NEW YORK (AP) — The United Methodist Church’s judicial council on Friday upheld major portions of a new plan that strengthens bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT pastors.

Conservatives welcomed the decision and said key elements of the policy, called the Traditional Plan, could begin taking effect in January. Among liberal and centrist opponents of the plan, there was dismay; one group, Reconciling Ministries Network, called for an upsurge of resistance.

The Traditional Plan was adopted in February on 438-384 vote by delegates at a special UMC conference in St. Louis. Most U.S.-based delegates opposed that plan and preferred LGBT-inclusive options, but they were outvoted by U.S. conservatives who teamed with most of the delegates from Methodist strongholds in Africa and the Philippines.

The nine-member judicial council, at the close of a four-day meeting in Evanston, Illinois, ruled that some aspects of the Traditional Plan — mostly related to enforcement of its rules — were unconstitutional under church law. But the council upheld the bulk of the plan, clearing the way for its implementation in January.

The Rev. Tom Lambrecht, general manager of the conservative Methodist magazine Good News, hailed the council’s ruling as a “strong affirmation” of the Traditional Plan’s core elements.

He suggested that Methodists opposed to the plan should start negotiating to leave the UMC and form a new denomination that would allow them to adopt LGBT-inclusive policies.

Opponents of the Traditional Plan will have a chance to overturn it at the UMC’s next general conference in May 2020. But Lambrecht said he agreed with other analysts who predict the UMC’s conservative bloc will be even stronger then.

An alliance of Traditional Plan opponents, calling themselves UMC-Next, has been holding meetings to discuss the best path forward for those who share their views.

Its leaders say one option would be for centrists and liberals to leave en masse to form a new denomination. Under another option, opponents of the Traditional Plan would stay in the UMC and resist from within, eventually convincing conservatives that they should be the faction that departs.

Lambrecht dismissed that possibility.

“We’re not leaving,” he said.

Formed in a merger in 1968, the United Methodist Church claims about 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the United States. It is the largest mainline Protestant denomination in the U.S.

While other mainline denominations have embraced gay-friendly practices, the UMC still bans them, though acts of defiance by pro-LGBT clergy members have multiplied. Many have officiated same-sex weddings; others have come out from the pulpit.

Enforcement of the bans has been inconsistent; the Traditional Plan aspires to beef up discipline against those engaged in defiance.

Under rules upheld by the judicial council, bishops are prohibited from ordaining “self-avowed homosexuals,” while clerics who perform same-sex weddings could be suspended without pay for a first offense and ousted from the ministry for a second offense.

Under the ruling, individual churches could disaffiliate with the UMC if two-thirds of the church community agrees, and if the church meets certain financial requirements.

The Reconciling Ministries Network, which supports LGBT inclusion, called its supporters “to repeatedly state your dissent, to support the work of resistance by United Methodist seminaries, to continue to write open letters and visibly be in solidarity with those on the margins.”

“We call upon the Church to repent of the sin of homophobia,” it said. “Now is the time to rise and resist.”

Many Traditional Plan opponents already are expressing their dissatisfaction. Some churches have raised rainbow flags in a show of LGBT solidarity; some are withholding dues payments to the UNC administration in protest.

The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ-rights group, said the judicial council’s ruling “is deeply disappointing for countless LGBTQ Methodists, including young people and their families, who are yearning for a welcoming church family.”

CALLAWAY COUNTY— One person died in an accident just after 2:30p.m. Friday in Callaway County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2016 Honda motorcycle driven by John A. Nelson, 65, Jefferson City, was southbound on Route J just south of County Road 356. The motorcycle traveled off the right side of the road, overturned, ejected the driver and struck a traffic sign.

Nelson was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the Callaway County Medical Examiner’s office.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge in Kansas is facing charges after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Johnson County Court records show that 70-year-old Kathryn Vratil was arrested Thursday night. She is charged in Johnson County District Court with driving under the influence and improper driving.

Vratil is a senior judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

A complaint filed Friday says Vratil was arrested by a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper. She posted a $1,000 bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for May 21.

