The World and Everything in It: April 20, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. I’m Nancy, and I’m Bill, and we are the Jepsens, retired wheat farmers that live in Wallowa County in Northeast Oregon. World Watch is part of our morning routine, and we listen to The World and Everything in It often while exercising at the local gym. I hope you enjoy today’s program.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

State and federal lawmakers across the country are debating the need for parental bills of rights. What are they and what would they do?

KEVIN McCARTHY: That you have a say in your kids' education, not government, and not telling you what to do.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Plus a mom in Maine sues her daughter’s school for lying to her. We’ll talk about it with WORLD’s Steve West.

Also today, pro-life answers to pro-abortion arguments

RANDY ALCORN: This isn't about loving babies instead of women. It's loving babies along with loving women.

And WORLD commentator Cal Thomas takes Chicago politicians to task for justifying last weekend's violence.

BROWN: It’s Thursday, April 20th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

BUTLER: And I’m Paul Butler. Good morning!

BROWN: Now the news with Anna Johansen Brown.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, NEWS ANCHOR: SCOTUS » The Supreme Court is extending the availability of the abortion drug mifepristone until Friday, while it considers what restrictions, if any, should apply during the ongoing legal battle over the drug’s availability.

NANCY PELOSI: What gives a Supreme Court justice or a member of Congress, the right to say that something was not rightly approved. It's, it would be ludicrous if it wasn't so serious.

Many have argued that the FDA did improperly approve the drugs when it used a faster approval process that didn’t adequately assess the drug’s risks.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas revoked the FDA’s approval for mifepristone.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals then reinstated access to the drug with some restrictions.

The 5th Circuit is expected to hear the case in May.

Sudan » 

SOUND: [University rescue]

The Sudanese army has rescued dozens of students and staffers after they were trapped inside their university for four days.

Fighting between the country’s two ruling generals broke out last Saturday, trapping the civilians inside and keeping them from basic necessities.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre:

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Their actions across Sudan have placed countless people at risk and set back the Sudanese people’s rightful call for a peaceful democratic transition.

The generals broke a 24-hour truce that was supposed to start Tuesday night. They agreed to another cease-fire yesterday.

As of Wednesday, nearly 300 people had been killed in the clashes, and more than 3,000 were injured. The United Nations says the number of dead may be higher since it’s unsafe to collect bodies from the streets.

Alabama » Officials have charged two teens and one adult with four counts each of reckless murder after a mass shooting in Alabama.

The shooters killed four people and wounded another 32 at a 16-year-old’s birthday party last weekend in Dadeville, Alabama.

District Attorney Mike Segrest says there will be more charges.

MIKE SEGREST- So when I tell you this is just the tip of the iceberg in forthcoming charges. Literally we’re going to make sure every one of those victims has justice, and not just the deceased.

Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sgt. Jeremy Burkett:

JEREMY BURKETT: This is absolutely the beginning, this is not the end. There is a tremendous amount of work that is yet to be done.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive.

Debt Ceiling » House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday unveiled a budget proposal that would raise the national debt limit and cut spending.

KEVIN McCARTHY: This responsible legislation will be led by our budget chairman Jody Arrington would responsibly raise the debt limit into next year and provide more than $4.5 trillion in savings to the American taxpayer.

McCarthy’s plan would roll federal spending back to 20-22 levels  and impose a 1 percent cap on spending increases for the next ten years. It would also raise the country’s debt limit by $1.5 trillion, allowing the U.S. to make it into next year without a default.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized the proposal.

JEAN-PIERRE: They want increased costs for hardworking families take food assistance and health care away from millions of Americans and increase the debt.

The bill has a slim chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. But it could serve as a starting point for negotiations.

Florida parental rights bill » Florida is telling teachers to stick to the script when teaching reproductive health. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Last year, the state adopted a law protecting children in kindergarten through third grade from learning about sexual orientation and gender identity in school.

Now, the state Board of Education is suggesting similar regulations in fourth through twelfth grades.

Teachers can still instruct students about sex, gender, and reproductive health when required by existing state standards.

They just cannot deviate from the existing curriculum.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

North Korea » North Korea says it could soon launch its first spy satellite.

A date for the launch has not been announced, but North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the satellite would help his country counter perceived security threats from the U.S. and South Korea.

Previous tests seemed to demonstrate that the country has the ability to launch satellites into space. But critics say the photos from those test launches were low-quality.

Kim has ordered several more satellites to establish an intelligence-gathering network.

I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Straight ahead: Legislating parent’s rights in public education. Plus, answering pro-abortion questions about adoption.

