Point of View October 29, 2024 – Hour 2 : United in Crisis, AAPLOG

[00:00:04] Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Kirby Anderson.

[00:00:20] Once again broadcasting live here from WAGP in Beaufort, South Carolina and this has been a great opportunity for us to meet with a number of listeners as well as to do some remote broadcasts.

[00:00:33] You know, over the last few days we've of course been doing these remote broadcasts from locations here in the southeastern part of the U.S.

[00:00:39] And we really have seen the devastation from Hurricane Helene and especially the devastation from Hurricane Milton.

[00:00:47] And so today we're going to learn a little bit more about what happens when God's people get together, when they reach out to maybe minister to the homeless,

[00:00:55] reach out to refugees from Hurricane Katrina, to reach out to families devastated by Hurricane Harvey or from a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma,

[00:01:05] and really just kind of learn a little bit more about how we can take the lessons from the parable of the Good Samaritan taught by Jesus

[00:01:13] and apply it to this world around us and really how we can become the hands and feet of Jesus.

[00:01:19] So I think you're going to really enjoy this conversation.

[00:01:22] It is all part of a book called United in Crisis, The True Story of God's Miraculous Power,

[00:01:28] working through a united network of churches, and it is written by Daniel Gerasi, who is the founder and CEO of United in Crisis,

[00:01:36] which is a training organization focused on uniting and equipping churches around the world to try to really provide kind of a local crisis response network.

[00:01:46] Formerly he was the founder and executive director of the Austin Disaster Relief Network for 14 years.

[00:01:52] And, of course, as we go through his book briefly, you'll get a little bit of an understanding of him as well.

[00:01:58] So, Daniel, welcome to Point of View.

[00:02:01] Thank you for having me on, Kirby.

[00:02:03] Daniel, let's, if we can, maybe talk about your vision.

[00:02:06] You and Mike are going, he was your roommate, to actually a restaurant, and all of a sudden you get this incredible vision.

[00:02:14] Can you share that to us?

[00:02:17] Sure.

[00:02:17] We were not talking about disaster relief, and then suddenly, you know, we both see something.

[00:02:25] It's kind of hard to describe, but we both see before us this vision of a huge facility where people in need that were desperate were coming in, flooding in,

[00:02:37] and while others, at that time, because it was not church, I didn't know it was the church, but they were meeting the needs of those impacted by crisis, by providing for them in various ways.

[00:02:50] We then saw over this building the words House of Unity, and we walked away from that restaurant going, wow, what just happened to us?

[00:03:03] And, you know, funny thing, we said, you know, we've got to do something.

[00:03:07] I think that was God.

[00:03:08] You know, kind of look over your shoulders, see if anyone heard you say the word God back in those days.

[00:03:13] And then we ended up thinking that, well, why don't we go ahead and try to pull some people together to help the poor, the community?

[00:03:20] That's just kind of how it started, which ultimately led to launching the Austin Disaster Relief Network.

[00:03:28] Well, again, being in Austin, you knew Marvin Olasky.

[00:03:30] Of course, we've had him on the program.

[00:03:31] I've known him for decades as well.

[00:03:33] But it started out simply by saying, well, we'll just buy some hamburgers and hand them out to homeless people and the rest.

[00:03:40] But very quickly, it developed into something else because, as I mentioned, you have Hurricane Katrina and those of us that lived in the state of Texas,

[00:03:50] because normally we broadcast from Dallas, we know what happened when individuals were so just displaced that then they were brought from New Orleans to Texas.

[00:04:00] And all of a sudden you have all these people showing up in Austin where you were located.

[00:04:05] And all of a sudden there is an opportunity, an opportunity really, if you think about it, to minister to individuals and to really begin to develop this infrastructure that you've been talking about.

[00:04:18] So can you tell us the rest of that story?

[00:04:20] Yeah.

[00:04:21] Yes.

[00:04:21] So I had the biggest sell in my life.

[00:04:25] I was in oil and gas for a brief season.

[00:04:27] And I made enough money where I didn't have to work for the rest of the month.

[00:04:32] And I asked my boss, is there any way that I could go and help out all these poor people that were stuck in the convention center?

[00:04:38] There was over 6,000 families.

[00:04:41] And he said yes.

[00:04:42] And so it was in the middle of helping those families where a download came to me from the Lord.

[00:04:49] I was on a call with a pastor talking about what can we do.

[00:04:53] And I get this vision of the entire network and how it should respond.

[00:05:00] This was ultimately what we ended up calling the Austin Disaster Relief Network.

[00:05:05] I ended up taking that plan, wrote it on a napkin, shared it with a bunch of key leaders in the city, spiritual leaders.

[00:05:13] And they all said they felt like this was from the Lord for sure.

[00:05:18] Try to put it together back in 2005, which seemed like a great time to launch a church network.

[00:05:25] But it just was not the timing of the Lord.

[00:05:28] It wasn't until March of 2009 that the actual network came together.

[00:05:33] But the idea was basically forming a crisis response church network that would ultimately walk alongside of families impacted by crisis.

