From the Kitchen Table: The Duffys - Conceived By Rape: Why Ryan Bomberger's Life Matters

Episode Date: June 30, 2022

On this episode, the Founder of The Radiance Foundation, Ryan Bomberger, sits down with Sean and Rachel at the kitchen table, to share his inspiring story of discovering he was a product of rape, and how that inspired him to become a powerful advocate for life. Ryan details being adopted into a family of 15 and shares his opinion on the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Later, Ryan discusses the work he does to raise awareness of the realities of abortion and explains the fallacies in the pro-choice community.   Follow Sean and Rachel on Twitter: @SeanDuffyWI & @RCamposDuffy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My parents have had a lot of time on their hands lately. At first, it was nice. Hey mom, can you drive me to soccer practice? Sure can. We're having slow cooked ribs for dinner. It was awesome. And then it became a lot. Some friends are coming over to watch a movie.

Ooh, what are we watching? I'll make some popcorn. Thanks to Voila, they can order all our fresh favorites from Sobeys, Farm Boy, and Longos online, which is super reliable. And now my parents are reliable. A little too reliable. Voila, your groceries delivered just like that. Hey, everyone, welcome to From the Kitchen Table. I'm your host, Sean Duffy, along with my co-host for the podcast,

but also my partner in life, Rachel Campos Duffy. Hi, Sean. It's so great to be back at our kitchen table. And today, you know, is an amazing day. We've had a pretty amazing weekend, Sean. Our daughter got married on Friday of last week. Roe versus Wade was overturned, and our nephew won the Stanley Cup in hockey. So I don't think it gets any better than that. And of course, Roe versus Wade is the decision that, I mean, it's just rocked the country.

And when we talked about, obviously, we have to talk about that this week. The first person that came to my mind was Ryan Bomberger. talk about that this week, the first person that came to my mind was Ryan Bomberger. And Ryan Bomberger is somebody I met through Fox and Friends, and he is a pro-life activist. He has a foundation called the Radiance Foundation that he founded with his wife, Bethany. Ryan was conceived when his biological mother was raped, and she chose to have the baby. And I can't think of somebody better to talk about abortion, the impact, and the real-life consequences of so many of the decisions that people are making and what this decision means to him. So without further ado, let's welcome Ryan Bomberger. Hey, Ryan. Hey. Hey. It's great to be here with you guys.

It's great to be here with you. So I guess we should first just get your reaction to Roe versus Wade. My gosh, the Dobbs decision on Friday caused me hours and hours of tears. I was crying with tears of joy for so many years. Not only that my wife, my incredible wife, Bethany, and I have worked just through the Radiance Foundation to help end this injustice, but also for many who came before us who have for decades fought against the violent injustice of abortion. So I was rejoicing. I was all by myself, though. It was really hard because our staff was at a conference. My wife was at a conference. My kids were at camp. So I was all by myself celebrating. But, you know, social media connects you with people.

And so I wasn't, you know, entirely by myself. But I was overjoyed. That was my reaction. You know, as Rachel mentioned, our daughter was getting married on Friday as well. And, you know, all the kids are taking showers and getting dressed and doing hair. And our daughter ran into our bedroom and said, oh, my gosh, the decision came out. They've overturned bro versus Wade. And I'm like, this is this is a great omen.

And by the way, she's a little pro-lifer, too, Ryan. I mean, she was in the pro-life movement as a teenager. She'd gone to pro-life camp as as a young girl and ended up becoming a counselor. So, you know, it wasn't just a theory to her. I mean, she was an activist like you. Ryan, can I ask you a question? I think this is fascinating in that if you look at what the pro-life movement is, it's about preserving life, the sanctity of life, giving every life an opportunity for birth and to have their constitutional rights affixed to them, I would

argue at conception. But over the course of the last, what, 48 them, I would argue at conception. But over the course of the last, what, 48 years, I didn't do the math quickly in my head, something like that, almost 50 years, the life movement has been very peaceful. You've seen the protesters might have some picket signs, but they're also kneeling in prayer outside of abortion facilities. There's been a couple of crazy people out there. For the most part, it's been peaceful. Yeah, I agree. And if you look at the violence of abortion,

but then also the violence of the abortion movement, we see churches being burned, pregnancy centers being... Cocktails being thrown at them. Graffiti thrown at them as well. And also even the threats to the justices that have come. Can you speak to the peaceful nature of the life movement and the violent nature of the abortion movement? Absolutely. And the thing people have to keep in mind, because pro-abortion activists keep

