The Daily Signal - Election Wins and Losses for Pro-Life Movement

Episode Date: November 9, 2020

The pro-life movement can celebrate some victories after last week’s election.  Chelsey Youman, Texas state director and national legislative adviser for Human Coalition Action, joins the show to discuss the significance in Texans' decision to keep a pro-life majority in the state House, and to reelect Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a staunch advocate for the unborn.  Youman also breaks down Colorado’s vote to maintain late term abortions, and why Louisiana voters decided to amend the state Constitution to explicitly state that abortion is not a right.  We also read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a young man who hit a major home run for his community by making baseball bats to raise money for local storm victims.  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Monday, November 9th. I'm Robert Blewe. And I'm Virginia Allen. On today's show, we talk with Chelsea Yeoman, the Texas State Director and National Legislative Advisor for Human Coalition Action. Chelsea and I discuss pro-life elective victories in Texas and the future of the pro-life movement. We also read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a young man who

hit a major home run for his community by making baseball bats to raise money for local storm victims. The Daily Signal brings you the news you trust on the most important policy debates of the day. We cut through the liberal media spin and provide honest, thorough, and responsible reporting on today's critical issues. And that has never been more important than it is right now. But we can't do it without the help of patriots like you. So consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to the Daily Signal and help us build the conservative momentum this year and for generations to come. With your help, we can build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish.

To give, scroll down to the bottom of the Daily Signals homepage and click on the donate button. Now stay tuned for today's show coming up next. I am joined by Chelsea Yeoman, the Texas State Director and National Legislative Advisor for Human Coalition Action. Chelsea, welcome to the show. Thanks so much for having me. Now, Reverend Dean Nelson, the executive director of Human Coalition Action, he's joined us a couple different times on the podcast to share a little bit about the work that you all do. But for anyone that is not familiar, can you just share a little bit about the mission of

human coalition action? Yes, absolutely. Well, I'll start because our mission actually began around 10 years ago with our sister organization, Human Coalition. And it is the largest network of pro-life clinics serving women in need day in, day out, who are facing unexpected pregnancies and considering abortion. And we come alongside them. We help stabilize their circumstances, help them go from dependence to independence. And in that process, save thousands of babies' lives. So I'm really grateful to be a part

of that ministry. But they have such a wealth of knowledge about women who are seeking abortion, what their needs are, the underlying reasons and issues that there really is for abortion demand. on that side of the equation. And we decided to translate all of that into meaningful policy reform, pro-life policy reform. So that's where Human Coalition Action entered the picture. I'm the Texas State Director and the National Legislative Advisor. And we really work with state legislatures, the Congress, government officials and figures to say, let's translate all this information we have about why women are seeking abortion into legislation and policies that will really move the meter for abortion.

That's so needed. It's so important to cross that bridge and actually be talking about, okay, how do we implement this legislatively to bring about that positive change and reform? And Chelsea, with this election, there was so many critical races that the pro-life movement, those in the pro-life movement were watching really, really closely. And we did see a lot of great victories for the unborn through this election. So let's talk for a moment. moment about Texas specifically. The media anticipated that a liberal majority would gain control of the Texas State House. But what actually ended up happening on Tuesday? Well, like the rest of the country, and there was actually a surprise, the polling was wrong, the media was wrong. And it really showed that Texans are very principled voters. We did not lose a single Republican House vote this election cycle. We did lose 12 in 2018, but we didn't lose a single one now. In fact, the state showed a very strong red voter turnout, higher voter turnout than in 2016 statewide and all these districts. And our PAC, the pro-life Texans, for the first time, we joined in these competitive

races and came alongside some very strong pro-life candidates at the state level. And three of our representatives, Leach, Shaheen, and Morgan Meyer, all in very competitive races won, ultimately. So we saw victory statewide here because as you and we all know, pro-life legislation is really passed at the state level. And so defending against the bulkwork of the left against our pro-life measures, that's so important to keep at the state level. And we really did in the state of Texas this last election. We're talking with Chelsea Yeoman of Human Coalition action. You know, Chelsea, it's interesting to see how for, I think for so many Americans, often the life issue has kind of becomes a foundation in their decision-making process about how they will vote. Have you all, as you've talked to constituents across Texas, have you all found that that, you know, for voters when it comes to choosing, okay, these are the candidates I'm going to.

