News

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Protect Your Children In Education

by mafamily

We had a great response to our Options for School webinar last Sunday evening! 2100 clicked on our webinar link! It was an information-packed event addressing concerns over both COVID guidelines for reopening schools and graphic sex education curricula. Several education leaders from private Christian schools, churches, and homeschool co-ops and organizations shared what they […]

BREAKING: State Can’t Discriminate Against Religious Schools!

by mafamily
school

Finally, some good news from the Supreme Court this morning!  After horrible decisions over the past week (the definition of sex in federal non-discrimination law now includes sexual orientation and transgenderism and Louisiana was prevented from imposing even basic restrictions on abortion clinics) we received a huge win for religious liberty in the funding of […]

Reopening of the Church Webinar Follow Up

by mafamily

Yesterday we held a webinar to help pastors and church leaders understand more about the process of reopening the church here in the Commonwealth.  We had over 170 pastors log on to this live event and would like to make the same information available to you.  We encourage you to share this with your network […]

BREAKING: MA Releases Guidelines for Church Reopening

by mafamily

Churches in MA are now permitted to begin reopening at up to 40 percent of their building’s capacity.  In guidance released late last night, phase one of the state’s reopening plan removes the previous cap of ten people and now states that “places of worship shall limit occupancy to 40 percent of the building’s maximum […]

Persistent Threats to Parents and Church Reopening Update

by mafamily

Yesterday, I had the privilege of joining several distinguished speakers at the webinar entitled, “Who Owns Our Children? Home Education in an Authoritarian Age.” This event was organized by Thomas More College in response to an anti-homeschooling summit scheduled to take place at Harvard Law School in June. Fortunately, the Harvard summit was canceled, but […]

Harvard Attacks Homeschoolers & Reopening the Churches

by mafamily

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.” It has always been the belief of MFI that God gives parents a biblical charge to direct the education and upbringing of their children, and we […]

Learn What’s Being Sent To Your Kids’ Inbox

by mafamily

During this time of national crisis, MFI has not wavered in our commitment to identify and defend against persisting threats to faith, family, and freedom.  In our latest video, MFI’s Director of Communications and Research, Mary Ellen Siegler, continues to educate families through the Massachusetts Informed Parents initiative.  Today, she exposes the type of sex […]

Defending Faith Family and Freedom During COVID-19

by mafamily

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 […]

Corona Effect On Churches

by mafamily

As the Corona virus shut-down drags on, the threats to our religious liberties have increased alarmingly.  On Easter, multiple MA churches were told they could not hold even “drive in” services.  A number of local churches, on the other hand, were able to hold these types of parking lot, stay-in-your-car services with the appropriate social […]

Docs Weigh In, Trans-sports, Aid To Churches

by mafamily

Assisted Suicide and Corona healthcare rationing  Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with two veteran Massachusetts doctors about the Assisted Suicide legislation pending on Beacon Hill.  Dr. Thomas Sullivan, former president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, explained that the publicity surrounding the MMS’ recent change from opposition to “neutrality” on the question of Assisted […]

Planned Parenthood Promoting Porn for Stay-at-Home Sex Ed

by mafamily

While the entire world is dealing with trying to stop the spread of a deadly virus, Planned Parenthood and their allies have not stopped their efforts to sexualize our children. We lay out the shocking details below, but first I want to let you know how MFI is continuing to help parents fight back, even […]

Church and Abortion in The Age of Corona

by mafamily

A week ago, MA schools closed. As of noon yesterday, the vast majority of businesses in the Commonwealth were ordered to shut their doors as well. This is a journey into uncharted waters for all of us, but it has nevertheless confirmed some disturbing priorities for Beacon Hill. For example, the governor’s order of March […]

How To Homeschool When You’re Not A Homeschooler

by mafamily

As of this morning, nearly one million Massachusetts children found themselves effectively ‘homeschoolers.’ Governor Baker’s order closing all public and private K-12 schools from now until April 7th will hopefully help stop the spread of Covid-19, but it is also requiring a major adjustment for hundreds of thousands of parents and children in our Commonwealth.  My […]

The Newest Frontier for the Radical Sexual Revolution

by mafamily

I’m always being asked, “What’s coming next?” In Massachusetts, we’ve seen time and time again that yielding to one radical ideology leads to a push for another. This is especially true for the LGBTQQIP2SAA community that endlessly tries to hijack more letters of the alphabet (and now numbers). In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state […]