bringing this up, you had some fringe, crazy people who thought that the solution to the killing of innocent human life was to kill more human life, which is completely antithetical to the pro-life movement. And the movement has always denounced those people who've attacked any kind of abortionists. But the reality is the pro-abortion side is the one that actually celebrates violence. And we're actually seeing that carried out against women who mostly run these pregnancy centers. They've been vandalized, threatened, firebombed. And then, you know, the pro-abortion side is silent. Biden administration is silent. But the pro-life movement is one that is peaceful, that denounces any kind of violence. And that's why I love working with my colleagues, you know, people from all kinds of backgrounds who love people enough

to not only speak life, but actually be that representation of what that means. I'm an adoptive father. I have four kiddos, two of whom were adopted. There are many different ways that we can carry out what it means to be pro-life, but you see that exemplified throughout the entire pro-life movement. You won't hear that from mainstream media, except for Fox News. Thank you, Fox News. But you won't hear that from the rest of mainstream media. They don't want to tell these narratives. All they do is spend time demonizing those of us who want to save and rescue human life and uphold the dignity of every human life, especially the mothers who are exploited by the abortion industry. Yeah, you're right. I mean, it's demonizing,

but also canceling. I mean, part of the strategy of the abortion movement and their allies, their friends in the media has been to ignore some of the most, you know, the biggest protests that we have ever the Capitol has ever seen. And by the way, brutal weather, they'll show up and peacefully protest. whether they'll show up and peacefully protest. And I think you bring up a great point about how in the pro-life movement, when we've had a couple crazies try to, you know, bomb an abortion clinic or threaten an abortionist, the entire movement has denounced it vociferously. And on this side, we have even the president of the United States, even our DOJ, everyone basically not just not denouncing it, but in many ways, encouraging it and refusing to pass legislation to protect those justices who are who were being threatened prior to this decision coming down. Ryan, I want to get right into your story, because your story

is fascinating on so many levels, but it is used as your life story. How you came into existence is the exception that is being used to justify all of these abortions, millions and millions. It's almost difficult to wrap our minds around how many children have been killed in the womb since Roe versus Wade in America was first brought about. So tell me about your story. Start from the beginning, how you found out. Do you know your mom? Just give it to us. Yes, absolutely. Okay. So let's just go back to when I was 13. That was just a few years ago. Joking a long time ago, but I was 13. And I don't know if you have strong-willed kids, but I was a strong-willed child and I pushed my parents to the edge. I think my first mission

in life was actually to teach my parents how to be stronger parents, but it was in a really tough conversation that we were having in my, I finally learned the origins, my origin story. And it wasn't because my parents hadn't told me earlier it was because i didn't understand what rape was so you're talking to your adoptive parents by the way for those who who don't they can't see you because we're on a podcast right now um you are african-american you were you were adopted into a multi-racial family two white parents correct correct and our family was a mixture of white, black, mixed like I am, white and black, Native American, Vietnamese,

disabled, just a beautiful mixture. 13 kids, 10 of us were adopted. Sounds like a Benetton ad. People thought we were a youth group. They wouldn't rent houses. You can't rent to the youth group. It's our family. I'm not kidding. They wouldn't, they wouldn't rent houses. Like you can't rent to the youth group. It's our family. I'm not kidding. My parents had to deal with all kinds of craziness, but you know, they would, we celebrated adoption in our family. We celebrated birth parents.

And so when my mom finally got across to me, my, my story, it was so devastating. I mean, you know, teenage years are already crazy enough. You know, they're always tumultuous enough. So throw in there a rewrite of your whole origin story. And so when I've, when in that conversation that was kind of laid out, I was devastated. Wait a minute. So now I understood, first of all, that my birth mom didn't just not want me, but she went through this trauma, this violence. And though I was conceived in rape, I understood that I was adopted in love. And so that changed everything. In fact, just weeks later, I did a persuasion speech in eighth grade about abortion. I shared my story and I saw the way that my teacher reacted, my fellow students, my friends reacted. And I

