(Zimmytws/Dreamstime.com
By Frank Pavone
Monday, 27 July 2026 09:53 AM EDT
Religious liberty is more than the freedom to hold private beliefs — it is the freedom to live according to one's faith in public life. The recommendations recently presented by the Religious Liberty Commission to President Trump reinforce the principle that Americans should never have to choose between following their faith and following the law.
This has particular impact on Americans who fight every day to protect children in the womb from the violence of abortion. Concerns for such Americans came up in one way or another in every one of the hearings that the Religious Liberty Commission held.
The anti-abortion movement is rooted in the very American conviction that every human life deserves equal protection under the law, despite its age.
That conviction, coupled with the American belief in peaceful protest, motivates those who are anti-abortion to stand for hours outside abortion facilities, enduring the hostile stares and words - and occasional vicious beatings - from abortion advocates in the hope of changing the mind of one mother, of saving one baby.
These same Americans believe that mothers and fathers need day to day support, and the pregnancy help movement provides such support across the country.
So often maligned for being "fake clinics" because they do not perform abortion, these vitally important centers are almost exclusively started and staffed with people of faith who are trying not to impose their faith on others but to use it to lead mothers and fathers to a much better choice than abortion.
Yet these centers are constantly harassed in abortion-friendly states and all too often find themselves embroiled in lawsuits or fighting unjust laws.
The First Amendment wins every time, with these suits settled in favor of pregnancy centers. Religious liberty helps protect the ability to advocate for life without compromising sincerely held beliefs.
One of the commission's key recommendations is to clarify the proper understanding of the Establishment Clause and the separation of church and state.
Religious liberty is more than the freedom to hold private beliefs — it is the freedom to live according to one's faith in public life. The recommendations recently presented by the Religious Liberty Commission to President Trump reinforce the principle that Americans should never have to choose between following their faith and following the law.
This has particular impact on Americans who fight every day to protect children in the womb from the violence of abortion. Concerns for such Americans came up in one way or another in every one of the hearings that the Religious Liberty Commission held.
The anti-abortion movement is rooted in the very American conviction that every human life deserves equal protection under the law, despite its age.
That conviction, coupled with the American belief in peaceful protest, motivates those who are anti-abortion to stand for hours outside abortion facilities, enduring the hostile stares and words - and occasional vicious beatings - from abortion advocates in the hope of changing the mind of one mother, of saving one baby.
These same Americans believe that mothers and fathers need day to day support, and the pregnancy help movement provides such support across the country.
So often maligned for being "fake clinics" because they do not perform abortion, these vitally important centers are almost exclusively started and staffed with people of faith who are trying not to impose their faith on others but to use it to lead mothers and fathers to a much better choice than abortion.
Yet these centers are constantly harassed in abortion-friendly states and all too often find themselves embroiled in lawsuits or fighting unjust laws.
The First Amendment wins every time, with these suits settled in favor of pregnancy centers. Religious liberty helps protect the ability to advocate for life without compromising sincerely held beliefs.
One of the commission's key recommendations is to clarify the proper understanding of the Establishment Clause and the separation of church and state.