This is The World and Everything in It.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: It’s Thursday the 20th of April, 2023.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

First up: parental bills of rights.

In the first quarter of this year, legislators in 24 states have introduced or pre-filed over 60 bills that would codify the rights of parents regarding the education of their children. Bills in states like New Hampshire, Iowa, and North Carolina have passed in at least one legislative chamber.

BUTLER: Meanwhile, House Republicans introduced a parental rights bill back in March.

KEVIN McCARTHY: When you have a child, that is the most important thing in your life, you'll give your life for that child. And one thing we know in this country is education is the great equalizer and we want the parents to be empowered and that's what we're doing today, that you have a say in your kids' education, not government, and not telling you what to do.

BUTLER: House Democrats didn’t agree. Here is Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO CORTEZ: This flowery language of quote unquote, parental rights and freedom hides the sinister fact of this legislative text. If you notice in these arguments, they are not really discussing what is actually in this legislation. It includes two provisions that require schools to out trans, non binary and LGBT youth, even if it would put said youth in harm's way.

BROWN: Republicans had the votes to get the bill through the House on March 24th, but the bill may end up stuck in the Senate where Democrats hold the majority.

So why are parental bills of rights necessary? Is the Bill of Rights in the Constitution somehow insufficient? WORLD Reporter Lauren Canterberry weighs in.

LAUREN CANTERBERRY: A lot of supporters do recognize that the Bill of Rights in the Constitution affords parents a lot of these rights, as evidenced by those rights being upheld by the Supreme Court on numerous occasions. But some of the people who have put forward this legislation say that there has been a more concerted effort to use other types of legislation to prevent parents from having, say, in their children's education, or having access to information about the schools that their children are in. So it's really more taking these rights that are somewhat nebulous or general in the Bill of Rights and making them more specific to parents and to parenting and making choices for their children.

BUTLER: State parental bills have included a variety of provisions, from school library reviews to opting kids out of wearing face masks. But the fundamental focus of these bills is on open communication with parents.

CANTERBERRY: Many of them do consider information about a student being shared with their parents as critical to parental rights, things like a child asking to go by a different name or pronoun. But also, a lot of these bills require schools to allow parents to have meetings with teachers. Not that that's not happening, but really prioritizing keeping parents in the loop about how their children are doing at school, how they're behaving at school. That's a really big one that most of these bills agree on. When it comes to curriculum itself, some bills prioritize more of an opt out model where parents have to be provided with all the information about curriculum, and have the opportunity to opt out of something they disagree with. But when it comes to that curriculum piece that's a little bit more nuanced, and a bit different from state to state, depending on what that state already teaches.

BROWN: While lawmakers debate the merits of parental rights bills, moms and dads already have rights they may not realize they could be exercising. Lauren spoke with a teacher who supports expanding parents’ access to information about their children’s education, but says parents can do more to be engaged.

CANTERBERRY: She has seen a drop in the number of parents who request those parent teacher conferences, who do check in on their kids’ learning. And she really came from it of the perspective that if parents are going to have the right to know what's going on in school, then they also have the responsibility to know what's going on in school and to be engaged with that process. It's not as simple as having it codified into law. So you can point to when you feel like it's not been respected, but it's also if you have that, right, you should be engaging with that, right? And checking in with your students, teachers and just following their education in a way that is constructive for them.

BUTLER: Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. If you’d like to read her story on what lawmakers are doing to protect parents’ rights in education, we’ve put a link to it in today’s transcript.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: parental rights on the local level.

Back in December, a mom named Amber Lavigne was given three minutes to speak at her daughter’s school board in Maine. And in those three minutes, she told a chilling story.

AMBER LAVIGNE: On Friday, December 2, we discovered a chest binder in my barely 13 year old’s bedroom. Utilizing these devices can cause serious side effects. After discussing this with our 13 year old minor child, it was revealed to us that the binder was given to her by a district social worker employed at AOS central Lincoln County Maine schools without our permission.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: As you heard there, Mrs. Lavigne found an undergarment used to make a female’s torso appear to be male. When she investigated, Lavigne discovered that the social worker, a 26-year-old man, had advised her 13-year-old daughter not to tell her parents about the chest binder.

BROWN: Lavigne complained to school officials and then the school board. She requested official school documents explaining what else the social worker had counseled. The school refused. So not long after the board meeting, the family decided to pull their daughter out and homeschool her. Just days later, agents from Maine’s Office of Child Protective Services visited the Lavignes’ home. They’d received an anonymous accusation of emotional abuse at home. After investigating, the agents discovered that wasn’t the case.

