The Daily Signal - INTERVIEW | What Real Challenges Are for Pro-Life Movement in Post-Roe v. Wade America

Episode Date: April 20, 2023

The fight to protect life is, in some ways, even more challenging today than it was a year ago, Brian Westbrook says. The Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, was a major victory for life, according to Westbrook, founder and executive director of the national sidewalk counseling organization Coalition Life. But, he adds, "there's a lot of work that needs to be done.” “Our opponents are not going away, and we need to be vigilant in fighting back and ensuring that we can protect mothers and protect children,” Westbrook says. In the state of Illinois, for example, there's a bill being pushed by pro-abortion advocates that could “shut down the 90 different [varieties] of pregnancy centers and maternity homes in Illinois,” he says.  In an effort to encourage and mobilize the pro-life movement, Coalition Life is inviting Americans to St. Louis on April 29 for a march to support women and be a voice for the unborn.  Westbrook joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the opposition the pro-life movement is currently facing and why sidewalk counseling remains such a powerful tool in serving women facing a crisis pregnancy.  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We prayed and we prayed for the reversal of Roe versus Wade for so many years. But on the other side of Roe versus Wade, on the other side of the Dobbs decision, it's actually become that much harder. This is the DailySitnell podcast for Thursday, April 20th. I'm Virginia Allen. And that was Brian Westbrook, executive director and founder of the sidewalk counseling organization Coalition Life. The fight to protect life is in some ways, even more. more challenging today than it was a year ago, according to Westbrook. In the state of Illinois, for example, Westbrook says there is a bill being pushed by pro-abortion

advocates that could shut down the 90 different varieties of pregnancy centers and maternity homes in the state. The Supreme Court's ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade was a major victory for life. But according to Westbrook, pro-abortion activists are not going away, and we need to be vigilant in fighting back and ensuring that we can protect mothers and protect children. In an effort to encourage and mobilize the pro-life movement, Coalition Life is inviting Americans to St. Louis on April 29th for a march to support women and be a voice for the unborn. Westbrook is joining me here on the show today to discuss the opposition the pro-life movement is currently facing and why sidewalk-caughtsouth.

Counseling remains such a powerful tool to serve women facing crisis pregnancy. Stay tuned for our conversation after this. Conservative women, conservative feminists. It's true. We do exist. I'm Virginia Allen. And every Thursday morning on problematic women, Lauren Evans and I sort through the news to bring you stories that are of particular interest to conservative leaning or problematic women. That is women whose views and opinions are often excluded.

or mocked by those on the so-called feminist left. We talk about everything from pop culture to politics and policy. Search for problematic women wherever you get your podcasts. And we are also problematic on social media. So be sure to follow us on Instagram. Brian Westbrook is the executive director and founder of the National Sidewalk Counseling Organization Coalition Life. And Brian joins us now. Brian, welcome to the show.

Oh, it's an honor to be here. Good to see you. Or hear you, I suppose. Absolutely. Well, you all founded, you founded Coalition Life. Talk a little bit about that process of what was your heart behind founding Coalition Life. What is your mission? Well, our mission is to end abortion peacefully and prayerfully, and we do that through sidewalk counseling and going out directly to where these abortions are happening. We understand that there's a lot of need in the political process, but what we do is we go directly to these women. We offer them help and healing and an opportunity to choose life. We also run a pregnancy center in the St. Louis area, and we partner with groups around the country, specifically here in the Midwest.

We have a lot of individuals on the ground, and we just are excited to be able to save lives, and we've had well over 3,500 turnarounds in front of these abortion facilities. So neat. Sidewalk counseling has played such a huge role in the pro-life movement for decades. But have things changed now that we're in a post-row America? Are the challenges different? What is the landscape changed as far as those who are taking the time to stand outside abortion clinics and talk to Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's actually, we prayed and we prayed for the reversal of Roe versus Wade for so many years.

But on the other side of Roe versus Wade, on the other side of the Dobbs decision, my wife and I laugh about it, and a lot of other pro-life leaders laugh about it. It's actually become that much harder to go to where abortions are happening. So we had a lot of activity in Missouri, but of course, what happened is that the trigger ban was signed in Missouri about 10 minutes after the Dobbs decision happened. And so a lot of our activity is in Illinois and other states that are a little more liberal, if you would call them. And there's a lot of work that needs to be done there. And so for instance, in state of Illinois, they're opening the floodgates. Come on in.

