The World and Everything in It: March 29, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like me. Hi, my name is Amy Garden and I’m a class of 2013 World Journalism Institute graduate working as a communications consultant here in Leesburg, Virginia. The deadline to apply to this year’s fully-funded WJI college course is March 31st. So if you want to learn the tools of the trade go to WJI.world and start your application. I hope you enjoy today’s program.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! We begin a series of presidential candidate profiles. Today, former president Donald Trump.

TRUMP: America’s comeback starts right now.

NICK EICHER, HOST: That’s ahead on Washington Wednesday.

Also today, news from around the world on World Tour.

Plus, how Google inserts itself into abortion politics in search results.

MADELINE SCHLENZ: The preset on Google is only show an abortion clinic Yeah, we used to show up in that space.

And World commentator Ryan Bomberger on violence at pregnancy clinics.

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday, March 29th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, the news with Anna Johansen Brown.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, NEWS ANCHOR: Nashville motive » Law enforcement officials in Nashville and families of the victims of a school shooting are asking the same question: Why? Attorney General Merrick Garland:

MERRICK GARLAND: The FBI and ATF are both on the scene working with local police. As of now, a motive hasn’t been identified.

The alleged shooter was 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a woman who identified as a transgender man. Officials say she once attended the Covenant Christian school.

Nashville Police Chief John Drake told NBC News earlier this week:

DRAKE: There is some belief that there was some resentment for having to go to that school —don’t have all the details to that just yet— and that’s why this incident occurred.

Investigators say they found a manifesto among the clues left behind. James Smallwood is the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police President.

SMALLWOOD: At some point, the police department is going to release that to the public - or at least what they can. The challenge is right now, we don’t want people reaching conclusions until we’re able to have a very detailed investigation.

The attacker fatally shot three 9-year-old students and three school employees on Monday.

Senate bank/SVB hearing » Federal regulators say Silicon Valley Bank has itself to blame for its demise.

Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Michael Barr testified before the Senate Banking Committee yesterday.

MICHAEL BARR: The picture that has emerged thus far shows SVB had inadequate risk management and internal controls that struggled to keep pace with the growth of the bank.

Barr said the Federal Reserve had warned SVB about its risk management practices since 2021.

The bank had grown rapidly in recent years. Officials say the bank may have tried to grow too quickly, taking on higher risk.

Pence » A federal judge says that former Vice President Mike Pence will have to testify against former President Donald Trump.

The grand jury testimony will be part of the Justice Department’s probe into alleged attempts by former President Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 election.

Earlier this year, Pence told reporters:

PENCE: No vice president in American history has ever been compelled to testify against a president with whom they served.

He vowed to fight the subpoena to testify, a stance he said is in line with his oath of office and history.

The judge’s ruling is still under seal, but several people familiar with the matter have spoken about its contents.

Pence’s lawyers have not said whether they will appeal.

Migrant deaths »

SOUND: [Rescuing migrants]

In Mexico, at least 40 people are dead after a fire broke out in a migrant holding center near the Texas border.

ANDRES OBRADOR: [Speaking Spanish]

Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says authorities believe the migrants found out they would be deported … and set mattresses ablaze in protest.

The holding center was located in Ciudad Juarez, just over the border from El Paso, Texas.

Debt limit debate » House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is calling on President Biden to come to the bargaining table for talks on raising the country’s debt ceiling.

Republican leaders say they want to rein in Washington’s overspending before agreeing to borrow more. McCarthy has proposed things like reappropriating COVID-19 relief funds, and cutting some domestic spending.

But President Biden maintains that Republicans should raise the debt ceiling without any preconditions.

BIDEN: They’re putting our economy in jeopardy by threatened to refuse to pay America's bills.

The president has previously stated that he will not negotiate with Republicans over the debt ceiling.

Blinken subpoena » The House Foreign Affairs Committee has issued a subpoena to Secretary of State Tony Blinken for documents about the 2021 troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Congressman Cory Mills:

CORY MILLS: The fact that Anthony Blinken has yet to actually provide that tells us or shows that there is something that seems to be hidden

The Committee says two dozen U-S diplomats in Afghanistan warned of the imminent fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

Blinken said last week he was working on sharing information, while withholding some details to protect the identities of people involved.

I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s the 29th day of March, 2023.

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

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. It’s Washington Wednesday.

Today, we are talking again about the 2024 battle for the White House. And we’re focusing on a candidate who seven years ago turned the political world upside down.

We are talking, of course, about former President Donald Trump.

Today we’ll examine his campaign and his prospects for moving back into the White House less than two years after moving out.