understood that I had a story to tell. What was the reaction? What was their reaction? actually supporting abortion. And so I realized too, that even when you have these deeply personal stories, that you could have hardened hearts and you also have to do the work to kind of understand, okay, well, what is their background story? What is perhaps causing them to still embrace a pro-abortion perspective? And so I learned that really early on in eighth grade. And it wasn't until years and years later that I was able to tell my story in a large scale way. And my wife and I started the Reeds Foundation after we got married. So, you know, this story really began though, with a courageous birth mom who decided to give me life and gave me the incredible gift of adoption. And so that's why I'm really passionate about this and fighting the injustice of abortion. You know, Ryan, to Rachel's question and to your answer, it's interesting because the issue of

rape or incest is always used to justify abortion. And what I find, I've watched a number of your videos, and even when people are coming at you hard for your position on life. With such grace and honesty, you're able to pivot and stand up for all little babies in the womb. And as I've watched what you've done, I'm touched by it because I'm a believer as well that life begins at conception, but also the art of communication and persuasion, which you do really well. But when I look at the issue of rape, and you don't hear many stories like yours, someone who was conceived in rape, whose mother chose life and chose love and to give you up for adoption. And the fact that every life has value to say that, what does your life not have value? What, because you were conceived in rape,

we look at how many wonderful things you've done and to then go out and be an advocate for all children, no matter how conceived, I think is so powerful because your voice is one that most of society would say shouldn't exist, shouldn't be out there. It should have been terminated, but it wasn't. And it's so powerful. And again, I love that you are so outspoken and coming from such a powerful story. We have to remember, none of us control the circumstances of our conception. I'm assuming you and Rachel didn't control the circumstances of your conception. And yet somehow some of us decide that we can be the arbiters of human value.

We don't control the circumstances. We all have equal and irrevocable worth. And when we don't, when some people get to decide a group of human beings for whatever circumstances are less than human, it never turns out well. So that's why I'm the marginalized among the most marginalized. So I'm going to fight for the most marginalized. I grew up with siblings who have disabilities. I grew up with God brothers and God sisters who are down syndrome. I mean, some of the most targeted by abortion. I mean, how couldn't I dedicate my life to rescuing those that the rest of society, many in society, write off as unplanned, unwanted, don't fit the picture of perfection. None of us are perfect

anyway, but it's why I've dedicated my life to this. Did you ever get to meet your birth mom? why I've dedicated my life to this. Did you ever get to meet your birth mom? Great question. I searched for her years and years ago. And in fact, I wrote a song called meant to be, which is just a tribute to her courage. And so I had to petition the court to unseal my records. And so I had to write to court and I included it. This is years ago, a CD. People still remember what CDs are. Yeah, I do. I have a couple still. Right? And all I wanted was for her to get a copy of it.

I didn't feel like I needed to have a relationship with her, but I wanted her to know just how grateful that I was and that I continue to be. And unfortunately, Rachel, I've not met her because there was no response to that inquiry. And even though they kept the case open for about nine months, there was no response. So either she didn't receive the inquiry, they didn't contact the right person, or she decided not to respond, which I would understand. But I wanted her to know how thankful that I am that her son, her biological son, is so grateful for the life and the beautiful reverberations that her singular decision will cause for generations. And through your work with the Radiance Foundation, have you met people who maybe were raped and because of your story decided to make a different decision? I mean, I just, I think rape is an interesting circumstance, right? We hear about all kinds of stories, all kinds of stories. And yet rape is the one where even

people who are pro-life will say, well, in that case, yes. And you mentioned Down syndrome, which, as you know, is very close to my heart and the extermination of that group. But rape in particular is interesting because people think the violence of rape, the answer to it is the violence of abortion. And there's a lot of work in the pro-life community to break down that mentality, even among pro-lifers. Absolutely. And I do meet a number of women

who became pregnant through rape. And rape is such a horrific act, horrific violation. And we have to keep in mind the rapist is the one who should be punished. And the pro-abortion side never wants to talk about that, really. They go immediately to this abortion is the cure. It doesn't undo the rape. It actually introduces more violence. And the abortionist, like the rapist, abandons that woman.

