Just the facts.

Pro-life congressman reportedly asked girlfriend to get an abortion

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Fox News reports:

An anti-abortion congressman asked his mistress to have an abortion when he thought she might be pregnant, according to a report this week.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said it obtained text messages between  Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., and Shannon Edwards, the woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair.

In a Jan. 25 text message, Edwards said Murphy had “zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options,” according to the paper.

“I’ve never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced,” Murphy’s number replied, blaming his staff for his anti-abortion messages. “I told staff don’t write any more.”

Ultimately, Edwards was not pregnant.

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Matt Chandler Praying ‘Jesus Culture’ Over Us All Last Sunday

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Pulpit & Pen News has the story:

Matt Chandler just made an excellent move. As we explained in this post, Matt Chandler announced that Village Church was leaving behind the unbiblical multi-site church model. Of course, he didn’t call the model unbiblical and he explained that making the churches autonomous was a part of a “vision,” but still, it’s an improvement. It’s unfortunate that Chandler’s charismaticism and New Calvinist tendencies so often plagues the brilliant and dynamic ministry of such an outstanding leader.

Chandler has taught the charismatic notion of “binding and losing spirits.” He has endorsed Lent, which has been a recent trend in New Calvinism. He wrote the forward for Sam Storm’s book, promoting the growth of charismania in churches. Chandler’s social-justice bent (again, typical among New Calvinists) had his Village Church partnering with radical Islamic groups. He claimed that theoerotic Ann Voskamp was becoming his favorite author.

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Faith Based Movies Intending to Use More F-Bombs, Profanity

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The Hollywood film director who’s making these sorts of movies is a professing Christian with a Masters in Theological Studies. He claims using coarse language, that includes the F-word, plus taking the Lord’s Name in vain in his movies is all about marketing.

Good grief!

Pulpit & Pen News has the story:

Spencer Folmar is a Hollywood director and is known for producing faith-based films. He’s also a graduate of Bible College, having earned a Certificate in Leadership from the Capernway Bible School in New Zealand. He also earned a Masters of Arts in Theological Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. His latest movie was Generational Sins, a faith-based film in which two boys with a dying mother retrace their life steps and end up finding hope in their faith in God. Folmar’s production company is Third Brother Films, which describes itself as “a film production company established for the purpose of bringing compelling stories about the human condition to a film going audience in a way that artistically reflects the mind and spirit of Jesus Christ, and speaks truth to this present generation in a fresh and powerful way.”

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Keeping Kids Safe in an Age of STDs

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Dr. Meg Meeker wonders if we will see a warning on the front page of the major news organizations in the U.S. about the startling increase of STDs. Unlikely, says Dr. Meeker.  Why? Because most adults, including parents, teachers and politicians, hold the liberal view that sexual activity among teens is acceptable….and healthy.

In a piece she wrote for LifeZette, Dr. Meeker offers her advice on how to keep kids safe:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a report that the sexually transmitted infections gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia have hit an all-time high. These infections have historically burdened women more than men because a woman’s reproductive anatomy is more complex.

Now these infections are affecting more pregnant women and their newborn babies.

The CDC’s report showed a whopping 36 percent increase of syphilis among women and a 28 percent increase in newborns. Gay men saw a 22 percent rise in syphilis among them — and half of these men also had HIV.

Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center of HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, sounded an alarm. “Increases in STDs are a clear warning of a growing threat. STDs are a persistent enemy, growing in number, and outpacing our ability to respond.”

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Did Hillsong Leader, Brian Houston, Lie Under Oath to Royal Commission?

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Pulpit & Pen News has the story:

I once heard a colleague make the eyebrow-raising statement, “I’d sooner put a Roman Catholic priest in charge of the nursery than a Pentecostal in charge of the worship music.” A foolhardy and controversial statement, indeed, nonetheless not without warrant. But what would be worse is if both were true.