BUTLER: As you can imagine, Amber Lavigne was pretty disturbed by the whole situation, so on April 4th, she and her attorneys filed a complaint against the school in federal court.

What’s at stake in this case? WORLD’s legal correspondent Steve West joins us to talk about it.

Good morning, Steve.

STEVE WEST, REPORTER: Good morning.

BUTLER: Well, let’s begin with how the Supreme Court has addressed parental rights in the past.

WEST: Right, there are Supreme Court precedents going back, you know, 100 years that recognize that parental rights to you know, the care and the upbringing and education of children that is a fundamental right, that is recognized in the Constitution, actually in the 14th Amendment. But the court has never articulated exactly how it will review a claim that parental rights have been violated, when, for example, a state or local law impinges on those rights, which is what is happening here. Generally, when you have a fundamental right, like free speech or free exercise of religion, the proper test is strict scrutiny, the most difficult test to pass. That means the state has to show a compelling interest and overriding that fundamental right, and it has to show that it used the least restrictive means of doing so that's how important it has to be. But the Supreme Court hasn't yet said what level of review would be applied in a parental rights situation. So the precedent is helpful, but it's not, not what we would like it to be.

BROWN: What arguments has the school made in response, and what kind of defense do you think they’ll raise in this case?

WEST: Well, the first thing they said here is that, hey, no policy of the state or the local policies, none of those policies had been violated, which is really not the case, if it's to be believed that this particular counselor told Amber Levine's daughter to keep a secret because there is a policy against counseling a student to keep a secret. But even beyond that, I think their argument is going to be based around the idea that they're protecting the student's privacy. And by doing that, protecting the privacy, they're encouraging students who have issues to come forward and talk to a counselor. And if they don't protect the students' privacy, if students don't know that their property's privacy is protected, then soon they're going to be a lot less willing to come forward and talk with them. You know, that being said, that policy could be met by you know, having that confidentiality, but not counseling them to keep secrets and also moving in every way they can toward the involvement of parents in the life, you know, of what's going on with with the child, rather than keeping this completely from the parents. But I think that's going to be the argument.

BUTLER: Now it seems to me like these sorts of conflicts between parental rights and privacy laws will eventually end up in the Supreme Court. Are there any cases like this in the pipeline?

WEST: Well, there's nothing immediately headed to the Supreme Court. This is still an unsettled area of the law. Still, a lot of civil cases that are winding their way through through the courts, particularly through appeals. Back in September, a federal judge declined to block an Iowa law that let students choose to identify as the opposite sex at school, including going by another name, while instructing teachers and counselors and administrators not to tell their parents, so the court refused to block that. That's on appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments on it in February. So we're just awaiting a ruling on that case. And then back in December, a federal judge in Massachusetts also ruled in favor of a school board there and said that the school's policy of keeping students’ gender identity secret did not violate parents rights. It cited anti-discrimination law and dismissing that claim and basically said that, you know, while parents have rights, they may choose to send their children to public schools, but they don't have a constitutional right to dictate how schools educate children. So we've heard this argument before, you know, you do have parental rights, but your parental rights stop at the school door, you can take your children elsewhere, where you have more control over them, but once you hand them off to school authorities, they're basically you don't you're right, sort of stop at the door. So that's, I don't think that's true, but I think that's the way the court viewed it in that case, and that case is on appeal, as well. So we've got a lot that's still out there. That still needs to work its way through the appeal system, but I suspect one of these cases will reach the Supreme Court eventually.

BROWN: Well, as for Lavigne, the school has not yet responded to her legal complaint, so no answers for her yet. But what do you think parents listening can learn from this situation?

WEST: I think there's a lot to learn, one thing is and I think this became clear during during COVID, when parents began to see you know, what was actually happening at school, because they saw, they saw on the screen at home, the kinds of things that students were exposed to. So the first thing I would say is be informed. Don't assume that administrators are on your side, you know, know the school policies. Many administrators are very good and very open to parents. But know the school's policies, know where you stand and be informed and show up at school board meetings, listen to what's being said. And if you have opportunity and sign up for it as a follow the procedure that they have, you can also let your voice be heard as well. There are a number of parental rights organizations that you can get involved with, and be more informed about some of these issues that are going on as well. But you know, in the end, one of the best things, I think, is to foster the kind of relationship with your children, so that they will trust and confide in you. They don't need to confide just in a school counselor, they have you to come to and know that their opinions will be respected. There'll be listened to and loved. And so that's the best thing.