I mean, the abortionist is not some personal physician that's there to care for her and to counsel her through that. And so, when we talk about the issue of rape, it's the victim, the woman, needs the wholeness and healing that doesn't come by these pink banners and all these euphemisms that the pro-abortion side want to throw at her. And I pray that my birth mom experienced the wholeness and the healing that she needed. But what I found surprising, the rape survivors that I have met, those who've become mothers, those who are post-abortive, and those who chose adoption, that there is a common thread through all of them. And that common thread is that the child is the only redemptive part of such a horrifically violent act. And so we have to remember, Roe v. Wade began as a lie about rape. Norma McCorvey, who's the Jane Roe, she lied about being raped, admitted it later,

years and years later in a New York Times op-ed article, she admitted that she had lied, but it started out as a lie. That's what Satan is though, isn't it? He's the father of lies. Right. And I just want to say too, in California, 1967, the Therapeutic Abortion Act that was signed by the pre-pro-life Ronald Reagan started off with those exceptions. That's how abortion on demand started, the exceptions, rape, incest, life of the mother. And so, of course, the physical life of the mother, that's an important, that's a different category in and of itself. But we have to remember that rape is always used. It's the tragedy always exploited to promote another

tragedy. We'll have more of this conversation after this. My parents have had a lot of time on their hands lately. At first, it was nice. Hey mom, can you drive me to soccer practice? Sure can. We're having slow cooked ribs for dinner. It was awesome. And then it became a lot. Some friends are coming over to watch a movie.

Ooh, what are we watching? I'll make some popcorn. Thanks to Voila, they can order all our fresh favorites from Sobeys, Farm Boy, and Longos online. Which is super reliable. And now my parents are reliable. A little too reliable. Voila, your groceries delivered just like that. You always say out of tragedy comes triumph. Your life is a triumph.

I believe so. I think of my mom and my dad, Henry and Andrea Bomberger. They loved many of us that the world would so easily write off saying their narrative isn't going to end well. And they were wrong. My parents loved us and unleashed purpose. And you can't help but see triumph in so many instances in just my family alone. But you multiply that by the millions whose life story people would have said, well, they will amount to nothing. Because of what? Because you said so? No. That's why I love how love defies all that all the time. You know, Ryan, I spent nine years in Congress as a member of the House from Wisconsin. And I saw and still do see a lot of influence groups that come to Washington to advocate for certain policy positions. And the one group that is exterminated above any other group is babies in the womb. And

they can't raise money. They can't petition. They can't lobby. They can't do any of the things that traditional groups bind together and petition their government for because they're voiceless, they're defenseless. And they rely on people like you to come out and give them a voice when they don't have one, which why I think it is so powerful, but also in this decision that came from the court. I think it's fascinating, Rachel, and you were talking about the lies from the abortion movement, but the lie that abortion has been eradicated with this decision that's come from the court in Dobbs. The fact is that we've actually taken it out of the courts and it's been given back to people in states where people can argue, can advocate, can campaign and let voters decide what kind of restrictions they want on abortion or do they

want to completely eradicate abortion, which in a democracy seems to be the right way that we should be moving forward. And I find it fascinating that the mainstream media and the celebrities from Washington and the Democrat politicians all want to say that your abortion rights have been taken away when in actuality you've been you've been given the right to to to to debate and vote on this really important issue exactly well of course you can't rely on pro-abortion activists to to speak the truth right right these things i mean it's always gloom and doom. And even just the phrase abortion rights. Well, rights that exist where? As Alito so powerfully pointed out in the Dobbs decision, the Constitution, he says, quote, the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey are overruled. So they talk about your rights being taken away. Well, they never existed in the first place.

They were created out of whole cloth by seven men who were supremely wrong back in 73. And the fact that this is returned to the states, I mean, the left is always talking about voting rights and how much they matter. But when you talk about an election having some beautiful ramifications, like a president being able to appoint Supreme Court justices, they don't like the rule of law. They don't like the fact that this is the result of people voting. And so here now it's returned to the states where there are a number of trigger laws that have gone into effect and even some of them being stopped. Louisiana, for instance, that has a human life amendment, which then bans abortion. A judge just stopped that. So we're still dealing with a judiciary that's out of

control on the state level. But the fact remains that people's voices get to be heard through their elected representatives. And this is where, you know, this is gone to the states. And even the most radically pro-abortion states, pro-lifers don't give up. No one ever would. I mean, so many people thought Roe would never be overturned. But guess what? It happened. Justice happened. called Roe versus Wade. But even in many conservative states, and Sean and I are very close to politicians around the country who have told us, I don't know, even in my conservative state, if this were put up to a vote, if we would see this, if we would see abortion banned, because the lies that we have talked about, the euphemisms, the cultural influence of the pro-abortion movement, especially on young women,

is powerful. And I think that what it is, is now an opportunity for people like you, the Radiance Foundation, and other pro-life groups around the country and activists like myself to go and make the case for the dignity of every life. And our work is not done. I mean, honestly, there's a lot of work to be done, Ryan. Oh, there's a lot of heart surgery to be done. There's no denying that. And from a political standpoint, there's apparently some in the GOP need spine replacement surgery. Perhaps Obama pays for that. Yeah, I'm serious. In fact, can I just boast on Sean for a second? Because I remember back in 2016, when you brought, you called out the Congressional Black Caucus. I was just going to ask the next question to you, Ryan. I was going to bring that up.