Attend Pro-Family Lobby Day 2020

by mafamily

Protecting the sanctity of life from conception to natural death has never been more crucial here in Massachusetts. For the past year, we’ve been sounding the alarm about the extreme ROE act now pending on Beacon Hill. This “Infanticide Act” would expand legal abortion through all nine months, make it possible for minors to get […]

Flawed Study Used by Sex Ed Mandate Supporters

by mafamily

The recent passage of the Sex-Ed Mandate in the MA State Senate has renewed concerns over graphic sex ed curriculum already being taught in classrooms across the state. This legislation, if passed by the House and signed into law by Governor Baker, will mandate Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), a specific type of graphic sex ed […]

Bibles vs. Voodoo Dolls in MA Schools

by mafamily

One of the most fulfilling parts of my job is assisting parents who contact the MFI office for help.  Often, they call because their son or daughter came home from school and they can’t believe what their child saw or heard that day in Sex Ed class.  We’ve been working with Massachusetts Informed Parents to […]

Pornographic ‘Comprehensive Sexuality Education’ in Massachusetts Public Schools

by mafamily

This article first appeared in the New Boston Post. Is it age-appropriate to introduce 12-year old children to anal sex? Is it medically accurate to encourage students to protect against sexually transmitted infections by using non-microwaveable Saran Wrap as a prophylactic for oral sex? Planned Parenthood thinks so, and so does the Massachusetts Department of […]

20,000 Dead Babies Isn’t Enough for Massachusetts Liberals

by mafamily

This article first appeared in Disrn News on January 11, 2020. A year ago, on the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, New York’s political leaders threw a party for their new pro-abortion law. Governor Cuomo even directed One World Trade Center and a handful of other local landmarks to shine bright pink to celebrate “this historic […]

Everything you need to know about the Sex-Ed Mandate

by mafamily

As promised, here are the details on the Sex-Ed Mandate that’s coming up for a vote as early as this Thursday. We have received a lot of questions in response to our heads-up email and text over the weekend, so we’ll do our best to address them one by one. Some people are also being […]

MFI Responds to Christianity Today Article

by mafamily

For nearly 30 years, Massachusetts Family Institute has worked for you, defending your family values in the Commonwealth. I’m grateful to have been with MFI for just a portion of its strong legacy. This past year in particular, however, we saw unprecedented growth. For example, MFI’s 2019 Lobby Day brought over 500 activists to Beacon […]

Nativity at the State House – You’re Invited!

by mafamily

As people of faith, we should always be asking the Spirit to guide us along that fine line of sharing truth with others while also demonstrating love and compassion for our neighbors. Christmas season provides a great opportunity to share the love of Christ in difficult places. Each year, MFI partners with other local organizations […]

MFI Informs Stoneham Parents About Pornographic Sex Ed

by mafamily

Is it age-appropriate to introduce twelve-year old children to anal sex? Is it medically accurate to encourage students to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by using non-microwaveable Saran Wrap as a prophylactic for oral sex? Planned Parenthood thinks so, and so does the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), which lists Planned […]

In a Blue State, Parents Beat Planned Parenthood’s Sex Ed Push

by mafamily

(Originally Appeared in The Daily Signal on Nov. 26, 2019) Worcester, the second largest city in solidly blue Massachusetts, was the scene of a sex ed showdown between Planned Parenthood and concerned parents and church leaders. Last February, more than 75 of those parents and church leaders stood up alongside the Massachusetts Family Institute to outnumber pro-Planned […]

#GivingTuesday

by mafamily

After enjoying a time of thanks last week, today Americans all over the country are participating in #GivingTuesday. This online celebration is an opportunity for members of the community to give back to local non-profits in charitable, end-of-the-year giving. MFI is honored to defend our shared family values in the Commonwealth. We’ve accomplished much this […]

3 Things to be Thankful for

by mafamily

We hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday yesterday, full of fellowship and delicious food. In this season of thanksgiving, we often take time to reflect on what has happened this past year. MFI’s staff sat together before the Thanksgiving break, and we came up with a long list of 2019 victories. This put in perspective […]

Exclusive Briefing for Landmark Religious Liberty Case

by mafamily

The Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments on a case with potentially tremendous implications for religious liberty and school choice. The lawsuit, brought in part by a single mother trying to support her two children in parochial school, seeks to invalidate the notorious “Blaine Amendments” that prohibit religious schools from receiving taxpayer dollars. 19th […]

