ERLC Staff

This weekend will mark the 38th observance of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. On that Sunday, churches across the country lament what former Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear called the “greatest moral tragedy of our day” – the evil of abortion.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Between a new president taking office and COVID-19 variants causing a resurgence in the pandemic, 2021 has been a year of challenges and changes. (See, for example, “10 significant international human rights events of 2021.”) Whether 2022 will be as tumultuous remains to be seen. But there are already numerous events that are expected to have significant effects on the world in the coming year. Here are five to watch in 2022.

The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission knew coming into 2021 that the completely misnamed Equality Act would be a priority for some segments of the culture, and as the year comes to a close, the bill remains a top legislative priority for our organization. 

Images from Washington D.C. during the oral arguments for Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

On Nov. 4, the Biden administration issued a COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The stated purpose of this rule is “to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers (100 or more employees) from the risk of contracting COVID-19 by strongly encouraging vaccination.” The intent to issue this rule was announced in September by President Biden, but the text of the rule was issued in November.

NASHVILLE (BP) – This week, a federal court in Texas ruled that it is unlawful to force healthcare professionals to violate their consciences for gender transition procedures. This is good news for children, families and Christians who want to continue serving in roles without conforming to “the latest fashionable ‘right side of history’ cause.”

NASHVILLE (BP) – Since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, states have enacted 1,313 abortion restrictions – 566 of them since the beginning of 2011. But this year alone, there have been an additional 561 abortion restrictions proposed in state legislatures – including 165 abortion bans, introduced across 47 states (all counts current as of June 7, 2021). As the Guttmacher Institute notes, 83 of those restrictions have already been enacted across 16 states, including 10 bans.

NASHVILLE (BP) – On Tuesday (April 6), Arkansas became the first U.S. state to prohibit doctors from providing gender transition procedures for children. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BP) - La semana pasada, los comités de Senado sobre Salud, Educación, Trabajo y Pensiones (HELP) y Finanzas tuvieron audiencias sobre la nominación de Xavier Becerra para secretario del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos (HHS). Becerra ha atraído una fuerte oposición de los estadounidenses provida y de los defensores de la libertad religiosa.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BP) – Last week, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) and Finance committees held hearings on the nomination of Xavier Becerra for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Becerra has drawn significant opposition from pro-life Americans and religious liberty advocates.