[00:05:42] And when you train together, mobilize together, equip together, it really creates something powerful for a community,

[00:05:50] especially for the government to have in the community and for those impacted by crisis to see a real force to really respond in a time of crisis.

[00:06:01] As you know, the church is one of the greatest assets of every community.

[00:06:06] They're in every community.

[00:06:07] They just could work together.

[00:06:09] They can really mobilize quite a few people, especially if they're trained and prepared.

[00:06:15] Well, again, one of the things that you found very quickly is once you have that developed and you have the fires in Bastrop,

[00:06:21] you have, of course, Hurricane Harvey and a number of other things that developed because in some respects we, again,

[00:06:30] support the people that are in emergency management.

[00:06:33] We appreciate the work that FEMA does.

[00:06:35] But as I've said before on this program, and I think you would agree, you,

[00:06:39] because you're part of a church and part of the body of Christ, can minister to more than just the financial needs.

[00:06:46] You can minister to the spiritual needs, the psychological needs, the family needs.

[00:06:50] And in some respects, that's really kind of the vision that you have, isn't it?

[00:06:55] Yes.

[00:06:55] And that's really what separates the church and why the community, the government needs the church is that, you know,

[00:07:04] when crisis strikes, every single one of those people are traumatized.

[00:07:08] And the need, the great need for a, you know, for these folks to be debriefed from their trauma to help them come out of that, that impact.

[00:07:18] You know, when you go through such a crisis, your brain looks like a ball of emotions.

[00:07:22] I mean, if people are feeling like they're going crazy, they don't know what's going on,

[00:07:27] and they really need someone to walk them through a set of questions that will pull them out of that strain, that trauma,

[00:07:34] so that way they can begin piecing back their life.

[00:07:37] It's step number one.

[00:07:39] But step number two, in order for those families to bounce back and be resilient in the midst of a crisis,

[00:07:46] you need a community around them.

[00:07:48] And we have found that roughly around 68 to 70% of most everyone impacted by crisis doesn't have a church community around them.

[00:07:59] And when we ask them, our train teams say, would you like someone from the local church to walk alongside of you?

[00:08:06] It's a resounding yes.

[00:08:08] In fact, they're pretty desperate to have someone help them through it,

[00:08:12] because it's just too overwhelming to try to do it on your own.

[00:08:16] Very good.

[00:08:17] Let's take a break.

[00:08:18] When we come back, I want to talk a little bit more about how you can use this book.

[00:08:21] It's been out for a couple of months now.

[00:08:23] And again, it's very inexpensive, given the fact that it's got color photos in the middle,

[00:08:28] and it really gives you an idea.

[00:08:29] This is something that you as an individual can get involved with,

[00:08:33] but I'm hoping that some of you will get a copy of this book, Contact Daniel,

[00:08:37] and learn more about what you might be able to develop as a vital mission in your own city

[00:08:43] through the church network that you might be able to develop.

[00:08:46] We'll talk about that right after this.

[00:08:58] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson.

[00:09:04] The acronym DEI is found in business and the academy.

[00:09:08] It's now being used in medical schools.

[00:09:10] DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

[00:09:13] A new report of top medical schools documents that DEI is being used to weed out applicants

[00:09:18] who aren't firmly within the latest woke metric.

[00:09:21] The nonprofit Do No Harm conducted an analysis of medical school application processes

[00:09:26] and concluded that these schools were raising an additional entry barrier on top of the grade requirements and testing.

[00:09:32] The report argues that these medical schools are asking these questions to turn ideological support

[00:09:38] for health equity and social justice initiatives into a credential that increases an applicant's chance of acceptance.

[00:09:44] As you might expect, the questions on the applications ranged widely.

[00:09:48] One application asked prospective students how you have committed yourself to understanding

[00:09:53] and aiding in the pursuit of equity and inclusion in your academic, professional, or personal life.

[00:09:58] Another was more direct.

[00:10:00] The school asked applicants to share their thoughts on opposing systemic racism,

[00:10:04] anti-LGBTQ discrimination, and misogyny.

[00:10:07] The application then asked, how will you contribute?

[00:10:10] You know, this latest medical school trend parallels what has been happening on university campuses for years.

[00:10:15] Heather McDonald documents how these woke ideas have spread from the university to the workplace

[00:10:20] in her book, The Diversity Delusion.

[00:10:22] And medical schools certainly have the right to ask questions of prospective students

[00:10:26] that help faculty determine whether they will make good doctors.

[00:10:29] But you could simply ask an open-ended question like, why do you want to become a physician?

[00:10:33] But these applications are using DEI to weed out certain applicants.

[00:10:38] I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my Point of View.

[00:10:47] For a free booklet on a biblical view on big data, go to viewpoints.info.com.

[00:10:53] That's viewpoints.info.com.

[00:10:58] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:11:04] And once again talking about this book, United in Crisis.

[00:11:07] And we're talking with Daniel Gerasi, who of course is the CEO of United in Crisis.