Last Call to Help Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortion

by mafamily

For the past few months, volunteers from across the state worked hard to collect signatures that will put ending taxpayer funding abortions on the 2020 ballot. The necessary 80,239 signatures, however, have a submission deadline: November 20, 2019. That’s only 8 days away. We need your help with a final push to collect as many […]

Federal Ruling Reinstates Protections for Faith-based Adoption Agencies

by mafamily

The executive branch delivered an enormous victory for religious freedom last week when the President reversed an anti-religious ruling from the Obama administration. Days before President Trump took the oath of office, President Obama declared that faith-based adoption and foster care agencies would be required to place children in same-sex households despite any religious convictions […]

Newburyport Votes to Ban Retail Marijuana

by mafamily

It was election day this week across the country. At MFI, we believe that participating in elections is an important part of being “citizens of the kingdom.” As people of faith, we are called to be involved in our government, and voting is a fundamental way we exercise that responsibility.  In our state, we often […]

MFI Helps Lynn Parents Advocate Against “Free” Contraception in their Schools

by mafamily

Condoms, birth control pills, the birth control shot, and Plan B: These are all the contraception methods that the Lynn public school committee is considering giving out to students for free at school. The committee members are grappling with their district having the 6th highest teen pregnancy rate in the state, so at the Septemeber […]

#GenderSnowperson?

by mafamily

One story garnering a lot of attention this week is the Gender Snowperson that’s being taught to 4th graders in Lexington public schools. Yes. You read that right. The Gender Snowperson is a tool used to teach 9 and 10-year-olds to “never assume boys have penises.” Parents would likely never have discovered this LGBTQ+ indoctrination of […]

MFI Faces Intersectional Protest at Harvard Law School

by mafamily

Yesterday, I had the privilege of addressing the Students for Life club at Harvard Law School. They invited me to discuss the MA ROE Act and the pro-life community’s response to it. We were informed Wednesday night that there was a planned student protest against my message, so I anticipated having to defend the pro-life […]

Beacon Hill Sees the Open Arms of the Pro-Life Movement

by mafamily

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen several groups come out in support of the ROE Act – a bill that radically expands abortion – including Marty Walsh’s gang of pro-abortion mayors and a handful of labor unions. Wednesday, however, pro-life advocates took another public stand against this Infanticide Act. MFI partnered with pregnancy care […]

MFI 2019 Fundraising Banquet – Videos

by mafamily

As promised, for those of you who couldn’t attend our annual banquet last week (or for those who just want to re-watch the event – there’s some pretty great stuff in there), here are the videos of that evening. Thank you again for all your continued support! We could not do what we do without […]

MFI to Co-host Celebration of Life Day at State House

by mafamily

MFI cordially invites you to the Celebration of Life Day at Beacon Hill! This coming Wednesday, October 30th, MFI is co-hosting the annual event to showcase the wonderful and vital work of pregnancy care centers from across the Commonwealth. Representatives of many pregnancy care centers will be present, along with faith leaders and pro-life supporters, […]

Father Fights to Save 7-year-old-son

by mafamily

Many of you contacted me this week expressing concern about a national news story out of Texas. For those of you who aren’t aware, 7-year-old James Younger has found himself amid an ugly custody dispute that may be a tipping point in the battle over parental rights and transgenderism. Younger’s mother has convinced herself that […]

2019 Banquet was a Major Success!

by MFI News

Thank you to all who joined us for our 28th Annual Fundraising Banquet. It was a huge success; thanks to your generosity, we set a record for money raised! We are forever grateful to all of you who continue to stand with us in our fight to defend families in Massachusetts. Your contributions make it […]

Summit on the Sexualization of Children

by MFI News

This week, MFI was at our nation’s capital, hearing from experts on issues related to life, liberty, and religious freedom. We were joined by our fellow Family Policy Councils from across the country. On Wednesday, the Heritage Foundation, a national player on many of our issues, hosted its first ever Summit on the Sexualization of […]

MFI Joins Hundreds at Lowell Peace March

by MFI News

This past Saturday, MFI staffers participated in a Peace March in Lowell. Hundreds of Lowell residents joined together to protest the recreational pot shops that have seeded themselves in that community. Our Community Alliances Director, Mike King, was invited to speak in front of Lowell City Hall on the dangers of recreational marijuana use. Mike […]

Bring Your Bible to School Day!

by MFI News

Can my kids really bring their Bible to school? Yes! And they should. Thursday, October 3rd, is Bring Your Bible to School Day. This nationwide event is put on every year by our national partner Focus on the Family. We’re joining them to promote this event because it is important that our children and youth understand […]

