Friend,







Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families. 







We would be very grateful if you could make a donation of $100, $50, $25, or $10 today towards our work producing these Friday Fives and fighting for your values on the public square! <[link removed]>



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1. WEBMD: Judge rules NC health plan must cover transgender treatments





“The state health plan provides medical coverage for nearly 750,000 teachers, state employees, retirees, and their dependents, the AP reported. Lambda Legal and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund filed the lawsuit, Kadel v. Folwell, in 2019 on behalf of several current and former state employees and their dependents.



State Treasurer Dale Folwell, whose office oversees the state health plan, took office in early 2017 and canceled the coverage. The lawsuit sued Folwell, along with the health plan, its top executive, and other government entities.



Folwell’s office is still reviewing the ruling, the AP reported, and Folwell said the board of trustees has had the ability to set benefits for decades. He also told the AP that he had hoped the judge would ‘trust the people of North Carolina to have a jury trial on whether taxpayers should be paying for sexual transition operations.’”



The State Treasurer has defended the public purse by taking a principled stand against requiring the State Health Plan to pay for transgender transitions like hormone therapy and life-altering surgeries, and NC Values Coalition commends him for his actions and thanks him for defending our state from such attacks.































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2. NC VALUES: Ask your NC Representative to support the Parents’ Bill of Rights.



If you have a minute, could you use our easy click-to-contact tool to send an email to your NC House member in support of parental rights? Just because a parent sends their child to public school doesn’t mean they lose their fundamental right to know and have a say in what their child is being taught.



If you would like to see the NC House join the Senate in passing the Parents’ Bill of Rights (HB 755), would you consider taking a minute to use this easy click-to-contact tool to let them know? <[link removed]>



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3. NC VALUES: 📈 Abortion Rates Rise Nationwide Ahead of Historic Supreme Court Decision on Roe vs. Wade



According to new statistics released Wednesday by the Guttmacher Institute, abortions rose 8% nationwide, the first significant increase since 1990. <[link removed]> In 2020, there were 930,160 abortions compared to 2017 when there were 862,320 abortions in the United States. One in five pregnancies resulted in an abortion in 2020, a 12% increase from 2017. This is an alarming development as abortion rates had been decreasing consistently since 1990. ​



Notably, in North Carolina the abortions rose 8% from 2017-2020. There were 29,500 abortions in 2017 compared to 31,850 abortions in 2020.































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4. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Parents’ Bill of Rights may be shelved with no clear-cut route to override a likely veto



“The Parents’ Bill of Rights bill already passed by the North Carolina Senate may not come to the North Carolina House floor for a vote before the end of the short session House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said after Wednesday’s House session.



While nothing is set in stone, Moore said there likely aren’t enough votes to make H.B.755 into law, with at least three votes needed from House Democrats to override a likely veto from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.”































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5. NEWS & OBSERVER: Wake’s school board will be up for grabs this year. Majority won’t seek re-election.



“The Wake County school board will see major turnover this year, as a majority of its members don’t plan to seek re-election to lead North Carolina’s largest school system. Four of the nine school board members say they won’t run for another term and a fifth member says it’s unlikely she’ll seek re-election. This fall’s election could decide whether Wake continues to have a left-leaning school board majority or shifts to a more conservative direction.”





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WEEKLY PRAYER: LIBERTY



LORD, you have blessed us with a spiritual liberty that is so wonderful and beyond description, that it can only be understood through experiencing a life-giving relationship with Christ. However, we also recognize that in your grace, you have blessed our country with a political liberty that enables us to openly proclaim the experience of a life lived in the freedom of the Gospel.



LORD, as individuals and as a nation, may we never take the inalienable right of religious freedom for granted. Right now our country has faced a rapid increase in the number of attacks made against this cherished right. We have seen groups across our public arena increase in boldness and frequency their smears against religious liberty. They claim it is bigotry, when we know it is the security of the greatest of all possible loves.



Be with your people and our country as it continues to protect the constitutional right protected by our nation's Founders. Be with legislators and the Supreme Court, as they determine through their actions the protection of this particular and fundamental freedom. 



“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)



"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." (Galatians 5:13)



"Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God." (1 Peter 2:16)





Amen













Will you chip in $100, $50, $25, or even $10 to help the NC Values Coalition continue to fight for your rights? You can donate by clicking here. <[link removed]>





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Sincerely,



North Carolina Values Coalition



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NC Values Coalition - 9650 Strickland Rd, Suite 103-226, Raleigh, NC 27615-1902, United States

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