Thank you. That was awesome. I'm like, it takes a white man to call out the decimation of abortion in the Black community, and they want to demonize you because you spoke the truth. I mean, I wrote an article about you in that video. It was so powerful. The Congressional Black Caucus, which is actually partnered with Planned Parenthood, they want to pretend that Black Lives Matter, but they really mean only some Black Lives Matter. So I just kudos to you for calling that out. And I hate the fact that we live in a world where we're constantly delineating between white and black. I do agree with that because we're just one human race.

But thank God for you to have the courage to actually stand up and call out the Congressional Black Caucus and these pro-abortion black politicians. Ryan, thank you for that. pro-abortion black politicians. Ryan, thank you for that. I decided to do the speech and the blowback that I got from the CBC was immediate and immense that I didn't go about it the right way. I should have talked to them first.

But you kind of did talk to them in the cloak rooms and behind the scenes. Some of the pastors. Some of them are pastors. pastors put that in air quotes um past the pastors um of the congressional black caucus i talked to them about how how can you be a pastor but also be advocating for this horrific procedure that takes the life of a child a defenseless child and disproportionately takes the life of black children and the point i had had made was the fact that more African-Americans were aborted in New York City, or maybe it was the New York State as a whole. No, no. In New York City, then there were live births.

Then there were live births. That's right. That's a fact. Which is tragic. And I was trying to bring up the point, too, that where are the abortion clinics set up? What neighborhoods are they put in? What is the history of this movement with Margaret Sanger? Eugenics. That's right.

And so, and again, I agree with you. We're all human. We shouldn't be in a business of delineating by race and colors. But they do that. And so I used what they do back at them in a speech off the House floor. But the industry targets— I didn't get the response that I wanted. You did not. But the industry does target—the industry targets the disabled. It targets the poor.

It used to target Catholics when they first started and immigrants. I mean, Ryan, this is their movement. And again, when we talked earlier about the lies, part of it is, you know, erasing this very ugly history that they own. Margaret Sanger is theirs. And Hillary Clinton received the Margaret Sanger Award. You know, I mean, this is their movement. And it's not changed. The whole eugenics movement has different euphemisms today, but it's still tragically alive and well today. In fact, Representative Emanuel Cleaver, who was one of the former chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus, was once profoundly pro-life.

He was part of Missouri Citizens for Life. And then he ends up switching, of course, because politically, I guess if you're a Democrat and you're Black, you have to be up, you know, switching, of course, because politically, I guess, if you're a Democrat and you're Black, you have to be, you know, pro-abortion. At least that's what he thought. And he gets an award from Planned Parenthood. I mean, they want to decry all the targeting of the, you know, makers of alcohol and cigarette makers and that industry, the disproportionate targeting of the Black community. But here you have the clear disproportionate targeting of the Black community that results in death every single time. And it's still a reality in New York City, by the way, in Manhattan, actually the borough of Manhattan, where Planned Parenthood is based. For every 1,000 Black babies born alive, 1,228 are aborted. say black lives matter because they don't really matter because they don't matter in and out of the womb you know your your hashtag is worthless and so this is why we keep on calling the ratings

foundation keeps calling out um the disproportionate impact of abortion in the black community calling out Planned Parenthood that calls itself by the way an anti-racist organization are you kidding me what a joke what a joke actually you know what's interesting is and i've gone around the country giving pro-life speeches it's one of my favorite things to do and also to go to places and celebrate these you know selfless uh counselors who work in their volunteers by the way for the most part who work in these crisis centers and help these women and do so much and and then they're being threatened right now but one of the things I talk about in my speeches, Ryan, are and I've done a lot of study on it, are the parallels between the arguments used to justify slavery and the arguments used to justify abortion. And you talked earlier in this podcast so eloquently about when someone powerful thinks they can decide who is sufficiently

human enough to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we know where it takes us. And the arguments are so similar, even, Ryan, to the point where, you know, in slavery times, there were people who said, I'm personally against slavery. I would never have a slave myself, but who am I to tell someone else not to? We hear that argument all the time. And also another very ugly parallel, very painful, sad parallel is separating children from their parents for profit. We saw that happening all the time in slavery, right?

