Friends And Family

Advancing the Pro-Life Movement: Legal Triumphs and Community Impact with Nicole Hunt

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Unlock the latest insights into the pro-life movement with Nicole Hunt, an attorney and spokesperson for Focus on the Family. Hear firsthand about the transformative impact of the Dobbs case of 2022, which nullified Roe v. Wade and handed back legislative power to the states. We'll walk through the seismic shifts in state-level activities, from trigger laws that immediately went into effect to various efforts enhancing abortion protections. This episode promises a thorough exploration of these pivotal legal changes and their implications for the ongoing pro-life battle.

Discover the crucial role that pregnancy resource centers, such as Heartbeat of Miami and Eve's Hope, play in this movement. Nicole sheds light on how these centers provide essential support and resources to women facing unplanned pregnancies. We'll also discuss the significant stakes of voter turnout among pro-life advocates, especially in the face of the abortion industry's initiatives to pass pro-abortion amendments. Learn about Florida’s critical 60% threshold for passing measures and the potential ripple effects of new amendments.

Lastly, we emphasize the necessity of voting with a biblical worldview on sanctity of life, religious freedom, and parental rights. Nicole Hunt stresses the importance of evaluating political candidates based on their stance on life's value in the womb. Combining prayer, voting, and active involvement with local pregnancy resource centers forms a holistic approach to advance pro-life values. Tune in to understand how this multifaceted strategy can address both the physical and spiritual dimensions of protecting unborn and preborn lives.

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You're tuned in to Friends and Family, a God's Way Radio exclusive where we introduce you to some amazing people. In John, chapter 15, verse 15, jesus says I have called you friends for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. That's our aim that God would be made known to you. Stay with us until the end of our conversation for more information on this program and other unique offerings from God's Way Radio.

Joey:

Well, God's Way Radio family. I am on the phone with someone very special, Just got to meet them via Focus on the Family Ministries and she's going to tell us all about what is going on in the pro-life movement, the pro-life space. I mean, I'm going to learn so much along with you guys. Nicole, thank you for joining us.

Nicole:

Happy to be with you. Thanks for having me.

Joey:

Awesome. Well, if you don't mind, sharing with the listeners a little bit of your background and what you're doing today over there at Focus on the Family, yeah, absolutely so.

Nicole:

I'm an attorney by training and I serve as a writer and a spokesperson for Focus on the Family. One of my areas of specialties is on the sanctity of human life and, of course, it has never been a more exciting time to be a member of the pro-life community, because it's just been such a special last couple of years to see the fall of Roe and then to see so much activity at the state level people getting out there and voting and voting their values and being able to advocate for life. So it's a really exciting time to be a part of the pro-life movement and I just feel really blessed to be a part of the pro-life community who's advocating and working to advance policy goals that meet our values.

Joey:

You know, I mean you said so much there and all that you're doing and we're going to get to it towards the end of our conversation, I know, but when we hear about policy and politics and the court decisions it can seem distant sometimes and we're going to bring it home, I know, at the end of our conversation. We want to give people things that they could do, but before we get there, some of our listeners maybe are not aware of so much of the history and the background. I know it's asking a lot, but could you kind of summarize for us what is this Roe v Wade, roe v Wade that is thrown around so much, and what is the significance of the I forget the name of the case that overturned it, I believe just two years ago?

Nicole:

Yep, absolutely so. Roe v Wade was the case that came from the United States Supreme Court that constitutionalized abortion. It legalized it across the United States. There were some states that had abortion laws in place that allowed it to happen and some that didn't. That happened in 1973. And so fast forward 49 years and the court heard the Dobbs case back in 2022.

Nicole:

And in June of 2022, I think it was one of the last days of their term they announced that Roe had fallen and it was Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito who wrote the words that changed the course of human history.

Nicole:

He said the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and of course, that's been the argument that the abortion advocates have been arguing right since 1973, and even before that that the right to an abortion was somehow in our Constitution. And of course, there's no word abortion in our Constitution, and they were extrapolating upon words that are in the Constitution. But the interesting thing is is that you know the proper way and the way that many of the judges, who justices, who are on the court today look at the Constitution and when they're asked a question of is this a constitutional right, is this a constitutional right, well, they look back to see when the framers wrote the Constitution. Is this a right that they would have had in mind when they wrote these words? And what we do know is that that's certainly not something that the framers would have endorsed, and, in fact, many state laws protected pre-born babies from abortion, specifically protected them. So anyway, so that was an exciting, exciting moment.