[00:11:13] And Daniel, I thought for just a few minutes we might talk about how we can pull some of that together.

[00:11:18] One of my lines that I use sometimes is when people will come up to me and say, what can I do?

[00:11:23] I say, well, we've got a pronoun problem.

[00:11:25] It's what can we do?

[00:11:26] And you've got a chapter, chapter 7 on birth of unity.

[00:11:30] And then, of course, chapter 8 on multiplying impact.

[00:11:34] And it does seem to me that one of the keys that you've brought to this whole area of emergency management and reaching out and being the hands and feet of Jesus is to put together a church network model that can be replicated all over the country.

[00:11:52] Can you explain that to us?

[00:11:54] Yeah.

[00:11:55] Yeah.

[00:11:56] It's one of the greatest assets for every city if there could be someone that would lead that within every city.

[00:12:04] And that's to form a crisis response church network by mobilizing and coordinating and planning together as one church.

[00:12:14] And that's the reality of a church because these disasters are no longer, you know, small.

[00:12:19] They're large and they're, you know, catastrophic.

[00:12:21] And they're becoming more impacting more people and more frequent in in all those numbers are beyond what, you know, people would have ever imagined or thoughts of the need for the church to be able to work together rather than individually is is is so great.

[00:12:40] You can do so much more in any community when churches work together.

[00:12:45] I'll give you a little case and study in Round Rock, Texas, which is now on the skirts of Boston.

[00:12:53] We had a major tornado impact over 700 homes during that particular crisis.

[00:13:00] And normally the cleanup work of 700 homes devastated by an E3 tornado is going to take months to clean up.

[00:13:08] We decentralized our normal operations, meaning that we asked every church on the network who would like to actually lead a response effort to actually go and clean up.

[00:13:22] And, you know, your church will train you how to do cleanup.

[00:13:24] You set up a volunteer portal on your church website and we'll send the volunteers from the city because we're working with the city leaders, the city managers, mayor, etc.

[00:13:35] We'll point the city volunteers to you so that way the church could actually lead volunteers in the community as well as unite together with all the other churches doing it together.

[00:13:47] We actually had 50 some odd churches say yes.

[00:13:49] We ended up mobilizing thousands of volunteers and in one weekend cleaned up the entire response.

[00:13:57] Now, this is before we began to shepherd the families, which it takes a lot of churches to work together to walk alongside of families as a good Samaritan.

[00:14:07] And we're talking about every family that wants a church member to walk with them.

[00:14:11] We're going to pair them up and they become that good Samaritan, so to speak, to walk alongside of those families.

[00:14:19] And you can only do that through a network.

[00:14:22] One other benefit of a network, and there's several, is that when the community begins to see that the churches are working together, including those outside the community that want to give, this is now a place for, you know, some big donations to come in, which is, again, something you probably won't find as a single church doing a good job.

[00:14:45] But a single church can only go so far to whereas when the church works together, you can start seeing millions of dollars, even millionaires giving a million dollars into a church network where hopefully, you know, the church is leading the effort in the community and really becoming relevant in the community's eyes going to a point to where the community might say, you know, I never thought the church worked together.

[00:15:12] Was that great?

[00:15:12] But look at the work that the church is doing in my community.

[00:15:15] And ultimately, you begin to impact really the community in whole.

[00:15:19] And I think that's one of the goals of the churches.

[00:15:22] We want people to actually know if one day we were gone, there would be a huge impact.

[00:15:28] You know, we would feel it if the church disappeared.

[00:15:31] Right.

[00:15:32] So so in Austin, Texas, for the last 14 years, I mean, the church has done so much helping nearly over half a million people in that short time period, you know, makes an impact on the community, especially a community that is very liberal, second most liberal city in the nation.

[00:15:51] But yet the church has been very effective in that community.

[00:15:55] What a great testimony.

[00:15:57] And again, just shows the multiplying impact.

[00:16:00] But let me pick out just one more thing before I let you go.

[00:16:02] And that is just the spiritual impact in your book.

[00:16:04] Of course, you have some pictures of the emotional spiritual care teams and your hope prayer.

[00:16:09] You even have a chapter on the prayer wall because, again, apart from some emergency management programs, I'm thinking Samaritan's Purse, Texas Baptist men and some of those,

[00:16:21] most of the work that is done in these disasters is to, you know, cut down trees and to provide food and water, all of which is so necessary.

[00:16:30] But the spiritual and emotional needs are so key.

[00:16:34] And that's one thing that, again, the churches can provide, can't they?

[00:16:38] Yes, especially if they're trained.

[00:16:40] And that's what we provide is the solid foundational training, because really, we've all been called to be that good Samaritan.

[00:16:48] And, you know, who knows why the Levite priests didn't stop by.

[00:16:52] Maybe they weren't trained for that kind of work.

[00:16:54] But when you get to training, you're no longer afraid to help those in need.

[00:16:59] And when you can do it together and united, we're talking about multitudes of survivors coming into the kingdom,

[00:17:08] especially when you begin to meet the emotional and spiritual needs.

