In today's News:

Concordia alumni/student fights infant mortality 

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports that Detroit’s infant mortality rate is 2.5 times higher than the national average, putting it on par with a developing nation. Three alumni and one current student at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., are attempting to reduce that mortality rate by working with the Luke Project 52 Clinic, which provides personalized prenatal and infant care at no cost to any family who needs it. The clinic was started in 2016 by the Rev. Brad Garrison, a Lutheran pastor and pharmacist, and his wife, Sherie, who has more than 40 years’ experience as a nurse. 

Today is National Sanctity of Human Life Day 

Before leaving office, President Donald Trump proclaimed today, Jan. 22, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day as it marks the 48th year since the U.S. Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton — the infamous abortion opinions that opened the door to kill unborn babies up to birth. Since 1973, more than 62-million unborn children have been killed in what should be the safest place — the womb. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation designating Jan. 22 as the National Sanctity of Human Life Day as the result of the influence of one woman, Dr. Mildred Jefferson, who worked tirelessly in support of personhood for every unborn child. Dr. Jefferson was the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and the first female surgeon at the Boston University Medical Center. 

Supreme Court may consider another abortion case 

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled today to consider a Mississippi law that protects unborn babies and mothers by banning abortions after 15 weeks. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch asked the high court to uphold the pro-life law last year, but the justices have not decided yet whether to take up the case. SCOTUS blog reports the justices did not act on the case during their private conference on Jan. 15, but they are scheduled to meet again today. Notably, today is the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that forced states to legalized abortion on demand. The Mississippi case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, challenges the current legal precedent that blocks states from protecting unborn babies from abortions before they are viable. 

Lawmakers move to protect women’s sports 

Montana lawmakers have introduced a bill protecting girls’ sports in schools, after President Joe Biden signed an executive order forcing them to allow transgender biological males to compete with them. The Save Women’s Sports Act will require public school athletic teams to be designated based on biological sex. The bill cites testosterone levels and other differences between the genders that would create an unfair playing field for young girls to compete under Biden’s order. 

Gender-confused victory in Alabama 

A federal judge has ruled that an Alabama law requiring residents to provide proof of gender reassignment surgery before they can change the sex listed on their driver's license is unconstitutional.