I mean, it's one of the saddest things you learn. And here again, separating children from their mothers, from their fathers for someone else's profit. Absolutely. I mean, I don't think there are two issues of injustice any more closely tied than slavery and abortion. I mean, first of all, you had the Dred Scott decision, seven to two, just like Roered Scott decision, seven to two,

just like Roe v. Wade, seven to two, that detained an entire group of people less than human. And then you have an industry that profited from, like you said, separating children from their families, from their mothers in particular. And today you have an industry that separates children inside or severs children inside of their mothers

and profits in the billions. And yet people don't see this. Both cases, human beings are being treated like property. They could be bought, sold, traded, or killed. Yeah. We see the organ harvesting. Sean was on the forefront of that, doing hearings and trying to expose the good work that was done by that organization that did the undercover investigation on human baby parts. The sale of baby body parts. Yes. Center for Medical Progress, David Daleiden and Senator Mary.

David Daleiden. That's right. They should be celebrated. Instead, they left. The ultimate whistleblowers. They left to try to incarcerate them. Yeah. The ultimate whistleblowers on one of the most disgusting practices.

Sean, what was it like to be in that hearing? on one of the most disgusting practices. Sean, what was it like to be in that hearing? Listen, first of all, it ties me into, you know, when Democrats talk about, I need people on committees for hearings that only agree with the premise of the hearing. In that select panel that I served on- You're talking about January 6th

has only people who agree with January 6th. Yeah, I gotcha. On the select panel, all the Democrats were in opposition to what we were doing to try to expose the sale of baby body parts from abortion. And they fought us. They argued against us. But we forged on.

But again, you don't always get agreement on people who are going to serve on panels. That was my takeaway. I looked at, you mentioned January 6th, yes, and the select panel on baby body parts. And again, you don't always get to pick the people that agree with the issue of the panel. But it was powerful. It was powerful. I don't think Americans, you know. It's a profit center.

The amount of money that's made, not just on the abortion itself, but then the sale of the baby body parts. It is a huge revenue driver for a number of different companies. And the University of Wisconsin was part of, and other universities across the country were part of buying some of these baby body parts. And this was about exposing this horrific act of the sale of body parts from aborted babies. And I think that was the good work of what we— And it wasn't just the sale, Sean. I mean, this undercover investigation exposed that there were live vivisections.

So there were brains being harvested from babies who were still breathing. I mean, this is the most disgusting, inhumane stuff. And I just think, I love that our movement is learning to communicate and focus on the mom and the help, but we also have to pull the curtain back on the atrocities. Ryan, I'm jumping on Rachel here,

but you mentioned Emanuel Cleaver. Emanuel Cleaver is a friend of mine. I love Emanuel Cleaver. He's, he in so many ways is a wonderful human being, but in regard, you mentioned in regard to the life issue, um, that he used to be pro-life, um, and now to be a Democrat, you have to be pro-abortion and he flipped his position. Um, I position. I think about the power of a few elected leaders, a few people who are willing to stand up and speak out, have the courage to lead a movement. And it could be Emmanuel, it could be other leaders in Congress that could follow your lead to say, you know what, I'm not going to, listen, my values don't match abortion and I'm still a Democrat.

I still believe in all the Democrat issues, but I don't believe in this. And if they had one strong, and I think especially an African-American leader who would stand up and do that, and a pastor, that's right, Rachel, I think you would see so many others follow suit. You'd break the mold that says that to be a Democrat, you have to be pro-abortion. They would break that wide open. And I think it would allow a far greater percent of the African-American community to recognize what's happening to their community with abortion, with where these clinics are located. As Rachel mentioned, in minority and poor communities, we just need one.

Are you trying to get Ryan to run? I get so frustrated with the lack of courage that people have to stand up for this issue. And yes, Ryan, you should run. We'll join the committee, all right? I'll run the committee. I'll make that first donation to your campaign. But I would argue, don't run as a pro-life Democrat. You could run as a pro-life Republican.

Or independent. Or independent. That's all. Or independent. Or independent. Right, right. I have to check with my wife first. We'll have more of this conversation after this. Two freshly cracked eggs any way you like them. Three strips of naturally smoked bacon and a side of toast.