[00:17:12] You know what to say, what not to say.

[00:17:15] Many people don't know this fact, but the church, in the eyes of a lot of government agencies,

[00:17:21] are seen as the second disaster in a time of crisis because they're not trained,

[00:17:27] and they put the foot in the mouth.

[00:17:29] And they, with a big heart, but unfortunately with the lack of training,

[00:17:32] they say the wrong things and turn off some survivors, and then that gets to the government.

[00:17:38] And then they go, let's just not have the church respond in this particular crisis.

[00:17:44] That actually happened in Austin, Texas, during Katrina, unfortunately,

[00:17:48] where the churches were kicked out of all of the locations where the survivors were

[00:17:53] because they went in there charging into a convention center

[00:17:59] and telling some survivors that they were there because of their sin.

[00:18:02] And it was that kind of mindset that kind of kicked out the entire church.

[00:18:08] It's unfortunate that that's going on, but it can be the very, very opposite,

[00:18:13] where the community can't even imagine life without the church if they just had the training organization

[00:18:19] and they became a network.

[00:18:23] So, again, if people want to follow up, of course, we just mentioned the book,

[00:18:26] and we have that available so people can order it through your organization.

[00:18:30] Of course, we have a link on our website.

[00:18:32] But if you go to unitedincrisis.org, there's a place where you can actually learn a little bit more

[00:18:39] about how to launch a crisis response church network in your own city, get some of the training.

[00:18:44] There's a video that just takes about two and a half minutes you can watch.

[00:18:48] There's another video that goes into some of the training there, which is about four minutes.

[00:18:52] So all sorts of material, including, of course, the book and its endorsements.

[00:18:57] So, again, if somebody is in church ministry and they say, this is something we need to do.

[00:19:02] We've just been seeing how a lot of this has played out right now with Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

[00:19:08] And, of course, you can look all the way back to Hurricane Katrina and others,

[00:19:13] or earthquakes, tornadoes, some of which are natural disasters.

[00:19:17] Some, by the way, are man-made disasters.

[00:19:19] There's a way in which they can contact you.

[00:19:21] Is that right?

[00:19:23] Yes, just simply going to our website and clicking on the signing up for the session, consultant session,

[00:19:30] will want to talk to you and just kind of hear your heart, what the Lord is saying,

[00:19:34] and we can lead you and guide you through the process at that point.

[00:19:39] If you're listening to the program and you're one of the communities that was impacted by the crisis

[00:19:44] and churches are not working in that community and you would like help, we would love to walk alongside of you and help you.

[00:19:53] I'm actually here in Asheville today doing just that,

[00:19:56] working and putting together a plan to meet with all the churches on Friday in the community.

[00:20:02] So we're able to help you in those situations.

[00:20:06] Daniel, first of all, let me thank you for writing the book.

[00:20:09] Thank you for giving us some time today to talk about that.

[00:20:12] And thank you for your dedication, and I hope that many of our listeners will take the time to learn a little bit more

[00:20:17] and to contact you at United in Crisis.

[00:20:20] So thank you for being with us today.

[00:20:22] Yeah, thank you so much for having me on the show, Kirby.

[00:20:25] God bless you.

[00:20:26] One more time, let me just mention that this book, United in Crisis, is about 230 pages.

[00:20:32] It also has a number of color pictures there, so you can kind of see how they do the ministry that they do.

[00:20:37] It is really kind of a manual, and in light of some of the crises we're facing right now and have been in the past,

[00:20:45] it's just a reminder that if we are convinced that the way to address some of these issues is to just send money to Washington

[00:20:53] and hope that FEMA shows up, well, again, I appreciate those who are dedicated to doing that,

[00:20:57] but it seems to me that there are so much more that we can do.

[00:21:00] And when the body of Christ gets together and pulls together a network, as Daniel has talked about,

[00:21:07] and has the right training, it can make a very significant impact.

[00:21:11] And as he pointed out, there are some great illustrations of why we should consider this.

[00:21:16] So that's why I wanted to bring it to you today here on Point of View.

[00:21:19] When we come back, we're going to talk about some of those abortion amendments.

[00:21:22] All that coming up right after these important messages.

[00:21:31] Many years ago, they began saying that we live in the information age.

[00:21:36] Well, today there is so much information coming at us from every direction.

[00:21:40] The hardest thing is to discern which issues are really important,

[00:21:45] and how can I make a positive impact without wasting my time trying to figure out accurate information.

[00:21:52] Let me give you a suggestion to help with that.

[00:21:55] Visit pointofview.net, look at the tabs across the top, find the one named Viewpoints.

[00:22:02] Kirby Anderson and others on our team are constantly watching for news to identify those issues that you really need to know about.

[00:22:10] They boil things down in a brief summary,

[00:22:12] and then you can decide if it's something on which you want to learn more and get involved.

[00:22:17] Again, when you go to pointofview.net, click on Viewpoints, you'll see exactly what I mean.

[00:22:24] You'll see the issues that we are covering right now.

