{"id":126,"date":"2009-02-12T14:30:28","date_gmt":"2009-02-12T14:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html"},"modified":"2009-02-12T14:30:28","modified_gmt":"2009-02-12T14:30:28","slug":"what-will-president-obama-do-n","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html","title":{"rendered":"What Will President Obama Do Next?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, I don’t think anyone really has a clue on how President Obama plans to move forward with his faith-based efforts.  <\/span>I am not sure the even the President knows at this point.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Here’s what we do know.  <\/span>The President’s pick to head up that office, Joshua DuBois, told <\/a>the Associated Press: <\/font><\/font><\/font>“This is not a religious office or a religious administration.  <\/span>We are going to try to find ways to work with faith-based and community organizations that are secular in nature, and don’t cross the boundaries between church and state.”  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

I am not sure what that means.  <\/span>I do know that if President Obama approaches his faith-based work like he said he would approach the issue of protecting human life, it will be a disaster.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

Sure, the federal stimulus package is getting his attention now.  <\/span>But what happens when that is concluded?  <\/span>I suspect it won’t take long before we see Congress act and President Obama fulfill a troubling campaign promise.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

As you recall, President Obama vowed to sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), legislation that certainly would clear the House and Senate without much problem – legislation that would turn back many of the protections in place that safeguard human life.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

We’ve taken a critical look <\/a>at this measure and its history <\/font><\/font><\/font>and it’s clear that FOCA would imbed a federal right to abortion and overturn every federal and state law designed to protect women’s health, and the health of the unborn.  <\/span>It would increase funding to pro-abortion groups and even overturn the federal ban on the horrific procedure known as ‘partial-birth abortion’ – a federal law upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The Freedom of Choice Act would also result in eliminating informed consent laws, and remove restrictions clearing the way for even more taxpayer funds to be used for abortions.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

Let’s not forget one of the first actions taken by President Obama when he took office – issuing an Executive Order <\/a>to repeal the ‘Mexico City Policy’<\/font><\/font><\/font>— an important policy that correctly barred the use of federal funds by non-governmental agencies abroad for abortion counseling and abortions.  <\/span>With the stroke of a pen, President Obama cleared the way for the use of federal taxpayer dollars for abortion-related activities in foreign countries.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

I’d like to see more specifics from President Obama on his plans for faith-based action.  <\/span>And we will be watching closely to see if he ends the long-standing practice of awarding federal contracts to religious groups that only hire members of their own faith.  <\/span>Barry, this ‘hiring policy’ issue should not disqualify those organizations that have a proven track record of getting the job done.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The Supreme Court has recognized that religious institutions have the constitutional right to define their own mission, set their own doctrine and set forth their own hiring criteria.  <\/span>The fact that funds are being made available to faith-based and secular organizations should not require the religious groups to surrender their constitutional rights.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

What’s wrong with providing federal tax dollars to religious organizations that help feed the hungry and provide shelter to the homeless?  <\/span>After all, President Obama has no qualms about providing federal tax dollars for abortion and the taking of innocent human life.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry, I don’t think anyone really has a clue on how President Obama plans to move forward with his faith-based efforts.  I am not sure the even the President knows at this point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8,62,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-congress","category-faith-based-initiatives","category-white-house"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Will President Obama Do Next? - Lynn v. Sekulow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Will President Obama Do Next? - Lynn v. Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Barry, I don’t think anyone really has a clue on how President Obama plans to move forward with his faith-based efforts.  I am not sure the even the President knows at this point.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lynn v. Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-02-12T14:30:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jay Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Will President Obama Do Next? - Lynn v. Sekulow","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Will President Obama Do Next? - Lynn v. Sekulow","og_description":"Barry, I don’t think anyone really has a clue on how President Obama plans to move forward with his faith-based efforts.  I am not sure the even the President knows at this point.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html","og_site_name":"Lynn v. Sekulow","article_published_time":"2009-02-12T14:30:28+00:00","author":"Jay Sekulow","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html","name":"What Will President Obama Do Next? - Lynn v. Sekulow","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-02-12T14:30:28+00:00","dateModified":"2009-02-12T14:30:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/#\/schema\/person\/d09bc4c4bba2ac87034ee529f100fbaf"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/02\/what-will-president-obama-do-n.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Will President Obama Do Next?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/","name":"Lynn v. Sekulow","description":"A debate blog about church, state, faith and politics with Jay Sekulow and Barry W. Lynn","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/#\/schema\/person\/d09bc4c4bba2ac87034ee529f100fbaf","name":"Jay Sekulow","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/574\/574bc7f1605fea9a78a1b3bac65ceb15x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/574\/574bc7f1605fea9a78a1b3bac65ceb15x96.jpg","caption":"Jay Sekulow"},"description":"Jay Alan Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a law firm and educational organization that focuses on constitutional law.  He is also Chief Counsel of the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}