Frank Houston, the deceased founder of Hillsong Church in Australia, was a confessed child molester–and a charismatic. He was no Roman Catholic priest, but he did run the church as the head of a top-down style ecclesiological system. If you’re unaware of the Hillsong scandal that’s been going on for years, Frank Houston confessed to molesting several children while he was the head of the church to his son, Brian Houston, the current leader. Brian Houston has now been under investigation by Australia’s Royal Commission for his possible role in sweeping his father’s crimes under the rug. During the investigation, Brian Houston made the following claims to the Royal Commission:

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HBC Elders Remove MacDonald from Leadership; Retain Him for Teaching

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One report declared that the reason James MacDonald was removed from leadership was because “nearly six hundred thousand dollars has gone unaccounted for in their operation, combined with an interconnectedness of its church plants and ‘satellite campuses.'” (Source)

The Elephants Debt has the story:

On September 22, 2017, the HBC Elders released an Update stating that James MacDonald was relieved of leadership duty, and he is to remain on staff solely for purposes of teaching/preaching. James MacDonald has been released from the Executive Leadership Team or the XLT (the staff team that runs the day-to-day of the church), and a new team will be assembled. The new XLT will report directly to the Elder Board (EC) and not James MacDonald. As usual, the Elder Update lacks sufficient transparent details to explain this significant decision, but rest assured we are dedicated to writing again on a regular basis to unpack the details.

As you know, on June 14, 2017, James MacDonald claimed to have “resigned” as President of HBF; we posted on this matter which can be found here. From a very reliable source we now can say definitively that this was a forced resignation/termination. This source also confirmed that certain HBF pastors threatened to leave HBF if MacDonald remained as President. As a natural consequence of his termination, HBF demanded an audit of HBF funds, utilizing their own auditors.

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Satanic Temple Wants Followers to Force Christian Bakers to Make a Cake to ‘Honor Satan’

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According to Christian News:

The Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple, out of its dissatisfaction with Christian-owned bakeries that decline to make cakes celebrating same-sex “weddings,” is now asking its followers to force bakers to make a cake for Satan.

The group says that it came up with the idea in light of the Masterpiece Cakeshop case soon to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“[B]ecause sexual orientation is not a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (whereas race and religion are), there is a good chance that the right to discriminate against gay couples will be affirmed as a constitutional liberty,” it wrote.

Out of the Satanic Temple’s fears that the court will likely rule in favor of the cakeshop, it has asked that those “who feel alienated or oppressed by the privileged status that religion holds over sexual orientation” contact religious bakers and order a cake to “honor Satan.”

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‘Miracles really do happen,’ Scalise says to House

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Baptist Press has the story:

Steve Scalise, the House’s majority whip and a leading conservative in the Republican Party, spoke today (Sept. 28) after walking into the packed chamber with the aid of crutches. He was shot June 14 at an Alexandria, Va., park as GOP members practiced for the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity.

His ability to return to the House “starts with God,” Scalise said. “When I was laying out on that ball field, the first thing I did once I was down and I couldn’t move anymore was I just started to pray. And I tell you it gave me an unbelievable sense of calm, knowing at that point it was in God’s hands.

“But I prayed for very specific things,” he told his colleagues. “And I’ll tell you, pretty much every one of those prayers was answered, and there were some pretty challenging prayers I was putting in God’s hand. But He really did deliver for me and my family. And it just gives you that renewed faith and understanding that the power of prayer is something that you just cannot underestimate.”

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Witch doctors in Uganda sacrificing children in bid to end drought, report says

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Fox News reports:

Witch doctors are sacrificing children in Uganda, looking to turn the tide with miracles in the drought-stricken country, a new report says.

Officials in Uganda say the number of human sacrifices are on the rise, as the East African country battles its worst drought in more than half a century. More than 11 million people are facing food insecurity and more than 1.6 million are on the brink of famine.

“There is no food due to the ongoing drought, and some believe that this has been brought by ancestral spirits,” Joel Mugoya, a traditional, told the Religion News Service, according to USA Today. “So there is a high desire for people to conduct sacrifices so that they come out of this problem.”

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Sex diseases in US surge to record high

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Yahoo News reports:

Sexually transmitted diseases surged to a record high in the United States last year, with more than two million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis nationwide, officials said Tuesday.