[00:22:27] And when you like what you see, I honestly think you will,

[00:22:31] you can slide on over, enter your email, and get them automatically sent to your inbox each day.

[00:22:37] That's it.

[00:22:38] Take a minute now.

[00:22:39] Be informed.

[00:22:41] Pointofview.net.

[00:22:42] Click on Viewpoints.

[00:22:48] Point of View will continue after this.

[00:22:57] You are listening to Point of View.

[00:23:02] The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station.

[00:23:10] And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson.

[00:23:14] Back once again broadcasting today from WAGP in Beaufort, South Carolina on our remote broadcast.

[00:23:20] We'll be back in Dallas tomorrow.

[00:23:22] But let me just mention that as we've talked about things that are on the ballot, abortion is on the ballot.

[00:23:27] In 10 states, you have various abortion amendments being proposed.

[00:23:32] Of course, we've seen what has happened to that in the past.

[00:23:34] But even if they're not on the ballot per se, abortion is a big issue.

[00:23:39] Just as Donald Trump has been warning what the country would look like if Kamala Harris is the president.

[00:23:45] Kamala Harris was in the Texas area just the other day cautioning individuals that if you support him,

[00:23:52] then the rest of the country will look like Texas.

[00:23:55] She said, if we don't stop Donald Trump now, we're going to have 50 Texases,

[00:23:58] because, of course, there are certain limitations on abortion in Texas, but not in other states.

[00:24:04] And in many states, I'll just pick Florida as an example, you have this Amendment 4,

[00:24:09] in which people in Florida are asked this election season to vote on this amendment,

[00:24:14] which would really provide a sweeping right to abortion to the state's constitution.

[00:24:18] The language is very open-ended.

[00:24:21] As a result, it can be used in some ways to actually move the needle even past where Roe v. Wade was.

[00:24:29] And right now, of course, you have, since abortion after six weeks stops a beating heart,

[00:24:35] this is why you have the actual state actions of prohibiting that.

[00:24:41] So we really want to get into a little bit more of what would be a more honest appraisal of some of these abortion amendments.

[00:24:48] So that's why we are privileged to bring to the conversation Dr. Catherine Wheeler.

[00:24:53] She has been an OB-GYN physician who practiced in Salt Lake City for 24 years before moving to Colorado.

[00:25:00] And I might just say, Catherine, first of all, I understand that because of the wildfires,

[00:25:05] you've had to move out of your home, and we're actually doing this particular interview from a shelter.

[00:25:10] So thank you so very much for being willing to go the extra mile to even join us today here on Point of View.

[00:25:17] Thank you for having me.

[00:25:18] You know, this means so much, and people have no idea what's happening with this, with these really extreme abortion amendments.

[00:25:27] So I would talk to you anywhere, and a shout-out to the Red Cross.

[00:25:31] Thank you.

[00:25:32] And again, I might just mention that you have oftentimes testified before the Colorado legislature

[00:25:36] and talked about the reality of abortion.

[00:25:39] A good friend of ours, John Stonestreet, put out something the other day.

[00:25:43] A panel exposes lies surrounding the abortion amendments, because, indeed, you are one of the individuals

[00:25:51] that works with the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

[00:25:56] They put together a panel.

[00:25:57] And so let's kind of get into this.

[00:25:59] One of the, I think, lies, if you will, misinformation about these various amendments

[00:26:06] is that if you don't support these amendments, then it's going to be so confusing that doctors, OB-GYN as yourself,

[00:26:15] would not be able to provide treatment for miscarriages, for ectopic pregnancies, and things of that nature,

[00:26:22] because oftentimes all of those are conflated with abortion.

[00:26:26] Can you set us straight here?

[00:26:28] Yes.

[00:26:29] Thank you.

[00:26:29] So there's an intentional movement to confuse the public so that they're scared to vote against any kind of abortion restriction.

[00:26:39] It is unfortunate that part of this is to make the public confused, thinking that they can't get care for miscarriage,

[00:26:48] meaning that the baby has already passed away, therefore this is not an induced abortion,

[00:26:52] and that they are confused, that they actually are able in every single state in our country legally to receive miscarriage care,

[00:27:03] ectopic pregnancy care, and any care that's necessary to save the life of a mother.

[00:27:10] It's legal in every state.

[00:27:12] Unfortunately, this is all being stirred up.

[00:27:14] It's frightening women.

[00:27:15] They're not getting care when they should.

[00:27:17] And if the doctors are confused, I find this very egregious.

[00:27:22] It's negligence not to give appropriate medical care to save women's lives.

[00:27:27] It's just negligence.

[00:27:29] It's unethical.

[00:27:30] Obstetricians are always in the line of fire from the legal system.

[00:27:34] And you just plain do the right thing for the patient, which is to give them the care they deserve.

[00:27:39] So I find it unconscionable that the medical organizations like the American College of OBGYN,

[00:27:47] that the state policymakers, that the state medical boards have not stepped up and clarified this.

[00:27:55] Instead, they're fanning the flames to confuse and frighten the public to push an unrestricted abortion agenda.

