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In this week’s Washington Watch, Tony Perkins delves into the intense political maneuvers surrounding the government shutdown, now in its eighth day. Join Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Merle as they discuss the government’s standoff concerning COVID-era subsidies and the fight against unconstitutional rulings. Casey Harper also highlights how this impasse triggers delays, affecting thousands of flights and, consequently, many Americans. As negotiations intensify, will Democrats relent, or do Republicans hold the line in preserving financial integrity?
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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.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his staff are closely coordinating their government shutdown strategy with outside liberal groups. Backing down and helping fund the government like Schumer did in March is unacceptable, the groups have told his team.
SPEAKER 07 :
That was Senate Majority Leader John Thune earlier today accusing Democrat senators of yielding to pressure from leftist progressive groups. And the government shutdown is entering day eight. Welcome to this October 8th edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Tony Perkins. Thanks so much for tuning in. Well, coming up on today’s program, negotiations between Hamas and Israel are gaining momentum and a deal may be reached by week’s end. Alabama Senator Coach Tommy Tuberville joins me with the latest. Louisiana is suing the FDA over Biden era rules that expanded access to abortion pills. Attorney General Liz Merle will join me to explain why she says those rules defy the Dobbs decision and why she’s suing the federal government. Well, flight delays are piling up for a third day as the government shutdown hits day eight. Nearly 10,000 flights were delayed Monday and Tuesday because of air traffic controller shortages. Major major roadblock in talks to reopen the government is the Democrats push to extend COVID error. Obamacare subsidies, which could then be used to fund abortion and gender transition procedures. Now this, along with other spending demands from Democrats, could stick taxpayers with a $1.5 trillion bill. So Republicans, as of yet, are not going along with it. Joining me now is Washington Stand reporter Casey Harper, who’s been following today’s main stories. So Casey, let’s start with this. Are Americans starting to feel the government shutdown?
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, Tony, they absolutely are. They’re feeling the fallout from Congress not being able to make a deal. Thousands of flights have already been delayed, and the situation, it’s only going to get worse if the government doesn’t reopen soon. The FAA in particular is short-staffed, which is causing this widespread chaos at these airports. Republicans, they say Democrats are to blame for refusing to end the shutdown while insisting on those costly, unnecessary COVID-era subsidies.
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Many Democrats in this chamber, by the way, I want to note, are going to receive paychecks this month while the men and women of the US Capitol Police who are protecting them will not. Here’s another headline from the New York Post. Aviation groups warn a government shutdown will delay aircraft safety inspections.
SPEAKER 19 :
So Speaker Mike Johnson, he says Democrats are holding the country hostage to protect those subsidies. Two Senate votes to reopen the government today failed once again. And meanwhile, troops, they’re not going to get paid and travel problems will keep piling up, Tony.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Thanks, Casey. Actually, later in the program, we’re going to dive a little deeper into the government shutdown with Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. But let me emphasize this. The covid era Obamacare subsidies that Democrats want to extend. It bypasses the Hyde Amendment, allowing taxpayer funds to be used for abortions. And of course, the Family Research Council is leading the effort to remove those provisions and put the Obamacare provisions under the Hyde. And we’re going to talk about that a little bit later when FRC’s Kena Gonzalez joins me. Now, turning to another topic, law and order here at home. Casey, what’s the latest news coming out of the Windy City?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, Tony, Texas National Guard troops have arrived outside of Chicago. Now, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, he blasted President Trump’s decision to deploy those National Guard troops to his city.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let me be clear. Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities.
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So far, ignoring legal arguments from Democrats, a judge recently cleared the deployment. Now, President Trump, he says if the governor won’t act, he will. He argues troops are there to protect the federal agents during immigration crackdowns. And of course, they have been the target of a lot of harassment. But Trump also slammed Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker. He says they failed to protect those ICE officers and even said they should go to jail. But the president’s perspective here, it’s clear. He says he’s stepping in where local leaders won’t, Tony.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, let’s go to the Middle East, Casey. What’s the latest on the Israel-Hamas negotiations that are underway in Egypt?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, peace talks to end the war in Gaza, they are gaining momentum. Speaking at a White House event on the surge of left-wing violence, President Trump said that a Middle East peace deal is actually close.
SPEAKER 17 :
They’re doing very well. We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and they’re Unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it’s something I think that will happen, got a good chance of happening. I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday.
