Washington Watch dives into current legislative dynamics with insights from Capitol Hill, examining disputes over budget reconciliation and executive policies. We spotlight recent judicial rulings and reflect on the moral and ethical dimensions of proposed government regulations. Also featuring humanitarian efforts in response to natural disasters and a call to support frontline responders, this episode offers a comprehensive view grounded in a biblical prophetic voice.
SPEAKER 02 :
from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 06 :
First is an executive order relating to the affordability and availability of in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. These are treatments that have become unaffordable for many Americans or have been unaffordable for many Americans. And the executive order is a directive to the Domestic Policy Council to examine ways to make IVF and other fertility treatments more affordable for more Americans.
SPEAKER 07 :
That was White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf yesterday explaining President Trump’s executive order on in vitro fertilization. Welcome to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. Well, coming up yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order entitled Expanding Access to In Vitro Fertilization or IVF to address growing infertility rates. While IVF does help many families experience the joy of having children, countless human embryos, those are human beings, do not survive the process. They’re often left in freezers with uncertain futures or discarded as medical waste. We’ll discuss IVF’s moral, ethical, and scientific concerns with Dr. Andrew Walker, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. We’ll also talk with Washington Times Capitol Hill reporter Lindsay McPherson about dueling reconciliation efforts in the House and Senate that are taking place this week. Plus, another federal judge has struck down the Biden administration’s redefinition of sex under Title IX. Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas ruled the Biden administration exceeded its executive authority. And there is a sharp contrast between the Department of Education under President Trump and that of Joe Biden. The Trump Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into a complaint by parents about the Arlington Public Schools’ transgender bathroom policy.
SPEAKER 15 :
My nine-year-old daughter and I walked into the Washington Liberty Women’s locker room on September 9th, 2024, and we’re stunned to see a naked biological man standing among little girls and moms and changing after swim class. It turns out, however, the man in question is a registered sex offender named Richard Cox, who used a transgender and stolen identity to gain access to the women’s changing room.
SPEAKER 07 :
So the Department of Education under the Trump administration will be investigating. Now, under the Biden administration, those parents would have been investigated for exposing and opposing the dangerous policies that allowed men into girls’ locker rooms. We’re going to talk with FRC’s Meg Kilgannon about these developments in just a moment. Also, Kansas has become the 27th state to adopt legislation like the FRC SAFE Act, which protects minors from experimental drugs and surgeries being pushed by transgender activists. And finally, Edward Graham will join us to report on how Samaritan’s Purse is responding to the recent flooding in Kentucky. All of this and more coming up on this edition of Washington Watch. Let me ask you a question. Would you like to test your knowledge of government? Well, FRC has a new resource available for you, which includes an interactive 10-question quiz on government. To take it, just text the word QUIZ to 67742. That’s QUIZ to 67742, and you can test your knowledge. All right, there has been a lot of movement on the trans issue in the last 48 hours. Yesterday, a super majority of Republicans in the Kansas State Legislature overrode the veto of their Democrat Governor Laura Kelly, the first veto action of the year. Both the Kansas State House and Senate bucked the governor to enact the Help Not Harm law that adds new restrictions to the use of state funds regarding the promotion of so-called gender transition surgeries. And in other action today, a federal judge, as I mentioned, permanently rejected the Biden administration’s rewrite of Title IX. Now, it appears that the momentum is building against this radical ideology. Here now to discuss this and more, Meg Kilgannon, Senior Fellow for Education Studies here at the Family Research Council. Meg, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thanks for having me, Tony. It’s great to be here.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Let’s start with what happened in Kansas. The legislature there overriding the governor, putting into place the 27th state to have a law on the books that would protect minors from these experimental surgeries and drugs used by those pushing this transgender ideology.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right. And it’s it’s amazing to think that we still have to pass these laws. Tony, we’ve been working on this issue. FRC has certainly since, you know, 2018 or so and trying to get states to pass these bills. And fortunately, we have seen growing momentum. But unfortunately, It’s sad to think that a governor would override the veto, would veto this legislation when it protects children, it protects families from surgeries that are permanent, medication that causes permanent changes in the body. It’s just sad to me to think that they had to override the veto, but fortunately they did.
SPEAKER 07 :
We’ve actually seen even Republican governors in the last few years who vetoed this type of legislation only to be overridden by their legislatures. I think of Arkansas, the first one where we worked on this, Ohio, another state. When we first picked this up back in 2016, 2017, in that period, no one else wanted to touch this. But now it is the momentum is certainly moving in this direction. Of course, the Trump administration coming in, putting an end to this nonsense, saying we are going to invite common sense back in. Is this a new day in America?