And so there's a little town called Carvindale, Illinois, southern town. in Illinois, where they already built two abortion facilities. The third is being built right now with plants even bring more abortions into Southern Illinois. Even the network, Graze Anatomy, even talk specifically in their sitcom about how important Carbondale in Southern Illinois are to the abortion battle. So a lot of landscape is changing. If you look in New Mexico, a place called Las Cruces, New Mexico. A lot of abortions and abortionists are flooding to New Mexico from Mississippi and from Texas and around the country. So we have to go where abortions happen.

So considering that and how the landscape has changed in a post-row America, what are the greatest challenges would you say within the next, I don't know, maybe two or three years? Like what is at stake when we talk about the pro-life movement and we look at various legislatures? that's being pushed? Well, I mean, again, we'll talk about my two favorite states, Illinois and Missouri. But in Illinois, there's a bill already moving through that state level, which is called SB 1909. 1909, in a sense, its goal is to shut down the 90 different variety of pregnancy centers and maternity homes in Illinois. And basically what it does is it gives the Attorney General full jurisdiction. over whether or not the pregnancy centers are using factual data.

And so if the Attorney General doesn't like the data or believes that we're omitting data about abortions and where they could get abortions and we're not referring back to an abortion facility, in fact, then we could be sanctioned with $50,000 fines and all of our assets could be seized as well. So this is a real threat in the state of Illinois. I'll be in the Springfield, Illinois here in the next week or so, pushing back on that. In Missouri, of course, we are a pro-life state, yet a referendum vote. A change to the Constitution only requires a 50 percent votes. And a lot of states are like this.

A complete change to the Constitution requires just a simple majority. And so there are already ballot initiatives that are moving forward that would remove any and all restrictions on abortion in the state of Missouri, even threatening the pregnancy centers and how they would operate. So we need to understand that they are not going away. Our opponents are not going away. And we need to be vigilant in fighting back and ensuring that we can protect mothers and protect children. And when you all talk to those mothers, when you talk to those children and care for those children and provide that care after a child is born, what are some of the stories that you hear from women when you're talking to them outside an abortion clinic? What are usually the reasons that they get for why they're there and why they feel like abortion is the option that they have in front of them? Yeah, absolutely. It really comes down to one major reason. and which is they feel like they have no choice, which is really quite ironic because the so-called

pro-choice movement keeps talking about, this is about choice, this is about the woman empowerment, but I haven't talked to a woman in front of the abortion facility where she says, I want to be empowered and I want to exercise my rights. They all talk about having no other choice, and they feel stuck and pressured and coerced into having this abortion. And so it really comes down to beyond that, the financial means to be able to care for a child and then the relationships that they have with other individuals. So the financial needs is actually the best reason that I love hearing because we can do so much for these women. We can provide – there was a client we worked with.

We provided a car for her, and we worked with a lot of other agencies to provide – medical bills that we had helped her pay and also a lot of the other variety of bills that she had. But one of the clients I was able to meet on the sidewalk in front of the abortion facility, she was an interesting young lady. She was dancing at a local place. She had tattoos, her housing. It had all kinds of rodents and other things. and she already had children of her own.

And her reason was that if she was pregnant and needed to dance, if you will, she would get fired. And so it's just a few conversations, you know, a few words of encouragement and also working with our local pregnancy centers. There is help. So with this young lady, we were not only able to help her find a job, but we were also able to help her find a job, but we were also able to help her get out of the housing situation. She was into a maternity home and eventually into long-term housing situation. We see these stories over and over again. We serve over 700 clients each year, and we see in a month's time, we see about 30 turnarounds every single month out in front of these abortion facilities.

So these are real women. These are real conversations that we're having, and it's really important that we both, go to the abortion facilities anywhere in the country and also provide that backbone of support, which is our pregnancy centers. It's the backbone of the pro-life movement, and it's incredibly important that we continue to support them. Well, and when you hear stories like that, it feels a little mind-blowing that then you would have lawmakers who are pushing to pass legislation that would make it very, very hard for these centers to do their job. I mean, are they hearing these stories or are they just looking the other way?

Well, I think the politicians specifically in Illinois or California or New York, these politicians have a very, very specific agenda. And I might be so bold to say that they have a satanic agenda. I mean, we see right now a satanic temple is planning or is operating abortion facilities around the country. The Satanic Temple is the one who is suing a variety of different states because they believe it's a religious right to have an abortion. And so a lot of times us pro-lifers talk about how it's important to follow the money and where is the money going. But I've always thought that there's a lot of other ways that they can make a lot more money and do immoral things, such as pornography and whatnot. not, but it's really just a matter of they have an ideology that they want to push.

And the pregnancy centers and the pro-life movement were just in the way. And so that's why they're pushing this legislation. It's not about them hearing the stories. In fact, when they hear the stories, they get upset because that was a victory, victory for the pro-life movement. That's a victory for that mother and for that child. And they're pushing back. Yeah.