SPEAKER 19 :
Hamas has submitted lists for a potential hostage prisoner swap, and Turkey, they say the negotiations are making progress. Now, Jared Kushner and Israeli Minister Ron Dermer, they’ve joined the talks in Egypt, and they’re supporting President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which includes a ceasefire and a path to Gaza’s post-war future. Israel, they’ve scaled back their military offensive, but the fighting does continue despite President Trump calling for an end to airstrikes. But these key questions still remain, Tony, including who’s going to govern Gaza and will Hamas actually lay down their weapons?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, those are big questions that have to be answered. Casey, thanks so much for updating us. Thanks, Tony. Well, joining me now to discuss the Middle East and more is Senator Coach Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. He serves on several Senate committees, including the Armed Services Committee. Coach, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, Tony, how are you doing? Hey, could I throw something in on your background? Obamacare debacle that we’re going through right now and the air traffic controllers. There’s about 500 of them the last two days that have come out. They’re sick and they just can’t go to work. That’s out of 20,000 or so. I talked to the FAA director today. It’s not a problem as we speak, but people need to go to work. At the end of the day, we need to privatize the air traffic control system. This doesn’t need to happen again, but I just want to let you know, I’ve talked to the FAA director and things are going fine unless we just have a major walkout. And what happened last time a major walkout happened? Ronald Reagan fired them all. But there was a lot less at that time.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and I wouldn’t put that past Donald Trump as president to do the same.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I totally agree. You know people need to do their job. Quit worrying about politics and do their job. You know you you you understand a lot of this. You know Obamacare has been a disaster for the American people and we’re trying to. Put a face to it up here, you know, a little at a time, trying to make sure it works with American people. But that was a huge debacle back in 2012 and Democrats own that. And so they’re trying to blame it all on the Republicans now, but it is a Democrat problem from day one.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and what they’re wanting is these huge subsidies that were given out during covid that were set to expire in December of this year. They want to extend those. And of course, the conversation I had on the Hill with you and your colleagues today was the fact that this funds abortion. This goes all the way back to President Obama. They skirted the Hyde Amendment and this. There’s no way I could see the Republicans supporting something that would not only add $1.5 trillion to the nation’s debt, but fund abortion.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, well, first of all, if you look at the whole deal here, there’s a tremendous amount of fraud. There’s a tremendous amount of people that are that are illegals that are on this. That takes billions of dollars, so that’s where it all starts. I’m glad you brought up the Hyde Amendment. They’re looking for any possible way that they can fund abortion and transgender surgeries and and all that nonsense. But the bottom line too is insurance companies had to have to get skin in the game here. These insurance companies are one that’s making all the money. And come up with some more plans. Insurance companies, get out there and do your job. Come up with more plans where people can afford health care. And people need to have skin in the game when it comes to everybody in the country, whether it’s $5 or $10 a week. You know, if you’ve got skin in the game, we know that it’s not fraud. And we understand, you understand it. Hey, this is pretty important. So, I mean, this is a time bomb waiting to go off. But it’s been waiting to go off.
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FOR YEARS SINCE OBAMACARE STARTED BUT WHEN THE GOVERNMENT PAYS THE BILL NOBODY REALLY CARES IF THERE’S FRAUD IN THE PROCESS AND AND THAT’S WHAT WE’VE SEEN UNCOVERED A LOT OF THAT ALL RIGHT SENATOR I WANT TO MOVE ON TO THE ISSUE OF ISRAEL HAMAS THE NEGOTIATIONS NEWS OUT TODAY THAT COULD BE COULD BE SEEING A DEAL BY THE END OF THE OF THE WEEK
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, this is really been unfortunate. What two years yesterday or you know of the of the massacre that we had in in in got right outside of Gaza in Israel. What a what a tough time it’s been for the Israelis that you keep hearing about. You know Israel is where they’re killing all these. These these innocent people in Gaza. I just want to bring up one point. What about the 10,000 Christians that have been killed this year in Nigeria by Islamic terrorists? Nobody says anything about that. Nobody says anything other than, oh, we gotta protect these Palestinians. Listen, I don’t want anybody dead. I don’t want anybody killed, but I want everybody to have a fair opportunity. President Trump came up with a great 20 point plan. And I hope that the Hamas looks at this and understands this is probably your last chance. President Trump, I think, thinks it’s pretty strong that they might agree to something on this. And he mentioned he might go to the Middle East this weekend. That means that they’re getting close to it. But finally, the Europeans are falling in on this and saying, let’s get this thing over with. we can’t really count on them very often but again there’s a two-headed sword here uh we we got to look at christians too the same way that we’re looking at gaza and we got to start protecting christians across this world because the islamic extremism right now is running rampant all over the world and it’s coming to a theater near you here in the united states
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, you mentioned Nigeria. It’s a country we’ve tracked very closely. Back during the previous Trump administration, when I served on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, Secretary Pompeo actually designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern. The Obama or the Biden administration took that off. We’re waiting to see if this administration, the second Trump administration, will designate them as a country of particular concern that could allow for sanctions and other tools to make religious freedom an important aspect of our foreign policy with them.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, you know nobody likes for the United States to just jump in at every every battle or every war. It seems like in your in my lifetime, Tony, we’ve always done that, but we protect people at the end of the day. These people are unarmed. They have no hope. And again, they’re Christians and they’re being targeted by a group of people that want to take this world over and we have got to start talking about it. We’ve got to understand it. People have got to believe that hey, we cannot allow this to happen. I tell anybody, but it’s a mass slaughter over there and I would hope you would continue to talk about it and the whole world would start to talk about it more and we can get a stop to this massacre that they’re having over there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, we won’t stop talking about it till it’s resolved. Senator, we just have about a minute, a little over a minute left. You were one of eight Republican senators and a member of Congress that was targeted by the FBI during the Biden administration under Arctic Frost, the Arctic Frost investigation. What do we know about that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, we didn’t know anything about this until we had a briefing yesterday. with the eight of us were called to a briefing by Dan Bongino on Tuesday, walked in, had no clue what it was about and come to find out whistleblowers are starting to sing Tony all over these agencies. And so this is just one area here that said, listen, you had senators that were monitored and their phone records were released by AT&T and Verizon. And it was all because of Jack Smith. This guy shouldn’t be able to get a job as a dog catcher. I mean, this is what the Democrats have done. They have gone after Republicans so much that they feel like they’re above the law. And enough’s enough of this nonsense. Let’s start putting people in jail.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and we’ve got to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because if not, we’ll see a leftist administration get back in and they’ll just pick up where they left off. It’s so important. It’ll be all. Coach, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, Tony. God bless. Thank you.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, folks, a couple of items there to be praying about, praying about these negotiations between Israel and Hamas to make sure that Israel is safe. Hamas is removed. Very, very important. And of course, the Christians in Nigeria. All right, don’t go away. We’re back after this.
