Planned Parenthood is back to billing Medicaid for non-abortion services after a one-year federal reimbursement ban expired in early July 2026. That has pro-life groups furious, Planned Parenthood relieved, and Republican lawmakers once again discovering that campaign promises are much easier to shout into a microphone than to turn into durable law. Funny how that…
Supreme Court, Girls’ Sports, and the Question Nobody Can Dodge
The Supreme Court has now upheld state laws from West Virginia and Idaho barring transgender girls and women from competing on school athletic teams designated for girls and women. The Court’s conservative majority ruled that the laws don’t violate the Constitution, while all nine justices agreed that Title IX doesn’t require schools to allow transgender…
When Pills, Power, and Policy Collide
A federal court decision to block telehealth prescriptions for mifepristone might sound, at first glance, like one of those niche regulatory tweaks that only healthcare lawyers and policy wonks get excited about. But in reality, this is a ruling with massive ripple effects legally, culturally, and morally. To understand why, you have to look at…
Back to the Firing Squad?
When the Department of Justice floats the idea of bringing back the firing squad, the immediate reaction from a lot of people is predictable: shock, discomfort, and a chorus of “this feels like a step backward.” But let’s be honest for a second. That reaction says more about how we’ve packaged capital punishment in recent…
When Church Meets State Funding: Colorado’s Preschool Mandate Showdown
At first glance, this looks like just another culture-war headline: religion versus LGBTQ rights, round 9,742. But if you slow down for a minute, this case is less about slogans and more about a genuinely hard constitutional question that doesn’t have a clean, satisfying answer. Colorado has created a universal preschool program funded by taxpayer…
Conversion Therapy Bans: Protection or Overreach?
The phrase “conversion therapy” tends to end conversations before they even begin. It’s one of those terms that carries so much emotional and cultural weight that people often feel they already know where they’re supposed to land. Harmful. Discredited. Case closed. But once you slow down and actually examine what’s being debated—laws that prohibit certain…
The Abortion Pill Showdown: Should Congress Override the FDA on Mifepristone?
Last week, Hawley introduced legislation that would remove the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval for mifepristone, the first pill used in the two-drug medication abortion regimen. Hawley argues the drug is unsafe and that regulators ignored mounting evidence of complications. Critics say the proposal is little more than political theater aimed at restricting abortion…
The Supreme Court Weighs in on California’s School Secrecy Fight
The latest showdown between parental rights and student privacy has officially made its way to the marble steps of the Supreme Court. The Court’s temporary decision to block California’s restrictions on parental notification has national implications. It signals where at least six justices appear inclined to land when this case is fully litigated. At the…
Why Teen Gender Transition Shouldn’t Be a Political Experiment
I never bother watching the State of the Union address. It’s nothing more than an opportunity for the president—whether Democrat or Republican—to spin the truth in their favor. So, I didn’t watch last night. I simply read summaries of Trump’s speech. One thing that stood out for me was the fact that Democrats refused to…
Trump, the March for Life, and the Moral Weight of Accountability
When President Trump addressed the annual March for Life, he framed the defense of unborn life as a battle that must be fought and won, not merely through legislation, but in the moral imagination of the nation. It was language of resolve rather than novelty and conviction rather than calculation. In a post-Dobbs landscape where…
The Independent Christian Conservative 