On today’s program: Craig DeRoche, President and CEO of Family Policy Alliance, highlights the 2025 gathering of SoConCon and what social conservatives hope to accomplish in today’s culture and politics. Ron Johnson, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin,
SPEAKER 10 :
From the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview, Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 04 :
today, the United States informed Director General Audrey Azoulay of the United States’ decision to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known, of course, as UNESCO. Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States.
SPEAKER 15 :
That was State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce yesterday announcing the U.S. is withdrawing from UNESCO, marking the fourth U.N. entity the U.S. has exited since President Trump returned to office. Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson joins us later to discuss. Welcome to Washington Watch, broadcasting live from the SoConCon 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Behind me is Victory Field, home of the Indianapolis Indians. In front of me is a live audience watching here. for Washington Watch. So what is SoConCon? Good question. Craig DeRoche, President and CEO of Family Policy Alliance, will be with us in just a moment to explain. Also today, the Missouri Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood for spreading lies and disinformation about the powerful chemical abortion drug Mifeprestone.
SPEAKER 17 :
Planned Parenthood wants you to believe that mifepristone, the powerful drug used to kill a child in the womb, is safer than Tylenol. The lies must stop. We have to expose them. And we’re going to hold these charlatans and debt dealers accountable.
SPEAKER 15 :
That was Attorney General Andrew Bailey, Dr. Christina Francis, CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and David B. Wright, Executive Director of the Life Leadership Conference, will join me later to discuss the importance of exposing the dangers of the abortion drug. And we told you about this yesterday.
SPEAKER 03 :
Public media, public radio, public television are a critical part of the emergency response plans of nearly half of the states in this nation. Defunding this is a real risk to the public safety of the country.
SPEAKER 15 :
That was NPR CEO Catherine Maher claiming budget cuts to public broadcasting and the recent rescissions bill are a threat to public safety. Hey, but guess what? There are alternatives to government-funded media, like what you’re listening to right now. Troy Miller, president of National Religious Broadcasters, will join us in today’s lineup as well. All of that and more coming up on this edition of Washington Watch. Well, we are more than six months into the second Trump administration, and while social conservatives are thankful the election didn’t go the other way, now is not the time to rest on our laurels. This is a time to work and to do what the Lord has called us to do, to be salt and light. And that is why social conservatives have gathered in Indianapolis for the 2025 SoConCon, where we are right now. What’s it all about? What do they hope to accomplish? With me to discuss this is Craig DeRoche. He’s the president and CEO of the Family Policy Alliance, which hosts the annual event. Craig is a former House Speaker in the Michigan State Legislature. Craig, welcome to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 07 :
Tony, it’s such a privilege to be here. Thanks for bringing the whole show to SoConCon.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, let’s start with what is SoConCon?
SPEAKER 07 :
It’s not the most creative name in the world, but it’s one that I hope your guests can remember. Social Conservative Conference. The idea, Tony, was that we go to a lot of conservative conferences, but they kind of pat us on the head in fiscal conservatism, some of these other ideas. tend to dominate, so what if we had a place for us, by us, where Christian groups, we’re a Christian organization founded as you are, we share a founder in Doc Dobson, but what if we mobilize bigger than that, the Jewish families, the Islamic, the other faiths, people of no faith yet, they don’t know Jesus yet, but they know what’s going on in America is wrong, and mobilize them, and that’s what this conference was meant to bring them together.
SPEAKER 15 :
So let’s talk about the Family Policy Alliance. Yes. About 40 strong, representing 40 states across the country. Talk a little bit about their role. Many of the executive directors and presidents of those entities are here.
SPEAKER 07 :
And this is one of the most fascinating groups of people because they’re independent leaders. For those of you who’ve been listening to this show for a long time, you’ll know that the leader that a lot of us look to, you, Tony, you’ve been such a mentor to me throughout the years. When I started working for Chuck Colson back in 2011, he told me you were one of the first person I needed to meet and that you had experience and you’ve always been there, whether it was at Prison Fellowship or Family Policy Alliance. But We believe that coming together in community of social conservatives around our values, that we’re better together, and that’s what the state groups do. Most groups, when you’re listening, they’re a national group that’s coming up with an idea. towards you with the family policy councils. You have the opportunity where you live, we’ll pick on Louisiana, where you started yours, to listen to this show, and we want everybody to listen to this show. We want you supporting a family research council going to their events, but if you say, I need to fix something in my school district, Tony, You got me so fired up now that it’s legal for me to hang it in God we trust at my city council. How do I do that?
SPEAKER 15 :
Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
And that’s what the Family Policy Council does.
SPEAKER 15 :
And they’re great. They cover at the state level what we do at the national level. In fact, more in many ways because what I often say, and I shared this this morning – In D.C., I’ve been there almost a quarter of a century, I feel like we’re keeping the barbarians at bay most of the time while the states are really enacting innovative policy, addressing problems, and we see some of the most creative policy ideas have actually percolated up from the states.