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Three years ago, the Supreme Court issued its historic Dobbs decision, a ruling that overturned Roe versus Wade, which for nearly 50 years imposed abortion on demand, silencing voters and bypassing the democratic process across the country. The Dobbs decision was a huge step forward against abortion, but it didn’t outright ban it. It returned the power to the people. Now, 29 states have laws on the books protecting life. However, there’s a catch. Abortion numbers since Dobbs have actually gone up with an increase of 12% since 2020, climbing from 930,000 to over 1 million in each of the most recent years. So how can this be? The answer is simple, the abortion drug. Today, over 60% of US abortions involve abortion drugs, many of these without medical oversight. In 2021, the Biden administration quietly removed bare minimum longstanding safety protocols for the abortion drug that have existed for 20 years to protect women from life-threatening risks and ensuring informed consent. The Biden DOJ then declared that they would not enforce the Comstock Act, which prevents the mailing of anything that causes an abortion. This is not only illegal, but also dangerous. A study shows nearly 11% of women who take the abortion drug end up in the emergency room with serious complications. Unless the Trump administration reverses these reckless Biden-era policies, pro-life laws will remain largely symbolic. Without a full review and repeal of Mifepristone, unborn lives will remain in grave danger and pregnant mothers will remain at risk. Let’s stand for life and end this mail order abortion drug pipeline. Sign the petition urging the Trump administration to take action at frc.org slash stop chemical abortion.
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. Family Research Council invites you to join our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan as we reflect upon the life of Jesus, the Word who dwelt among us. Come with us and discover the glory of the Word. Read the Gospels and witness the life-changing story of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection. Come read how Jesus transformed the lives of common people and how those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Come with us for 10 to 15 minutes a day and read the entire New Testament before the new year. Find our Bible reading plan and daily devotionals from Tony Perkins at frc.org slash Bible. Join us in Stand on the Word.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. The website Tony Perkins dot com. And the best way is to get the Stand Firm app. You can find out all you need to know there at the Stand Firm app. Resources for you as an engaged citizen. Washington Watch Stand on the Word, our daily devotional, as well as news and commentary from a biblical perspective. The Washington Stand that is found in the App Store. Stand Firm. All right, as we were talking about, it’s day eight of the Schumer shutdown, and there is still no end in sight. For the sixth time, Senate Democrats today blocked a clean stopgap spending package from funding the government through November the 21st, allowing Congress to work on the appropriations process. And for the fifth time, Republicans did not see any more from the other side of the aisle join them in moving the chamber closer to the 60 votes needed. Senate Republicans need eight to vote with them, and only three have been doing so since the second vote. But what does it look like behind the scenes? Are there any developments that might lead to an understanding that might open the government back up? Joining me now to discuss this, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. He serves on several Senate committees, including the Budget Committee and the Finance Committee. Senator Johnson, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to see you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, Tony, hope you’re doing well. And let me apologize for having to leave lunch before I heard you speak. I heard you did a great job reminding the Republican conference that Obamacare pays for abortions. And if we extend these temporary COVID enhanced subsidies, basically we’re throwing money at a failed healthcare system, but also throwing money at a system that funds abortions. That’s an incredibly important point to make. And I’m so glad that you came to the Republican conference in the Senate and made that point to my colleagues.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you, Senator. And it’s important to point out that Republicans have never voted for those. So why would they vote for him now?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, just under pressure. We’ve got some members that get a little weak in the knee when Democrats tell lies. But we need to keep reminding the public that, first of all, the reason health care costs are higher, particularly in the individual market, is because Obamacare. Even the Washington Post admitted that the problem with the Affordable Care Act is it was never affordable. Remember, that was the 2013 lie of the year. If you like your health care plan, you can keep it. If you like your doctor, you can keep it. No, you lost your health care plan, you lost your doctor, and insurance rates on the individual market in particular skyrocketed. So it’s a failed system. Why would anybody want to throw more money at it? And why would Republicans agree to do what Democrats didn’t do when they’re in the same position? They’re the ones that had these temporary pandemic enhanced premiums expire. Right. Why would we say, OK, we’re not now because you’re going to, you know, engage in these kind of falsehoods and lies and try and win the election based off this issue. And now we’re supposed to throw money at this at your failed health care policy. I don’t think so.