Chief Judge Julie Robinson said in a statement Friday that the federal court will handle the incident as a personnel matter and have no further comment.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A lobbyist whose son was expelled from college under a federal sex-discrimination law successfully enlisted a Missouri state lawmaker to introduce a bill that would overhaul how such complaints are handled — a measure that one opponent called “revenge legislation.”

Republican Rep. Dean Dohrman said lobbyist Richard McIntosh asked him to sponsor the proposal , which would change how Missouri colleges handle alleged violations of Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education.

Dohrman said he learned about the son’s expulsion from Washington University from McIntosh, who told him it was related to a Title IX complaint.

The lawmaker declined to say whether he knew about the family’s situation before filing his bill. He said he did not ask McIntosh for “a bunch of details” and did not “necessarily want to know a bunch of details.” Dohrman said he’s pushing the legislation because he supports the policy.

“The situation with the McIntosh family is immaterial to my position,” said Dohrman, who represents a rural area east of Kansas City. “I believe there needs to be changes in due process of Title IX. That’s why I filed the bill.”

The allegations against the son are not public. Title IX complaints can include accusations of sexual harassment, sexual assault or other infractions.

The link between the lobbyist’s son and the legislation was first reported by the Kansas City Star.

McIntosh has previously declined to comment when asked by The Associated Press about his son’s expulsion. He did not return an AP request for comment this week.

The Kansas City Star report sparked outrage among the bill’s critics, including state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, a St. Louis Democrat who said “revenge legislation should have no place in this Capitol.”

“How dare you bring in legislation to the body and try to change the whole structure of Title IX simply because one person” was accused, Nasheed said.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, who supports some changes to Title IX, said the McIntosh family’s involvement in the legislation is “not a particularly good look” for lawmakers.

Editors note: The story has been updated to include a statement released late Friday from Senator Pat Roberts.

WASHINGTON – Members of the Kansas congressional delegation issued statements Friday after the Kansas Supreme Court declared the state constitution protects abortion rights. The Kansas decision prevents the state from enforcing a 2015 law that could have greatly limited second trimester abortions.

In a statement Friday afternoon, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran said.

“I am saddened by today’s State Supreme Court decision. An unborn child is a distinct human being and our laws should defend its right to life. This decision underscores the urgent need for federal legislation that will protect innocent life at all stages, and I will continue working to see such legislation achieved.”

I am disappointed in the activist Kansas Supreme Court’s decision that in Kansas an unborn child has, literally, no right to life.

— Senator Pat Roberts (@SenPatRoberts) April 27, 2019

Today, the Kansas Supreme Court violated the sanctity of life and denied the rights of the unborn in our state. It’s plain wrong and deeply shameful. (1/3

— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) April 26, 2019

Today, radical and out-of-touch justices on the Kansas Supreme Court have cleared the way for the barbaric practice of dismemberment abortions and opened the door for even more extreme late-term abortions in our state. https://t.co/0Ry9w4zneR

— Rep. Ron Estes (@RepRonEstes) April 26, 2019

The Kansas Supreme Court ruling on abortion is another example of moral degradation in our country. I will continue to fight for federal legislation to protect our most vulnerable. #ksleg #ks02 #prolife

— Rep. Steve Watkins (@Rep_Watkins) April 26, 2019

Rep. @ShariceDavids: “Today’s ruling reaffirms a woman’s fundamental right to make her own decisions about her body and health care…I continue to fight to ensure Kansas women and families have access to a full range of health care services they need.” https://t.co/pYGqVuS7aZ

— Kansas Dems (@KansasDems) April 26, 2019

The court ruling clears the way for legal challenges to a string of abortion restrictions approved in recent years by state lawmakers under past Republican governors.

The court said vague language protecting “equal and inalienable rights” in the first section of the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights grants a “natural right of personal autonomy” that includes the right to “control one’s own body.” Because that right is independent of the U.S. Constitution, Kansas courts could strike down restrictions that have been upheld by the federal courts.