SPEAKER 07 :
Amen. And if I could just give one example, and it’s contemporary and it’s playing out in real time. When we stuck up for girls’ civil rights, a hard-fought victory, Title IX, in 1973, Tony Perkins was one of the only voices in D.C. willing to do that. The Chamber of Commerce wouldn’t do it. The Republican Party wouldn’t do it. And a lot of our political friends wouldn’t do it. But the Family Policy Council is exactly what you were saying. D.C. would never have touched that. But just like welfare reform in the 90s, Tony, you and I and all the FPCs, we started doing that. In state after state. And eventually it got injected in this presidential campaign.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, even something that was in the latest reconciliation bill on educational scholarship programs. Oh, right. That originally came out of Arizona as a out of the state legislature there. Yeah. And percolated up other states states. you know did it it worked and so then the federal government latches onto it which is the way it should i think that’s the way the founders intended our system of federalism to work
SPEAKER 07 :
And they did. And I think it’s so dynamic what’s going on right now. I think any Christian, you know, within the sound of your voice right now, Tony, the Social Conservative Conference is really about, I don’t like looking back a lot, but if you think about this last election, a lot of people were fighting for relevance. And if you look at the last six months and you see some really important people, the richest man in the world fighting for relevance. Hmm. But you see the people that have actually had that relevance in the election and since are the people that you don’t know their names because they’re famous and they don’t have more money than other people. But it just seems like we’re continuing. You know, God has been with us and that we have an anointing as we’re together.
SPEAKER 15 :
The truth never changes. So if you want to, you might not be in vogue today, but tomorrow, eventually, the truth is going to prevail. And so if you just stand on truth, you’re going to be in the right place. Craig, talk a little bit about how those, as you mentioned, they want to get involved in the library issue, a school board issue. They want to know more about their state legislature. Is there a clearinghouse where folks across the country, because this Washington Watch is in every state.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 15 :
How can they find out more about connecting with their local Family Policy Council?
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. And I want you to remember that we are partners. So if you forget this, you want to talk to your friends at FRC, and they’re going to introduce you back to this. But you can look us up. We’re Family Policy Alliance, familypolicyalliance.com. We were founded within Focus, but we’re called Family Policy Alliance right now.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that’s our common DNA. Because FRC was spun off of Focus on the Family in 1992, became its own entity. And then after that, they realized they still needed a policy robust arm, and they created the Family Policy Councils in the early 90s. And then that spun off from Focus, and now you’ve been heading this for the last several years.
SPEAKER 07 :
And then we built it back up, and then we reconnected back. This is the fun part. We’re putting kind of a vertical back together. And, Tony, I think that’s where the breakthrough has been is what I’m trying to say. So I hope everybody listening, sure, there’s a lot of things to be frustrated about today, but there is so many victories, just from your intro, to be excited about.
SPEAKER 15 :
We want everybody to… Talk a little bit about, you know, we’re… Okay, in the early 90s is when the Family Policy Councils first started. Right. It’s gone through different phases. But let’s talk about the success that we’ve seen now that, as we talked about this morning here at the conference, that these state entities have really come into maturity.
SPEAKER 07 :
And people out there, there’s a lot of people groping for what’s next. You know, where is the money going? Are we going to create a new political party? All these other things. Our family policy councils are in 40 states, a ragtag group of people. They are now, Tony, we just did a survey in conjunction with this conference. They raise and spend over $50 million a year. So them as an entity, there are 40 independent agencies with their own boards, but they would be as large as, you know, they would be in the sphere of a $50 million D.C.-based lobby. And then you have to add on all the other, and when you go to the Social Conservative Conference, we, all of our organizations are approaching a billion dollars in revenue now. So we’re becoming more professional as a movement and more sophisticated with our tactics.
SPEAKER 15 :
And how many people do they employ?
SPEAKER 07 :
over 400 employees right now. And I love your story. We’re probably out of time, but you started with you in Louisiana.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, well, actually me and I had at the time Focus, Randy Wilson was at Focus, and we drove the state of Louisiana raising money to launch it. But it’s so encouraging to see all our family policy leaders that are here that have, they are really making a significant difference. They’re not They’re not on the headlines of the newspapers, but they’re having the conversations with legislators. They’re putting forward, like here, a lot of percolation of ideas and shared values. You just had your statesman academy. This information is being spread across the country in an organized effort. And so you’re leveraging a lot of relationships, a lot of resources to make a very big difference.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you so much for that. And for those of you who are listening, this is why we think we’re making a difference. When the University of Pennsylvania president writes a handwritten apology note, we think that that’s hard to come back from. That’s hard to take that lie and come back into a room.
SPEAKER 15 :
Explain that a little bit for our listeners on our website.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, just they’ve been telling a lie to the American public, and it’s been propagated by people that have credibility. University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League school, Harvard, and they were lying. Just like if a police officer or a judge lies to you, it takes a while before that sinks in. It’s sinking into America right now that this wasn’t a political victory. This is a moral victory for America, and it will be durable. And I just wanted to point out the difference, Tony. What you’re pointing out is we’re getting moral victories for America right now that will digest and settle like slavery was bad. Right. And we agree on that. We move forward. I think that transgenderism… we’re going to remember that as a bad era.
SPEAKER 15 :
And while we have this opportunity, we need to make sure that we change laws and policies so that we don’t revisit this area again.
SPEAKER 07 :
Amen.