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, Senator, you come from a business background, so you bring a little too much common sense to the process here in Washington. Something doesn’t work, you get rid of it or you fix it. That’s the right thing to do. But here you just throw more money at it. I mean, that’s what we’ve seen year after year. And so you even have some of your colleagues, as you said, are getting a little concerned. We might have to do something. Let’s address the underlying problem. It doesn’t work.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I appreciate President Trump had a tweet saying, we’re happy to help you fix your failed Obamacare health care system. OK, and I would love to repair the damage done by Obamacare and transition to a system that works. But unfortunately, Obamacare got rid of things like high risk pools, which weren’t perfect, but could have been tweaked to cover people with pre-existing conditions. But the real problem with Obamacare, one of them, is that it’s forcing, because it got rid of high-risk pools, it’s forcing the small percentage of Americans on individual policies to bear the full cost of covering everybody with pre-existing conditions. So, again, it’s just a completely faulty model, but it’s successful from a standpoint of what Democrats wanted. They wanted to move to a single-payer system. They got more people now on these Obamacare policies. They’re taking care of them through Medicaid, forcing out disabled children. resulting in these provider fees. I mean, that scam, that fraud, that is really having the federal government hemorrhage hundreds of billions of dollars a year. And quite honestly, now states and hospital systems are basing their budget model on this $9 to $1 match. So, Senator.
SPEAKER 07 :
You’ve laid out the case. You’ve got Democrats that want essentially $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years to continue these temporary premium subsidies that came about because of COVID. They want to continue those. Republicans have never voted for this before. Number one, because the underlying issue, Obamacare is a failed government system. It funds abortion. It is outside of Hyde. So what’s the off ramp? How does the government get opened back up?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the House gave them the off-ramp. They passed a clean CR at Biden’s funding levels. They voted for Biden’s funding levels. They voted for CRs in the past. So what’s the problem now? The other better solution is pass the Eliminate Shutdown Act. We offered that. Every Democrat voted against it. Unfortunately, we had Republican appropriators vote against it as well. They said it undercut the appropriation process. Let me just describe the process they’re saying I’m undercutting with the Eliminate Shutdown Act. I’ve been here 15 years. We should have passed 180 appropriation bills before the start of the fiscal year. You know how many we passed on time? Six. That’s a 96.7% failure rate And as dysfunctional as this looks, and it is dysfunctional, but it’s also a very well-homed process on the part of the big spenders on both sides of the aisle, the uniparty, take us up against these deadlines, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or whatever, you know, create all this anxiety. And listen, there will be people being harmed by shutdowns. Just to force people to vote on a multi-thousand page omnibus spending bill. Nobody reads that spends money we can’t afford. That’s the game that’s being played right now. It’s ridiculous. We could end it. And the best way to end it is not another temporary CR. Just vote for the Eliminate Shutdowns Act. It just sets up. automatic 14-day rolling continuing appropriations until that department or all of government gets funded again you don’t shut anything down just spend it last year’s level what could be more common sense but again the only reason they’re not doing it is because they want to preserve the appropriation process like i said that’s got a 96.7 failure rate in the 15 years i’ve been here right go figure
SPEAKER 07 :
Senator, 30 seconds left. Do you foresee a positive outcome like you’ve just described, that people come to their senses and say, you know, we got to do things differently?
SPEAKER 05 :
with enough pressure, hopefully. And by the way, one thing I forgot to mention about the zero premium policies, that has allowed tens of billions of dollars to flow directly to the insurance companies for policies people don’t even know they have because unscrupulous agents are signing people up, they collect the commission, the insurance companies get the premiums, tens of billions of dollars on policies that aren’t even used. Anybody voting to extend those enhanced premiums are voting to extend that.
SPEAKER 07 :
That fraud. Outrageous. Senator Johnson, always great to see you. Folks, stick with us. We’re back with more after this.
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At Family Research Council, defending the family isn’t just a mission, it’s our daily calling. Every team member at FRC uses their God-given talents to stand for biblical truth, protect life, and uphold religious freedom.
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Here at Family Research Council, we face many threats to the family, threats that have been with us for some time. Abortion, the gender ideology threat, the attacks on marriage, the attacks on parental authority, and the attacks on religious freedom. We have to promote, support, strengthen, and incentivize family growth so families take their place in society in a place of honor.
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I’m defending the family by working in the Center for Biblical Worldview to provide cutting-edge research and resources for pastors, ministry leaders, and Christian parents.
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Through my work at the Washington Stand, I passionately defend what God has defined for marriage and family. I don’t see the Washington Stand as just a place to talk about cultural events. It’s a place to share biblical truth. It’s a perfect outlet to advance and defend what God has defined as good, true, and beautiful.