Nicole:

I remember I remember hearing about it? Yeah, not just in constitutional law, but for the whole country, right? Because this is the right way to interpret things for our constitution. So constitutional order was restored, which is very important for the longevity of our nation. To have appropriate constitutional order, and specifically the power to create policy, taken out of the hands of the people, was not appropriate. That's not how the framers set up our government. The power to legislate and create policy is supposed to be in the hands of the people and the people's representatives. So the exciting thing that happened years ago was that that power was taken out of the hands of the federal judiciary court and it was put back into the hands of the people and their elected representatives, and so that, of course, has spurred a bunch of activity in the last two years.

Nicole:

As your listeners probably remember hearing almost immediately, some states had trigger laws that went into play right away and started protecting lives. In about a dozen states there were laws like that that went into effect, and then in others there were states who were doubling down on abortion protections, and so they went to work as quickly as possible. So we've seen this play out at the state level. We've seen it play out in the courts. A lot of these cases have been appealed to the court system, and then we've also seen it play out on people's ballots. Right, we've been started to hear of a lot of states who are considering abortion amendments to state constitutions, and this is one of the avenues by which the abortion industry is trying to advance their cause. Since they lost the constitutional right to abortion in the US Constitution, they're trying to create it in all of the state constitutions. So that's what we're seeing play out at the ballot box and in the courts, and then, of course, in our law houses, where state policy is made.

Joey:

Wow, I mean, and this is so much more important and one of the reasons I wanted to have you with us as we approach November of 2024, this being recorded in July. We're just a few months away from some big elections, from some big decisions. Are there any ones that especially stick out to you, whether certain states or national level, decisions that affect pro-life and pre-born?

Nicole:

Yes, absolutely so. Right now there are four states that will have an abortion related ballot measure on folks ballots, and Nevada is the most recent one that all of the signatures were just qualified for the ballot, so we'll see it in Nevada. Of course, your listeners there in Florida will probably recognize that there's been a lot of activity on this issue in Florida, and so the Florida abortion amendment has also qualified for the ballot. There's another abortion amendment in South Dakota, there's one in Colorado and there's another in Maryland. So we've got five that have already are for sure going to be on the ballot. And then we've got another I think six that we're considering six or seven that are possibly going to be on the ballot, and for listeners, those are in New York, arizona, arkansas, missouri, montana and Nebraska. So really it's happening all around the country, nebraska. So really it's happening all around the country, and you know if you live in one of these states for your listeners in Florida.

Nicole:

I think you should be paying very close attention to what's happening there, because I do believe, and what we're seeing how we see this play out is that the abortion issue is used by the left to turn out voters, and so that's what's happened in all of the other seven states. So, since Dobbs was decided two years ago, there have been seven states that have considered an abortion related ballot measure, and some of them in some of those cases, it was a pro-life measure and unfortunately, the pro-life measures lost and then the abortion constitutional amendments won. So what we do know is that the abortion industry has a 100% success record in advancing their agenda through ballot measures. So it is so, so important for pro-life individuals to register to vote, to get out there and to vote and to encourage their friends to vote, to register their church members. Make sure that everyone is ready to go to vote pro-life this November. And in Florida, of course, it's going to be very important because I do believe the abortion industry has their target set on your state.

Nicole:

They are trying very hard to flip states that are pro-life to support a pro-abortion agenda, and the one thing I will say that Florida has working in their favor is that the threshold. There's a threshold for passage for these types of ballot measures, and in some states it's only 50% plus one. Now in Florida it's very high, it's actually 60%. So of all the people that get out there and vote on this amendment, 60% of them have to all support the amendment. So it makes it harder, of course, for the abortion industry to pass something like this in Florida, but I don't think it's going to stop them from trying to do it. They're going to throw a lot of money into this. So, people of faith who are pro-life, we need to be engaged in this battle at the ballot box.

Joey:

Yeah, and it's not to say, it's not to take the gas off, right? Oh, they need 60%. Oh, then I don't need to go. No, we all still need to go and be involved. And again, to get very, very specific about what we're talking about here we're talking about the ballot, or the amendment being on the ballot, that would legalize certain abortions, or abortions till a certain time, whereas right now it is all illegal.