SPEAKER 15 :
And move our nation back to transcendent truth. Craig, we’re out of time in this first segment. Thanks for inviting us to be a part of SoConCon. Appreciate your leadership and a great conference so far. Thank you. Thank you for being here. And enjoy the ballgame tonight. Amen. Thank you. All right, folks, we still have a lot more of Washington Watch to come as we’re broadcasting live here from the SoConCon 2025. So don’t go anywhere. On the other side of the break, we’re going to be joined by Senator Ron Johnson. He’s going to be talking about what the Senate has been working on as the House broke earlier today. Also talking about UNESCO and the United States pulling out of that another U.N. entity that the United States is not going to be funding or involved in. That is good news. So don’t go anywhere. We’re back with more Washington. Watch right after this.
SPEAKER 19 :
A family is the oldest, most tested, and most reliable unit of society. It is divinely created and sustained. And yet, there are those who are always tampering with its values and structure. That’s why we need organizations like the Family Research Council that can effectively defend and strengthen the family.
SPEAKER 09 :
Family Research Council began over 40 years ago, like all great movements of God, with prayer. Today, rooted in the heart of the nation’s capital, FRC continues to champion faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
SPEAKER 26 :
FRC is one of those bright lights that helps us focus on true north. And I shudder to think had they not been here that it could have been worse, worse, worse.
SPEAKER 11 :
The Family Research Council is key. It’s one of a handful of groups that I think will determine whether our children live in a country that enjoyed all of the freedom and all the opportunity that we enjoyed in this great land.
SPEAKER 20 :
It’s just a wonderful parachurch organization that doesn’t seek to take the place of the church, but it seeks to assist the family and the church as we try to move forward successfully, not in a defensive mode, but in an offensive mode as we seek to live our lives according to the Holy Scriptures.
SPEAKER 17 :
FRC is not going to be whooped. You know, we’re going to fight. We’re going to take a stand.
SPEAKER 15 :
And again, we don’t retreat. You will never see in front of this building here in Washington, D.C., a white flag flying. We will never step back. We will never surrender. And we will never be silent. Hello, friends, this is Tony Perkins. You know what? We just finished our 21 day family Bible challenge through the book of Matthew. And if you joined us, I pray that it has already borne fruit in your life and in your home as you place the Lord and his word at the center of your home. Now, our journey through the Bible doesn’t end here, though. The challenge was a part of our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan. And from here, we’re going to cover the rest of the New Testament. And now that we’ve finished the book of Matthew, let me ask you, would you consider joining us for the rest of the journey through the Word of God? In 10 to 15 minutes a day, you’ll see how the good news of Jesus transformed the lives of common people, people just like you and me, and how those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. I invite you to continue the journey with me and discover the life-enriching power of the Word of God. Visit frc.org slash Bible for a reading plan. That’s frc.org slash Bible to learn more. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in as we’re broadcasting live from the SoConCon 2025. Behind me, Victory Stadium. It’s the minor league ballpark here in Indianapolis. And in front of me, a live audience for Washington Watch from SoConCon participants. Well, yesterday, the State Department announced that the U.S. would be withdrawing from the United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, by the end of the year. Now, UNESCO is the third, actually the fourth U.N. agency that President Trump has pulled out of this year, following the World Health Organization, the United Nations Human Rights Council, as well as UNRWA. What does this mean for the United States in terms of its international influence? And might we be pulling out of more U.N. agencies? Joining me now to discuss this, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and the Government Affairs Committee. He also serves on the Budget Committee and Finance Committee. Senator Johnson, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thanks for having me. Hope you’re doing well.
SPEAKER 15 :
I’m doing well. I’m sure you were very excited, not only about the UNESCO news, but also earlier in the week with the United States weighing in on the World Health Organization and their amendments.
SPEAKER 16 :
I’ll tell you, this is another classic example that elections have consequences. And in this case, America chose wisely in electing President Trump because he is highly skeptical of these global organizations and he’s pulling the United States out of them. which is probably the greatest influence we can have on them because we are generally such a big funder, and some of these things basically exist because we fund them. This is good news, but across the board. We’re closing our borders. We have closed our border. We’re trying to bring an end to these wars. We’re trying to get our debt and deficit under control. So this is just one more example of President Trump doing right by the American people and putting America first and protecting American sovereignty.
SPEAKER 15 :
Do you think that the United Nations is going to receive the message here when, for instance, UNESCO, they recently decided that they wanted to recognize Palestine as a state. That was maybe, I don’t know if that was the straw that broke the camel’s back here, but the United States pulling out of UNESCO once again. Do you think the United Nations is going to get the message?
SPEAKER 16 :
I doubt it. They haven’t gotten the message for decades now. Partly because we ping-pong back and forth between a president like President Trump, who’s highly skeptical of these global organizations, and then a president like President Biden, who’s happy to surrender American sovereignty on the altar of these global institutions. So I doubt it. I think the only way they will get the message, if we just withdraw entirely for a long period of time, It would be nice to have some kind of global organization where nations of the world can get together and try and cooperate on a host of different issues. The problem is that they get overtaken by generally leftists and the result ends up not being good.