support, how important is that life issue to them? Well, you know, it's pretty diverse because the evangelical Christian and Catholic crowds, anyone who really has a Christian worldview, we know that that's the only worldview that actually supports life in the womb and God's story for our creation and our just inherent dignity as humans comes from a Christian worldview. And so for Christians, absolutely, the life issue is usually paramount when they're considering issues before them. And I often speak to both at churches or publicly at public speaking engagements about really it's the only issue on your ballot that results in life or death. It's a truly

large consequences this issue has on our people and on humanity. So it is very important. But I'll also say we did see for the first time in this election Christians previously conservative using the life issue as an excuse to not vote for the Republican. I mean, we can get a little bit more into that if you want, but I was very actually disturbed by that trend. We saw so many saying, well, abortion, you know, misidentifying and really misleading people on abortion rates and statistics as a way to vote against President Trump. And that was concerning to me, especially when you look at states like Colorado,

who are so extreme with the prop that they just failed to pass. The left and the Democratic Party platforms are truly more extreme on abortion than they've ever been in history. So you really need to understand as a voter when you're going to the polls, the party stance is behind the candidates. Yeah, let's get into that a little bit more because I find that interesting that you have now this kind of contingent within what were maybe once more traditional conservatives. that are starting to say, well, you know, maybe, maybe that life issue isn't reason enough. Is that what you're saying? Isn't really reason enough anymore to continue to vote for conservative principles? Yes, yes.

Well, we did see nationwide more pro-life representatives elected to Congress than ever. I think we have 14 more pro-life women than we did last week in Congress. So that's incredible. But at the top of the ballot, that's where I really saw. this debate break down. And so if you, but you need to understand that you're voting for a party, not just a person. And the Democrat Party platforms include repealing the Hyde Amendment. So your taxpayer dollars funding a woman's abortion.

Unrestricted abortion. And I quote, all state and national Democrat Party platforms say that there should be no restrictions ever on abortion. And we have seven states that that do that right now that fail to have any restrictions through the third trimester. really up until the moment of birth, women can get abortions in seven of our state. So we certainly have work to do in our movement to help them understand just how dark this issue is, the reality of it with that party.

Yeah, yeah. Like you say, we certainly do still have work to do. So what are you all at Human Coalition Action? What are your plans moving forward? Obviously, we received some great news from. Texas, this election. But how are you all moving forward going to continue to push for legislation that upholds all life? I love that question. We have, I mean, we have so much work to do. I had state members texting me the day after they won their election saying, let's talk, we have work

to do. So we're already looking ahead to a very robust session where we've got pre-born lives to protect. And so, yes, at Human Coalition Action, we draft legislation and we work with members to pass it. I love that we have such a strong pro-life majority in Texas really has the opportunity to lead. But our legislation, it looks a little bit different sometimes because while, yes, we're very supportive of abortion regulations any way that they come. We're also looking at abortion trends and preempting those trends, things like telemedicine abortions are on the rise. International shipment of abortion pills are on the rise. The intersects between the abortion industries and human trafficking is very, very important for legislative. leaders to get ahead on. And so we're looking at all of that. I like to say we look at the demand

side of the equation. The reasons women are seeking abortion and try to alleviate those pain points for women by providing them resources, helping them become dependent and really telling them that they can. And that includes policies towards that end. So that's a little bit how we're different. We are looking ahead. We're highly strategic. And we certainly have our work cut out for us. You certainly do. Well, and I know one of the victories that you all were super excited by in Texas was that Representative Chip Roy was reelected. He defeated abortion activist Wendy Davis. Talk a little bit about why that race was so significant for the prolective in Texas. This was a really interesting race because the makeup of his district of Congressman Chip Roy's district. It's the 21st district and it covers. portions of Austin and San Antonio that are extremely liberal, but there's also rural hill country in that region. So it's a really great diverse voting population. I think it really emulates the diversity we have in the state of Texas. And he won big time. He beat Wendy Davis.