SPEAKER 10 :
I really think that we have the wind at our backs now. I think that more and more people are aware that this is actually real. But before, when we talked about this issue with people, they would say, oh, no, that’s not true. That’s not possible. People are not really—no one would give a sex change operation to a minor. That’s ridiculous. And, you know, we seemed like the crazy people. But, in fact, people have come to understand that, no, this is a real agenda. There are doctors who consider it medically appropriate to do these procedures on children. And so now, at least in the state of Kansas and 26 other states, children will be protected from this, and parents will have the right, people who are victimized by these procedures will have the right to sue the medical providers who gave them this so-called care, which is a great, great development. I agree.
SPEAKER 07 :
And this is good. This is certainly encouraging to see, you know, maybe this is a red line, but should we really be surprised when we kind of trace back the steps, the redefinition of marriage and the embracing of a redefinition of human sexuality? I mean, should we be surprised that it’s come to this point?
SPEAKER 10 :
Sure, and the governor, in her veto, used language talking about the importance of the doctor-patient relationship, which is, of course, the same thing they always trot out to justify abortion. So, yes, the reasons for this state we’re in now Of course, we’re all aware of, right, that we didn’t just get here overnight. But it is certainly nice when we see that we are making gains in rolling some of the sexual revolution agenda back and at least giving parents the control over their children and this ability to veto these procedures for their kids and not be deceived.
SPEAKER 07 :
I mean, I think they’ve gone so far that common sense is screaming out that we’ve got to do something, and that’s where we see from the Trump administration. But I’ve said this many times. We’ve got to have the underpinnings of this, and that is moral absolute truth. And this is as much a spiritual issue as it is a policy issue, and there’s a lot of work to be done to shore up the foundations here. I want to go to another topic. Department of Education investigating the Arlington County Public Schools for their transgender bathroom policy. Now, this is a sharp contrast, as I made, as I provided at the top of the program, between the Biden administration, who would probably have been investigating these parents. Now you have the Trump administration actually taking the complaint of the parents and investigating the school district.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right. This case is another one that just beggars belief. You have the case of a convicted sex offender, this man named Richard Cox, who is identifying as transgender so that he can be naked in front of children, which is the crime that he went to jail for as a sex offender. And that is all justified by the fact that he feels that he is actually a woman or claims to feel that way. And that is how he gets access to the women’s locker rooms. And the school system in Arlington uses the county’s swimming pool for their school programs for swim teams. They share that space. And so it’s just a really dangerous situation. It’s unbelievable that this has been tolerated for so long. He’s been in there for years. And the county prosecutor in our area refuses to prosecute him, even with the Attorney General of the state encouraging that prosecution. And it’s all based on this idea that someone can be born in the wrong body or identify as the opposite sex, which we know is just simply not true. And for people who are confused about that, that’s one thing. We’re concerned for them. We want them to get care. But this person has convictions for sex offenses. and seems to be hiding behind a transgender ideology to use that to his favor. And this is exactly the kind of thing that we’ve warned about as we’ve talked about this issue over the years. I’m very grateful that the Defense of Freedom Institute made such a thorough complaint about this to the Department of Education and that they’re taking that up. But we shouldn’t have to rely on federal civil rights protections when there are clearly criminal charges that could be made against this person in Arlington County. If the police would come when women call and say there’s a man in the locker room who’s naked with my children, you would think that that would get a police call and a police response, but not in Arlington apparently.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, in some places it actually gets the people issuing the complaint banned from the facility. But maybe this is a turning point where common sense, there’s a revival of common sense, but again, it’s got to be undergirded by an understanding of moral truth, of transcendent truth.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, and it also gets back to that issue of free speech that we were talking about last week that the vice president brought up at the speech at the security conference. You know, when you’re not allowed to talk about things, when I’m not allowed to complain about a man being in my locker room, even if he says he’s a woman, that’s exactly how we get to this place. And so we really do need to… to appreciate the freedoms that we have here in the United States and exercise those freedoms, be involved in our local communities, and use every tool we have to make sure that we are communicating these truths in the public square, because apparently people need reminding.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. About a minute and a half left, Meg Kilgannon, the federal judge in Texas, Judge O’Connor, Reed O’Connor, struck down the Biden administration’s kind of one of their final rule changes on Title IX, the redefinition of sex to include gender. Is this going to be the end of this effort to try to roll gender into the definition of sex?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, it certainly is for the Trump administration. They have already reoriented the policy back to the 2020 rule. And I think that, you know, there were so many cases that went in opposed to the Biden rule that some of those are still going to be working their way through the court system. And so we’ll see rulings like this. And it’s always great to see them because we we. It’s you know, here’s another situation, another permutation of what’s wrong with the Biden Title nine plan. What is wrong with trying to conflate sex and gender? And so now we see another judge is on the side of right on that.