[00:28:03] And, again, this I think is unconscionable because, again, individuals that are in that College of OBGYN should be able to clarify that there's never going to be a reason.

[00:28:15] There's no state law that would criminally charge a woman who sought care.

[00:28:19] There's not going to be that much confusion on the part of obstetrics and gynecology physicians about what would be necessary care for a woman who is dealing with,

[00:28:30] could be a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy, whatever.

[00:28:33] But, nevertheless, that confusion shows up time and time again in some of these commercials, doesn't it?

[00:28:39] It does.

[00:28:39] And, you know, the original narrative to push through Roe versus Wade in the narrative has always been more women will die without abortion.

[00:28:48] But the opposite is actually true.

[00:28:51] But that's always been the narrative that has been used.

[00:28:54] Because who wants a woman to die?

[00:28:56] I don't want a woman to die.

[00:28:58] But it's incorrect.

[00:28:59] It's a lie.

[00:29:00] For every single state, these women can get the care that they need, including if the baby is not yet viable but her life is a threat.

[00:29:08] She can still be delivered.

[00:29:11] Even though we know that the baby may not survive, we save the one life that we can.

[00:29:17] Let's see if we can talk about another aspect of that.

[00:29:20] And I alluded to it a minute ago where you look at some of these amendments that would actually not only return, if you will, the decision about abortion to the cases of Roe versus Wade,

[00:29:32] but actually enshrine in many of these state constitutions unrestricted access to abortion.

[00:29:40] Is that true?

[00:29:41] It is true.

[00:29:42] And where Roe actually allowed states to regulate abortion in the second and third trimester for various reasons.

[00:29:49] This actually removes all regulation.

[00:29:52] And they hide it under what looks like pretty innocuous words, like the government may not discriminate or impede or deny the right to abortion.

[00:30:03] It sounds pretty innocuous.

[00:30:05] But when you actually look legally at what that means and at the American College of OB-QYN language, it means that there may be absolutely no restriction in any state against completely unfettered, unregulated abortion.

[00:30:20] Again, under Roe versus Wade, you had 24-hour waiting periods.

[00:30:25] You had informed consent.

[00:30:26] You had prohibiting third trimester abortions.

[00:30:30] And when you have this kind of vague, almost intentionally vague legislation in the various amendments being proposed,

[00:30:39] it would move it further than even what you had under Roe versus Wade.

[00:30:43] One of the other questions I had is whether or not the elimination of restrictions would only harm pregnant mothers and children.

[00:30:54] It seems to me that some people are now, of course, looking at things like what we call chemical abortion versus the other kinds.

[00:31:03] And so in some respects, we perhaps are setting young girls and young women who may be using various kinds of chemical abortion to not even having the kind of protection that you would want to provide to your patients.

[00:31:20] Is that fair?

[00:31:22] It is fair.

[00:31:23] During COVID, of course, all of the regulations surrounding the abortion pills, all of those were removed during COVID.

[00:31:33] So women can now order these with absolutely no medical oversight, no relationship with a doctor.

[00:31:39] They can order them online.

[00:31:41] They can do so-called telehealth.

[00:31:44] So there really is absolutely no regulation over them now.

[00:31:48] So there is a push to have them available on college campuses.

[00:31:53] It's really a huge, harmful thing for especially the 20-year-old group of women.

[00:32:02] Let me, if I can, since we have to go to a break, see if I can keep you over because I'd like to talk about a couple of other issues as well.

[00:32:08] And again, if you were looking for more information, we've posted some great material.

[00:32:13] Also, of course, we have a link to the organization that we just mentioned a minute ago,

[00:32:19] the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

[00:32:23] And I would certainly send you there.

[00:32:25] I've also mentioned, of course, our good friend John Stone Street at the Colson Center and Breakpoint.

[00:32:32] And I might just also mention I've learned that Dr. Catherine Wheely is also a Colson fellow,

[00:32:37] an individual that has worked with them as well.

[00:32:40] And so that's a great organization I might mention.

[00:32:42] And, of course, we have some articles that you might find helpful.

[00:32:46] So if you are with somebody that maybe is right now thinking about voting about maybe one of these amendments,

[00:32:55] of course, I used the example just a minute ago of the one from Florida.

[00:32:58] But, of course, there are about ten of these right now.

[00:33:01] We want to try to get the right information out.

[00:33:04] And if you find yourself saying, well, where can I find that?

[00:33:07] Let me just encourage you to find out a little bit more about this American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

[00:33:14] We have a link there.

[00:33:15] It's A-A-P-L-O-G dot O-R-G.

[00:33:19] But you don't have to remember all that because that link is there as well.

[00:33:22] There's some great resources.

[00:33:24] Also, a very good piece on dehumanizing the preborn is denying science,

[00:33:30] as well as some other articles and resources you might find helpful.

[00:33:34] By the way, if you know somebody in your own church that is an OB-GYN,

[00:33:38] they might want to join that organization as well.

[00:33:40] So we'll carry on for just a few more minutes with Catherine Wheeler right after these important messages.