SPEAKER 15 :
You know, Senator Johnson, you make a really, really important point that I don’t want to pass over about how this ping pong, how we have under this administration withdrawing from the United Nations. And as you pointed out, it’s what happened last time. Then Biden came in, put us back into these things. I experienced this when I was chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Many of these governments didn’t really want to make too many changes because they didn’t know what was coming in three or four years. You know, some of these things are so important because this really does shape the identity and the direction of our nation. How do we provide for greater stability so we’re not seeing this tremendous shift every four years?
SPEAKER 16 :
Radical leftists have to lose elections. We have to win them. It’s really that simple. We’re a pretty divided nation. I hope more Americans’ eyes are being opened. It seems like they are. The Democrat Party have just become a bunch of radical leftists You know, they are the extreme party now in this country. More Americans are awakening that. The problem we have is we still have the mainstream media who are primarily, you know, they are the communication wing of the Democrat Party of radical leftism. So, you know, a lot of Americans just simply aren’t getting the truth. They do not realize the destruction of radical leftism. They don’t realize the destruction of these global organizations, because it always sounds good, right? I mean, all these world health organizations sounds great, right? But they oftentimes do the exact opposite of what their name calls for. So it just requires education.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, you mentioned the media, and of course we have NPR out there saying that it’s a public safety threat now that they’ve been defunded in the rescissions bill. But honestly, Senator, some of your colleagues on the Republican side bought into that, that we needed to fund them. I mean, so the public’s misguided, but there’s also some fear and intimidation among the ranks of our leaders.
SPEAKER 16 :
There’s no doubt about it. And I think a lot of that is driven by the fact that the majority of the legacy of the corporate media is from the left. Democrats can do all kinds of crazy things with impunity. They never get held accountable. When Republicans try and do the right thing, it gets twisted. We get lied about. And many of my colleagues actually fear that. I, for one, don’t.
SPEAKER 15 :
I know. That’s why you’re on this program. All right. Let me, Senator, let me ask you this question. As we’ve seen these four entities that we’ve taken our money away from or we’ve gotten out of, what would you like to see next on the list of U.N. agencies that the administration gets the U.S. out of?
SPEAKER 16 :
That’s a hard one to answer. I’d probably have to go through a pretty long list. Again, I’m just grateful that President Trump has supported the American people to put America first. Again, that’s nothing negative as it comes to the rest of the world. I mean, we get our economic house in order. We take care of our people, and that’ll have positive repercussions around the world. If every national leader took that approach, healed their own countries, made their own countries the most successful, that generally means the most peaceful, and that has worldwide positive consequences. So it’s always bothered me how people denigrate America first, like it’s some kind of re-entrenchment or entrenchment. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, that actually has very positive benefits globally.
SPEAKER 15 :
It does. I mean, if you’re healthy, you can take care of other people. Senator, we just have less than a minute left. I want to ask you a very quick question. The House adjourned after they were at a stalemate over the Epstein files. What’s ahead for the Senate?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, we need to confirm President Trump’s appointees. And unfortunately, the Democrats are completely obstructing the process in an unprecedented way. If the tables were turned, again, the legacy media would be screaming about Republican obstruction, how elections matter, how a president ought to be able to staff his administration. All those things are true. But unfortunately, the mainstream media is putting no pressure on Democrats. And so they are, again, an unprecedented level of obstruction. So President Trump cannot… Staffers administration, which means they’re they’re trying to sabotage this administration like they did the first.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah. All right. Senator Ron Johnson, always great to talk with you. Thanks for joining us today.
SPEAKER 16 :
You’re welcome.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, folks, stick with us. We’re back after this.
SPEAKER 18 :
The Center for Biblical Worldview’s all-day workshops delves into the formation of a worldview, what it is, how it’s formed, when it’s formed, what that means to them personally and their churches and communities.
SPEAKER 23 :
My hope for people when they come to these worldview workshops is that they will come away better equipped to engage the people and the ideas that they’re living with and around. And our goal is to give people more confidence in the gospel, and the fact that what God said to us actually is true, actually is the path to happiness and human flourishing for all of us, but also more confidence in their ability to have these conversations and help lead other people to the truth.
SPEAKER 22 :
For Bible-believing Christians to know what God’s Word says on these issues and to learn how they can apply it to their lives. And we believe that the more Christians that we equip, that’s how we’ll change the nation.
SPEAKER 01 :
Hey, fam, listen, Pastor Sammy here at Lighthouse Church, and I cannot tell you how equipping, how empowering, how incredibly educating this conference has been. And so I just want to encourage anybody that either has not been part of or is thinking about hosting this event, certainly to pastors, leaders, even CEOs for that matter. This conference is lights out. Stand behind it myself. I can’t commend it enough. We’re going to be talking about this for some time to come.
SPEAKER 02 :
The culture is kind of squeezing in on us as God’s people, forcing those of us with biblical views to change those views or to suppress those views. It’s forcing us to engage with issues that we’ve never had to engage with. And so what this teaches us is what those issues are, what the Bible says about those issues, and then how we can critically engage our culture on these things in a way that is committed to biblical principle.
SPEAKER 17 :
Visit frc.org slash worldview for more information.