SPEAKER 07 :
Will those remain as an obstacle to a future administration that might try to do that?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, they will.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good. All right. Meg Kilgannon, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. All right, folks, don’t go anywhere. We’re going to get the latest from Capitol Hill regarding negotiations on budget reconciliation. The Senate moving forward with a two bill approach. The House saying, no, we’re going forward with a one big, beautiful bill. We’re going to be talking about that next. So don’t go away. More Washington Watch straight ahead.
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During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we’re making an eternal impact. 2024 was a year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, DC. Last fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins marked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC’s outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere with the community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God’s intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel’s peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government. Available now on the Stand Firm app, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us in standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 17 :
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. In President Trump and Elon Musk’s joint interview last night with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, the president shared that he wouldn’t make cuts to Medicaid, the federal state health insurance program that mostly covers poor Americans, but making substantial cuts to Medicaid is a key part of the congressional Republicans’ plan to extend the tax cuts. So how will Republicans resolve this apparent clash between the White House and congressional Republicans? Here now with all the latest reporting on this story is Lindsay McPherson, who is a Washington Times Capitol Hill reporter. She joins us from Capitol Hill. Lindsay, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. So first, remind us when the federal government is scheduled to run out of money to spend when this current continuing resolution ends.
SPEAKER 16 :
So government funding runs out on March 14th, and they’re trying to negotiate a new funding deal with Democrats at the moment, separate from the party line reconciliation bill that you’ve been talking about. But that deadline is fast approaching.
SPEAKER 07 :
So are the two going to collide at some point or are they going to be able to work on separate tracks?
SPEAKER 16 :
They’re definitely on separate tracks procedurally. Certainly the deadline of the government funding bill will put some pressure on them as they were hoping to use a lot of that time to move their party line or their bill through the party line budget reconciliation process. So they’ll collide in the sense that they’ll be competing for floor time and attention, but they’re not They have to be on separate tracks because government funding cannot be passed through. But the budget reconciliation process, the rules wouldn’t allow that because that’s discretionary spending.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right.
SPEAKER 16 :
And the budget reconciliation process only allows for mandatory spending.
SPEAKER 07 :
I think what I’m by by colliding, I mean, might we see Democrats holding up one to try to influence the other?
SPEAKER 16 :
I think Democrats will have other things that they’re going to be demanding as part of the government funding negotiations related to asserting the congressional power of the purse in light of the department government efficiency and the things they’ve been cutting around the federal government. I don’t think they would use the government funding bill to kind of protest the reconciliation bill, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. So let’s talk about that reconciliation bill. The Senate moving forward with a smaller look like the two bill approach. The House declaring that they’re going forward with the one big, beautiful bill next week and they won’t take up the Senate bill. How are things looking there on Capitol Hill with the House out this week, but Senate working?
SPEAKER 16 :
So the Senate is moving ahead. As you said, they told us they had lunch with the vice president, J.D. Vance, today after Trump had endorsed the House bill, the House budget, and said he wants both chambers to adopt the House budget. They left the lunch with Vance, saying that they still plan to move ahead with their budget as kind of a plan B. They view it as a totally… backup option trigger in case needed, in case the House can’t get the votes to pass its own budget. So they just want to keep the process moving. They’re worried about the House. They have a small majority there getting enough votes to pass the broader plan, and that’s why they decided to move ahead. But they’re not excluding if the House is successful in being able to pass their own budget and supporting that plan. They do have some concerns about how it deals with the tax cut extension. We can talk about that if you like.
SPEAKER 07 :
but they’re viewing their Senate budget as more of a plan B. I actually want to dive into something you’ve written about, and that is the Medicaid cuts. The president said there’d be no Medicaid cuts. Some Republicans are saying to reach the $1.5 trillion mark over the next 10 years in cuts and move forward with the president’s tax cuts, there’s going to have to be some modifications to Medicaid. Now, that’s not been fully explained by most in the media that what the Biden administration did in enticing states to be more generous in Medicaid is basically a 90-10 match. So there’s, and we’re talking about able-bodied people in many cases. So what’s being proposed, if I’m not mistaken, Lindsay, are kind of modest cuts to Medicaid and pushing more of the responsibility onto the states.