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SPEAKER 07 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. All right. The state of Louisiana, my home state, has filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration over the agency’s unlawful removal of the in-person requirement for the abortion drug Mifeprestone. We’ve been talking about this for a while. Now, this took place during the Biden administration back in 2023, and it was after the Dobbs decision, and it was done to undermine Dobbs. Now, you may recall that after the Dobbs decision that overturned the infamous Roe v. Wade ruling, the Biden administration kicked into high gear to do everything it could to increase access to abortion. Now, the removal of the FDA’s in-person requirement was one such action perhaps the most devastating one as it facilitated the trafficking of these abortion drugs into states with pro-life laws that outlawed them but they sent them in through the mail but thankfully there are those fighting back such as louisiana’s attorney general liz murrell who joins me now by phone general welcome back to washington watch thanks for joining us well thanks for having me tony it’s always good to be with you So there are at least two issues at play here. The most obvious is the health and safety of women and their unborn babies. The second issue is the rule of law and the right of states. Explain why you, as the Attorney General of Louisiana, had to file a lawsuit against the federal government.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, you know, there’s been this dramatic increase in people, groups, organizations, doctors in other states mailing these pills to women in our state where that is illegal, and then us not being able to hold them accountable for that conduct. And in several occasions we’ve seen women being coerced to take these pills and, you know, an abortion occurring or a miscarriage in the sense that they’re not consenting after they take these pills. And it’s just a problem that’s being perpetuated by the FDA’s continuing to allow these pills to not be subject to the protocols that they used to be subject to. And so when the Biden administration withdrew the REMS protocols, it allowed basically for anybody to send them anywhere. And it’s a huge problem. There was never any actual justification for removing those protocols. In fact, quite the opposite happened. It’s very dangerous for women.
SPEAKER 07 :
Did they follow the proper means of changing those rules governing Mifeprestone?
SPEAKER 02 :
So I think the answer to that is no, but I want to explain it a little bit. They did go through the administrative process of publishing their intent to withdraw these rules and withdrawing the rules, but it was entirely arbitrary to for them to do so. The data has always been there that this is dangerous for women. That’s why the REMS protocols were in place in the first place. Women can get sepsis if they have a partial abortion. That happens in a significant number of these cases. There is all kinds of other risks for women. You can have an ectopic pregnancy, which is not addressed when you take these pills. That can cause you to rupture one of your fallopian tubes. It can cause death, and it has been documented to cause death and hemorrhaging. So there’s all kinds of contraindications. Also, for women to not take these pills, that’s why you were required to see a doctor, have an ultrasound, and also have some follow-up care if, in fact, you were using these even if it was to manage a miscarriage.
SPEAKER 07 :
So, General, how do they have follow-up care if a doctor in New York or California is sending abortion pills into Louisiana or Texas or Mississippi? How can that woman have interaction with that doctor?
SPEAKER 02 :
They don’t. There is no care here, none whatsoever. This is flat-out drug dealing. It’s not a question of You know, there is no doctor-patient relationship whatsoever. These are people who are writing these prescriptions and sending them to anybody who asks. Don’t know where they’re going, and there is no relationship, period.
SPEAKER 07 :
So let’s talk about the breadth and depth of this problem. In the lawsuit that you filed this week, one of the points is you state that based on the abortion industry’s own numbers, somewhere between 617 abortions to 800 abortions. per month are being done through abortion pills. These abortion pills are being sent into the state anywhere from 600 to 800. That’s actually more than the average of abortions that were performed monthly prior to the overturn of Roe in Louisiana, which was at about 600.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that’s right. And that’s partly because the REMS protocols required tracking of the manufacturers had to track, they had to have a contract with a doctor that prescribed these medications, and they had to comply with these elevated FDA rules, and which required in-person dispensing, an ultrasound, and post-care. So, you know, all of those things meant you needed a person, individual personal relations doctor. You don’t have that anymore, and it is illegal to use those pills here for an abortion. So every one of those are illegal abortions being practiced in our state without any medical supervision whatsoever. It is extraordinarily dangerous.
SPEAKER 07 :
Have you heard from the FDA since you filed your suit this week?
SPEAKER 02 :
No, we have not. I presume that’s partly because of the government shutdown. But, you know, what was baffling was that they found the time, even facing an impending government shutdown, to approve generic drugs in this space, even after they have admitted that the Biden administration rule was arbitrary and capricious and unfounded and unsupported by the data. So I don’t understand how that happened. I really don’t. I think that the White House seemed to be poised to and HHS seemed to be poised to withdraw the Biden administration rules. And then the FDA turned around and approved a generic you know, right on the tail of admitting that the Biden rules were arbitrary. And so I don’t I don’t know why that happened. It shouldn’t have happened.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, hopefully this will get their attention and get something done to protect women, babies and the rule of law. General Merle, always great to talk with you. Thanks for joining us. Stick with us, folks. We’re back with more after this.