Only $6 at A&W's in Ontario. Experience A&W's classic breakfast on now. Dine-in only until 11 a.m. But I will say, I just want to just throw out there, Senator Katrina Jackson from Louisiana, she is a pro-life Democrat. She is the one behind the Human Love Life Amendment that banned abortion. So there are a tiny handful of black pro-life Democrats.

She's a state level, not federal. State level. State level. Yes. But you're right. Unfortunately, on the Democrat side, there are so few. And it's become even more radicalized to, you know, even far more pro-abortion than even just a few years ago, but there are some out there. And it just breaks my heart to see someone's core principles be so easily shattered. And for what? For some sort of political power, political gain? I don't know how you go from acknowledging that every human life is God, you know, is created in the image of God and has purpose that is God-given to where, oh, it's just a clump of cells and they can be destroyed at will just because someone wants to. Ryan, you're traveling around. You're talking to people all the time.

You're making these very powerful media appearances and not just on Fox. I've seen you on MSNBC and CNN before. Seeing the African-American community wake up to what's happening to their community when it comes to abortion, to the eugenics, to the African-American community is diminishing due to abortion. Yes. And it's so tragic to see this. It's so tragic to see the total manipulation by academia, by a fake news establishment that is constantly. I mean, right now, casting that it's racist to not fund more abortions in the Black community. How many more abortions need to happen in the Black community? But I'm grateful that I've been working with friends of mine, Dr. Alveda King, Reverend Dean Nelson, Reverend Arnold Colbreth, Catherine Davis. I mean, Black pro-life, and again, I hate that I have to qualify this,

but unfortunately for media, I have to, but Black pro-lifers, and some of them Democrats, some of them independents, some of them Republican, but we've been making headway. We've been making headway, but it's slow. I mean, that's the problem when you have so many institutions that are against you ideologically, but we are seeing a change. We are seeing on college campuses and HBCUs and in churches. I mean, I've been in conferences where I remember a bishop came up after the conference. This was sponsored by Care Net, one of the nation's largest pregnancy care centers, pregnancy care associations. A bishop came up on stage after this two-day conference and said, I am so ashamed that I never knew any of this. I will never be the same. And so it's a handful, but I'm all about the remnant because the remnant changes things

all the time. So yes, there are some positive changes, but it's overwhelming the stranglehold that a political party has on the black community and that mainstream media has, and even academia, public schools that, that constantly are telling a false narrative about what's truly going on. You know, Ryan, as I mentioned earlier, I listened to a number of your speeches and interviews, and I think that you're remarkable in how you communicate. It's, it's, it's powerful and it's, And it's compassionate. Thank you. And I wonder as you talk about these issues, what kind of response are you getting if you're talking to someone who may not be pro-life? If you're preaching to the choir, I know what you're going to get. But when you're talking to people who have a different opinion than you do,

how are you met? I mean, because your story is powerful outside of your ability to communicate that story. What response do you get? Do people get angry at you or do they actually, do they listen? And you mentioned earlier, it's hard to penetrate hardened hearts. But is it anger? Is it- Confusion? Is it- What is it? Right. Oh, it's a lot of things. And I just want to say this too,

because preaching to the choir is still important because sometimes the choir does not know the song. That's right. So true. But there are so many, I will say my story definitely is very disarming, even a college campus where you have this rabid sort of mentality when it comes to abortion, because they only get a singular perspective on these college campuses, even many Christian college campuses. And unfortunately, it's not a pro-life perspective. I will tell you that there are times, for instance, I spoke at Harvard, and that was crazy. I had LGBT activists, I had Planned Parenthood activists, I had Me Too activists, they were all not loving me whatsoever. In fact, it was crazy because it

was an auditorium filled with people and the semi-circular sort of tables and everyone had a microphone in front of them and they could talk whenever they wanted to while I was speaking. But I will tell you that there were, there were a handful came up afterward. Um, I said, we wanted to hate you when you, when, when it all first started, but we never heard a story like yours. We never, it's a, you've got us rethinking this. And that was only a group of three kids, three students. But it happens every time that there's one or two, or maybe just a handful who will come up and say, you've, you got me thinking in ways I've never thought about this issue before.