SPEAKER 15 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch as we broadcast live from SoConCon 2025 here in Indianapolis, Indiana. And by the way, if you have not yet downloaded the StandFirm app, let me encourage you to get the StandFirm app so you can have Washington Watch no matter where you go. You can also have our news and commentary from a biblical perspective, the Washington Stand, and my morning devotion, Stand on the Word. All of that is found on the app, plus so much more. It is a tool for every engaged citizen. So get the Stand Firm app in the App Store. All right, we’ve discussed this on the program many times, and just yesterday, in fact, why National Public Radio, NPR, and Public Broadcasting Service, PBS, should be defunded. Now, NPR’s president and CEO, Catherine Marr, recently spoke against its defunding, claiming that doing so was a real risk to public safety in the entire country. But is NPR really a critical part of local emergency response plans? I actually think there’s something that Congress can do that would provide greater access to emergency information. And my next guest is here to talk about it. Joining me here at the SoConCon in Indianapolis, Indiana, Troy Miller. He’s the president and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters. Troy, welcome back to Washington Watch. Tony, it’s always great to be with you. All right, so NPR, their defunding is putting the nation at risk?
SPEAKER 14 :
No, no, not at all. I think you said it best. You know, the backbone of the emergency alert system is the AM radio across this country. PBS plays a part of that. They actually play mostly a plan B sort of for what’s called the wireless alert system, which is usually when cell services go down. But no, PBS’s funding is not going to hurt the emergency alert system. But losing AM radio will.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that’s why I have you on today. We were actually talking about this yesterday. I didn’t realize you were going to be here at SoConCon. There is an effort by car manufacturers to take AM radios out of vehicles, which is one of the most reliable sources when natural disasters or emergencies occur.
SPEAKER 14 :
Talk about that. That’s right. So the AM radio system has always been the backbone of the emergency alert system. There are over 70 hardened stations across this country. And as we’ve seen in some of the recent disasters, cell service is one of the first things to go down. The Internet’s gone. Everything else is gone.
SPEAKER 15 :
I’m old school. I keep a transistor radio where I can tune in and find out what’s going on. Because we’ve, in Louisiana, we’ve gone through many, many of these.
SPEAKER 14 :
That’s right. And most people, if you order one of these weather alert systems, that’s the AM radio that’s behind that. That’s AM frequencies that that’s coming on. So that’s the system behind this. The car manufacturers, the real thing behind this is who’s going to control information in the dash. This is all about what’s called the connected dash. So if you go out to any of these consumer programs today, you’re going to see all this connected dash. That’s where the future is going.
SPEAKER 15 :
Let me… Go a little further on that, because when you have NPR, PBS, government-funded, leftist propaganda, I mean, their broadcasting is no different than legacy media. If not, if anything, it’s worse. If AM radios are taken out of vehicles, what is that going to do to conservative talk and religious broadcasting?
SPEAKER 14 :
You know, look, 80 million people still listen to AM radio. That’s from Inside Radio’s report. So in the top genres on there are Christian Talk and Teach, Conservative Talk. Washington Watch. Washington Watch is on there. You have… And the other big group that’s on there that’ll get disenfranchised is Spanish language programming across this country. And, of course, we know the shift in the Spanish community in the voting.
SPEAKER 15 :
I mean, what impact would that have on AM stations if they take them out of cars, which is such a huge market? I mean, this could basically fold the AM.
SPEAKER 14 :
It would absolutely fold the AM radio across this country, and it would disenfranchise, like I said, mainly rural people here. But think about this, Tony, for a second. As you said, we have enough censorship already. Now the car manufacturers would be in that role to decide what you can and can’t listen to based on their subscription service.
SPEAKER 15 :
Okay, so let’s talk solutions here. We’ve got two minutes left. We don’t have to fund anybody through Congress. There’s just legislation that says to the car manufacturers, don’t take AM radios out. Talk about that. That’s right.
SPEAKER 14 :
And look, the cars are the most regulated thing in America. Blinkers, brake lights, all of these things. It’s not anything new. We’re not asking them to do anything. It’s not asking them for money. We’re saying keep AM radio in. We’ve asked for a 10-year sunset on this to give technology a chance and the stations a chance to manage through all of this. Plus, the FCC just launched a look at the emergency alert system. They have to figure out what the next generation of that’s going to look like. And this bill will help all the parties involved. All right. What’s the bill? It’s the AM radio and every dash bill. It’s already out of committee in the Senate. We’re hoping when Congress, when the House comes back, it’ll come out of committee and to a vote. And it has 259 sponsors right now across out. It’s probably the most bipartisan bill that we have in the Congress today. So we expect that it’ll come out. It’ll get passed. If it hits the floor, it’s going to get passed easy. Really not any controversy other than the auto manufacturers.
SPEAKER 15 :
Are they continuing to lobby. They are continuing.
SPEAKER 14 :
Do you have a bill number? No, not off the top of my head. AM radio on every dash.