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Family Research Council is committed to advancing faith, family, and freedom from the East Coast to the West. So FRC is going to Southern California for this year’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit, October 17th and 18th at Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills. Join us for this powerful gathering of Christians desiring cultural renewal and spiritual revival. The Pray, Vote, Stand Summit brings together Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action. Together, we will seek God’s guidance for our nation and engage in meaningful discussions on the intersection of faith, government, and culture. If the spiritual foundations and the cultural walls of our nation are to be rebuilt, we all have a role to play. May we each find our place on the wall as we build for biblical truth. Register now at PrayVoteStand.org. That’s PrayVoteStand.org.
SPEAKER 04 :
Jennifer, it’s so exciting to be here with you today talking about our new book, Embracing God’s Design. Who is actually going to benefit from reading this book in your view?
SPEAKER 11 :
There’s so many different audiences that can benefit. The first one are counselors themselves, right? Because we have some material in there where we really address the gender dysphoria diagnosis and what is wrong with it. We have information for people who are wanting to go back to embracing God’s design for their life.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is really magical to have the therapist and the individual who suffered come together and write about why this is happening and why we’re seeing this.
SPEAKER 11 :
And we brought all of that experience to the table. We want to see people walking in the fullness of who God has called them to be and not a false identity.
SPEAKER 04 :
Order today at embracethedesign.com.
SPEAKER 16 :
How should Christians think about the thorny issues shaping our culture? How should Christians address deceitful ideas like transgenderism, critical theory, or assisted suicide? How can Christians navigate raising children in a broken culture, the war on gender roles, or rebuilding our once great nation? Outstanding is a podcast from The Washington Stand dedicated to these critical conversations. Outstanding seeks to tear down what our corrupt culture lifts up with an aim to take every thought and every idea captive to the obedience of Christ. Whether policies or partisan politics, whether conflict in America or conflict abroad, join us and our guests as we examine the headlines through the lens of Scripture and explore how Christians can faithfully exalt Christ in all of life. Follow Outstanding on your favorite podcast app and look for new episodes each week.
SPEAKER 07 :
This is Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins. I want to encourage you to join us October 17th and 18th. That’s next week in California for our powerful gathering of Pray, Vote, Stand. It’s not just an event. It’s an encounter. Find out more. Go to PrayVoteStand.org. You can register. Find out more. PrayVoteStand.org. All right. Before I go on, I want to throw something out here. I really need your help on this. I have a poll question for you. I’ve done this in a while. But I’m under the impression, just based on emails I get, conversations I have, that a lot of people felt like when Roe was overturned that the abortion issue was resolved. And so I’d like to see what you think. You know, was this issue put behind us? Are you surprised by the fact that there are more abortions today than there were before Roe was overturned? Yeah, I know a lot of you that listen to this program a lot, you’re informed and educated, but for the most part, people are surprised by this. I’d like to know your thoughts. Text the word poll, that’s P-O-L-L, to 67742. That’s poll to 67742, because your answer will be helpful. All right, our word for today comes from 2 Corinthians 5. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Now, all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. What a remarkable truth. Through Christ, God not only forgives our sins, but completely transforms us, making us into new creations. The old life marked by separation from God is gone. A new life of purpose and peace begins. But this new life isn’t meant to be kept to ourselves. God has entrusted us with the same ministry of reconciliation that brought us home to him. As ambassadors for Christ, we are his representatives sent to share the good news that others too can be restored to a right relationship with their creator. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text Bible to 67742. That’s Bible to 67742. All right, we often talk about the abortion drug and how it’s a threat to women and unborn babies. And it is, and I’m gonna continue to talk about it until it’s resolved. And I think we’re making some progress, okay? But there’s another aspect that doesn’t get as much attention, and that is the potential threat that it poses to all of us. Now, some would say, well, you know, I’m not going to get an abortion. That’s going to affect somebody. The abortion pill is affecting all of us. The threat is in the water supply. Therefore, the people who rely on it, that’s you and me, are going to be impacted. Now, earlier this summer, we highlighted a newly released research paper that raised a national alarm over the potential harm that abortion drugs are creating for the rest of us when that hazardous medical waste, including human remains, are being flushed into the water system. That’s what happens when the abortion drug is used, Mifeprestone. With the use of the abortion drug rapidly increasing, are we seeing the amount of movement that we need to see to address this issue? Joining me now to discuss this, John Stemberger, president of Liberty Council Action and one of the authors of the paper titled, Abortion in Our Water, Chemical Home Abortions and the Disposition of Aborted Fetal Remains. John, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 20 :
Thanks, Tony. Appreciate you having us on the show.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. For those that have not seen the paper or not aware of your research paper, give them a brief overview of what you did and what you found.