SPEAKER 16 :
Right. I guess basically the House budget resolution calls for 875 billion cuts from the Energy and Commerce Committee, and they have jurisdiction over Medicaid. A lot of Republican lawmakers do not see them being able to meet that target without touching Medicaid. As Trump has said, he doesn’t want to touch Medicaid. But my understanding from what the president really wants is he doesn’t want to touch Medicaid benefits. What Republicans are saying they can do to find savings is what you talked about, that 90-10 formula from the Obamacare expansion, where if states opted into the Obamacare expansion, the federal government had committed to paying 90% of the cost of Medicaid, and the state’s paying 10%. They want to look at adjusting that. And there are a bunch of proposals on the table for how they might adjust that. But basically, yes, they want to find savings by kicking more of the responsibility to the state, whether that’s capping it at the number… capping the cost at the number of beneficiaries or doing block grants to limit the state funding. That’s kind of the ideas that are
SPEAKER 07 :
And that wouldn’t be the first time the federal government did that. I mean, I go back even when I was in the state legislature in Louisiana, where we had the disproportionate funding and the federal government adjusted the formula and the state had to come up with more money. So this is, you know, they entice states to expand these benefits. And then, you know, at a certain point, they got to pay for it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Right. So, yeah, we’ll see what they end up with. I think that Republicans are in agreement that, yeah, the states could contribute more and that they, you know, take more ownership over this and it shouldn’t all fall on the federal government. Exactly how to get there is kind of where the policy disagreements lie and a lot of details still to be worked out. But they are just at this first stage of setting the overall targets for spending cuts, not necessarily having to identify the details until they adopt that budget.
SPEAKER 07 :
So next week, the House returns. And when they left town last week, the plan was to move the bill this coming week. Do you think they’re going to be there?
SPEAKER 16 :
That is still the plan. I think at this point that they still have some work to do to convince some kind of the debt hawks that, you know, the cuts as outlined in the resolution, they call for like at least 1.5 trillion in cuts, but they set a goal to go higher to 2 trillion. And the kind of can go even higher than that if they want, but just kind of that to appease the debt hawks, to convince them that it’s enough is not kind of shored up yet, but that’s, I think, something that leaders are working on over the recess and anticipation of members coming back. And I think that’s part of why the Trump endorsement came out for that approach is to try to help convince the skeptical members as having the president weigh in in favor of it, I think could carry some weight there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, we’ll see soon enough when they return next week. Lindsay McPherson, thanks so much for joining us. Great to see you today.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, coming up next, Edward Graham of Samaritan’s Purse is here to share how they are offering help and sharing the love of Jesus to those affected by the recent flooding in Kentucky and West Virginia. So don’t go away. We’re back with more after this.
SPEAKER 01 :
At the 2025 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, hundreds gathered with Christian and government leaders at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. to pray for the nation and ask God to forgive us of our sins.
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We gather here not to appeal to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We are appealing to heaven. Today we make our appeal not in the authority of a political party or in the name of a denomination. We come in the name and the authority of Jesus Christ. who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and we have been commissioned to operate in that authority.
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Father, we pray in Jesus’ name for our complacency, our greed, our pride, our gluttony, our sloth, and tolerance of sin.
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Lord, your word is the food that can make America healthy again. May your word be exalted and believed in our nation again.
SPEAKER 03 :
Lord, we ask that you allow us to become that shining city on the hill once more for your love, your grace, and your mercy.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you for your love and your grace and your mercy, for the opportunity that you have provided us to heal our land. We ask you to do it, Lord. We ask you for the wisdom, discernment, and stamina to do the thing that you have called each one of us, all of us here, to do. May we be found faithful. We trust it, pray it, believe it all in Jesus name. Amen.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, this past weekend, eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia were hit with devastating flooding in yet another natural disaster. As with many of these natural disasters that occur here at home, Samaritan’s Purse stood ready to offer disaster relief in Jesus’ name to those hurting in the midst of this devastation. Well, yesterday, their teams officially deployed. And here now to share more about Samaritan’s Purse’s relief efforts in the region is Edward Graham. He is Samaritan’s Purse’s chief operating officer. Edward, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us today.