Nicole:

That's right. So this amendment, this abortion amendment, it would create a so-called right to abortion in the state constitution before viability, which, as a reminder, is the time at which a baby can live outside the womb or at any time to preserve the health of the mother and the health of the mother. That's very important that we hear that language.

Joey:

That seems like a very broad phrase.

Nicole:

Oh, that's right. We're not talking about the life of the mother, we're not talking about saving a mom who's getting ready to die. It's about the health of the mother, which actually gets very gray, because a lot of people will say, well, I'm stressed out and I'm having like mental anxiety, and now I, that is my reason to get an abortion in the third trimester or even the second trimester. And, um, you know, those in the prolet community would say, no, that is a temporary problem and the answer you're looking at is a permanent solution that can never be undone. Right? And the pro-life community? We believe that women who find themselves in unplanned pregnancies and aren't sure about pursuing it are abortion-minded. What they need is not abortion, they need a community, they need resources, they need to feel loved, they need to be told hey, you can do this and we will help. And that is the future of the pro-life movement and that's how we're going to change hearts and minds on the issue of abortion, so that we can make abortion unthinkable.

Joey:

That's awesome, you know, not seeing these ladies as the villain, necessarily, but those in need of help and support, like you said. You know, I think, of two local ministries here. I mentioned them to you earlier and you were pleased to hear about them and for our listeners, you hopefully have heard about them before here, either on the podcast or on air at God's Way Radio, and one of them is Heartbeat of Miami, a pregnancy center, a Christian ministry, and then the other is Eve's Hope. And both of these ministries, both of these organizations, they're looking at the pre-born child, they're looking at the mom. Eve's Hope has this really neat mission for lack of a better term something they're trying to get going more and more. Nicole, you probably like this where they try to have a man there, a volunteer, that's a male that if anybody walks in with their partner man, they could talk to another guy as well. So I love that. I really love what they're doing over there.

Nicole:

Yeah, I mean pregnancy resource centers. They are the tip of the spear for the pro-life movement when it comes to making a difference, and a couple of statistics on them. That I think is just so fascinating, and I think your listeners will find it fascinating too. Pregnancy help organizations like these pregnancy resource centers are actually really popular among Americans. They're supported by 83% of Americans across the country, so that is just such great news.

Nicole:

They're doing amazing work and I think that the word is getting out. Of course, the abortion industry is trying to target them, to shut them down and to keep them from doing their work. They have a lot of success. In some states, laws are being passed to limit their ability to advertise and to tell people about what they do, but, praise God, they continue to find ways to serve women and I think this is a really fantastic statistic In 2022, these pregnancy resource centers, which, across the nation, number about 3,000. They are providing services to over a million people and the type of services we're talking about pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, resource services, parenting services, housing training, job training, parenting training these kinds of services. They totaled about $358 million worth of services that were provided either free or super low cost, so what we see is that pregnancy resource centers they're actually showing up and helping women. All that Planned Parenthood has to offer is an abortion and a quick boot out the door. Really, if you have any problems, follow up with the ER.

Joey:

Is Planned Parenthood privately funded, or it's government, or it's both?

Nicole:

Yeah, they have both, so they're funded by the government, and then they also get a lot of support from other organizations.

Joey:

People that want that agenda. I would imagine Yep, that's right.

Nicole:

That's right, absolutely so. It is really imperative. And the truth is, as more statistics come out on all the amazing work of pregnancy resource centers, politicians in states where there is authority to advance law are trying to give more state funding towards organizations like pregnancy resource centers, like the ones that you mentioned in Florida, because these organizations are actually not just walking with women before they have babies, they're walking with them after they have their babies and they're helping the whole family, as you mentioned about the, the dad, or the, the male who's available to help at one of the pregnancy resource centers you mentioned. I love that about a lot of these resource centers. They have, like men's coaching programs and parenting programs to help families know okay, this is, this is how we're going to move forward. How can I be a man here and support my family and get the job security that I need in order to help my family thrive? So this is where the pro-life movement's going and I would just encourage your listeners like get involved in your community, get involved in helping these women through these pregnancy resource centers. Some people have money. If you have money to give, give that. If you have talent to give, if you know like, if you can teach parenting classes, go give your talent. If you're really great at organizing, go organize and help these pregnancy resource centers. Just volunteer your time to help them get organized.

Nicole:

I know when I was I have four children and when my children were really young I didn't have a bunch of time to give to pauses during the day.