REICHARD: It has been nearly eight years since he took that famous ride down the escalator at Trump Tower in Manhattan and made this announcement:

TRUMP: I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again.

And last November, he made the same pledge.

TRUMP: America’s comeback starts right now.

You cannot consider Trump’s candidacy without considering his presidency. And Trump will certainly have positives to run on. For most conservatives, that starts with his makeover of the US Supreme Court.

TRUMP: It is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.

EICHER: The new conservative high court majority ultimately led to the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Most Republican voters also appreciate the sweeping tax overhaul he signed in 2017. Among other things, it cut corporate taxes to their lowest since 1939. And supporters say that was part of a pro-business agenda that helped to fuel a roaring pre-pandemic economy.

REICHARD: President Trump was unable to fully build the promised border wall, but Republicans credit Trump for policies that helped to curb illegal immigration. The effects of the remain in Mexico rule and other policies became clearer when the current administration reversed them. That gave rise to record-shattering numbers of illegal crossings.

And on foreign policy, Trump can point to diplomatic wins in the Middle East with the signing of the Abraham Accords.

TRUMP: In a few moments, these visionary leaders will sign the first two peace deals between Israel and an Arab state in more than quarter-century.

EICHER: The deal normalized relations between Israel and some Arab nations. And then there was Trump’s tough stance on China, which pleased many Republicans.

But he also took a lot of flak.

Some disagree with his decision to negotiate with the Taliban on leaving Afghanistan. And critics charge Trump was manipulated by North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in nuclear talks that ultimately led nowhere.

REICHARD: Some complained about his administration’s rushed approval of COVID-19 vaccines. Trump was booed by some of his own supporters at a rally in 2021.

TRUMP: I recommend take the vaccines! I did it. It’s good. Take the vaccines. Nah, that’s okay, that’s alright. You’ve got your freedoms.

A large section of the party did not approve of his public remarks ahead of the Capitol riot or his handling of the incident as it unfolded.

EICHER: And Trump’s current and likely Republican opponents are already attacking his electability. They point to three straight disappointing elections for Republicans since Trump’s initial victory in 2016.

And then there is the factor of age. If Trump wins another term, he would turn 80 in the White House.

Joining us now to talk about candidate Trump’s place in the 2024 Republican field is our own Kent Covington. Good morning, Kent!

KENT COVINGTON: Good morning!

REICHARD: Well, let’s start with current events. One thing we haven’t talked about yet is this potential indictment hanging over Donald Trump’s head in Manhattan. Trump himself predicted that he would be arrested and indicted last week. That did not happen. But it still might. This stems from a probe into payments he allegedly made to silence extramarital affairs. What impact do you think this could have on his campaign?

COVINGTON: It’s really hard to say. Of course, from a legal perspective, you had a great conversation here a couple weeks back with Dr. Marc Clauson about the potential indictment. He seemed to believe that this is on very shaky legal ground. But nevertheless, a trial could interfere with his campaign. 

I don’t think it’s going to change that way very many people view Donald Trump. Some of the personal ethical issues in Trump’s past are already known by voters. He’s already been through the whole Russia investigation, which turned up nothing. He’s been through two impeachments and the Jan. 6 committee hearings, which were essentially a trial—or just a prosecution, really—in the court of public opinion. 

Is one more probe, one more trial, going to change anyone’s mind one way or the other? Maybe at the margins, but there’s an argument that it could actually help him if many Republicans see this as illegitimate and circle the wagons around him. So again, it’s really hard to say what effect this would have. Normally, if a presidential candidate were indicted, it would be a huge, massive deal. But normal rules don’t apply here.

REICHARD: Kent, what are Donald Trump’s strengths as a candidate as you see them in this GOP primary race?

COVINGTON: Well, I think it’s some of the things you just mentioned. He has a record to run on that most Republicans will appreciate. The pre-pandemic economy, the Supreme Court, the border, all of that.

He already has a powerful campaign apparatus. And he has a very high floor. He has a base of probably about a third of Republican voters who will back him no matter what. That’s a huge advantage.

REICHARD: Okay, those are strengths. What of his weaknesses?

COVINGTON: Well, in some ways he is the inverse of Barack Obama in that polls largely showed that a majority of Americans disapproved of Obama’s policies. BUT most voters liked him personally.

I don’t think voters have taken issue with Trump on policies, particularly Republican voters now. For those GOP voters who are reluctant to vote for him, I think it’s the other stuff. There are some people that find his demeanor, name-calling and that sort of stuff to be very offputting.

And when you compare Trump’s peak polling with Republican voters as president compared to right now it seems like there could be a certain amount of Trump fatigue.