Victories!

by MFI News

The past two weeks have seen many blessings for pro-family advocates across the country and right here in Massachusetts! We hope you feel encouraged by these major victories. Arizona Supreme Court Delivers Huge Win for Religious Freedom Two young women, Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, own and operate a small business together that specializes in […]

An Easy Way to Help

by MFI News

This summer, MFI partnered with Renew Massachusetts Coalition, Massachusetts Citizens for Life, and the MA Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortion to successfully launch a ballot initiative to stop our tax dollars from going to abortion in the Commonwealth. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office approved the proposed ballot language two weeks ago. Now, however, the […]

Sex vs Gender: Confusing? They Shouldn’t Be

by MFI News

While Beacon Hill legislators debated adding a gender “X” designation to state IDs this week, it became clear that no one was actually looking at the state-issued documents that are at the center of this legislation.  Proponents of the bill testified that current ID’s don’t accurately reflect their “gender.” But if you pull out your MA […]

Business Owner? Entrepreneur? Grow with us!

by MFI News

Every year, over 500 guests from around the Bay State join together at MFI’s Annual Fundraising Banquet to hear from a dynamic pro-family speaker and to celebrate our shared family values. As many from our network of family advocates gather at this event, we believe this is an excellent opportunity for local small business, services, […]

What Would You Say?

by MFI News

A year and a half ago, Joe Backholm, the former President of our sister organization the Family Policy Institute of Washington, shared with me his vision for equipping the church with good answers to tough questions – make short videos. I’ll admit, at first I was a bit skeptical. I’d rather read an article than […]

MFI News: Trans Activist in Lawrence Assaults 4-year-old & HHS Awards pro-life victory in Vermont

by MFI News

Trans Activist in Lawrence Assaults 4-year-old Two weeks ago in Lawrence, a transgender “woman,” born Jakob Nieves, was arrested for sexually exploiting a 4-year-old girl. Nieves was caught when he purportedly sent pedophilic images to an undercover federal agent on a messaging platform called Kik. Unsurprisingly, most mainstream media has failed to pick up on this […]

Planned Parenthood forgoes $60 million in tax dollars

by MFI News

Midnight on Monday this week was the deadline for healthcare providers receiving federal funds to demonstrate they would commit to no longer providing abortions. This requirement stems from the Department of Health and Human Services’ new Title X standard, the “Protect Life Rule,” which aims to ensure that health clinics engaged in abortion will no […]

Don’t Leave the Room

by MFI News

For those of us with kids in school, especially those involved in youth sports, this time of year often includes a visit to the pediatrician’s office for an annual physical.  A number of parents have contacted me over the years with horror stories about their young, adolescent children being asked all kinds of inappropriate, confusing, […]

Vaping no, Marijuana yes?

by MFI News

Our lawmakers have been busy this summer working on a new legislative initiative affecting youth, one that many of us would likely support. In response to the rapid rise of tobacco addiction in teens, Beacon Hill is seeking to ban vaping (e-cigarettes). Although this ban would be the first of its kind in the U.S., […]

Peak Transgender-ism Waxes Ugly

by MFI News

Dear Friend of the Family, A few weeks ago, MFI wrote on highschool girls in Connecticut who are fighting back against the transgender movement’s aggressive attack on women’s sports. While we received tons of positive feedback from that post, a viral story this week reminds us that sports aren’t the only arena LGBTQ+ activists are […]

Planned Parenthood fires CEO

by MFI News

If you haven’t heard, Planned Parenthood just fired their President and CEO, Dr. Leana Wen, because Wen wanted to focus primarily on “health care” issues rather than political advocacy. Dr. Wen wrote in her statement that the “board leadership has determined that the priority of Planned Parenthood moving forward is to double down on abortion rights advocacy.” Not […]

The Girls Finally Fight Back

by MFI News

From the threat of infanticide to assisted-suicide, the fight for life currently dominates conversation among pro-family activists in the Commonwealth. With our attention rightly fixated on pro-life issues, however, some may have missed an important new development in the effort to preserve the meaning of male and female. Just one state over, three high school girls […]

A Win for Life at the Infanticide Hearing

by MFI News

Dear Friend of the Family, Monday’s Judiciary Committee Hearing on the Infanticide Bill was a win for life. Over 700 pro-life advocates flooded the State House, many of whom testified before the committee, sharing the truth about abortion. This was one of the most highly attended hearings ever on Beacon Hill. During the first few […]