Welcome to the TMS Weekly Dispatch for August 28, 2026—with the latest news and updates from the front line, to keep you in-the-know on all things Thomas More Society. If you missed last week’s edition, click here.

ILLINOIS AGREES NOT TO FORCE OBJECTING DOCTORS AND FAITH-BASED CARE HOMES TO PUSH SUICIDE—FOR NOW: The State of Illinois has agreed to a federal court order issued on August 21, temporarily enjoining it from enforcing its new assisted suicide law against Catholic hospitals under the authority of the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, the Lutheran Care Center, and four Illinois physicians while their federal lawsuit moves forward.

Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit on their behalf on August 11, asking a federal court to block the “End of Life Options” Act before it takes effect on September 12.

“No government has the power to tell a bishop what is or isn’t moral or to require doctors to violate their oath to respect and protect human life. This is a critical first victory for these faithful doctors, for Bishop Paprocki’s Catholic hospitals, and for the Lutheran Care Center,” reacted Peter Breen, TMS Executive VP & Head of Litigation.

·  Read more here.

·  National Catholic Register: "Illinois Says Catholic Hospitals Won’t Have to Promote Suicide As Federal Lawsuit Plays Out"

CATHOLIC FAMILIES SUE GEORGIA OVER PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP RULES THAT PENALIZE THEIR FAITH: Georgia's Promise Scholarship Program was designed to give families more say in their children's education. But for three Catholic families, unlocking that support means first placing their children in public school—the very thing they're trying to avoid.

On behalf of those families, Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit and an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order in DeKalb County Superior Court arguing that the Promise Scholarship Program's eligibility rules unconstitutionally force religious families to set aside their beliefs to receive that funding. The families are asking the court to act quickly as the application window for the upcoming semester closes August 31, 2026, and without emergency relief before then, they say they will lose the opportunity to enroll their children for the coming year.

·  Full press release here.

·  Watch TMS Staff Counsel Nathan Loyd’s interview with Atlanta News First.

THOMAS MORE SOCIETY SUES NEW JERSEY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR DEFYING U.S. SUPREME COURT, VIOLATING PARENTAL RIGHTS: Thomas More Society filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Moms for Liberty against the School District of the Chathams Board of Education, challenging the district's Policy 5145.7, which allows school staff to conceal a student's "gender transition" from parents and compels use of the student’s “preferred pronouns” and “gender identity,” including any new name the child gives themselves—all without parental notice or consent.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, comes after the district refused to rescind or amend the policy despite being notified of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Mirabelli v. Bonta and Mahmoud v. Taylor, which recognized that public schools cannot adopt policies that substantially interfere with parents’ constitutional right to guide the religious and moral upbringing of their children under both the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

·  More details about the new lawsuit here.

·  The Daily Caller Exclusive.

PARENTS AND TEACHERS ALREADY WON AT THE SUPREME COURT. THOMAS MORE SOCIETY ASKS THE NINTH CIRCUIT TO FINISH THE JOB:

Parents and teachers already prevailed at the U.S. Supreme Court. Now the state of California is doubling down, asking the Ninth Circuit to do what no court in America is allowed to do: overrule the Supreme Court.

This week, Thomas More Society filed an Answering Brief in Mirabelli v. Bonta, calling on the Ninth Circuit to reject California’s invitation that it flout the Supreme Court and instead affirm the district court’s permanent injunction protecting parents and teachers from California's school gender secrecy policies.

·  Read about what comes next.  

·  Visit the Mirabelli v. Bonta case hub here.