REICHARD: Well, what are the early poll numbers telling us right now? Trump said the other day that he’s leading all of his opponents and likely opponents by a mile. True?

COVINGTON: Well, I would respectfully disagree with that characterization. I would say he is in a solid position, but not a great position.

And let me just start by saying that it’s so ridiculously early that anything can happen. We can’t put too much stock in polls right now.

But at such an early stage in an election cycle, polls generally tend to favor candidates with high name recognition. And Donald Trump is probably just about the most recognizable name on planet earth.

Early polls show Trump with an average of the latest polls have Trump with about 45% support among Republicans. And that has him up by about 15 points over his closest rival, which is Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

REICHARD: Well, that certainly sounds like good news for Trump, no?

COVINGTON: Well, yes and no. Would you rather be up by 15 points than down? Sure, absolutely. But again, given that Trump is so well known this early on, it’s hard for me to see any poll that has him under 50% with Republicans as a good poll for him.

I think we have to look at what’s known as the “incumbent rule.” Because in terms of the Republican primary, Trump is the incumbent.

And the National Council on Public Polls says that more than 80% of the time, most undecided voters pull the lever for the challenger.

And the reason for that is that voters already know what they’re going to get with the incumbent. So if they don’t already support that candidate, chances are better than not that they are not going to.

IF DeSantis emerges as the major challenger to Trump, it’s probably going to be a lot easier for him to build significantly on that 30% than it will be for Trump to build on his 45%.

So if I were working for the Trump campaign, I would call that 15-point edge—at this stage— an uncomfortable lead. Let’s put it that way. I think his campaign would like to see Trump over 50% consistently.

REICHARD: Well, what percentage of GOP voters did Trump win over in his first campaign?

COVINGTON: That’s a great question, and it certainly underscores that fact that Trump is still in a solid position. Not comfortable, but solid because in 2016, he won with 45% of the Republican vote almost exactly where he’s polling right now.

So can he win with 45%? Absolutely. He’s done it before. But that was the lowest percentage of the primary vote for any Republican nominee since Barry Goldwater in 1964.

And it was only the second time since 1964 that anyone won the nomination with less than 50%. John McCain was the other person to do it.

So, 7–8 years ago The majority of Republican voters actually preferred someone other than Trump. But they could not make up their mind who that other person should be.

Jeb Bush seemed to be the first guy with momentum. But that a bunch of people all took the return surging in the polls: Ben Carson, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz.

But ultimately, Republicans, who preferred somebody, other than Trump, again, just never found consensus behind any one candidate.

REICHARD: So is that the question now? Whether enough voters coalesce behind some other candidate?

COVINGTON: oh, as long as Trump is polling under 50%, that is exactly the question. If it is a big Republican field, and candidates that are frankly on the fringe of the race stick around for a long time, then 45% will probably be enough once again. And that could very well happen.

Because while President Trump may have a harder ceiling in terms of it being more difficult to add to that 45%, he also has the extreme advantage of very lower floor. Again, he has a base of support that will stick with him no matter what. So this is going to be a fascinating race.

Kent Covington is World’s radio news director. Kent, thanks so much!

COVINGTON: You bet.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: VP Harris in Ghana — Today’s World Tour takes off in Ghana, where U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris began her first official Africa tour on Sunday.

SOUND: [Welcome]

Harris met with Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, where she pledged $100 million dollars in U.S. aid to Ghana and other West African countries.

HARRIS: African nations such as Ghana play a critical role in a number of global issues, whether it be the issue of food security, the climate crisis, or resilient supply chains.

Harris also clarified the U.S. stance on homosexual policies. Lawmakers in Ghana are debating a bill that could criminalize homosexuality and advocacy for gay rights. Ugandan lawmakers approved a similar bill last week.

HARRIS: I will also say that this is an issue that we consider, and I consider, to be a human rights issue, and that will not change.

The weeklong trip includes stops in Tanzania today, where she will meet with the country’s first female president before moving on to Zambia on Friday.

Her trip is the highest profile visit yet by the Biden administration as China and Russia continue to grow their reach across the continent.

Harris will return to the U.S. on Sunday.

Venezuela crackdown — We head over to Venezuela where authorities are cracking down on a corruption scheme.

SOUND: [Supporters] 

Venezuela’s attorney general on Saturday said authorities rounded up 21 people, including senior government officials and business leaders.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab says they are linked to a scheme involving the sale of Venezuelan oil through a government agency that supervises cryptocurrency operations. Saab said the agency assigned oil cargoes for sale without administrative oversight. That allowed buyers to purchase the oil without a registered payment.

