The Daily Signal - #378: A Former Planned Parenthood Employee Shares Why She Changed

Episode Date: January 17, 2019

Today is the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and we're joined by Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee who had a change of heart and is now a pro-life advocate. Plus: Rachel del Guidice shares why she's been attending the March for the past 13 years.We also cover these stories:--A day after Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged the president to delay his State of the Union speech, President Trump delayed Pelosi's trip overseas.--A measure pushed by House Republicans that would keep the government closed but would provide pay to affected government employees failed, with only six Democrats voting for it.--Sen. Lindsey Graham re-introduced a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Get the yes you've been waiting for at Capital One.ca.ca. slash yes. Terms and conditions apply. This is the Daily Signal podcast for Friday, January 18th. I'm Kate Trinco. And I'm Daniel Davis. Well, thousands are gathering amidst the cold in Washington, D.C. to participate in the March for Life. Daily Signal reporter Rachel Del Judas is a faithful participant. She hasn't missed March in 13 years. We'll talk with her about how it's changed over the years and what's remained the same. We'll also bring you a conversation that she had with Abby Johnson, who once worked for Planned Parenthood but had a profound change of heart. She tells her story of becoming a pro-life leader and discusses her new film unplanned.

But first, we'll cover a few of the top headlines. Well, President Trump strikes back. Just a day after Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged the president to delay his State of the Union address, the president sent a letter to the speaker, delaying her trip overseas. The letter reads, quote, Dear Madam Speaker, due to the shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed. We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the shutdown is over. In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate.

I also feel that during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me in joining the strong border security movement to end the shutdown. down. Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative. I look forward to seeing you soon and even more forward to watching our open and dangerous southern border finally receive the attention, funding, and security it so desperately deserves. Exclamation mark, end quote. Classic. Well, the partial government shutdown continues for a fifth week. On Thursday, a measure pushed by House Republicans that would keep the government closed but would provide pay to affected employees failed, with only six Democrats voting for it. House Democrats, meanwhile, continue to push legislation that would reopen

the government without funding for the border wall. And remarks Thursday, Trump again stressed the need for a border wall. We need strong barriers and walls. Nothing else is going to work. Everyone knows it. Everybody's saying it now. It's just a question of time. Well, on Thursday in advance of the March for Life, Senator Lindsay Graham reintroduced a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A spokesperson for Graham said that it would provide common sense protections for unborn children at 20 weeks after fertilization, a point at which there is significant scientific evidence that abortion inflicts tremendous pain on the unborn, end quote. 42 other Republicans have joined to co-sponsor the bill, and this comes just days after a new

Marist poll, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, showed that 75% of Americans support banning abortion after three months of pregnancy. Well, speaking of the Knights of Columbus, the Senate has now affirmed its A-OK for judicial nominees to be members of the Catholic organization after the Senate adopted a resolution this week advocated by Senator Ben Sass, Republican of Nebraska. The resolution comes after two Democratic senators, Kamala Harris of California and Maisie Hirono of Hawaii, had asked a judicial nominee, Brian Boucher, about his participation in the organization. Well, seemingly out of nowhere, a Republican member of Congress from Pennsylvania has resigned. Congressman Tom Marino announced on Thursday that he's leaving public office to join the private sector.

Marino had been an ally of President Trump serving in Congress since 2010. This means the governor in Pennsylvania will now have to schedule a special election. Fun times. In remarks of the Pentagon Thursday, President Donald Trump talked about how the Space Force would be a key part of U.S. defense. We will recognize that space is a new warfighting domain with the Space Force leading the way. My upcoming budget will invest in a space-based missile defense layer. It's new technology. It's ultimately going to be a very, very big part of our defense and obviously of our offense. Trump also stressed the importance of missile defense. First, we will prioritize the defense of the American people above all else.

Our review calls for 20 new ground-based interceptors at Fort Greeley, Alaska. and new radars and sensors to immediately detect foreign missiles launched against our great nation. We are committed to establishing a missile defense program that can shield every city in the United States, and we will never negotiate a way or right to do this. Well, up next, Rachel Del Judas sits down with a former employee of Planned Parenthood, who became pro-life. Are you looking for quick conservative policy solutions to current issues? Sign up for Heritage's weekly newsletter, The Agenda. Each Tuesday in the agenda, you will learn what issues Heritage Scholars on Capitol Hill are working on,

what position conservatives are taking, and links to our in-depth research. The agenda also provides information on important events happening here at Heritage that you can watch online, as well as media interviews from our experts. Sign up for the agenda on heritage.org today. So we're joined today on the Daily Signal podcast by Abby Johnson. She's a former Planned Parenthood clinic worker and director who resigned from Planned Parenthood in October 2009. Abby, thank you so much for joining us today. Oh, thanks for having me.