Nicole:

I was so busy trying to take care of all my kids. But I got training so that at nighttime, when the Pregnancy Resource Center was closed, they would still need someone to answer the helpline if somebody called, and so I would get the Pregnancy Resource Center's phone transferred to my cell phone and every night before I would go to bed I would just pray over anyone who might call that night. And lots of times over the years that I did that. I got calls in the night about people from people who were abortion minded, and we set up appointments and we got them into the clinic and I got to talk to them and I just did it. If they called, you know, and so there's always a way you can serve. If you have a heart to serve, get connected to your local pregnancy resource center and ask them what can I do to help you? Because there's always something that you can do.

Joey:

That's amazing. I know a group from our church just went and did some painting and some stuff for the building. It was at one of them. I think it was Heartbeat of Miami. So, yes, there's always young girl in Florida that she's trying to leave the state and she gets in trouble with the police. It's this. It tries to make it look very scary. Have you seen or heard anything about this?

Nicole:

I have not seen that. That commercial, no, but what? What ended up happening in the commercial?

Joey:

It was, I don't, I don't know. They just left like a cliffhanger. It was a total, just emotional plea oh, you're going to get in trouble with the police. She got stopped and didn't make it to the state line. There was no information provided, it was just oh, this is scary. Do you hear that? Is there any validity to it? Are ladies being arrested? I mean, if anybody's seeing this and only hearing those kinds of misinformation, I mean could you shed some light on that?

Nicole:

Sure, yeah. So, generally speaking, the abortion industry, the way that they advance their cause which, by the way, the majority of Americans only OK. So the majority of Americans support restrictions on abortion. So the latest Gallup polling show that about 62, which is down by two points, so 64 last year, but still the majority, 62 percent of Americans support some kind of restriction on abortion. And what we know, though, is that in a lot of these states, especially states like Florida and others that are going to be targeted for abortion amendments, the abortion industry is using fear to try to drive people to the polls to vote in favor of abortion amendments, and they use it by spreading honestly lies about what will happen if these abortion amendments which, by the way, are super extreme, the majority of these amendments. Now, in Florida, it's a little different, but, technically speaking, because there's the exception for the health of the mother, you can get an abortion even very very late into your pregnancy, but the majority of the laws don't even have that.

Nicole:

They actually use softer language in Florida, probably because they didn't think they could pass the most extreme kind, but, for example, the measure that was passed in Ohio, which was the most recent abortion amendment. It included abortion up until the moment of birth for any reason and without any restrictions at all, like no questions asked. So these are very, very extreme positions that the majority of Americans say they do not support. And in fact, when they're asked like do you believe that abortions in the last trimester should be legal or illegal? 70% of Americans say illegal. And yet these measures are being passed.

Nicole:

And the reason why this is happening, the reason why we see this disconnect, is because the abortion industry is very, very good at fear-mongering and they walked around in Ohio and told women and men that if this abortion amendment isn't passed, women are going to die, your daughter is going to die or your wife is going to die. And of course that is not true, because every state in America that has a pro-life law in place has an exception for the life of the mother. So that is just not true. It's a lie. It's a lie that is spread. And, of course, all of these laws are targeting the abortionist, the person that is actually performing the abortion. They do not target the moms.

Joey:

The moms are not going to jail. That is very good to know. That is very good to know. They're not target the moms. That is very good to know. That is very good to know.

Nicole:

They're not going to jail. It's about the doctors who are performing these. So, of course, the left continues to push out their lies, and they're simply doing that so that they can confuse people or get them so scared that they vote in a way that's not consistent with their beliefs.

Joey:

Yeah, vote in a way that's not consistent with their beliefs. Yeah, you know that's so. I mean that little clarity right there. It's about the person performing the abortion, not the mom. I mean, again, you know I'm so grateful to be speaking with you. I know we have less than 10 minutes left and I'm learning so much. I mean, I'm benefiting so much. I know our listeners will as well, just getting clarity.

Joey:

And you know, one thing I would say, and I'd love for you to comment on it, and you know again, this is me speaking personally. You know, it's, it's it's. What is the issue? Right, there's there's secondary issues or there's consequences for lack of a better term to the decisions, but we're protecting human life. It's about the life of the pre-born human being, and I think the focus could get off oh well the mom, oh well the doctor, or well, this or well that. Wait, wait, wait, wait. What's the main issue? There's a human life at stake here. Am I on track? Is that something that we should be thinking about? Is that helpful for people making these decisions or hearing these arguments?