SPEAKER 15 :
AM radio on every dash. You can either call your congressman, senator, or you can go to TonyPerkins.com. We’ll have the information up there as well. Troy, what’s NRB working on? You got some big news coming. We only got like 45 seconds left. You can’t talk about it yet, but there’s some big news coming soon.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, so we had a case up against the IRS on the Johnson Amendment, and we’re hoping that that case, the conclusion of that case, the decision should be coming down in the next two weeks.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that frees the pulpit up to speak to political issues, including candidates. A big, big deal. Been working on that for many years. Troy Miller, always great to see you, my friend. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me, Tony. All right. We’ve had a lot of ground to cover here just in the first part of the program, but there’s still more to come on this edition of Washington Watch. We’re going to be talking about a lawsuit today by the attorney general of Missouri against Planned Parenthood over the chemical abortion bill. All of that and a bit more coming up on the remaining portion of Washington Watch. Don’t go away.
SPEAKER 24 :
Family Research Council is committed to advancing faith, family, and freedom from the East Coast to the West. So FRC is going to Southern California for this year’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit, October 17th and 18th at Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills. Join us for this powerful gathering of Christians desiring cultural renewal and spiritual revival. The Pray, Vote, Stand Summit brings together Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action. Together, we will seek God’s guidance for our nation and engage in meaningful discussions on the intersection of faith, government, and culture. If the spiritual foundations and the cultural walls of our nation are to be rebuilt, we all have a role to play. May we each find our place on the wall as we build for biblical truth. Register now at PrayVoteStand.org. That’s PrayVoteStand.org.
SPEAKER 12 :
Jennifer, it’s so exciting to be here with you today talking about our new book, Embracing God’s Design. Who is actually going to benefit from reading this book in your view?
SPEAKER 05 :
There’s so many different audiences that can benefit. The first one are counselors themselves, because we have some material in there where we really address the gender dysphoria diagnosis and what is wrong with it. We have information for people who are wanting to go back to embracing God’s design for their life.
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This is really magical to have the therapist and the individual who suffered come together and write about why this is happening and why we’re seeing this.
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And we brought all of that experience to the table. We want to see people walking in the fullness of who God has called them to be and not a false identity.
SPEAKER 19 :
Order today at embracethedesign.com.
SPEAKER 25 :
How should Christians think about the thorny issues shaping our culture? How should Christians address deceitful ideas like transgenderism, critical theory or assisted suicide? How can Christians navigate raising children in a broken culture, the war on gender roles or rebuilding our once great nation? Outstanding is a podcast from The Washington Stand dedicated to these critical conversations. Outstanding seeks to tear down what our corrupt culture lifts up with an aim to take every thought and every idea captive to the obedience of Christ. Whether policies or partisan politics, whether conflict in America or conflict abroad, join us and our guests as we examine the headlines through the lens of Scripture and explore how Christians can faithfully exalt Christ in all of life. Follow Outstanding on your favorite podcast app and look for new episodes each week.
SPEAKER 15 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us as we’re broadcasting live from SoConCon 2025 here in Indianapolis, Indiana. And behind me you see Liberty Stadium. That is the minor league ball team here in Indianapolis, which many of the conference goers are going to be over there tonight. Not me. I’ll be preparing for tomorrow’s radio program. But anyway, let me start with this. Our word for today comes from Mark chapter 1, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark opens his gospel with clarity and urgency. The beginning points not just to a new book, but to the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan through Jesus. Immediately, Mark introduces John the Baptist. Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. You know, John came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. His message was simple but radical. Turn from sin and be ready for the one who is coming. Then Jesus appears with the same core message. The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. Well, that continues to be our message today. Repent, believe, and be set free. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. Well, earlier today, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that he filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood Federation of America for systematically misleading women about the damages of the abortion drug, Mifeprestone. In announcing the lawsuit, the AG’s office noted how Planned Parenthood’s false advertising has made dangerous claims, such as calling Mifeprestone, quote, safer than any other medicine like penicillin, Tylenol, and Viagra. So what’s the truth when it comes to the abortion drug? Here to discuss this with us and more live from SoConCon are David B. Wright, Executive Director of Life Leadership Conference, and Dr. Christina Francis, CEO of American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Dr. Francis, welcome to Washington Watch. Once again, thanks for being with us. Thank you. David, welcome. It’s great to be here. All right, so let’s start with Dr. Francis. Is the abortion pill just like taking a Tylenol?
SPEAKER 21 :
Oh, goodness. Nothing could be further from the truth. And that’s why I was so excited to hear about what the AG did in Missouri. You know, certainly we know that the abortion pill is never safe for my preborn patient. It leads to the death of my preborn patient. But it’s also not safe for women. And these continued claims that it is safe, safer than over-the-counter medications like Tylenol, are not only misleading for women, they’re dangerous. Women are taking these drugs, these very high-risk drugs, without realizing the true dangers that they are facing from taking these drugs. And these dangers are not hypothetical. They are complications that doctors like myself are seeing on a regular basis in our emergency room, seeing women come in with heavy bleeding, infection, and many other kinds of complications.
SPEAKER 15 :
Has there been an increase?
SPEAKER 21 :
There definitely has been an increase, yes. You know, there was some recent data that came out that the Ethics and Public Policy Center looked at some insurance claims data. So looking at real world use of these drugs. And that showed that one in nine women now face a serious complication after they take these drugs. And I was being interviewed by another journalist who asked me if I was surprised by that finding. And I said, actually, no, because it’s consistent with what I see.
SPEAKER 15 :
David, one of the problems we have is the reporting requirements. This information is just not being collected as it should. It’s absolutely correct.
