3Stories - March 30, 2026

In 2019, Finnish lawmaker Päivi Räsänen posted a Tweet on what was then Twitter to criticize the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland for it promotion of LGBT "pride month." The Christian Post reported that, "She questioned how the church could agree with 'shame and sin' being presented as 'a matter of pride.'"  This prompted an investigation that this leader in the nation of Finland had engaged in criminal behavior.  Then, it was discovered she had been involved in publishing a pamphlet in 2004 called, "Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity." The article said:

At one point, the pamphlet argues that homosexuality is disordered, which the court found was an opinion that could "insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation."

The court noted that "it must be taken into account that the text forming the basis for the conviction did not contain incitement to violence or comparable threat-like fomenting of hatred. The conduct is therefore not particularly serious in terms of the nature of the offense."

Convicted under Chapter 11 of the Finnish Penal Code, which deals with "agitation against a minority group," Räsänen was ordered to pay a fine of 1,800 euros ($2,080), and the court prohibited physical and digital copies of the pamphlet from being distributed following the ruling.

The article quoted Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, who characterized the decision as "an outrageous example of state censorship."  The article relates that it was "based on a law that did not exist when Räsänen's pamphlet was written," according to Coleman. 

To say the least, it was not a good week last week for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.  WORLD Magazine reported on a case out of New Mexico, stating: "A Santa Fe jury issued a verdict on Tuesday that Meta endangered children by misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms. The parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp violated state law and prioritized profits over safety, according to the verdict. New Mexico became the first state to win a trial against a major tech company for harming kids, according to a Tuesday statement from Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office.   Torrez had asked for the tech company to pay $2.2 billion, but the court reduced that to $375 million.

Then on Wednesday, as WORLD reported: "A jury in Los Angeles awarded a 20-year-old woman $3 million in damages, finding that YouTube and Meta’s negligence contributed to her addiction to social media and mental health problems."  The woman was known simply by her initials, KGM. The article pointed out that, "The monetary award is expected to grow because the jury found the companies acted with malice and has yet to decide on punitive damages in the case."

Lily Moric, writing at the National Center for Sexual Exploitation website, said:

In two days, we have twice seen what was previously thought impossible: social media companies being held legally accountable for the harms they cause to children. For decades, Big Tech has been able to hide behind Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—a law that courts misinterpreted as shielding tech companies from liability for the harms their products cause.  

Now, that age of impunity may be coming to an end.  

Emily Washburn, writing for The Daily Citizen of Focus on the Family, stated:

The precedent set in KGM and New Mexico could dramatically increase future plaintiffs’ likelihood of bringing successful cases against neglectful social media companies.

KGM is the first of nine bellwether cases representing a group of more than 1,600 similar social media addiction cases filed in California state court. The jury’s decision today proves social media addiction cases can win in front of a jury.

New Mexico won its case against Meta in state court. Several other states hope to triumph against social media companies in federal court this summer.

British lawmakers have been debating the issue of assisted suicide, with members of the English Parliament in London long considering such a bill.  But, time is running out. Meanwhile, in Scotland, the Parliament there defeated a proposal, according to Courthouse News Service, which reported on March 18:

After Scotland’s Parliament voted to reject a bill that would have legalized assisted dying, similar legislation in England is stalling in Parliament.

Lawmakers at Holyrood, the name of the Scottish Parliament, defeated the proposal late Tuesday 69 to 57 after an emotional final debate that exposed deep divisions over end-of-life care and protections for vulnerable people. 

Meanwhile, in London, according to the website, an assisted suicide bill has passed one chamber, the House of Commons, but has stalled in the House of Lords, in which, according to the article, its members "...can delay and amend bills but not ultimately block them, although time constraints can effectively kill legislation."  So far over 1200 amendments have been tabled in that chamber and the article says, "Supporters say it is 'effectively impossible' for the bill to clear all stages before the deadline."

The Evangelical Focus website reported:

Right after the vote, speaking for the UK Evangelical Alliance (EAUK), the UK director Peter Lynas, “welcome the Scottish Parliament’s decision to reject assisted suicide, prioritising the protection of life and the dignity of all, especially the most vulnerable”.

The EAUK points out that “the proposed legislation was unsafe, unworkable, and risked undermining the value of those who are elderly, disabled or nearing the end of life”.

“Scotland must be a place where everyone can live with dignity and thrive. This decision should ensure renewed commitment to high-quality, compassionate end-of-life care across our health and social care systems”, they added.

Canada has had an assisted suicide law in place for almost 10 years, and the National Post recently reported:

Just as Canada approaches the 10th anniversary of legal assisted suicide, the country is on course to soon record 100,000 total deaths from Medical Assistance in Dying.

This means that in addition to now charting MAID as one of its leading causes of death, Canada will also become the first country of the modern era to measure its total euthanasia deaths in the six figures.