[00:33:46] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:34:02] Back for a few more minutes broadcasting today from WAGP.

[00:34:04] And I might just mention we have with us for just a few more minutes Dr. Catherine Wheeler,

[00:34:10] again with the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

[00:34:15] And, Catherine, we were just broadcasting yesterday from Augusta, Georgia.

[00:34:19] And when you're in Georgia, we always hear about this woman, this Georgia mother,

[00:34:25] who lost her life from chemical abortion.

[00:34:27] And it illustrates, again, that this argument that is being used right now,

[00:34:33] that if we don't provide abortion, more lives will be lost.

[00:34:37] I think in some respects, even in a case where people lose their life because of abortion,

[00:34:43] whether it's surgical abortion or chemical abortion,

[00:34:45] those cases are oftentimes used to justify these amendments.

[00:34:50] So how would you respond to that?

[00:34:53] Right.

[00:34:54] So I think when we talked, there were actually two women who unfortunately lost their lives there.

[00:34:59] And both of them took abortion drugs.

[00:35:03] Both of them did not have a relationship with a medical provider,

[00:35:08] which is one of the key problems with the way that chemical abortions are now being done.

[00:35:14] One of them never did seek any care.

[00:35:17] And there were guesses of why she didn't seek care.

[00:35:22] But, of course, immediately there was a responsibility held that it was because of the abortion bans.

[00:35:29] But the woman could have sought care.

[00:35:31] So if she didn't because of abortion bans,

[00:35:34] it's because the other side actually stirred up confusion and fear for her.

[00:35:38] That care was available to her, and that should be made very clear.

[00:35:41] The other woman did present for care when she had a complication.

[00:35:46] And, unfortunately, the doctors did not immediately respond to her being septic.

[00:35:52] She should have had immediate response in care.

[00:35:55] And for some reason, they delayed a considerable period of time until it was too late.

[00:35:59] So we're talking about the root cause of both tragic deaths was actually the abortion pills.

[00:36:07] And it was not the fact that there were abortion bans.

[00:36:11] Care was available to both of these women,

[00:36:13] and, unfortunately, they did not get the care that should have been given to them.

[00:36:19] And a percentage of those individuals, you know,

[00:36:22] women that actually use chemical abortion experience complications.

[00:36:26] And that is something which, again, if you don't have a relationship with a doctor,

[00:36:31] you can see why some of these things might unfold, can't you?

[00:36:36] You can.

[00:36:37] And we know from data from Finland, which has the best information about women who take these drugs

[00:36:44] and what their complications are, we know that even when taken appropriately

[00:36:48] and before nine weeks of pregnancy, that 20%, one in five women, will have a complication.

[00:36:56] So we know that there's significant dangers to taking them.

[00:37:00] They are not safer than Tylenol.

[00:37:02] They're even more dangerous.

[00:37:04] They're four times more dangerous than first trimester surgical abortion.

[00:37:07] So there are very considerable risks.

[00:37:11] One of the thoughts is, again, our good friend John Stonestreet quotes from you,

[00:37:15] in which you say that abortion remains kind of a black box for most of our society.

[00:37:21] You say for them it's like it never happened,

[00:37:23] although these women's lives have permanently been changed,

[00:37:27] whether they recognize it at the time or not.

[00:37:29] And that's just another warning that we want to talk about as we focus on some of these pro-life issues,

[00:37:36] that there may be a level of denial on the part of some of the women that have had abortions

[00:37:41] or denial on the part of our society.

[00:37:43] But that's one of the reasons why I appreciate the good work that you're doing there

[00:37:46] through the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

[00:37:52] Well, I appreciate you bringing up the black box because that's for me.

[00:37:55] When I talk to people about abortion, I'm actually a former abortionist

[00:37:59] and obviously have come out the other side by God's grace

[00:38:03] and get to do the work that I do to educate people.

[00:38:07] But we know here in Colorado that 71% of people polled have absolutely no idea

[00:38:13] what the abortion laws are in our state.

[00:38:15] And they're actually among the most extreme in the entire world with abortion all the way to the due date,

[00:38:22] most of them unhealthy moms and babies,

[00:38:25] with actually no health department oversight, licensure, unlike any other medical care.

[00:38:31] Our amendment would actually remove all parental notification

[00:38:35] and it would remove public funding bans so that they can expand abortion in our state

[00:38:41] and force the taxpayers to pay for it.

[00:38:44] So that's what the rest of the country is looking at.

[00:38:48] Colorado and other states, what we have being expanded to the rest of the country.

[00:38:53] I think this is really a turning point for our country

[00:38:56] and I just strongly urge people to understand what their amendments are

[00:39:02] and to get out and vote.

[00:39:03] And I really believe this is a turning point.

[00:39:06] The women are not being told what the harms are.

[00:39:09] And in the end, that black box, what actually happens in the abortion,

[00:39:13] the actual death of a human being, is completely overlooked.

[00:39:17] People talk about this just so abstractly, like you're just making any other decision in your life

[00:39:23] when the decision is that a baby's life has to end.