SPEAKER 08 :
And there have been, since the FDA approved the drug and they had the claim that less than 0.5% of the people who used the drug had a serious adverse event, That was also in the accelerated Clinton approval of the drug, which rushed it through approval to get it to the market. And so what we’re seeing now, this data that Dr. Francis is referring to, is 22 times higher than that. But because in the Biden administration, they continue to roll back protections for women who are administered these drugs, we don’t even have the data from the typical reporting agencies. And so insurance claims data, 865,000 uses, prescriptions of abortion pills have been reviewed and analyzed from all traditional pay insurers as well as Medicaid, Medicare, Tricare. And that’s where they found all these complications. 10.9% of those who take the abortion pill using the FDA’s own adverse events reports are seeing these complications. So this hasn’t been reported elsewhere. Now that this data has come forward, that’s why we need to champion this to Health and Human Services, to the Food and Drug Administration, to make sure that they not only look and say, how do we restore the regulations that were there at the beginning, but ultimately look at why was this drug approved in the first place? And now that we have more data, can it be removed from the market? And it should be removed from the market.
SPEAKER 15 :
So, Dr. Francis, let me ask you this question. Because the current FDA policy does not require in-person consultation and the Comstock Act is not being enforced, so these pills are being mailed into states far away from a physician. Is this are you pretty confident that these numbers are underreported because people are not necessarily going to come in and say, I took the abortion pill? They might say that, you know, I’m having a miscarriage or something else.
SPEAKER 21 :
Oh, 100 percent. We know that these are underreported. As you stated, the FDA under the Biden administration lifted that one last in-person visit that was required for women to obtain these drugs and was necessary, honestly, for women to receive fully informed consent about the risks of that drug. Now, as you said, they’re being mailed from all over the country, even from other countries into even states where abortion is illegal.
SPEAKER 15 :
We’re so concerned about, you know, the drugs coming across our southern border and how we don’t know what some of these drugs are coming in from China and other places. I mean, really, we’re going to allow people to be mailing these things through the mail with no contact with a physician.
SPEAKER 21 :
Right, absolutely. You know, the abortion industry likes to claim that abortion is health care, and yet they don’t want to be regulated as the rest of us in health care are regulated. And this really is medical malpractice, the way these drugs are being dispensed to women with no interaction with a medical professional whatsoever.
SPEAKER 15 :
All right, so I’m going to make a statement here. I’ve made it before in this program. But, David, you made reference to this, that this policy, this current policy was put in place during the Biden administration, and it’s still in place. Right. But it could be changed by the FDA. It absolutely can, and it should. Okay, so let me play a clip of Dr. McCary, Dr. Marty McCary, who is the FDA commissioner. This was Tuesday, July the 22nd. He was on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and he was asked about the abortion pill. I want you to hear his response. We want to play clip number five, please.
SPEAKER 06 :
We can’t turn a blind eye to what’s happening with safety signals with that drug or any drug. So that evaluation is ongoing.
SPEAKER 13 :
But is it still true for you that you have no plans to take action on changing access to that drug?
SPEAKER 06 :
That is true.
SPEAKER 15 :
So he said, you know, we need to look at these things. But he says, I have no plans to change access to this drug, which is totally uncontrolled. There’s no restrictions, basically, on this drug. In states like Louisiana, Texas, and about a dozen other states that have strong pro-life laws, those laws are being totally sidestepped by this abortion drug. I mean, this could be changed overnight by this administration. So let’s talk about abortion numbers, David. I know you track this. After Dobbs, there was a short-term, immediate drop in abortion. According to the abortion industry, about 930,000 abortions. We’re now over a million. in the last two years, an increase in abortion. And we’re hearing all this about people don’t have access to this. The abortion pill is behind that, is it not?
SPEAKER 08 :
The abortion pill is central to that. When you have the abortion industry research arm, Guttmacher Institute, saying that this was in 2023, 63% of abortions are now committed by abortion pills. I was just recently in Des Moines, Iowa, 90% are there, are done by abortion pills, abortions, because the Iowa legislature has tried to enact protections for women and children. Columbus, Ohio, it’s 85%. So that is leading to so much of this. And the pills, as we talked about, are being mailed from all over the place with no protections. This is a health crisis. And now that we know the pill has all these additional complications and the providers don’t care about the safety and health of women. They don’t even many times require any physician contact. They don’t require any proof of pregnancy. You don’t even have to provide information saying whether you’re male or female. And they’re just mailing these pills out. If you have money, they’ll send a pill. And that’s why we’re seeing the numbers go up as well as traffic across state borders. I was recently, Tony, in Texas. And I was sitting at a banquet, a pro-life banquet, and a woman shared with me, I’ve retired after Dobbs’ decision because Texas protects children and abortions don’t happen here. But I had the data knowing that more than 36,000 women had crossed the borders to other states, primarily New Mexico, to have surgical abortions, and more than 34,000 abortion pills had been mailed into Texas. So these states that are passing laws to protect life, 70,000 children are dying.