“This right allows a woman to make her own decisions regarding her body, health, family formation, and family life — decisions that can include whether to continue a pregnancy,” the court’s unsigned majority opinion said.

Justices ruled 6-1 on the language in state constitution. Justice Caleb Stegall, the only appointee of a conservative Republican governor, declared in his dissenting opinion that the ruling “fundamentally alters the structure of our government” to “arbitrarily grant a regulatory reprieve” for abortion.

The ruling immediately prompted abortion opponents to call for amending the state constitution. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who took office in January, is a strong abortion-rights supporter, but the Legislature still has solid anti-abortion majorities.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Friday a local prosecutor has reopened a domestic violence investigation involving suspended wide receiver Tyreek Hill after a TV station broadcast an audio recording in which Hill and his fiancee discuss injuries to their 3-year-old son.

Reid made the comment as the Chiefs introduced a new draft pick, but he and general manager Brett Veach both declined comment about Hill’s case and potential next steps. The prosecutor, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe, did not immediately return a message.

Police were called to the Hill home twice last month and determined the child had been injured. On Wednesday, Howe said he would not file charges against Hill or Espinal even though his office believed a crime had occurred. He said available evidence didn’t establish who had hurt the child.

“As a prosecutor, as a father of four, yes, it frustrates me when someone hurts a child and you can’t do anything about it,” Howe said then. “One of the elements of a crime is you have to prove who that person is who committed the act.”

A day later, KCTV in Kansas City aired part of an 11-minute audio filein which Espinal tells Hill earlier this year that when the boy was asked about his injured arm he replied: “Daddy did it.”

Hill denied any role in what happened to the child, saying: “He says Daddy does a lot of things.”

Espinal also tells Hill their son is “terrified of you.”

Hill replies, “You need to be terrified of me, too, bitch.”

Later, Espinal asks Hill, “What do you do when the child is bad? You make him open up his arms and you punch him in the chest.”

Howe has not responded to requests for comment about the audio recording, which the TV station said has been provided to his office. KCTV said the recording is believed to have been made in March when the parents were walking through an airport in Dubai. The station said Espinal sent it to at least one friend and was shared with KCTV “by someone who is concerned about the welfare of the couple’s child.”

Several media outlets reported that Overland Park police went to the home of Hill home on Thursday night after receiving an anonymous call from someone worried about Espinal. According to the reports, Espinal was fine and officers were at the home for only a short time.

The Chiefs have suspended Hillwhile the team looks into the developments. The NFL could also punish Hill under its personal conduct policy.

Hill’s history with Espinal is well known. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation in an incident involving his then-pregnant girlfriend the previous year. The incident resulted in his dismissal from the Oklahoma State football team and he was put on probation until August 2018. He wound up playing at tiny West Alabama, where he juggled school and football with counseling sessions and other court-mandated service work until the NFL came calling.

Hill, a fifth-round pick who is a two-time Pro Bowler, was part of a controversial draft class by the Chiefs and then-general manager John Dorsey in 2016.

The Chiefs also spent a third-round pick that year on cornerback KeiVarae Russell, who missed an entire season for violating Notre Dame’s honor code in an academic misconduct case; a fourth-round pick on wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, who was suspended four times at Florida for drugs and other violations; and a sixth-round pick on Virginia Tech linebacker Dadi Nicolas, who was once charged with larceny and suspended for bumping an official. Among them, only Robinson is still on the roster.

Last year, the Chiefs released star running back Kareem Hunt following a video that showed him pushing and kicking a woman in a hotel hallway. Hunt is suspended for the first eight games of the upcoming season but has signed a one-year deal with Cleveland under Dorsey, the Browns GM who signed Hunt while he was with the Chiefs.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The union representing service and maintenance workers at the University of Missouri and University Hospital is seeking a minimum wage of $15 for its workers.

In advance of negotiations starting Friday, union members staged a rally Thursday in support of the wage hike.

Union field representative Eric Scott noted that voters last year approved a proposition that will create a $12 an hour minimum wage statewide within a few years. He says the city approved $15 an hour for most of its workers.