SPEAKER 14 :
Hey, Tony, thanks for always having us. We appreciate the support.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, you guys have been extremely busy this year going from coast to coast. I know your teams arrived yesterday and you have been leading this response from the headquarters in maintaining constant communication with your team in the field. Share with us what they’ve seen in eastern Kentucky and in that region and how devastating this flood was.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, you just said it’s devastating, and especially for those that live there. We couldn’t even get into these areas really to assess at the time. So we had to send one of our helicopters up there with our assessment teams, landed there in Pikeville. And that’s where we’re partnering. And we’ve already got our disaster relief truck there now that the water’s down, the bridges are open. We have our equipment there at the Pikeville First Baptist Church, which is an incredible church. They’re getting after it, and I’m so thankful. God always brings us his very best, and he has with this church there. But we went and assessed all the needs. Obviously, we’re going to do our normal muck-out work and cleaning up, but there’s also a great need for generators and heat sources right now because there’s a lack of power, and there’s a cold front that’s moving in with snow. And so the big challenge right there is still weather. Yes, the flood, but now the cold weather and trying to keep people warm. So we’ve already bought and delivered this equipment needed, these generators and heating sources being distributed by that local church. So again, they know the needs. They know where to prioritize. They know the lady, maybe the single mom that has two kids or the old lady that needs a respirator, needs the power source. They know where to go, and that’s why the church is responding.
SPEAKER 07 :
Once again, I mean, you’ve got you still have efforts going on in North Carolina and Georgia and those regions. You’re still in California working. So you are in need of manpower, I would assume.
SPEAKER 14 :
we always need volunteers and right i was just out in california about two weeks ago the palisades fire finally started opened up to us about three days later after i left i had some meetings with some of the fema leadership and we’re able to get access access there but we’re working in eaton we have thousands of work orders in both fire locations we’ve already processed a couple hundred in the eaton fire and starting to work in the palisades as well so we need volunteers there and then We need volunteers still here in North Carolina. We’re starting with a rebuild. I was just at a car dedication today where we bought cars for those that were uninsured and non-insured and lost their modes of transportation. We were delivering to cars to new families. I met a kid today that was walking to work in the snow each day because he lost his car. Now, when he was the last one we did, And he was smiling. He goes, I get to drive to work. And now you look what’s happening there in Kentucky and West Virginia. These communities are hurting. I just ask you to be praying. And if you’ve got some time, come volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse. You can go to Samaritan’sPurse.org, and you can see how you can get involved in these locations.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, Edward, it’s really hard to put into words what it’s like unless you’ve been there and seen these natural disasters. Because you see pictures on TV and they show you the news and, you know, and you see it. It’s one dimensional and then it goes away. A lot of times these are like where you’re working out in Kentucky now, North Carolina. Many of these areas are impoverished areas to begin with. And you don’t have insurance doesn’t cover flooding. And so many of these people are left with nothing. And so Samaritan’s Purse is providing really life sustaining support in these moments.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, you know better than anyone, Pastor. Your church has lived it, and you’ve helped us with Samaritan’s Purse when we’ve come down to your hometown. For a church, they’re broken, and they want to be able to help, and their heart yearns to help those that need it most. But a lot of times, they don’t have the resources. Well, God’s entrusted Samaritan’s Purse with equipment. We just need the people and the church to work through. And so God always provides, and He does give His very best. But you’re right. A lot of these communities… ARE THE LEAST OF THESE AND THEY’RE THOSE THAT ARE IN THE DITCHES OF THE WORLD THAT’S WHY WE DON’T WANT TO PASS BY WE WANT THEM TO KNOW THEY’RE LOVED THEY’RE NOT FORSAKEN THEY’RE NOT FORGOTTEN MATTER OF FACT GOD LOVES THEM SO MUCH HE SENT HIS ONLY SON JESUS CHRIST AND THAT’S WHY WE GO SO WE HOPE WE’VE GOT YOUR LISTENERS WANT TO VOLUNTEER AND WANT TO SERVE AND LOVE THEIR NEIGHBORS TO THE LEAST OF THESE
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, tell them where they can go to find out more information about volunteering and also those that may not be able to go, but they can support others going with their monetary donations.
