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Jason Thacker

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EXPLAINER: How the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling on life affects IVF

Earlier this week, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) healthcare system announced that it was pausing all in vitro fertilization (IVF) fertility treatments. This pause is due to the perceived fear of prosecution and lawsuits in light of the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday, Feb. 16, stating that human beings in the embryonic stage have the same legal rights and protections as children who are born.

FIRST-PERSON: Emmett Till and empathy

Wrapped in a bronze-colored metal lattice, with a structure fashioned after the three-tiered crowns used in Yoruban art from West Africa, the National Museum of African American History and Culture covers five acres on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This Smithsonian museum opened to the public on Sept. 24, 2016, 87 years after Congress approved the project.

FIRST-PERSON: Two ways to make digital activism better

NASHVILLE (BP) – According to Pew Research Center, 80 percent of Americans say social media platforms are effective for raising public awareness about political or social issues, and over half have also been civically engaged on social media in recent years. Social media can be a powerful tool when harnessed with wisdom as we seek to influence change and address grave issues of injustice throughout our world. 

EXPLAINER: The FDA expands abortion pill access in local pharmacies

NASHVILLE (BP) – On Jan. 3, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a regulatory change that allows pharmacy chains and local pharmacies to distribute the first of the two-stage abortion pill regiment known as Mifepristone. 

FIRST-PERSON: Wisdom in the digital age

digital age is that we often know certain truths about God, who we are as His creatures, and other theological truths, but then fail to live out those beliefs, especially in light of the technological challenges we face today.

FIRST-PERSON: Why Roe is about more than just abortion

NASHVILLE (BP) – In the hours following the historic Dobbs decision, which recognized that the states have the right to make laws regulating the practice of elective abortion, moral panic ensued.

FIRST-PERSON: How Christians can think about the epidemic of online gambling and sports betting

I am an avid college basketball fan. During my college years at the University of Tennessee, our basketball program took major steps forward in being competitive each year, routinely making the NCAA tournament.

Explainer: What is going on between Russia and Ukraine?

Over the last few months, tensions have mounted on the border between Russia and Ukraine. This has led to international coverage of this conflict because of the countries involved, the potential toll of an invasion, and the role of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in global affairs. The situation is dire and extremely volatile at the moment, where it seems at any point Russia may decide to invade the nation of Ukraine, leading to a full-scale military and humanitarian crisis. Details of this situation change rapidly with each passing moment, but below is what we know so far about this international conflict and why Christians should be paying attention to the situation.

4 ethical issues in technology to watch for in 2022

For the past few years, I have had the opportunity to highlight some of the top ethical issues in technology to be aware of as we begin each new year. In 2021, I wrote about the concerning trends of content moderation – especially with regard to free speech and religious freedom in the digital public square – as well as the growing concerns over facial recognition technologies and the ongoing debate over personal privacy. While many of these same issues will likely carry over into 2022, some have given way to larger concerns about pervasive surveillance, in addition to the threat of digital authoritarianism around the world.

FIRST PERSON: Three crucial areas of ethical research in technology for the digital public square

Nearly every area of our lives has been technicized or digitized in one way or another during the past century. Technology has ushered in innumerable benefits for humanity, which often overshadow some of the damaging effects of these massive shifts in our daily lives. Smartphones have led to a growing culture of digital addictions and isolation, especially among young people. We see this fact clearly in the recent reports of how Facebook — and by extension, all of social media — has become toxic for teenage girls and for the rest of us as well.