So, Abby, I know that there are many on the Daily Signal podcast who are familiar with your story, but for those who might not be, could you just share with us why you left your job as the clinic director? Sure. I left Planned Parenthood in 2009 after witnessing a live ultrasound guided abortion procedure. Ultrasound guidance during an actual abortion is really rare. They usually don't use an ultrasound during the abortion procedure, but we had a visiting doctor come in and he wanted to show us something different and he thought it would be a good learning experience.

And so I witnessed a 13-week-old baby. fighting and struggling for his life during the abortion procedure. And I knew then that there was humanity in the womb and that abortion was taking the life of this individual human being. And I knew then that I had to leave. So on March 22nd, this is exciting. Theater across the country will be showing your story on a movie for the first time. What has it been like to be part of this process, have your story be created? into a film.

Yeah, so we actually just changed the date to the 29th, so March 29th. It's, you know, it's been crazy. The first time I, well, the first time I saw the film, it was just very overwhelming to see sort of your biggest mistakes up on a screen for everybody to see. I mean, it felt very vulnerable. But I just had to keep reminding myself that this isn't about me. This is really about doing what I can to save lives and to change lives and to bring about conversion, which is, I mean, that's what I'm here to do. But it has been very overwhelming.

I mean, the first time the directors even sent me a picture of the set, I just started crying because I was like, oh my gosh, like it's somebody else living our life. you know, and that's weird. It's weird to see, but they've done such a good job with the film, and they have really done a great job of honoring our family and our story, and it's been beautiful to watch. Is there one thing in the filming production, in the different cast members you've had to work with, that's kind of stood out and maybe made an impression, like, wow,

this is, you know, either an experience you've had or someone that you've worked with in the process that's, just kind of really brought it home for you how monumental this is. This is like an incredible thing that this is happening. Yeah, I think the actress who plays me, Ashley Bratcher, we just had really a great connection from the very start, which is great because I wanted to really love the person individually, not just her acting skills, but love the person who played me.

and I just, I did from the first moment we spoke. I think to see just how affected she was, even just playing out these scenes. You know, it wasn't really happening to her in that moment, but she just, it looks like in the film like it was actually happening to her. I mean, it became so real. I think it went even beyond acting for her. I mean, it was like she could feel.

this pain she could feel the emotionality of what I must have been going through and there were times where she would just break down and cry because it was just so emotional for her to to live that and that's really beautiful and I hope that the film speaks to other people and in that sort of powerful way you mentioned you hoping it speaking to people in powerful ways what would be your message to the Cecile Richards of the world who are, you know, she's a former Planned Parenthood president and now Lena, Dr. When is there? Do you have like a particular message or hope that, you know, others who maybe you've even worked with will come away with if they see it themselves?

You know, I hope that they find truth in the film. I hope that they watch the film. I hope that they go and watch the film, number one. Even if they go to watch as critics, I hope that they will go to watch the film because I do believe that they will walk away feeling like I could see myself in that. story. And, you know, I think one of the fears of particularly abortion doctors, those who are well known in pro-choice circles, it's hard for them to walk away because they're thinking, this is my family, right? This is my identity. And I want them to see just how embraced I was by the pro-life movement, being this big pro-choice clinic director, to now being, you know, speaking. at the March for Life, right, and being embraced by the pro-life community.

I want them to see that there is forgiveness, not just from us. They don't really need it from us, but there is forgiveness from Christ and that it's available to any of them. So one of the things you've done, you found it, and then there were none, which is an organization that reaches out and help people who are clinic workers who want to lead the industry. Can you tell us a little bit about the impact that's had in just the few short years that you've had it around? Yeah, so we have reached, we're right at 500 clinic workers who have left, seven full-time abortion doctors who have left.

And I think it's beautiful because it's just a reminder, another reminder, that conversion is possible for anyone. And I think for a long time, the pro-life movement had seen these people that work in clinics as people who are unreachable. And we're showing them that they are absolutely reachable. but we have to show them love and we have to show them kindness. And once they see that there is a place for them, that they do have a family, a home, a support system outside of the abortion industry, they leave. And we've seen that evidence over and over again.