SPEAKER 20 :
Sure, we have developed a 38-page academic paper with 336 footnotes. It’s the most exhaustive paper that we know that exists. And it’s basically documenting the widespread contamination of our water from 700,000 women who are being instructed by abortion providers to deliver their babies in the toilet, which then goes and is processed or not processed by local city sewer water plants. and the contamination is there from not just the biohazard waste, which Students for Life estimates somewhere between 40 to 60 tons annually of waste is going into our water supply, but also mithopristone, which is not an organic, drug. It doesn’t dissolve in the body like a Tylenol would. It has a synthetic drug. It has a half-life. So its therapeutic effect continues on after it exits the woman’s body and continues on in the water. And query whether or not, um, The amounts of the micro doses of mithopristone that we’re bathing in or drinking or what have you in our water supply, which is not being removed at all by normal water treatment plants, are affecting our infertility rate because people are getting micro doses of this. It could be affecting miscarriages, could be affecting the infertility rate. And actually, there’s just a lot of questions we don’t even know, Tony, because the EPA is not studying this. The FDA is not studying. The government is spending all this money studying nonsense we’ve seen in the Doge reports, but they’re not doing anything to study the real problem that could be affecting our vital infertility rate.
SPEAKER 07 :
So even though this information is out there, this concern that this is not, as you said, breaking down, it’s not getting taken out, it’s not taken out by the filtration systems. And we see this increase. In fact, the administration addressing this increase in infertility, wanting to promote IVF, it looks almost as if it’s a vicious cycle, that we’re providing this abortion pill, it’s killing babies, it’s going into our water system, and it’s preventing people that want to become pregnant from becoming pregnant because it’s affecting fertility.
SPEAKER 20 :
This is a major problem. We are pleased with the fact that the second Maha report, Make America Healthy Again report, did include suggestions to the EPA that they could and kind of released them to study pharmaceutical contamination of the water supply. Very encouraging. Another place in the Maha report, the second Maha report dealing with children, also dealt with infertility and talked about the research that needs to be done of what’s causing infertility. So these are very big deals. We’re going to be following up with the EPA now that they have clearance from the government to do this, and they really need to study this. I mean, it’s outrageous. If a hospital was dumping biohazard waste of any type regularly as a matter of course into their toilets, Instead of properly disposing of it, as they should, it would be a national scandal. But yet the entire abortion industry is getting away with instructing mothers to just deliver dead babies in the toilet without regard to this. And the problem is when this was all approved in the year 2000, it was a very small percentage of overall abortions. So they estimated in their very weak environmental analysis, which really wasn’t analysis at all, that, oh, yeah, it’s going to be minimal impact. Well, now we’re talking about almost 70% of all abortions are these chemical abortions. So the amount of impact of both the biohazard waste from the unborn babies in the toilets and in the water supply eventually through city water treatment plants and also the methopristone is exponentially more. And you’ve got things even like these most recent generic approval of the drugs that’s going to increase the amount of biohazard waste and the increase of the drug in the water supply.
SPEAKER 07 :
Final question for you, John Stemberger. So is it treated differently because it’s abortion and that’s why we’re not seeing more movement on it?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, that’s exactly right. They’re studying microplastics. The EPA can switch and study any chemical in the water. But for some reason, we know that reason. This is just a sacrosanct issue. Whenever you touch abortion, the rules are always different. So proper environmental analysis, we’re not done. Oversight’s not being done. But even though the president is unfortunately in favor of chemical abortions, we are asking them to at very minimum study this. You can’t ignore it. President Trump himself, five different speeches, Tony, he said, I want crystal clear drinking water. Well, you can’t have crystal clear drinking water if you have contamination from chemical abortions in the water supply.
SPEAKER 07 :
John, how can people find a copy of see a copy of your report?
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah. So go to abortion in our water dot org abortion in our water dot org. And there’s all kinds of resources. There’s videos, interviews. There’s memes you can post on social media. There’s a one pager that explains everything in one page with diagrams. Or if you really want to dig deep, you can go into the academic research paper. That’s 38 pages long.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. John Stenberger, always great to see you. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 20 :
Thank you, Tony.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right, folks, you can weigh in on this as well. All right. We need the Trump administration to take immediate action and decisive action to end this Biden era policy that allows these dangerous abortion drugs to be mailed across state lines, as the attorney general in Louisiana was just talking about. Sign our petition by texting the word LIFE to 67742. That’s LIFE to 67742. I’m meeting with senators and we’re planning, we’re working on this. We are not going to let go of this. This is too important as we see abortion rates rising in this country. And that’s after God answered our prayers and overturned Roe. I mean, think about that for a moment. The grace extended to us to get back on the right track and be a nation that embraces life. And here we are trampling on it. I mean, I talk about cheap grace. We’re trampling on God’s grace to get this nation back where we need to be. So text the word life to 67742. Okay, I want to continue on this conversation, but I want to go back to another topic, and that is what we talked about earlier with Senator Johnson, and actually Senator Tuberville got in on that conversation as well, and that is how we’re battling the life issue on multiple fronts. Again, I think many people thought it was over. That row overturned. Hey, we’re doing well. Not so. Obamacare, which is at the center of this government shutdown, is… probably one of the strongest bastions of government-provided abortions that we see today. Joining me now to talk about this is Kena Gonzalez, who is the Senior Director of Government Affairs here at the Family Research Council. And he joined me earlier today up on Capitol Hill as we briefed senators on the issues related to the ACA. Kena, thanks for joining me.