BUTLER: It is indeed. Steve West is WORLD’s legal correspondent, and you can follow his coverage of religious liberty issues in his weekly newsletter. Just go to wng.org and sign up for Liberties. Steve, thanks for joining.

WEST: Thank you.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Well, the most adept criminals use the element of surprise to their advantage. The first successful border breach at the White House in a long time proves it.

Four years ago, the White House beefed up its security fence, doubling the height to 13 feet. But the fence designers overlooked one thing. Taller isn’t always better. Audio here from CBS Evening News.

CBS: A toddler squeezed his way through the metal fencing and started making his way towards the North Lawn while his parents watched from Pennsylvania Avenue.

The boy fit through the five and a half inch gap between the bars…triggering White House security to move in fast.

CBS: Secret Service Agents quickly scooped him up and brought him to his parents.

The guys in black kept their interrogation short, really short, as the toddler was less than three feet tall. I understand authorities won’t be pressing charges, though even if they were, I’m not sure what punishment fits the crime here. Taking away his allowance or grounding him to his room?

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, April 20th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: answering pro-life critics.

WORLD’s Caleb Bailey has been reporting on a series of common pro-choice claims, addressing them with pro-life answers from experts like Randy Alcorn. Today, he covers an often-dismissed alternative to abortion.

ELICIA: There are kids that don't get opportunities and wish they are dead every day. Because their parents didn't want them. Or there can be in my case, I grew up in an abusive household where my mother didn't want me.

CALEB BAILEY, REPORTER: On June 25, 2022, Elicia joins a crowd of protesters on a street corner in downtown Asheville. It’s one day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson, overturning a half century of Roe v. Wade.

Elicia only gives her first name. She brings up a hotly debated argument for abortion.

ELICIA: I think that you know, instead of bringing a kid into this world that's going to be mistreated. If you want to, you can have an abortion.

Randy Alcorn is the author of Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments.

RANDY ALCORN: Planned Parenthood really popularized the arguments against unwanted children. And it had a very popular phrase, “every child, a wanted child.”

Alcorn says that’s a pretty neutral phrase—hard to disagree with. But he pushes further.

ALCORN: I agree with you 100%. With that phrase, every child, a wanted child. Now, my question is, how would you finish that sentence? You say, every child, a wanted child so let's find children who are unwanted and kill them before they're born. Now, you wouldn't say it that way. It doesn't make a nice bumper sticker.

Alcorn presents his own end to that sentence.

ALCORN: Every child a wanted child. So let's learn to want children more. And let's do everything we can to get them into the homes of people who want them. And there are people lined up millions of people awaiting adoptions, particularly adoptions of infants, and who wait and wait and wait.

Heather Featherston is the vice president of Lifetime Adoption in New Port Richey, Florida. Lifetime is an American Christian adoption agency whose goal is to create families through open adoption. Part of that process is destigmatizing adoption.

HEATHER FEATHERSTON: Women today believe adoption is still like it was in the 50s and 60s, they believe that they are going to have the baby and the baby's going to be whisked out of the room. In their minds, it may be that, you know, bad mothers do adoption, because that's what they may know.

Open adoption gives varying degrees of contact between the mother and adoptive family. The birth mom can choose the parents after a careful selection process. She can see and hold her baby. They often negotiate ongoing contact.

FEATHERSTON: We see very open adoptions where they do get together for visits once or twice a year as an extended family.

Working at Lifetime, Featherston has witnessed first hand that there is no shortage of families to adopt these babies. And the process appears more daunting than it actually is.

FEATHERSTON: Most women who call us, they don't call us to say, "Hey, I'm ready to do adoption," they call to say, "I've been thinking about adoption, what is the process look like?"

Featherston says there are no requirements for birth moms. No conditions that disqualify the child.

FEATHERSTON: We have families open to special needs to drug exposure, alcohol, exposure, cigarettes, marijuana, it doesn't matter.

Last year, 29 year old Rachel Matzuka was diagnosed with CPTSD, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A past filled with parental neglect and drug abuse almost cost Matzuka her life.

RACHEL MATZUKA: And due to that, my addiction led to overdosing on Klonopin, and Adderall and cocaine over the course of years, of course. But ultimately, the last overdose of cocaine was back in like November 2017. And I almost had a heart attack at 23.

But that wasn’t the biggest shock.

MATZUKA: And then, a few months later, on December 23, of 2017, that is, the day that I found out, I was pregnant.

As unexpected as the news was, it was a turning point for her.

