Gov. Dave Heineman signed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act last month, making Nebraska the first to ban abortions after 20 weeks. LB 1103 asserts that pre-born children experience pain during an abortion. Mary Spaulding Balch, state legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, said research has shown that at 20 weeks, pre-borns have all the receptors necessary to feel pain. “Doctors who do routine surgery on unborn children now use anesthesia to make sure those unborn children do not feel pain,” she said. She expects the law will be challenged, and may even make it all the […]

Congress has ordered the president’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to find a way to pay for the $63 million a year in new spending for benefits of same-sex partners of federal employees. John Berry, director of the OPM, announced the decision last year to extend the benefits. In a hearing before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, “…it’s been five months and we’re still waiting for those offsets, which…is preventing the bill from being taken up on the Senate floor.” Family advocates explain that it doesn’t matter whether there’s enough money because it violates the Defense […]

Congress has ordered the president’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to find a way to pay for the $63 million a year in new spending for benefits of same-sex partners of federal employees. John Berry, director of the OPM, announced the decision last year to extend the benefits. In a hearing before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, “…it’s been five months and we’re still waiting for those offsets, which…is preventing the bill from being taken up on the Senate floor.” Family advocates explain that it doesn’t matter whether there’s enough money because it violates the Defense […]

Concern over federal funding of abortion in the health care reform law has prompted several states to move toward opting out. Tennessee is the first state to get a bill to its governor. It prohibits taxpayers from funding abortion. Lawmakers in Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia and Louisiana are all considering similar measures. Mary Harned, staff counsel with Americans United for Life, said AUL has model legislation ready for states to use, and many are taking advantage. “There are currently 15 states that are actively working toward getting this done,” she said, “and at least another 11 that we know of who […]

Teen birth rates in the U.S. have recently declined after increasing in 2006 and 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The 2008 numbers show the rate declined by two percent among girls 15-19. The largest decline occurred among 18- and 19-year-olds, at four percent. Valerie Huber, executive director with The National Abstinence Education Association, said, “A positive trend begun a decade ago can continue.  We should redouble our efforts to help teens avoid all the consequences of sexual activity, including teen childbearing.” President Obama eliminated all funding for abstinence-centered education in his 2011 budget. However, due largely to […]

Years back, I remember being asked by one of the pastors in my church if I would like to serve in a capacity that would include a certain level of leadership responsibility.  Along with that position, I would be given a title as well as some tasks to carry out in our church body.  Being given a new opportunity to serve the Lord in ways I never had before was both humbling and frightening.  Would I live up to the standards of those who had served before me?  Would I be effective or would I fall flat on my face?  […]

In the Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, we get to follow the adult trials and the childhood experiences of George.  Each time he faced a difficult situation he asked himself the same question: “What would Dad do?”  Somehow George picked up lessons from his dad that helped him navigate life and become a community hero. What about our children?  What are they learning from us? Times are different right now and different times require a different approach to life.  But different, even difficult times, offer parents an incredible training opportunity. Everyone will go through their own difficulties in life.  […]

WOW! Eleven years. It seems like just last year it was ten years. It has been my blessing working with local churches, ministries, businesses, volunteers and people in South Florida and Southwest Florida over the last 11 years. We love helping and hearing from the community, we actually thrive on it. It’s why we are here … to help our community. What makes The Good News great is the addition of News, events and content contributed by local churches and ministries. Without the community, we would be just a blank sheet of paper each month. Over the years, we have […]

As a child cries from hunger, desperate parents painfully search for food to save their children from death. If caught stealing a chicken to feed their family, parents in developing countries such as Haiti will be imprisoned, without first appearing before a judge or receiving a prison sentence. Sometimes by the time they are tried, they have spent years longer in jail than their prison sentence requires. Food For The Poor will help release approximately 73 nonviolent offenders in developing countries in time to spend Holy Week with their families. The prisoners were incarcerated due to their inability to pay […]