Life news in brief

Family Camp 

The fourth annual Catholic Family Camp weekend will be held July 26-28. Join other Catholic families in the Diocese of Duluth for family fun at Big Sandy Camp in McGregor. Find more information and register at www.dioceseduluth.org/marriage-and-family-life. 

Retrouvaille 

Thinking about separation or divorce? Hurting? Angry? Feel helpless? Retrouvaille is a lifeline for troubled marriages. Couples learn the tools to rediscover each other and heal their marriage. 100% confidential. Since 1977, more than 40,000 marriages have been saved worldwide. Weekend experiences will be held Aug. 9-11 and Oct. 4-6 in the Twin Cities. Email [email protected] or visit www.helpourmarriage.org for more information. 

Legislature fails to approve deceptive amendment enshrining unlimited abortion 

The Minnesota legislature failed to approve a deceptive measure to put the Equal Rights Amendment on the ballot in 2026. The House passed the bill (SF 37) early Sunday, May 19, but the Senate did not take it up before the midnight deadline. The proposed ERA, if ratified by voters, would have enshrined a policy of unlimited abortion in the Minnesota Constitution, but the language presented to Minnesotans on the ballot would say nothing about the issue. “Minnesotans all across the state have been telling their legislators: We don’t want abortion-up-to-birth permanently mandated by our constitution,” said MCCL Co-Executive Director Cathy Blaeser. “Nor do we want you to deceive us about what you’re really trying to do. Polls show that most Minnesotans don’t want abortion added to the ERA, and most don’t want unlimited abortion. This ERA isn’t about equal rights at all. It’s extreme, exclusionary, and dishonest.” A new KSTP/SurveyUSA poll found that 64% of Minnesotans want abortion considered separately from the ERA. Two earlier polls — a Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 poll and a KSTP/SurveyUSA poll — both found that just 30% of Minnesotans favor abortion without limits, the current policy that the ERA would enshrine. The House, before passing SF 37, rejected numerous amendments during a days-long debate, including amendments to protect rights based on age and religion (protections that the ERA excludes) and to add an abortion reference to the ballot language so that it matches what is put into the constitution. All amendments were voted down.