This was “the highest number ever,” said the annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report released today by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Most of the new cases — 1.6 million in 2016 — involved chlamydia, a bacterial infection that affects both men and women.

Gonorrhea also increased among men and women last year, but the steepest rise was among men (22 percent), said the report.

Nationwide, gonorrhea cases reached 470,000, with a large share of new gonorrhea cases among men who have sex with men.

These trends are “particularly alarming” because of the growing threat of gonorrhea becoming resistant to the last recommended treatment, according to the CDC report.

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Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Kneels On House Floor In Support Of NFL Players

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Real Clear Politics reports:

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) took to the House floor Monday night to kneel in solidarity with NFL players who chose defy President Trump and protest police brutality. Jackson Lee said you “cannot deny” that Trump calling players who kneel a [SOB]  is “racism.”

“I kneel in honor of them. I kneel in front of the flag and on this floor,” Jackson Lee declared.

“I kneel in honor of the First Amendment. I kneel because the flag is a symbol for freedom. I kneel because I’m going to stand against racism. I kneel because I will stand with those young men and I’ll stand with our soldiers. And I’ll stand with America, because I kneel.”  View article →

Related:

Steve Bannon: NFL Players Should Take A Knee Every Night And Thank God In Heaven Donald Trump Is President

Rush Limbaugh on NFL Controversy: “There’s No Way Trump Loses”

O’Reilly Warns Ingraham: The Left Is ‘Going to Come After You’

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According to LifeZette’s Katherine Blackhurst, Bill O’Reilly says prime-time TV has become a “hateful arena where the truth doesn’t matter.” O’Reilly stated that in 42 years he worked with a dozen companies and “he ‘never had one complaint’ lodged against him with human resources.” Blackhurst has the story:

Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly warned LifeZette Editor-in-Chief Laura Ingraham that the far Left is “going to come after you” because the talk-show landscape is a “hateful arena where the truth doesn’t matter,” during an interview Wednesday on “The Laura Ingraham Show.”

O’Reilly, who left the network in April amid sexual harassment claims, said Ingraham — whose upcoming Fox News show, “The Ingraham Angle,” will debut on October 30 — will be targeted as part of the smear campaign orchestrated by the far Left to take conservative voices off the air.

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Newborn Baby Whose Mother Sacrificed Her Life to Save Daughter Also Dies

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Christian News has the story:

The newborn baby of a Michigan mother who refused recommendations that she abort her unborn child in the midst of a battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer, and instead decided to forgo treatment in order to save her baby, has now died just two weeks after her mother passed into eternity.

“It is with great sadness and a absolutely broken heart that I tell you Life Lynn passed away last night,” the Cure 4 Carrie page posted to social media on Thursday. “Carrie is now rocking her baby girl. I have no explanation of why this happened, but I do know Jesus loves us and someday we will know why. The grief we feel is almost unbearable; please be praying for our family.”

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Judge Rules Filmmakers Can’t Decline to Film Same-Sex ‘Weddings,’ Dismisses Preemptive Suit

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Christian News reports:

A federal judge in Minnesota has dismissed a preemptive lawsuit filed by a filmmaking couple who are concerned that state law mandates them to create films in support of same-sex “marriage” if they also produce videos that reflect their Christian beliefs about marriage.

Chief U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, appointed to the bench by then-President Bill Clinton, ruled on Wednesday that Carl and Angel Larsen of the Telescope Media Group cannot turn away video requests by homosexuals as per the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA). He also concluded that the law itself is not unconstitutional.

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Scientists edit embryos’ genes to study early human development

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Reuters has the story:

British scientists have used a genome editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas9 to knock out a gene in embryos just a few days old, testing the technique’s ability to decipher key gene functions in early human development.

The researchers said their experiments, using a technology that is the subject of fierce international debate because of fears that it could be used to create babies to order, will deepen understanding of the biology of early human development.

CRISPR/Cas9 can enable scientists to find and modify or replace genetic defects. Many describe it as game-changing.