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, I appreciate it. SamaritansPurse.org that we’re currently deployed to. So if it’s close to you and you want to come, but also how to pray, just look at those locations and it will tell you how to pray.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, Edward Graham, always great to see you. Well, I’d like to see you, but under other circumstances. Maybe one day we’ll get together with no natural disaster in the background.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, sir. Well, I appreciate all you do. We thank you for fighting for our country.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Thanks so much, Edward. Tell your dad I said hello. Edward Graham with Samaritan’s Purse. And I do want to encourage you to think about if you have time to volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse. As Edward made reference when I was pastoring, our church hosted Samaritan’s Purse for about two and a half years as they did relief work and rebuild after a historic flood in my hometown of Baton Rouge. And I can just tell you this. I’ve worked with many, many different organizations. I was in the Marine Corps. I know organization. They are among the best when it comes to being organized and making efficient use of resources and your time. So you will not waste any time when you go to work with Samaritan’s Purse as a volunteer. They have very clear directions. They’ve got professionals that are helping lay out the work. They’ll provide housing for you. They’ll provide the food. They’ll feed you while you’re there. They just need you to come in. and help in the name of Jesus. You’ll be blessed by it, I can assure you. So go to the website samaritansfirst.org and consider helping them. All right, don’t go away. We’re coming back with more Washington Watch on the other side of this break.
SPEAKER 04 :
What is God’s role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government, a powerful 13-part series that equips you with biblical truth to engage in today’s most pressing debates. From the Ten Commandments in classrooms to the immigration crisis of America, we’ll uncover the foundations of our nation’s history and why it’s relevant for today. Defend God’s plan for government because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. New episodes available each Monday. To view the series on the Stand Firm app, text COURSE to 67742.
SPEAKER 05 :
The world is hurting. Streets are filled with crime. Families are broken. Sin is celebrated. And God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God’s will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn’t impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can’t do that. It’s not that you don’t love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God’s opinion more than your neighbor’s opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you’re the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that’s not all. They’re also engaged in our government. They’re voters. They’re more likely to be involved in their community, and they’re making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can’t do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That’s what we’re working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That’s S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us on this Wednesday. Would you like to test your knowledge of government? How should government work according to our Constitution, according to the Bible? Well, FRC has a new resource available for you, which includes an interactive 10-question quiz on God and government. To take it, just text the word quiz to 67742. That’s quiz to 67742 and test your knowledge. Well, our word for today comes from Jeremiah 23, which exposes the grave consequences of compromised spiritual leadership. The Lord declares that both prophet and priest have become ungodly, even within his house. In Samaria, false prophets prophesied by Baal leading Israel astray. And in Jerusalem, they committed adultery, spoke lies, and enabled evildoers. When leaders who ought to uphold truth instead promote deception, the spiritual and moral condition of society deteriorates. Today we see a similar pattern when leaders embrace falsehoods such as endorsing preferred pronouns contrary to biological realities, thereby validating confusion and strengthening the hand of those who distort truth. Instead of proclaiming God’s Word, compromised leaders foster an environment where sin flourishes and the broader culture suffers. Jeremiah’s warning reminds us that when the guardians of truth fail in their duty, political and cultural corruption soon follows. As believers, we must pray for integrity among those in spiritual authority, lest we repeat the errors of Israel. Let us heed Jeremiah’s message, holding firmly to what is true and living lives that reflect God’s truth and His holiness. For more on our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. Yesterday, President Trump signed a new executive order entitled Expanding Access to In Vitro Fertilization. Now, you may recall IVF became a lightning rod issue in the presidential election when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February of 2024 in favor of the personhood of embryos. Then candidate Trump promised to address the issue when he reached the White House, and now he has taken that first step. But this executive order only calls for a policy. It does not include the details of a policy. So what should that policy look like? Joining me now to think through a policy that has significant moral and ethical implications is Dr. Andrew Walker. He serves as the Associate Dean in the School of Theology and Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement. Dr. Walker, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us today.
SPEAKER 09 :
Tony, thank you for inviting me on.
SPEAKER 07 :
So first, let me get your reaction to the executive order.