As a mom, I think you have eight kiddos or seven here, one on the way. What would be your advice and message to folks out there who claim to be women's rights activists, but they say, you know, women can't be leaders and have a faith? family and they can't, they put women into boxes when in fact, you're living proof that women don't be, you know, we're not put in boxes. You know, I think the strongest thing that a woman ever does is choose motherhood. And I think motherhood in itself shows the strength of a woman and it shows that we are capable of having a career, of having a children, that we don't have to choose between one or the other.

and it doesn't mean it's always easy. It doesn't mean that you don't ever have to sacrifice sometimes you do. That's part of being a mom. That's part of life. That's just part of being a decent human being, sometimes having a sacrifice for others. But truly, the most empowering, the most liberating thing I've ever done is give birth to children.

And women can do it. You can have both. and I think the abortion industry tells women that they're too weak. They don't see the strength of women. And I feel like those of us who are pro-life, we do see that strength. And that's why we are the group that can truly say that we are for women. Last question. What are some of the challenges and opportunities you see for the pro-life movement today?

I know I think we're coming up. We're going to, the 45th March for Life is tomorrow, and we're, you know, looking at different challenges, opportunities as 2019 starts. What are some of those and what is your advice going into 2019? You know, I think we have an opportunity. I love the theme of the March for Life this year, that pro-life is pro-science. I think we have a real opportunity for people of faith and people who have no-faith tradition to really reach out to anyone and everyone with pro-life apologetics.

We need to learn more about why we are pro-life. We need to learn the scientific reasons for being pro-life. You know, the conservative base is primarily Christian, and I'm also a person of faith. But we as Christians should have no problem talking about the scientific basis for life, because we know that that life comes from our creator. So we need to be able to articulate a pro-life message,

both from a faith-based perspective and from a scientific perspective, to draw more people in. And I feel like we really have a good opportunity to do that in the next few years to draw maybe non-traditional pro-lifers into the pro-life movement and to show them that they do have a home here. I also see huge opportunities for expansion of pregnancy resource centers, funding for those centers, funding for pro-life medical facilities. You know, I don't get too caught up on defunding Planned Parenthood. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but Republicans have had many, many opportunities to do that.

They have not done it so far. I'm not getting caught up in the politics of that. I'm not really, my end goal is not simply to make abortion. illegal, but it's to make abortion unthinkable. And I think that more and more people are coming around to that perspective. Well, Abby, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you. Do you have an opinion that you'd like to share? I'm Rob Blewey, editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal, and I'm inviting you to share your thoughts with us. Leave us a voicemail at 202-608-6205, or email us at Letters at DailySignal.com.

Yours could be featured on the Daily Signal podcast. So, joining us today is our Daily Signal colleague, Rachel Del Judas, who has been to the March for Life for the past 13 years, which is, I mean, longer than I've done anything except like my education. So very impressive. Rachel, tell us what you've observed at the March all these years. What stood out to you and why has it been so important for you to attend? Well, it's been so important for me to attend because. my parents are always very pro-life and it was always a dream of mine to go to the March for Life. And I remember my first year going at 12 years of age.

I had imagined it would be an amazing event, but I had no idea what it would feel like and just the massive crowds that are there. When I'd seen news coverage from it at home and listen to things on the radio, obviously we know that the March for Life doesn't really ever get covered fairly and the crowds that are there, it's never put an actual perspective for people who are at home viewing. but you enter the mall that it's covered in people. It's just like a sea of people. And I remember stepping off when we finally started marching

because you're just waiting and waiting because these massive crowds, buses are unloading from streets that kind of like branch off the mall. And you finally make it to the mall. There's this cool rally with music and different pro-life speakers. That's really inspiring. And then when you finally start marching,

it's like this very slow process. And I remember being lifted off my feet, kind of like just this huge crowd. That's sometimes what happens when you're in such a massive crowd. And I was like, wow, so this is what it's like. But I love the pro-life movement. I think that this is the most important movement of our day,

supporting moms who find themselves in crisis around plain pregnancies and supporting their children and telling these women that, you know, you don't have to sacrifice your child to have a successful future. That's what the pro-life movement is all about. And I think sometimes it is mischaracterized, but that's what the attitude is at the March for Life. And I just am so glad that people like myself, there's so many youth who come that can speak to that fact and counter the other narrative that we hear all the time.

Yeah, that's always what's surprising me about the march. And of course, I've only been like three times and that's even 13 times. So that's a pretty long, you know, span. And you can kind of look back and compare different years. And I'm just curious, you know, how has it changed over the years? I think the beautiful thing about it, in its needs. and in the people who come, it hasn't changed. It has remained like one of the most youthful events I've ever been to.

I mean, it's mostly high school and college students that come that are so excited to be there that basically don't sleep for a couple of days, depending on where they're traveling. I mean, I knew people who would drive out on buses from California, Oregon. I mean, they're driving for days. I would go from Ohio. So it was only, I would miss, you know, a night of sleep, but that's nothing compared to what some other people had to do. But the beautiful thing about it is that it hasn't changed.