“One way to find out what a gene does in the developing embryo is to see what happens when it isn’t working,” said Kathy Niakan, a stem cell scientists who led the research at Britain’s Francis Crick Institute.

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AI can detect Alzheimer’s a decade before symptoms show

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According to The Week:

Researchers have created an artificial intelligence (AI) programme that can detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease up to ten years before symptoms appear.

Developed by a team at the University of Bari, in Italy, the computer system scans the brain for “tiny structural changes” that indicate the early stages of the disease, reports Engadget.

The AI was fed 38 MRI scans from Alzheimer’s patients, and 29 from healthy patients, the website says, to help it learn common patterns in neurological activity and the symptoms of the disease.

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Anti-Population Growth Group Expresses Support for Planned Parenthood as Means to Combat ‘Overpopulation’

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Christian News reports:

A Virginia-based group known as “Negative Population Growth” (NPG), which seeks to combat “overpopulation” in the U.S. and abroad, recently released a report expressing why it opposes the Trump administration’s desire to repeal Obamacare and defund the abortion and contraception giant Planned Parenthood.

“If the U.S. is to be an international leader on the critical issue of overpopulation, our nation must set an example of population restraint and women’s rights here at home,” it wrote in its report entitled “Resurgent Pro-Natalism in the Trump Administration.”

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Jim Bakker Claims ‘Every Prophecy I’ve Made Has Come True. Also, Donald Trump Watches His Show.

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Pulpit & Pen News has the story and a couple of videos to watch:

A few things you’ll learn from this clip.

First, Bakker claims that Trump watches the Jim Bakker Program.

Secondly, Bakker claims Trump admires Bakker for “getting back up.”

Third, the applause you hear after Bakker says the above is a sound effect. You can hear the few (25-30) people in the audience clap and then you’ll hear an added-in applause sound effect added in post-production to make it sound like hundreds are in the audience. Listen closely; you can hear it. It’s pretty obvious.

Fourth, Bakker claims he might get shot for wearing a cross hat. Okay.

Fifth, while extolling the religious virtue of Donald Trump, Bakker claims that all of his prophecies have come true.

“Everything God’s ever spoken to me has come to pass. And everything…you give minutes, almost. Your prophecies – the words God has brought  – you’ve given us to the minute…what this book is going to reveal to you is the warfare we are in.”

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Biologist Acknowledges: ‘Rising Number of Publications’ Calling for ‘Major Revision’ of ‘Standard Theory of Evolution’

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Christian News reports:

In a recent scientific presentation and subsequent journal article, a well-known evolutionary biologist noted that a “rising number of publications” believe that the standard theory of evolution might need to be revised or even replaced because it has shortcomings and has failed to account for recent trends in evolutionary biology.

Gerd B. Müller is a biologist and professor at the University of Vienna in Austria who is considered an expert in the field of evolutionary biology. In a journal article published by Royal Society Publishing, while by no means dismissing his evolutionary beliefs, Müller posited that the standard theory of evolution needs to be rethought and adjusted to accommodate for modern scientific discoveries as there are “a growing number of challenges to the classical model of evolution.”

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Illegal Aliens Crash Nancy Pelosi’s DACA Press Conference: ‘All of Us or None of Us!’

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Breitbart has the story:

A group of illegal aliens calling themselves the “Immigration Liberation Movement” crashed a press conference by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Monday, warning the Democratic Party not to “sell [us] out.”

The group shouted down Rep. Pelosi, who struggled to maintain control of the meeting, and unfurled a large banner calling for all illegal aliens to be legalized.

Others held up signs, including: “Fight 4 All 11 Million,” referring to the estimated total of all illegal aliens in the U.S.

In the “mic check” call-and-response style popularized by the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011, the activists declared:

We remember all too well how for eight years the Democrats laid siege to our communities, raiding and deporting nearly three million people, of our family members and loved ones. Where was your resistance then? Ms. Pelosi, did you think we would forget? We send a clear message to our fellow undocumented youth and community: We are the resistance to Trump! Not the Democrats!