SPEAKER 09 :
So I think the thing that we want to be clear about right now is that we’re still in a wait and see type position. The executive order did not actually provide a lot of guidance as to what the policies will look like. It just called for policy recommendations. And so I think that we have to just kind of take a wait and see approach and hope that the Trump administration doesn’t go too far out on this issue because there are real issues of human dignity at stake in this executive order.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, Dr. Walker, I don’t want to take a wait and see. I want to shape what, I want to erect those boundaries. So let’s talk about what those boundaries need to be, the guardrails, because this is quite significant, because we’re talking about human life, and we clearly take stands for the unborn when it comes to abortion. I’m saying we, evangelicals. This becomes a little more complicated for some. They don’t quite understand it. And I think the ramifications are the same. The consequences are the same for society if we devalue human life no matter what stage it’s in. So let’s talk about those guardrails. What do we need to be concerned about? And let’s start… Now, you know, I don’t want to get too deep into the science. We know that this is not perfect and not only like is like 40 percent of those who engage in IVF actually have success. Let’s talk first in your kind of in your lane. Let’s talk about the moral and the ethical concerns here.
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Sure. So the moral and ethical concerns are is whenever IVF procedures are undertaken, they’re called IVF cycles. What happens is more embryos are created than can be implanted. And there are multiple layers of moral concerns here. The first moral concern is that we’re going outside the God-appointed, scriptural-appointed boundaries for how we understand children to come into this world, which is through the marital act of husband and wife. And when we step outside those boundaries, we’re going to introduce moral concerns. And that’s where IVF steps in, where… children are being fertilized outside the womb, literally in a petri dish. In vitro means in glass. And so in vitro cycles, again, more embryos are created than can be implanted. That raises the question, what comes of those leftover embryos? And as Christians, we believe every single human being, regardless of their stage of development, is made in God’s image. And that means we have human beings that are frozen. Some are destroyed. Some are donated to medical research.
SPEAKER 07 :
And all of this stems. You’ve listed several there. So let’s kind of take a couple of those and unpack those because those can be addressed with the right policies. Now, there’s a bigger issue that you talked about this being done outside the womb. But let’s talk about, number one, the excess embryos because they are frozen. And this would happen back in the Bush administration. It was a big deal about the experimentation on these embryos. So that’s one issue. But there are policies that we’ve seen. Actually, other countries that tend to be more progressive, and I don’t say that in a positive sense, I mean more liberal, but yet they’ve put limits on the number of embryos that can be created. So that’s one policy recommendation, is it not?
SPEAKER 09 :
it is and that should be one of the things that i think conservatives and christians want to bring to this conversation is an awareness that the ivf industry and the artificial reproductive technology industry at large is a highly unregulated industry meaning there aren’t many regulatory and legal constraints to this industry. And that means, for example, we don’t even know how many frozen human beings, frozen embryos there are currently in the United States because there are no legal reporting requirements. And so something that we could hope for out of this executive order is that there could be tighter regulatory reform brought to this issue.
SPEAKER 07 :
Andrew, that’s one thing that concerns me a bit about this executive order is it actually calls for a reduction in regulation in order to drive down the cost when there, in fact, is not much regulation at all. Now, there are some states like my home state of Louisiana actually has some pretty good restrictions, some regulations on here to protect both the the couple seeking IVF, but also the embryos as well. So that’s a concern I have in this executive order that it doesn’t want regulation.
SPEAKER 09 :
And that’s where, honestly, we have to take a wait-and-see approach. As I was reading the executive order myself, it seemed like the Trump administration is primed to want to protect the access to in vitro fertilization. And there are conversations about there being potential insurance mandates. But again, we don’t know. And I think what we want to take into consideration here is is there’s an education campaign that has to go on. The broader public is really unaware of the intricacies of what goes on with in vitro infertilization. And that’s even the case within the evangelical population as well. And so, unfortunately, we’re operating at a great cultural disadvantage on this issue. So as much as the policy considerations are important, and we want to argue for policies that protect human dignity, I think there’s a major responsibility on the part of think tanks like FRC and for churches to go about the task of equipping our members to understand what really is at stake in the in vitro fertilization process.
SPEAKER 07 :
So some of these excess embryos are frozen sometimes indefinitely. Let’s talk about the spiritual implications here of an embryo, a human embryo.
SPEAKER 09 :
Sure, certainly. So, you know, right out of the gate in Genesis chapter one, we understand that every human being is made in God’s image. And what Christian theology has to bear on this conversation is that we believe that being made in God’s image is not something that is conferred on an individual outside the womb. Rather, the Christian teaching on the imago dei is the idea that from the moment of conception or fertilization, that person is made in God’s image, and they are owed, by right of their personhood, the ability to develop and mature into their full adulthood.