It's such a beautiful event. It's such a young event. There are older people who come, but we young people do outnumber them quite a lot. I do have to say, though, the one year that kind of is set apart for me, it's kind of a funny story. So there was a big, this is 2016, just a few years ago, a big snow storm forecast in, you know, that was being announced. And we had bus drivers texting us, and people were, you know, the leaders in the group were saying, hey, we need to leave. leave and we didn't end up leaving. So we were stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 42 hours. Oh, you were one of those buses? I was one of those buses. Yes. So I'll never forget that.

That was kind of like the one year. So you just sat in the bus for 42 hours. We sat on the bus for 42 hours. We didn't. I mean, I brought a phone charger. Thank God. There's like there's like something in me that was like, I wish I would have brought like more water bottles, like granola bars. But there's one thing that's only like, you should. No, we didn't. So the National Guard came out and gave us MREs. And then the other fun thing. one pizza for a bus of like 40 people. So someone cut this pizza with their credit card, and I could not partake. I was just like, this is like where I draw my line here. I'm not doing this. Well, actually, you know, it's interesting you bring that up because, you know, I think germs on it. I'm sorry.

I know. No, I know. That was my thing. Get past credit card game. Thank you, Daniel. Thank you. Sounds like that person would be a survivor if there was a zombie apocalypse. True.

Anyway, and that, pushing that aside. No, I think, you know, being from California and being a total weather wimp, one thing that is always amaze me about the March for life is it seems inevitably some of the worst weather all year happens that Friday. And people still come out in March. They come out in the cold. Like, one of the years that I was here at Daily Signal, I remember sending someone out. And it was so cold that they hadn't had middens or something. They were like, I'm going to die. So they had to buy middens to go out and cover it.

And, of course, you just see all these people. It's still thousands and thousands and thousands. But, of course, it's probably the most ignored event in the mainstream media. Like, any of the mainstream media channels, you won't see it. I think the Washington Post a couple years ago said that when there was like that big blizzard and there were still thousands of people that marched, they referred to them as hundreds. Yeah. I think the Post, I think the Post has actually done some more coverage in the past years, actually.

As compared with like. Yeah, but you're right. Obviously, in general, this is the march that attracts tens of thousands. And the Washington Times, they even highlighted a report in 2017 that found that the women's march was covered three times as much than the March for Life, which, I mean, we don't need to be told that, but it's just interesting to see those numbers because it's reflected. When you turn on the TV, you wouldn't know what's going on if you weren't actually aware. Right. So one other thing I wanted to ask you is if you could talk a little bit more about the experiences like, my understanding, I've only been on it once, is that some people pray, people sing, people just chat. How have you all these years? How have you approached it? Or it's been different things? Sure, yeah. So in high school, I went with a group called the Pearl Leaf Youth Congress. I was active with them. They had chapters across Ohio in the country and a few in Canada. So I went as their secretary one year and as the president, my senior year. And it was a fun time. It was a fun time. a lot of high school students. I was in high school then. So we were very happy and excited to be there. But during parts of the route, like we would start at the rally, we'd be very excited. And then

once we started marching, there would be times where we would just pray quietly or pray a rosary together. And then there would also be times where we would just enjoy, take pictures, talk about what we would want to, you know, memories we would want to bring back home. I know there's been times where, you know, you're marching with these thousands and thousands of people and sometimes you meet someone along the way and they have an interesting story to tell that's happened to me before. We took pictures of the sign. So it was kind of a mix of a little bit of everything. And then in college, I went with different friends and church groups and then Franciscan University when I transferred there in 2014. And they're a prayerful bunch. Always great to be with.

We would take seven or eight buses every year. And I think they're bringing, I think, about eight or nine this year. So I'll get to see them, which I'm super excited. for. But we would all, we always pray together. And then we do try to share and talk. But it's always been mentioned by people I knew, the adult leaders in high school, as well as our president is doing this for Life at Francisco, and that we do want to make this a reverent time too, and not just have fun, but remember the lives that have been lost. Well, it's going to be an interesting day out there. Rachel, thanks so much for coming in and sharing your experience. Well, thank you guys for having me. And that'll do it for today's

episode. Thanks for much for listening to the Daily Signal podcast, brought to you from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. Please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud, and please leave us a review or rating on iTunes to give us feedback. Rob and Rachel will be with you on Monday. You've been listening to the Daily Signal podcast, executive produced by Kate Trinko and Daniel Davis. Sound design by Michael Gooden, Lauren Evans, and Thalia Rampersad. For more information, visitdailySignal.com.