Thank you so much. Or, you know, I remember one time a kid came up and said, wow, you wrecked me out. I came in here wanting to just tell you about how wrong you were and you've actually proven how wrong I was. Thank you. So the reaction is different every time,

but I will say that there are positive reactions. Of course, I still get the hate. I've been protested. I've been, you know, smoke bombed out of, you know, University of Texas in Austin. That was fun. But it's different. But I will tell you that there is something about a personal story where I take things from the abstract to the tangible that does get a hold of people's hearts. And I just thank God for those opportunities. Yeah, you know, we're going to have to close out with you. I have to tell you, I mean, your story is powerful. I want to end with, I mean, you have this powerful story to tell. You have your biological, your adopted family that is just like the vision of pro-life. You have your own family and your beautiful children, your gorgeous wife.

I've seen pictures of them. And you're obviously, you know, living this pro-life message. But what would you say? Because, I mean, there's a lot that can be done through speeches. There's a lot that can be done culturally. But Sean and I, we named our podcast From the Kitchen Table for a reason, because we believe that these values have to first be taught at home. So for those who are listening, and whether they're grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, what would you say to them that they could do with the children that are in their lives to create and bring about a pro-life culture? about your own story or in general that you would want to convey to go, this is how you should or you can teach these children to value life, to understand the dignity of life, to speak for the voiceless, to really say no to this very violent answer to a pregnancy.

It starts in the home. Yes. Yes. Exactly. I mean, we have to teach our children before a broken world reaches them. And I'm glad you asked the question because I should have said this before because my favorite author,

who goes by the name of Bethany Bomberger, wrote a book called Pro-Life Kids. It's prolifekids.com. And if we don't actually start in the home with children and teaching and imparting a pro-life worldview, then we have to do all the extra work to try to change the mind of an adult. And we all know that that's not easy. So, we start by teaching a biblical worldview on how every human life has God-given value.

Oh, my goodness. It changes everything. Kids are naturally pro-life. And so, as a parent, we changes everything. Kids are naturally pro-life. And so as a parent, we reinforce that natural inclination, right? So that's where we start. And in our book, we actually have 10 ways for you to be pro-life in your community. And we talk about pregnancy help centers. It's a great way for kids to be able to volunteer. It's a great way for them to understand the work that is being done, the love that is being shown to mamas and to fathers. There's fatherhood mentoring as well in these pregnancy centers.

So it's a great way for adults to be able to teach young kids, this is what it means to be pro-life. I love how you talked about how pro-life children naturally are. I've been pregnant many times, as you know, Ryan, and kids sometimes want to touch your belly. And I've never had one not say, talk to me about my baby in my belly. They instantly know what's inside my belly. No one ever said, can I put my hand and touch your car or a cat or a fetus or a clump of cells. They all know it's a baby. You're so right. Children have such a capacity for understanding truth without all the influences around us culturally right now. Ryan, your story is amazing. You are amazing. I'm going to pray in Thanksgiving today that your mom chose life um because i can't

imagine our world or our country without you i know your your beautiful family feels the same way but so many of us who just know you you know um tangentially feel the same way about who you are um and and and and the dignity and value of who you are and we just thank your mom for choosing life and we thank your amazing adoptive parents who are your real parents who raised you and who, when you see the photo of you and your family and all your siblings boy, it just makes us inspired and makes us want to do better. So thank you,

Ryan. You're the best. Tell us our view, our listeners again, how they can get to your foundation. The easiest way is to go to radiance.life. I mean, we're on social media, at least for now, we're not censored. Maybe after this podcast. Exactly. Thank you guys. My prayer really is that my life just illuminates that every human life, whether you're planned or unplanned,

able or disabled, every human life has purpose. So thank you for the conversation. I appreciate you guys so much. Well, I'll tell you, you inspire me, Ryan. Thank you so much for joining us. And thanks for being that radiant light for all of us with such a powerful message. God bless you, Ryan.

Thanks for joining us at The Kitchen Table. What an amazing podcast. What an amazing guest. What an amazing, I mean, I'm just kind of floored, Sean. I love him. He's an amazing podcast. What an amazing guest. What an amazing, I mean, I'm just kind of floored, Sean. I love him. He's an amazing communicator with an amazing message. I'm honored that he joined us on the podcast. And again, he's dedicated his life to this movement and bringing the truth about his story and about abortion. So glad to hear he's in the universities

in Harvard and Berkeley and giving that message and giving them an alternative to think about the exception. And he's standing right before them. So great podcast. If you love this podcast, please do rate, review, subscribe, wherever you do that at.

And we'll have you back around the kitchen table next week. Yeah. Have a great week. Bye, everybody. Bye-bye.