And if you guys remember her name, I know that not everyone's from Texas, but Wendy Davis received the nickname a few years ago as abortion Barbie. And that's not a joke. She is really extreme on abortion. She fought a lot of abortion reform at the state level when she was a legislator. And so the fact that she did lose as soundly as she did to Congressman Roy in such a diverse district really encouraged me that abortion extremism pushed away voters and we still have principled voters in the state who even if they do sometimes err on the side of moderation in the political party land, that they're willing to say, no, we still want a pro-life candidate to be elected. So that was a really important race and one that, of course, as always,

the Republican was projected to lose, but he pulled it off. So exciting. Now, it's great to see those wins and such a huge win for the pro-life movement. Now, you did mention Colorado earlier, and I want to discuss just what we saw there. The news wasn't as positive coming. And, out of Colorado, there was a vote on the ballot to ban late-term abortions. And unfortunately, 59% of the population there, of voters there voted in order to keep late-term abortions legal. What was your reaction when you learned about this very pro-abortion decision? I was actually very surprised because, you know, by some polling by the Marist, the Marist, the poll came out earlier this year that 75% of the general public really are in favor of some form of

abortion regulations. So these voters in Colorado to me represent that that extra 25%, the kind of most extreme populations that we have in our country that are so pro-abortion that they're willing to even be pro-late-term abortion, anything past 22 weeks. And they even had exemptions for you know, rape and incest and things like that, that typically the left is important to the left or middle of the road voters. So I was, of course, discouraged to see that. It reminded me how much work we have to do to help people understand human dignity and the importance of life and when it begins, the scientific and medical facts that we know to be true about life in the womb. Those should speak for themselves. And I really think we have a long way to go and making

sure all voters look at the reality of what abortion is. It is the ending of a human life, an innocent human life. So it's important to note that Colorado did that. And I mentioned a little bit earlier, I want conservatives who maybe had a hard time getting on board with the Republican cited a ticket this time to take note of this, that the left is extreme on abortion. And Colorado voters really voted fully in line

with the Democrat Party platforms. it's indistinguishable. Now, the news out of Louisiana was a little bit more, more positive, much more positive. A 62% majority in Louisiana voted to amend the state constitution and explicitly state that abortion is not a right. I find this really fascinating that they chose to do this. Why do you see this as so important to lay out right in their constitution that abortion is not a right? It's really where all of our rights begin, right, is the Constitution. And the right to life is something that, you know, we would, we think should, the Constitution should protect.

And they called this the love life amendment. And I think that's so, so important just to say from the basic platforms of our society, the basic infrastructure of our society is our constitution and that we're going to defend life beginning there. That's so important. But also from a legal standpoint, if the Roe versus Wade or Casey versus Planned Parenthood framework is overturned, so the right to abortion is given back to the states by the Supreme Court, hopefully any, you know, any term now, but in the next few years, Louisiana would then have the constitutional protections for preborn babies in place that abortion could be outlawed. And that's something all states should, if you are in a pro-life state, should be looking towards constitutional or

statutory amendments like Louisiana just let out in, follow their lead because at the moment Roe versus Wade is overturned, it really just goes back to the states and Louisiana took the helm on this one. And do you know if there are other states that either have tried to implement that kind of language in their state constitutions or that are looking to do so right now? I know a lot of states have attempted this. I know that Texas took a look at some legislation like this. We've got a lot of very robust protections. Typically in the southern states, Mississippi is always looking at these issues. And then another way that people do this is through trigger bills, which are essentially

bills that state in the event Roe versus Wade or Casey is overturned by the Supreme Court. We will then outlaw abortion automatically. It's called a trigger bill. Most states are looking at passing those and really should get a move on it. So it's so hard, obviously, to know what the future holds. but what is the message that you want to share with pro-lifers right now? What should they know as we all continue to move forward together in the fight to just protect you? I would say a message of hope is when we're looking at the news right now and there's so much back and forth and uncertainty right now at the top of the ticket, but understand in your state at your state level, that is where pro-life legislation is passed.