Well, and of course, we know that more than half of all abortions in the United States are conducted using the abortion pill. Mithipristone is the pill that's really being up for debate right now. And we've watched this case move first in Texas. A judge ruled that the Food and Drug Administration was wrong to back in the year 2000 approve the drug. Of course, that decision was appealed. And now the Supreme Court has an opportunity to weigh in. And as this case is moving through the legal system, what's really at stake here when we talk about the possibility of the abortion pill being banned across America? Well, I mean, we talk about the abortion pill specifically, but what I think is the deeper at stake moment is the Comstock laws.

The Comstock clause were passed in 1873, and they've been whittled down over the years. They went so far as to outlaw notes that you would pass to your wife or send through the mail if they're a little more obscene or pornography. But the Comstock law specifically outlaw the movement of abortion causing drugs, abortion causing paraphernalia, and things that would help an abortion. And so the Comstock laws are law of the land, but in 1973, 100 years later, abortion became a, quote, fundamental right. And so with the Dobbs decision, about 50 years later, we see the reversal of this so-called fundamental right, which makes the Comstock laws still in effect. And so any attorney general today and any local municipality can point to these Comstock laws and say, look, you cannot move any abortion-causing drugs or abortion-causing paraphernalia,

including the abortion pill throughout the country. And so in a sense, we already have an abortion ban on the books at the federal level. We just need judges and attorney generals and other prosecuting attorneys to move these things forward. And I think that's really what's at stake. It's not just the abortion pill, but it's abortion nationwide. So let's say that the ruling from the judge in Texas stands the abortion pill is no longer allowed to be sold or distributed in the United States. What does that mean for the work of the pro-life movement? How is that going to shift or change or will it shift and change any of the strategy of the pro-life movement moving forward?

Well, I think what was already shifting and changing was the fact that there's some 75 plus. websites out there today that a woman can get an abortion pill just simply mailed to her house. A lot of these are out of the country websites that then can mail a lot of these abortion pills into their state, even if abortion is outlawed in that state. It's very difficult to track. And so what was really changing is still changing in the pro-life movement is how to combat that on the internet. And so how do we become really smart marketers to be able to be in, in front of the women when they're on their phone and it's midnight, they just learned that they were pregnant and they're upset about this whole situation.

Can we be savvy marketers to make sure that we are in front of them while they're looking up these different keywords? One of my favorite keywords that always pops up was how to cause a natural miscarriage. We wouldn't really think about that, but as they're Googling or searching for these terms, should be right there in front of them. So the pro-life movement is, continues to shift to the internet and move beyond Google and Facebook. There's so many other ways to advertise to these women through a variety of different ways, and we need to be doing that on the front end. We also need to move towards education in our schools. Quite frankly, we're losing that

battle all around the country. We're losing school boards, and so we need to be back in our schools educating our young people on the importance and the sanctity of human life. But this decision potentially could put us back to the on the ground typical pro-life activities, both through our pregnancy centers and also sidewalk counseling. And I know that as as things continue to move along and we're watching legislation being debated and all of these things, you all have purposed that you want to sort of bring encouragement to the pro-life movement. One of the ways that you all are doing that is through a March here. Coming up very soon at the end of April, April 29th, talk a little bit about this March and the purpose.

Yeah, absolutely. March on the Arch, STLMarch.com. We invite everyone around the country to fly into the gateway of the West, where we were the first state to sign a trigger law after the Dobbs, So we ask you, come join us in St. Louis. It's really the battleground between Illinois and Missouri, and it's really important for us to move this forward. We have huge crowds out there, smack dab in the middle of the city, in the middle, in the middle of the country.

And so we invite you all to come out. So that's April 29th at 11 a.m. We have a whole variety of speakers, really top-notch speakers. And then at noon, we have a march from Union Station, all. all the way down to the Gateway Arch, just register and get all the information at STLMarch.com. Excellent. And Brian, for those that want to learn more about Coalition Life, maybe even get involved

and start doing some counseling themselves outside of abortion clinics, how can they do that? Yeah, absolutely. So our website is simply coalitionlife.com. And with that, if you want to bring a crew to your city or your community, please reach out to us. We are looking to grow and expand nationally to be able to be at the 600 plus abortion facilities nationwide. So we invite you to reach out.

And if there's not an abortion facility in your town, maybe the next town over, they have an abortion facility. And we'd love to partner with you to be able to save lives in front of those cities and those facilities. Brian Westbrook of Coalition Life, Brian, thank you for your time today. We really appreciate you joining. Well, it's an honor. Thanks for the time. And that's going to do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for joining us here on The Daily Signal Podcast.

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