Nicole:

Absolutely. I mean, I think, and especially as Christians and that's where we need to start is that our biblical worldview informs us that all human life has dignity because we are made in the image of God. We are image bearers, which means that every pre-born baby, beginning in the womb, is an image bearer of God himself. And secondly, the history of this country recognizes that the right to life is the first right. Without life, it's impossible to exercise any other right protected under our Constitution. And this life is a pre-political right. It's a right that is endowed to us by our Creator and not by the government. Therefore, our laws need to reflect that life begins in the womb. If it's not a human that's in the womb. What is it?

Joey:

Yeah.

Nicole:

This is a human rights issue and these are human lives and they deserve to be protected.

Joey:

Amen. I'm excited. I want to see things happen. I'm excited for what's happening, for what's been happening. You know I want to get to something here and again. This is one of those people don't like to talk about this, but I think it could be a good opportunity. And again, we here at God's Way Radio, we don't stray away from difficult topics, but even reference specific candidates, even reference, you know, elections at all levels. How important is this issue when we go to vote for each candidate?

Nicole:

I personally think that it is very important. I think it's one of the three most important topics that I look at as a Christian. When I'm looking at, what do I need to consider here as I vote in an election? So I'll tell you the three that I think are the most important and that listeners, as you vote for candidates for office, consider. The first is sanctity of human life, like what we are talking about. What does this candidate believe on the issue of abortion? The second is on religious freedom, because it is impossible for us to exercise our faith in an open and free and public society if the government is passing laws that restrict our religious freedom. And then the third I believe that we should be considering are parental rights. Is this a candidate that would respect and support my rights as a parent to direct the moral upbringing, medical, educational upbringing of my child? And so those are three areas that I think are very important for Christians to pay attention to, very important for Christians to pay attention to, and you know I just want to say that, as Christians, our worldview must inform our values and our values should be based on biblical truth and a couple of verses for you to keep in mind, as you consider, should I really vote my biblical views?

Nicole:

Well, first consider Proverbs 29, 2, which says when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people mourn. What do we know? What does this tell us? It tells us that believers know that there is wisdom in good leadership. So when good leaders are in authority, our families and our communities are thriving, but when the wicked are in control, communities are thriving, but when the wicked are in control, our lives are difficult. So we should absolutely keep these things in mind and I personally think that, on the issue of the sanctity of human life, we should be asking where does this candidate stand on abortion? Does he or she believe that life is valuable and worth protecting in the womb, and will he or she promote policies that protect pre-born human life? If the answers are yes, then I think that's a great somebody that believes in the value of life in the womb and they're gonna advance policies. And if it's no, I think you should consider looking at other candidates.

Joey:

I can't thank you enough for being willing to take that question head on. I think it's so, so important. Nicole, we're pretty much out of time If there was anything left for you to share on what our listeners can do next. We learned how we should really evaluate our vote. We learned about working with local pregnancy resource centers. Is there anything else that we could be doing to advance the issue? The rights of these unborn and preborn human beings.

Nicole:

You know, the only other thing I would add is just to pray. Pray that God would move in this generation for revival, because, at the end of the day, what we are hoping for is to change people's hearts and minds. End of the day, what we are hoping for is to change people's hearts and minds, and that really is a spiritual awakening to see truth about not just the dignity of the pre-born, but what God calls good in our world, how he's called families and parents to be good for communities. And so what we want is a spiritual awakening, and that requires prayer and it requires our votes and it requires our hands to be busy at work. But just don't forget, there's a spiritual battle at play here, and so we're going to do everything we can in the physical realm as we also battle in the spiritual realm. So pray that the Lord would move and would open people's eyes to see that abortion is a human rights issue and that these lives, these babies, need to be protected.

Joey:

Amen. Nicole Hunt from Focus on the Family. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you, my sister, so much for spending some time with us.

Nicole:

Thank you for having me.

Announcer:

God bless. We hope you enjoyed Friends and Family, unique conversations recorded and produced in our studios, where you get a chance to hear what God is doing in people's lives. Jesus tells us in John 15, verse 15, I have called you friends For all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. So that's why we love to share these exclusive interviews with you. Our hope is that through their stories God will be made known to you. But you can only find them here on God's Way Radio. Just check godswayradiocom for our full program schedule.