Trumpet Notes: June 15, 2022

Walmart Shareholders Defeat Pro-abortion Proposal

On June 1, Walmart held its annual shareholder’s meeting and voted on a proposal designed to pull the company into the abortion debate against state-level protections for the unborn. The proposal was defeated overwhelmingly, receiving fewer than 13% of the votes cast. The measure was placed on the ballot by a left-of-center pro-abortion group called Clean Yield Asset Management, which placed similar measures on the ballot at FedEx and Cigna, where they were also defeated.

The proposal called upon Walmart to “publish a report on the potential risks and costs to the company of state policies that restrict reproductive healthcare…” Reproductive health care is a common euphemism for abortion. The call for a study of risks is a standard form used by activists to influence companies in their preferred direction. There is a precedent of the SEC upholding proposals of this format as appropriate topics for shareholder votes.

The proposal suggested that Walmart might have trouble recruiting workers in Arkansas should Roe v. Wade be reversed and abortion outlawed. This amounts to a suggestion that the company threaten to punish states by closing (or not expanding) business in those states, a tactic which has been used effectively against states which passed religious freedom laws at odds with the desire of the LGBTQ lobby.

T.J. Maxx had a similar abortion-related proposal on the ballot on June 7, put forth by a different group of activists. It was also defeated. (christianpost.com) 

Premature Baby Born Defies the Odds to Survive

British infant Elsie Dutton weighed just 1 pound, 2 ounces when she was born prematurely in December. The tiny baby girl survived while her twin (Dotty) did not, and doctors initially warned Elsie’s parents that she might die, too, according to the Daily Mail. But after spending five months in the hospital, Elsie’s parents said she is home now and thriving.

Elsie was born at 23 weeks, four days of pregnancy, weighing 1 pound, 2 ounces, after her mother went into premature labor, according to the report. Because the girls were not yet 24 weeks (which is the legal abortion limit in England), Amy Dutton said Dotty was described as a miscarriage, not a stillbirth.

The difficulties continued for the family. According to the report, Elsie immediately was placed in an incubator, and her parents could not hold her for the first month of her life outside the womb. When she did get to hold Elsie, the effects of the mother-child bond were apparent.

After four months in St. George’s, Elsie finally grew well enough to go home. Her parents said she has survived so many odds and her health is improving every day.

More premature babies are surviving and thriving thanks to modern medicine. In November, Guinness World Records recognized an Alabama boy who was born at 21 weeks as the youngest premature baby to survive. Curtis Means was born weighing 14.8 ounces at 21 weeks and one day in July 2020. In 2017, the journal Pediatrics highlighted the story of another girl who survived after being born at 21 weeks and four days of pregnancy. (lifenews.com)

Trauma Survivors Flourish by Scripture Engagement

Trauma survivors who regularly engage in Scripture flourish more than survivors who are biblically disengaged, the American Bible Society (ABS) said in its latest revelations from the 2022 State of the Bible report.

While a third of study participants have personally experienced trauma in their lifetime, those characterized as “Scripture-engaged” scored higher on a 10-point scale that measured flourishing in 6 areas.

Scripture-engaged respondents scored 19% higher than Bible-disengaged respondents on the six-domain human flourishing index measuring happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships and financial and material stability.

Scripture-engaged trauma survivors scored 8.1 on the 10-point human flourishing scale, compared to a 6.9 score for the Bible disengaged, the ABS said, with the largest advantage seen in the area of meaning and purpose.

When Bible engagement is not considered, trauma survivors in the general population fare lower in human flourishing, ranking 6.5 in happiness and life satisfaction, for example, compared to 7.2 among the general population.

ABS defines trauma as “extreme violence, abuse or a near-death experience that produces a response of intense fear, helplessness and horror.” A third of respondents in the study had experienced trauma in their lifetimes.

The report’s third chapter, “Better Living Through Bible Reading,” also reveals findings of how Bible engagement impacts human flourishing among the general population, asserting that Scripture-engaged people ranked higher in five of the six domains. Only in financial and material stability did the Scripture-engaged rank lower, ABS said.

The 2022 report, conducted in collaboration with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, is based on 2,598 responses from a representative sample of adults 18 and older in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The study was conducted online and on the telephone Jan. 10-28.

ABS will release additional chapters of the study monthly, focusing on the Bible and society, faith across generations, speaking of faith in America, the Bible and technology and generosity. (baptistpress.com) 

Rays Players Opt Out of Pride Jerseys

Recently, several players for the Tampa Bay Rays major league baseball team opted out of wearing rainbow logos for “Pride Night.” Pitcher Jason Adam represented those players to reporters, saying that while players want all to feel “welcome and loved” at games, “We don’t want to encourage an LGBTQ lifestyle if we believe in Jesus, who’s encouraged us to live a lifestyle that would abstain from that behavior. Just like (Jesus) encourages me as a heterosexual male to abstain from sex outside of the confines of marriage.”

According to Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash, instead of causing dissension, the opting out “has created… a lot of conversation and valuing the different perspectives inside the clubhouse but really appreciating the community that we’re trying to support here.” (familycouncil.org)

Churches and Pro-Life Organizations Attacked 41 Times in 40 Days

The Washington Stand has found that there have been at least 41 separate incidents of violent attacks against churches, pro-life organizations and pro-life property across the country since the May 2 leak of a draft Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that indicated the overturning of Roe v. Wade. These attacks include arson, vandalism, property theft and property destruction.

These incidents do not include at least nine other occurrences of physical violence against pro-life advocates, threats of violence against churches and illegal disruptions of church services that have unfolded within the same time frame.

The recent spike in attacks against churches and pro-life organizations is part of a wider pattern of violence that has seen a marked uptick in the last two years. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released a report in early June that cataloged “at least 139 incidents… across 35 states and the District of Columbia since May 2020” against Catholic churches and organizations, including “arson, statues beheaded, limbs cut, smashed and painted, gravestones defaced with swastikas and anti-Catholic language and American flags next to them burned, and other destruction and vandalism.” (washingtonstand.com)

Biological Men Have Won 28 Women’s Sports Titles Since 2003

A biological male athlete who identifies as transgender, as well as transgender activists, recently stated grievances against sports governing bodies like the NCAA for “regressing” from “efforts to create a safe and inclusive environment” for male athletes who identify as transgender. The complaints come despite an increasing number of girls’ and women’s sporting events being dominated by biological males.

The Washington Stand has found that there have been at least 28 separate girls’ and women’s sports titles that have been won by biological males (or have included biological men as part of a winning women’s team) in the last 19 years, with the trend accelerating exponentially in the past three years.

These titles do not include the multiple second place, third place and other finishing spots in women’s events awarded to biological males that would have been won by biological females had the events been for biological females only.

A growing number of female athletes are voicing their concerns about letting biological males compete in women’s events. Before the University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas — who is a biological male who spent three years on the men’s team — won the women’s 500-yard Division I NCAA swimming championship in March, 16 women on Penn’s swim team wrote a letter saying that Thomas should not be allowed to compete women’s events.

“Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over the competition in the women’s category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female,” the letter said.

Recent poll results indicate that the American public largely agrees with this sentiment. When asked in a poll commissioned by Family Research Council Action if biological males should be allowed to compete against biological females in women’s K-12 and college sports, a significant majority (61%) disagreed, while just 18% agreed. (washingtonstand.com)