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Adrian Rogers center has a commitment to expository preaching

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According to Baptist Press, Adrian Rogers son Steve spoke of the 4,0000 hours he and his brother David spent reviewing his father’s recorded sermons and how it underscored for them their father’s commitment to expository preaching.

With a commitment to helping a new generation of preachers and pastors in the pulpit, the Adrian Rogers Center for Expository Preaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary was dedicated in a Sept. 12 chapel service.

In partnership with the late Adrian Rogers’ proclamation ministry Love Worth Finding, the NOBTS center will provide resources and present conferences and lectureships to encourage and equip students and pastors.

The center’s inaugural “Empowering the Pulpit” preaching conference, Jan. 29-31, will feature leading expository preachers Jim Shaddix and Robert Smith Jr.

The dedication took place on Rogers’ birthday; he died in 2005 at the age of 74.

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UK Speaker: Same-Sex Marriage Won’t Be ‘Proper’ Until Churches Can’t Opt Out

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PJ Media reports:

 

In a shocking attack on religious freedom and even property rights, the speaker of Britain’s House of Commons argued that the country won’t have “proper equal marriage” until churches are unable to turn away requests to host a same-sex marriage.

“I still feel we’ll only have proper equal marriage when you can bloody well get married in a church if you want to do so, without having to fight the church for the equality that should be your right,” John Bercow, the Commons speaker, declared at a PinkNews reception in July.

Britain legalized same-sex marriage in 2013, but Bercow suggested that the LGBT issue will not be settled until churches are unable to refuse to host such weddings. “We don’t want to behave like it’s all over, everything’s been done and nothing remains, because that isn’t true,” he added.

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Trump Urges ‘Larger, Tougher’ Travel Ban After London Attack

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Newsmax reports:

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Friday to denounce a terror attack that took place in London, urging authorities and others to take more “proactive” steps while calling for a “larger, tougher and more specific” travel ban.

“Another attack in London by a loser terrorist. These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

British police said Friday that the president’s tweets are “unhelpful” given their investigation, CNN reported.

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Anti-Hurricane Declarations Making Prophets Re-Think Ability to Control Weather

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Although some charismatic “Weather Warriors” thought they could control the weather simply by confidently decreeing and declaring, even finger shooting, a cat 4 hurricane into the Atlantic Ocean and “dissipating,” Hurricane Irma failed to respond to their commands. After leaving a path of devastation across the Caribbean, the hurricane whipped through Florida, causing death and destruction. Now the hurricane hunters have some splainin to do. According to Pulpit & Pen News, one of them “acknowledges that maybe the charismatic community hasn’t got the whole ‘controlling the weather’ thing down yet.” And they never will. Why? Because God controls the weather.

Now to P&P’s story:

NAR Apostle Lance Wallnau finger shooting Hurricane Irma

Weather is one of those things that happens. In fact, weather happens every day. In further fact, weather happens every day everywhere. Proving that humanity continues to be as superstitious as our ancestors ever were, there have been lots of theories about why the recent hurricanes have occurred. Actress, Jennifer Lawrence, says that it is “nature’s wrath” for the election of Trump. Stevie Wonder said anyone who doesn’t think climate change caused it is “blind” (it’s unclear whether he was making a pun). Kirk Cameron is the celebrity with the perhaps the best answer, which was essentially the Providence of God. One charismatic preacher claimed that it was meant to resemble a sonogram of a baby, and blamed abortion. Other charismatics have also claimed to know the specific divine reasons for these hurricanes.

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Opioid Crisis Is Sending A Record Number Of Kids Into Foster Care

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According to Circa:

About 78 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.

Janet Siemer is a nurse and single mother from Ohio, one of the states hit hardest by the opioid crisis. Thousands of children get trapped inside the states foster care system waiting to be adopted or turned back over to their parents once they get sober.

Siemer adopted two young children named Landon and Mi after fostering them for two years.

“The reason I became a foster parent is I saw every day how heroin affects families and there were children in need of foster care,” said Janet. “But also because I love children, so why not?”

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