MATZUKA: He saved my life. My child saved my life. Because that day that I found out, I was pregnant, I never touched cocaine again. And I've been sober now for almost six years from cocaine.

Matzuka had plenty of external pressures. Even her own mom advised her to get an abortion.

MATZUKA: I only had a few options. There was abortion, adoption, or raising the baby. And abortion just was never an option in my mind.

Recovering from addiction and in a tight financial spot, Matzuka felt the choice was clear.

MATZUKA: I ultimately determined that if I want my children to have the life that I would hope for them to have, it's not going to be with me. And as much as that hurts, and it still stings like crazy today to even say it to myself. It's the truth. And you know, if I have to protect them, even from myself, then I will, because they're everything to me. They're all I have.

Thanks to open adoption, Matzuka was able to place her son Elijah for adoption with a couple who were close family friends.

It wasn’t goodbye. Matzuka stays in touch with the family, gathering for holidays and going by the name Mama Rachel.

Three years after Elijah was born, Matzuka became pregnant again. Still sorting out finances and her own life, she looked once again to open adoption.

Hoping to keep her sons together, she first went to Elijah’s adoptive parents. And to her surprise:

MATZUKA: They had been praying for a while now for a second child and I'm like, you've got to stop praying for kids. So they adopted Judah as well. So Elijah is a big brother and to see them together as the most beautiful thing in the world.

It’s beyond what Matzuka ever imagined when she first became pregnant.

Randy Alcorn points out that adoption doesn’t just preserve the life of the baby. It also values the life and interests of the mother.

ALCORN: This isn't about loving babies instead of women. It's loving babies along with loving women

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Caleb Bailey in Asheville, North Carolina.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Today is Thursday, April 20th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up next, WORLD commentator Cal Thomas on the so-called Teen Takeover in Chicago. He says that as long as Democratic politicians make excuses for such behavior, they’ll never fix the problem.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: Last weekend, the Mayor-elect of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, responded to a group of teenagers who attacked property and assaulted pedestrians and drivers with what sounds like justification for their behavior. While saying he does not “condone the destructive activity” (there’s a euphemism) and that it “has no place” in Chicago (when it increasingly does), Johnson added, “it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.”

Well, the second part of his statement nullifies the first, doesn’t it?

Two teens were shot during the incident. Fifteen people were arrested.

I am betting there are other teenagers in those “starved communities” who don’t behave the way some of their peers did. Besides, with Democratic mayors running Chicago for as long as anyone can remember, which party should be blamed for the lack of nourishment? The last Republican mayor left office in 1931.

To watch video of the melee is to see what anarchy looks like. In the chaos reportedly organized on social media, teens can be seen jumping on top of vehicles while others attack innocent victims. A Tesla, said to be worth $120,000, was vandalized. Johnson has said he won’t hire more cops.

The weekly shootings and murders in Chicago have become so routine that it rarely makes national news. Newsweek noted: “The number of homicides in Chicago hit a 25-year high in 2021 with more than 800, according to the Chicago Police Department. That number decreased to 695 last year but is still far higher than when outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office in 2019. Crimes including carjackings and robberies have also increased in recent years.”

The cure to lawlessness is not to indulge the lawbreakers by justifying or seeking to explain their behavior. It is to enforce the law. Doing so serves to tell others there are consequences for illegal behavior and justice will be swift and certain. Without law enforcement there is no glue that can hold a city or a society together. Hundreds of Chicago police officers have left the force and the city is having trouble recruiting replacements. Is it any wonder with the “defund the police” movement and growing disrespect for those who protect and serve?

When lawless behavior is tolerated and leaders who are supposed to keep neighborhoods safe effectively see lawbreakers as depraved because they are deprived, to quote lyrics from “West Side Story,” it is a virtual guarantee that some will run wild. As the Proverb says: “Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint.” (Proverbs 29:18)

Chicago voters are largely to blame for the mess in their city. They keep electing leaders like Brandon Johnson and Lori Lightfoot. Do they expect different outcomes?

In a famous song about Chicago, Frank Sinatra sings: “One town that won’t let you down, it’s my kind of town.”

Not anymore.

I’m Cal Thomas.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Tomorrow: on Culture Friday, Katie McCoy joins us to talk about the future of transgenderism in America.

And, Collin Garbarino reviews a film about a mom’s pursuit of justice for her lynched son. Plus our monthly visit with George Grant. That and more tomorrow. I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Psalmist writes of the Lord: “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. Psalm chapter 102, verses 25 through 27.

Go now in grace and peace.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.