosomal activity with a vacuolar ATPase inhibitor restored youthful function to the old stem cells. Treated cells showed improved metabolism, healthier epigenetic patterns, reduced inflammation, and fewer harmful inflammatory signals. This discovery could lead to new therapies for age-related blood disorders and improve stem cell transplantation outcomes.
Thank the Lord for this recent research finding that could potentially slow down the negative effects of ageing.
7. THE POWER AND POTENTIAL OF ENVIRONMENT
from: Disabled World
SYNOPSIS: This article shares a personal reflection on how environment influences mental and physical health, drawing on the author's experience as the daughter of Dr. Lynette Louise, a practitioner who has worked with people facing a wide range of brain challenges for more than thirty years. The piece explains that physical surroundings, relationships, belief systems, cultural settings, and daily habits all shape wellbeing, and that simply recognizing this dynamic gives families a practical tool for supporting one another.
The author also notes the difficult choices parents sometimes face when an environmental change benefits some family members while affecting others negatively. For people with disabilities, seniors, parents of children with cognitive or behavioral differences, and family caregivers, the article offers a reminder that environmental awareness does not require specialized training or formal education and can be applied in any home, community, or cultural setting.
Praise the Lord for new information that confirms the environment in which we live has a powerful effect on our wellbeing!
"Transparent people" are usually thought of as those who are open, honest, and straightforward in their thoughts and feelings, allowing others to easily perceive their true selves. They are people who create trust and meaningful connections by sharing relevant information and being consistent in their words and actions. But that's not who are the subject of this essay.
When a window is transparent, you can see right through it to focus on something or things on the other side of the window. That's what windows are for (as well as to keep bugs outside and regulate the temperature inside). Today what I'm talking about are the "transparent people" you can see right through, like a window. Another expression for them is "invisible people."
We have a strong tendency to see what we expect to see and want to see. We filter out objects and concepts that we don't expect or want to perceive. Transparent or invisible people who, when they're standing or sitting near you, you'd rather not see. They're the disabled or ugly or deformed or elderly people that, when you do look at them, make you feel uncomfortable. They remind you of sickness, disability and death – things you want to push out of your mind.
And sometimes, some people actually push these people out of their way to "get ahead in life." Others even cheat and deceive them, robbing them of their savings or homes. The first kind of "transparent people" tend to be open and trusting toward others, expecting others to be just like them. After all, that's how society ought to work: human society is built on trust. But this last sort of people take advantage of that trust for their own gain, to "get ahead in life." Some adult children even curse, blame, or take advantage of their own parents to "get their inheritance early." The first commandment with a promise is "Honor your father and mother, that it may go well with you." Woe to those who do not honor their father and mother, for it will not go well with them!
We may say to ourselves – "Thank God I'm not like that kind of person!" But are we just a little less so? We might not literally push the "invisible people" out of the way or take advantage of them, but we might simply look right through them as if they were transparent or invisible, or just look away. We see what we expect to see and want to see. We filter out the things that don't fit into our worldview. The unconscious biases of ageism and ableism automatically, without our consciously thinking about it, shape how we see the world. Ageism and ableism are in the air we breathe unawares, just like a fish is unaware of the water it swims in.
Caring for a disabled family member by yourself can be overwhelming: see "Families caring for disabled relatives face unthinkable choices as Medicaid cuts loom." While living in Russia for 17 years and ministering to disabled children and adults, we became painfully aware of the meaning of the Russian verb "nenavidet'" – "to hate" in English. It literally translates as "not look at" or "not see." When we ignore someone who has a disability, or is unattractive, or is elderly... we are passively hating that person. We're not actively doing something harmful, it's what we're not doing that causes harm. Old people put in a nursing home who aren't visited by family or friends can simply wither up and die from lack of love and companionship: neglect. The cause of death can actually be written down as "loneliness" on a death certificate.
This is why we've developed plans and drawings for Building The ARC – Agape Restoration Communities with a chapel-community room and 12 living units, where both able-bodied people and people with disabilities, families and singles, young and old can live, worship, and serve together, along with non-residents who worship in the chapel and assist some of the residents. An ARC is a refuge from the storms of life, a safe and caring environment in the flood of a world that is hell-bent on self-serving pleasure, greed, and pride. Will you DO SOMETHING, or just look the other way? We Christians are all called to be servants, ministering to those in need.
This is what the Lord Jesus meant when He first announced His ministry – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because he has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty these who are crushed.... Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4.18 & 21)
This is what the St. Paul meant when he wrote – "He (Christ) gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers, to equip the saints to do the work of ministering to the building up of the Body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature, perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into Him, Who is the head, Christ; from Whom all the Body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the Body increase to the building up of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind." (Ephesians 4: 11-17)
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All Christians, not just clergy or monks, are called to be saints. The main task of bishops, pastors, deacons, evangelists and teachers isn't just to lead worship services and teach doctrine (although that's important too!), it's to equip the saints to offer service, to do the work of ministry (diakonia in Greek) to build up the Body of Christ, the Church (Ephesians 4:12), the Ark of our Salvation. That's why we're Building the ARC.