SPEAKER 07 :
And Dr. Walker, the scripture says it, Jeremiah, Juan said, you know, that he, the Lord called him, knew him in the womb. David made reference to this. So that’s not a concept that you have to dig deep into scripture to find. It’s right there front and center. So with that understanding, we’re talking about human beings that have personhood, that have a spirit, that are frozen indefinitely, and possibly in some cases, as we talked about a moment ago, they are experimented upon, used for medical experimentation. How can one rationalize that if they have a biblical view of life?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, we can’t rationalize that if we have a biblical view of life. And that’s why the education campaign is so central in this conversation, because a lot of evangelicals do support in vitro fertilization. Here’s the good news, though, Tony, is that every time I’ve had a conversation with an otherwise pro-life evangelical, and they’re made aware of the facts, of what goes on in an IVF cycle, their natural pro-life instincts kind of flare up. And I have never had a conversation where someone hasn’t moved to becoming alarmed about IVF. But again, there’s an education deficit that we have to speak into. But I think we also recognize here is that this is grounded on theological claims, grounded on biological claims and philosophical claims. That from the moment of conception, we are the same person at all stages of our development.
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But what do we do with Scripture, that biblical truth, when it happens to be inconvenient for public policy and the trends of the day?
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s where Christians are called to speak prophetically, regardless of the social costs. One of the things we care about is witnessing to the truth for the sake of the truth. And oftentimes, as I hear from the FRC, one of our tasks as believers is to be watchmen on the wall who are out there kind of being the moral vanguards of society, prophetically witnessing to God’s truth about how he has made us in his image and how law is called to recognize the truth of our embodiment and our human nature.
SPEAKER 07 :
Now, Dr. Walker, I don’t want to get deep into this because this is not, neither one of us are field of expertise, but there’s enough general knowledge out there that Infertility is… IVF is not a solution. It doesn’t fix infertility. It works around it. There are other ways and other therapies that can be used. And so I think… Hopefully, and I did see kind of an opening in the executive order that it didn’t just focus on IVF, but we may talk about other remedies to infertility. And I think that needs to be a part of the conversation as well.
SPEAKER 09 :
I firmly agree. And I think we should step back and recognize that while evangelicals and social conservatives are right to have a lot of concerns about this executive order, we want to keep this in kind of perspective that the Trump White House has otherwise been a very pro-life White House. And even as we have concerns about this executive order, let’s recognize what is in the words of the executive order itself. which is the recognition that children are a blessing and that we actually need more children. I don’t recall previous administrations talking about the positive good of children like we are seeing in this White House. And so I want to see the wins and take the wins where we can get them.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and I want this administration to be successful in that pursuit. And that’s where I think thinking through some of these issues that, frankly, as you said, it’s an education issue. And if evangelicals have not thought a lot about this and the implications theologically, spiritually, morally to IVF, you can’t expect those that just work on public policy to have thought through those ramifications either. So I do think it’s important with that backdrop drop. As you stated, we’ve got an administration that has put a high priority on family formation. As you pointed out, that is in the executive order. That’s encouraging. We need to be prayerful as they pursue a policy, but also prayerful. educating ourselves on the truth of Scripture and what the Scripture has to say about this. We just had about a minute and a half left, but what would be your advice to a hypothetical couple that might be considering IVF at this very moment?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, the first thing is I would want to ask a lot of questions because, again, in our culture, IVF is just kind of an assumed reality. And that assumption doesn’t operate on the assumption that individuals are well informed about all of the moral kind of firewalls that are involved in IVF. And so I’d want to ask questions about do they fully understand what is involved with IVF? And then I’d want to point them to scripture to talk about what it means to bear God’s image spiritually. who bears God’s image, and that I would want to really just lead them to kind of working out the implications and consequences of their pro-life ethic. Tony, the good news here is that this is actually not that complex of a debate if we have a biblical ethic on human dignity, All we really have to do is just carry that ethic that we care about with the unborn in the context of abortion and to carry that forward in the context of IVF. Because at the end of the day, the debate really circles around who is our neighbor, who is made in God’s image, and what is a human being? And Christians, I believe, have the best answers to these questions. Right. It’s a consistent application of that biblical truth.
SPEAKER 07 :
Dr. Walker, thank you so much for joining us today. Always great to see you. Appreciate your insight. Thank you so much. And folks, I’ve released my own statement earlier today on the White House’s executive order. You can actually read that at TonyPerkins.com. You can follow the links over and see that. All right, we’re out of time for today. Thanks for joining us. Until next time, I leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul, found in Ephesians 6, where he says, you’ve done everything you can do, and you’ve prayed, prepared, and taken your stand. By all means, keep standing.
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Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