SPEAKER 15 :
That’s the irony here, even of the current administration, that says they support the effective dobs, allowing states to protect women and the unborn. But yet the federal policy still in place does the exact opposite. In fact, I was talking with Jonathan Sines, who’s here at the SoConCon from the Texas Values. And in the special session there in Texas, the governor has a bill in there to try to strengthen control of or at least ability to sue after the fact, those that traffic in these abortion pills.
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 15 :
How widespread is this across the country that you’ve come across, Dr. Francis?
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, you know, as David said, we know that the abortion pills now account for the vast majority of abortions in this country, including in states like here in Indiana. I’m a Hoosier. You know, in this state, we passed a good law that protects women and children from the harms of abortion. And yet, in my practice as an OB hospitalist, our group still sees on a regular basis women coming into our emergency room with severe complications related to this drug because they’re able to obtain them online. And I think it’s really important for people to understand how truly dangerous this is. The farther along in pregnancy a woman is when she takes the drugs, the higher her risk of emergency surgery. They’re not ruling out ectopic pregnancy, which is life-threatening for women.
SPEAKER 15 :
Originally, the pill was designed, was it not up to seven weeks in the pregnancy?
SPEAKER 21 :
The original approval was up to seven weeks. And part of the reason they chose seven weeks was because the study showed that starting at about eight weeks, the risk of complications increased exponentially. Unfortunately, under the Obama administration, they then expanded that to 10 weeks of pregnancy.
SPEAKER 15 :
But how do you know whether someone is 7, 10 weeks when you’re signing a prescription or sending these pills through the mail? We’ve got cases in Louisiana where our attorney general is suing a doctor in New York that has sent the pills into Louisiana. How does that doctor know whether that woman is 7 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, 15 weeks along?
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, the doctor has no idea. And the woman, in fact, may not actually know how far along she is. And this destroys informed consent for women because a doctor cannot possibly discuss her risks unless they know how far along she is. All of these things that we’ve discussed are the reason that led APLOG to lead a letter from six medical organizations representing 30,000 medical professionals to HHS and the FDA, urging them very strongly to take into account this new data about the complications and to take a look at how this is being dispensed, the harm that it’s causing for women, and to put back those original safeguards to pull that use back to seven weeks and ensure that women have ongoing care if they are going to take these drugs.
SPEAKER 15 :
Now, I think, Dr. Francis, when that letter was sent, they indicated they were going to look at the studies. Have you heard any further information from the FDA?
SPEAKER 21 :
We have not, although we have been told that they will take a look at the data and we’ll take that into consideration. And, you know, I think it’s very important that people understand no matter where we stand on the issue of abortion, no matter where someone stands, they should care about women not being treated like this. And the bottom line is the FDA right now is not doing its job when it comes to protecting women in this country.
SPEAKER 15 :
Totally true. No question about that. I mean, they are once again sacrificing the well-being of women for a political, ideological goal. But, David, I would say there’s another side to this, and that is what we talked about just a moment ago, is that the recognition that the states have a right to protect women. Women and children. I mean, we saw that in a recent Supreme Court case when it came to gender transitions and gender treatments, that the states have a right to set a standard. That’s right. This is totally being undermined by the federal government. Now, I know the abortion industry is exploiting it, but it’s the federal government that’s opening the door.
SPEAKER 08 :
And I think, Tony, to your point earlier, this is why it’s so important that whether we live in a red state or a blue state, something we can all do to make a life-saving impact today is contact Health and Human Services, RFK Jr.’ ‘s office, and say, this pill must be investigated. You have the additional data. Do your job. Protect women. And then to Dr. McCary and to the FDA, the same thing. Communicate to them. They will act when they feel the heat. And that’s what we have the responsibility to do.
SPEAKER 15 :
And that’s what the SOCONCON is all about here is advocating for these values that make America strong. You know, we hear all this about making America great again. I want to see it great, but the pathway to greatness is goodness first. And I think nothing is more important than protecting women and unborn children. Folks, you can weigh in on this. Text the word LIFE to 67742, LIFE to 67742, and you can sign a petition that we’re going to take to this administration encouraging people to stand, this administration to stand on the right side of this issue and protect women and children and the right of states to do the same. Dr. Francis, I’ll give you the final word.
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, you know, I would just echo everything that’s been said here to just emphasize how important it is for people to realize, especially women who might be contemplating an abortion, to realize the true dangers that exist with this drug. Again, obviously for their preborn child, but also for them. And as you said, every American should be invested in ensuring that if the FDA says that a drug is safe in the way that it’s being dispensed, that it is actually safe. So I would encourage people to sign your petition, join us. in asking the FDA to ensure that there are appropriate regulations around this drug.
SPEAKER 15 :
Dr. Francis, thank you. David B. Wright, thank you for your leadership and your passion on the life issue. Always great to have you on the program. Great to be back. And folks, let your voice be heard. Sign that petition. Text the word LIFE to 67742. That’s LIFE to 67742. And take a stand. This is a moment in which we have an administration that is right on most things, and they should be listening to us, and they will. but you’ve got to speak up. So text LIFE to 67742. All right, until next time. And we’ll be back again tomorrow, and I hope you will be as well. But until next time, I leave you with the encouraging words the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, and you’ve prayed, prepared, and taken your stand.
SPEAKER 10 :
By all means, keep standing. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