[00:39:28] Okay, I want to thank you for standing strong on this issue.

[00:39:31] And I just thought just before I let you go,

[00:39:33] we do have a link to the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

[00:39:39] It's A-A-P-L-O-G.org.

[00:39:42] Of course, you don't have to remember that because you can simply go to the website.

[00:39:45] But there's where you can find a physician.

[00:39:47] You might say, I want to go to a pro-life physician.

[00:39:49] Or there's a section on state chapters since we broadcast all over the country.

[00:39:54] There's even a section there on abortion pill reversal.

[00:39:58] So I would encourage you to visit that website.

[00:40:01] We have that particular link under Dr. Catherine Wheeler's name.

[00:40:06] And you can follow that and maybe even pass it on to other like-minded individuals,

[00:40:12] pro-life individuals that need to know about that organization.

[00:40:15] So first of all, I hope you're able to get back into your home.

[00:40:17] I appreciate you doing a broadcast today with us from a shelter.

[00:40:22] And thank you so very much for the stand that you've taken on the pro-life movement.

[00:40:27] Thank you.

[00:40:27] And thank you for standing for life and for women.

[00:40:31] Just before we go, let me just mention that as we pointed out, there are a few things on the ballot.

[00:40:36] If you listened to the first part of the broadcast, we talked with Michael Ferris.

[00:40:40] We said, you know, religious liberty and free speech are on the ballot.

[00:40:43] But obviously, abortion is on the ballot, especially in 10 different states where you have these abortion measures and amendments being proposed.

[00:40:51] And I just gave you one example from Florida, which I think might not pass because it will need 60 percent.

[00:40:57] But we'll see.

[00:40:58] And we'll be following that as well.

[00:41:00] And just a reminder once again to go to our website, pointofview.net,

[00:41:06] to find out more about all of the issues we've talked about today with Michael Ferris and Daniel Gerasi,

[00:41:11] as well as Catherine Wheeler.

[00:41:13] And then to find many of the articles we've posted there.

[00:41:17] Last one, Meet the Real Fascists.

[00:41:19] We never really got to that.

[00:41:20] Maybe we'll do that some other day.

[00:41:21] But there are some great resources that are available at the website, pointofview.net.

[00:41:26] And most importantly, don't forget that we have our Election Central resources, which are available for you.

[00:41:34] But you probably already know some of this, but there are probably some individuals that don't.

[00:41:39] You may be one of the individuals listening right now in a state where there's going to be a vote on the abortion amendment.

[00:41:46] And maybe they're always confused about whether or not this would actually prohibit treatment of miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies and so much more.

[00:41:56] That's why we do these programs, so that you can be well-educated.

[00:42:00] And as I said before, if you meet some people that aren't even registered to vote, well, it's too late for most of those,

[00:42:07] although some you can register at the voting place.

[00:42:10] But certainly if they are registered to vote but they're not thinking about voting, as I pointed out before,

[00:42:16] we've done some surveys and show that up to 14% of non-voters said they might vote if a family or friend actually convinced them about the importance of voting.

[00:42:27] And I don't know how you can be listening to some of the programs we've done here on Point of View without understanding how important that vote is.

[00:42:35] So first of all, I want to thank everybody who's been a part of this broadcast here today.

[00:42:40] John, thank you for helping us here.

[00:42:41] I want to thank our friends at WAGP and back in Dallas.

[00:42:45] I want to thank Megan and Steve for their help behind the scenes as well.

[00:42:49] One last time, you can go to the website pointofview.net.

[00:42:52] You can find all this information, some of these key links.

[00:42:55] And so take that information into your community.

[00:42:58] Make a difference so that as we are going to be voting by this time next week, we hope that we will have a positive outcome.

[00:43:07] That's all we have for today.

[00:43:09] See you back here in Dallas right here on Point of View.

[00:43:11] It almost seems like we live in a different world from many people in positions of authority.

[00:43:17] They say men can be women and women men.

[00:43:20] People are prosecuted differently or not at all, depending on their politics.

[00:43:25] Criminals are more valued and rewarded than law-abiding citizens.

[00:43:30] It's so overwhelming, so demoralizing.

[00:43:33] You feel like giving up.

[00:43:35] But we can't.

[00:43:36] We shouldn't.

[00:43:37] We must not.

[00:43:38] As Winston Churchill said to Britain in the darkest days of World War II,

[00:43:43] Never give in.

[00:43:44] Never give in.

[00:43:46] Never, never, never.

[00:43:47] Never yield to force.

[00:43:49] Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

[00:43:53] And that's what we say to you today.

[00:43:56] This is not a time to give in, but to step up and join Point of View in providing clarity in the chaos.

[00:44:03] We can't do it alone.

[00:44:05] But together, with God's help, we will overcome the darkness.

[00:44:10] Invest in biblical clarity today at pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151.

[00:44:19] pointofview.net and 800-347-5151.

[00:44:27] Point of View is produced by Point of View Ministries.