Support Religious Schools
At MFI, we strive to support the ability of all parents to educate their children as they deem best. That’s why we fight hard against anti-parent state mandates like the Sex Ed bill and encouraged families to make the most out of the current situation of schooling at home. We also strongly support private religious education, which is why we raised the alarm last year over a bill that would have threatened faith-based admission policies for MA private schools.
Today I’m writing to you about a simple way you can help private religious schools in Massachusetts weather the COVID-19 storm. Last week, US Ed Department Secretary DeVos announced “The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund,” authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This fund provides an extraordinarily flexible “emergency block grant” designed to enable governors to decide how best to meet the needs of students and schools (including non-public schools). Because the local allocation of these funds is up to the Governor’s discretion, he needs to hear from you that private schools should be included! Private schools in Massachusetts serve over 80,000 students statewide across hundreds of schools. Many of them are small and independent. Despite common belief, the vast majority of these schools serve the poor and the lower middle class.
I don’t typically send you petitions to sign, but I believe this one is important enough to ask you to please take a moment to add your name HERE. Help keep the doors of MA religious schools open for our children!
Protecting Women And The Unborn
Attacks on parental rights and religious freedom are not the only threats MFI is working hard to expose and defend against. We also continue to protect life and stand in the gap for vulnerable women and unborn children. Planned Parenthood’s relentless lobbying efforts to designate abortion “essential healthcare” during a world-wide pandemic have proven once again that maintaining the right to kill unborn babies is more important to them than protecting the health and safety of women seeking abortion. Attorneys general for 21 states, including Maura Healey of Massachusetts, recently signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration demanding they lift safety protections prohibiting the chemical abortion drug mifepristone from being prescribed over the phone and purchased through mail-order pharmacies.
The FDA has concluded time and time again that the current restrictions in place that prevent this powerful drug from being prescribed through telehealth are required to protect women from its serious potential adverse side effects. In the past these have included ectopic pregnancy resulting in death and systemic sepsis infections. Incredibly, the attorneys general concluded their letter by stating that women seeking abortions are putting themselves and their families at risk for exposure to COVID-19 because securing the chemical abortion drugs requires them to leave their homes. Yet, in their states, including right here in MA, Planned Parenthood clinics are performing elective non-essential abortion procedures, putting 1,000s of women and families at risk for contracting the virus. The hypocrisy is stunning.
That’s why MFI, along with a coalition of 31 other state-based family policy councils, sent a letter of our own to the HHS Secretary and the FDA Commissioner asking that the existing guidelines on chemical abortions be upheld by not allowing them to be prescribed over the phone. As we pointed out in our letter, the FDA has rightly committed all its available resources to slowing the spread of COVID-19, working around the clock to approve new treatments. We implored them to stay focused on their valiant efforts and not waste resources on reevaluating the appropriate restrictions on mifepristone in the middle of this national health crisis. There is no need for the FDA to divert its lifesaving COVID-19 response to second-guess their prior conclusions for an abortion drug that is not essential. Not only do we care about the precious babies whose lives would be ended by mifepristone, but we also care about the health and well-being of women who could be harmed by this dangerous proposed policy change.
As always, we appreciate your continued support and prayers for us as we continue to defend faith, family, and freedom in the Commonwealth.