And we now have originalist conservative judges to uphold that legislation when it, is undoubtedly going to be challenged. We need conservative judges to say that states have the rights to regulate abortion and help women choose life. And so I think from a political, a legal standpoint, we have a lot of reasons to be hopeful. But for anyone who's generally pro-life out there, continue to engage on this issue in a political way, not just from your church pews, not just in your communities where you're serving and donating to great pro-life entities, but we now have so much opportunity to do

final pushes on the legal and policy side of things. Hearts and minds are with hearts and minds are with us. And I think the truth of abortion and the importance of protecting life has has risen to the surface over the last few decades. So continue to engage. And there's a lot to be excited about on the horizon. Chelsea, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate your time today. You got it. Anytime. Are you looking for quick conservative policy solutions to current issues? Sign up for Heritage's weekly newsletter, The Agenda. 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.

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This one has what I was looking for. I can only complain about the fact there's not more of it. More please. That's wonderful. And certainly we appreciate that review and others. So we encourage all of our listeners to make sure you give us that five-star rating and leave a comment. And in response to Judge Swalbach's piece, protecting learning pods from unnecessary regulations, Fortina writes,

Take back teaching authority. It belongs to the parents. Government schooling is a failure, which is why pods are popular. And now they are claiming authority to tell us how to raise our kids. We the people will decide who has the authority, not those employed by the government. Your letter could be featured on next week's show. So send us an email at Letters at DailySignal.com. Do you have an interest in public policy?

Do you want to hear some of the biggest names in American politics speak? Every day, the Heritage Foundation host webinars called Heritage Events Live. Webinar topics range from ethics during the COVID-19 pandemic to the CARES Act and the economy. These webinars are free and open to the public. To find the latest webinars and register, visit heritage.org slash events. Virginia, it's my favorite part of Monday. You have a good news story to share with us again today. Over to you.

Thanks, Rob. It's a good time for some good news. Well, back in August, Iowa was struck by a massive storm known as a Dorachio. Wind gusts reach up to 99 miles an hour, and torrential rain destroyed millions of acres of crops and left thousands without power. 12-year-old Tommy Romberg saw that many people in his hometown of Mount Vernon, Iowa were struggling to recover after the storm caused so much property damage. But he had an idea for how to help. Using wood from down trees and branches, Tommy began making baseball bats to raise money for those whose property had been lost or damaged by the Durachio. The first bat he carved by hand for a friend whose birthday party had been canceled because of the storm.

but after making only one bat requests began to pour in from others in the community who wanted their own homemade baseball bat. Tommy still had blisters on his hand from carving the first one, so he knew that he was going to need some help in order to fill all those orders. And so his family very generously, they bought him a lathe, and his grandfather stepped up to help per CBS News. I just wanted to raise money so we could help them rebuild. I feel like it's really helping people. He's now made over 100 bats and is donating $20 from every order to the Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation to help those impacted by the storm. And so far, he's raised more than $2,500.

Tommy is not taking new orders right now because he says that his parents won't let him drop out of sixth grade to make the bats full time. But he does hope to be taking orders again soon. You can learn more by visiting the great durate show.com. What a great story. And as a baseball fan myself, it definitely piques my interest, Virginia. Thanks so much for finding that. Of course. It's a pretty fun story for today.

It sure is. Well, we're going to leave it there for today. You can find the Daily Signal podcast and all of our shows on the Rikishie Audio Network. They're also available at daily signal.com slash podcasts. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcast, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. And be sure to listen every weekday by adding the Daily Signal podcast as part of your Alexa Flash briefing. If you like what you hear, please leave us a review and a five-star rating.

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