SPEAKER 21 :
Great to be here.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right. So at the center of it, it’s kind of interesting, quite frankly, that the Democrats have chosen to put the Affordable Care Act and its abortion funding, gender transition surgery providing measure at the center of the government shutdown.
SPEAKER 21 :
It’s almost like there’s a spiritual dynamic to what’s going on in Washington, Tony.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 21 :
So what’s at play, humanly speaking, on Capitol Hill? Democrats are demanding extensions of Affordable Care Act subsidies that were put in place originally to help people to afford health care under the Affordable Care Act and then boosted majorly under COVID.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because they couldn’t afford affordable care.
SPEAKER 21 :
And the truth is that America can’t afford to keep subsidizing abortion and gender transition procedures.
SPEAKER 07 :
This goes all the way back to the beginning. This is what I shared with senators today on Capitol Hill. And I was here back in 2009, 2010 when Obamacare was adopted. It almost failed. It almost did not pass because of abortion.
SPEAKER 21 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 07 :
And it wasn’t the Republicans. It was the Democrats, pro-life Democrats. We don’t have those anymore. But they were opposed to it. So President Obama issued an executive order saying that, well, OK, Hyde will apply to this. They already had a provision in here, Section 1301 or 3? Section 1303, which said, all right, there’s going to be a separate dollar that’s paid every month if you want abortion coverage. Well, the Democrats knew that that was a fraudulent gimmick. It wasn’t going to keep the government out of the abortion business, so they said that’s not good enough. So the president then issued that executive order, which later we found out was totally fraudulent, false, did not stop abortion. The government accounting office has followed up on this. They found that this so-called accounting scheme – isn’t even being put in place in most states.
SPEAKER 21 :
In many states, it’s not being followed. And there’s really no accountability to the government on whether it is being followed. Unfortunately, we know one state that’s following it, Maryland, just passed a law. They’re actually taking that dollar that people are paying extra every month for abortion coverage and setting it aside. And now they’re going to use it to bring in people from out of state, from people from pro-life states who are seeking abortion. So if your state protects life, you can go to Maryland on Maryland’s dollar.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, taxpayers’ dollar.
SPEAKER 21 :
Maryland taxpayers’ dollar.
SPEAKER 07 :
So what is happening is that states that have, about 25 states that have laws protecting the unborn, and so abortion is illegal in that state, their tax dollars are funding the abortion in other states.
SPEAKER 21 :
That’s right. Living in a pro-life state does not insulate you as a taxpayer from underwriting abortion and gender transition procedures in other states.
SPEAKER 07 :
Now, 15 years later… it’s even worse.
SPEAKER 21 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 07 :
Because it’s not just abortion that taxpayers are being forced to fund through Obamacare. It’s also these gender transition procedures on minors.
SPEAKER 21 :
That’s right. As a matter of fact, the largest provider of Obamacare health care plans proclaims proudly on their website that they consider, the insurance company considers gender transition procedures necessary care that has to be covered by their insurance plans. And states like Colorado and California are using taxpayer dollars from all over the country to fund gender transition procedures in their states.
SPEAKER 07 :
Now, the federal government under the Trump administration has said that gender transition procedures are not medically necessary.
SPEAKER 21 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 07 :
But that does not keep states from still spending their money that’s allocated to them by the federal government on that.
SPEAKER 21 :
What the executive order from President Trump said is that states are not required to require gender transition procedures, but that does nothing to keep states like Colorado, California.
SPEAKER 07 :
So again, you have this division. You have half the states that are crazy, and they’re funding abortion, and they’re mutilating children, and you have the other half that’s paying for it.
SPEAKER 21 :
But it’s exactly right. If you’re living in a pro-life, pro-child state, you need to know that your taxpayers are underwriting this insanity. Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
And that was the message we took to the senators today, and I think it got their attention.
SPEAKER 21 :
I think based on the lively discussion that ensued, I would say you’re right. I think this is a problem that a lot of pro-life, pro-family senators see.
SPEAKER 07 :
So this, as there were some, as Senator Johnson made reference to earlier, that were kind of maybe leaning toward voting for this just to get the government back open, bad idea.
SPEAKER 21 :
It’s really important that they understand the pro-life, pro-child stakes in this battle. This is not just a matter of extending health care benefits that would make it more affordable for people. Leaving aside all the waste, fraud, and abuse that we addressed earlier in the program, there’s a pro-life, pro-child stake in this battle.
SPEAKER 07 :
We’re back to where we started. It’s a battle for life.
SPEAKER 21 :
Amen.
SPEAKER 07 :
Kami, thanks for joining me.
SPEAKER 21 :
Great to be here.
SPEAKER 07 :
So folks, text LIFE to 67742. That’s LIFE to 67742. And pray. after you text. Until next time, I leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul, found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, when you’ve prayed, when you’ve prepared, and when you’ve sent a text, guess what? Just keep standing.
SPEAKER 18 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council. To support our efforts to advance faith, family, and freedom, please text GIVE to 67742. That’s GIVE to 67742. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information, please visit TonyPerkins.com.