The accusations include appropriation of public assets, money laundering, and criminal association.

SOUND: [Speaking Spanish]

Saab says here that all public officials connected to the plot will also face treason charges.

Authorities issued arrest warrants for 11 more people. Last week the country’s petroleum minister resigned over the investigation.

Spain prays for rain — Next, to Spain.

SOUND: [Congregation singing]

Nearly 300 people gathered inside a small church in a village in the Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia on Sunday. They joined a special Mass and prayer procession for rain to fall.

The country is facing a severe drought due to high temperatures and low rainfall over the past three years.

In the Catalan village of L'Espunyola, all three nearby reservoirs are now below a third of their capacity.

SOUND: [Speaking Spanish]

This Catalan farmer says the situation will likely worsen if they don’t receive any rainfall in the next two weeks.

Residents say the agricultural region’s last drought in 2008 ended weeks after a similar Mass.

The dry weather has brought more wildfires…even this spring. About 700 firefighters worked to contain Spain's first major forest fire of the year—earlier than the usual summer fires. The blaze burned through nearly 10,000 acres of land. Over 1,500 people had to flee the area.

Yemen war — Next, to Yemen.

SOUND: [Chanting protesters]

Thousands of Yemenis crowded the streets of the rebel-held capital of Sanaa on Sunday chanting and waving flags.

The protest marked eight years since a Saudi-led military intervention began in the country.

On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia led an international military coalition that launched air strikes and blockades in parts of Yemen. The coalition sought to reinstate President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi who fled Sanaa after Houthi rebels seized control of the capital city in 2014. Saudi Arabia considers the rebels as a proxy of Iran.

The protracted conflict has mostly turned into a stalemate between the warring sides, and sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

SOUND: [Speaking Arabic]

This protester says Yemenis will continue to persist until they achieve victory.

More than 23 million people in Yemen rely on humanitarian assistance for survival.

Lebanon time confusion — We close today in Lebanon where authorities have resolved a dispute over daylight savings time.

Lebanon’s government has agreed to move clocks one hour ahead today.

The caretaker government last week proposed delaying daylight savings until April 20 instead of the country’s tradition to roll their clocks forward in the last week of March.

The last-minute change sought to cater to Muslims who are fasting during their holy month of Ramadan.

But it sparked anger and confusion. Lebanon’s influential Maronite Church, some schools, and media outlets had already defied the move.

SOUND: [Speaking Arabic]

This Beirut resident says she now has to follow different times for her children’s school, her work, and an online course.

Two prominent Christian political parties had called on the government to reverse its decision. Lebanon is also in the middle of a political impasse and an economic crisis.

That’s it for this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

NICK EICHER, HOST: You’ve heard the expression: It’s the gift that keeps on giving? Well, a tiny town in Australia is now on the lookout for a mysterious gift giver. Jane Goninon lives in the town of Warrack and she spoke to WORLD’s Amy Lewis.

JANE GONINON: The next morning, on our community Facebook page, one of the families has put up that when they got home last night, there was a minion installed outside their front gate.

Yep, a minion. You know, one of those little yellow creatures from the Despicable Me movie franchise? Only, this one is about three feet tall and it’s made out of an old propane tank. It’s a minion mailbox. And where it came from is a mystery.

GONINON: They post a photo, ask questions, nobody knows anything. And we all have a good laugh. But over the next three and a half months, we've suddenly got 25 now.

But they’re a step closer to solving the mystery. Some evidence appeared on a home security camera:

GONINON: The installer was wearing a Santa outfit. One person would be hard pressed to do all of that every week for three and a half months, I think.

MARY REICHARD: Seems like the work of Santa Claus.

EICHER: Or maybe Santa’s minions?

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHERD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, March 29th.

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

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: abortion and Google. In the post-Roe versus Wade world, the pro-life movement has discovered entirely new battlegrounds. One is related to the very device you may be using to listen to this podcast.

REICHARD: Pro-life pregnancy centers use technology to reach women in need, Google, for example. But now that process is not so straightforward. And that’s forced an industry-wide change in how women find resources to choose life. WORLD Associate Correspondent Jeff Palomino has the story.

JEFF PALOMINO, REPORTER: According to the Guttmacher Institute, 45 percent of all US pregnancies are unintended. That doesn’t mean they’re all unwanted, but some are:

LESLIE: And when my husband told me, “I think you are pregnant,” and when I have that, this positive test and my first call was “I don’t want the baby. I want to get abortion.”

This young woman tells a common story. An initial reaction to end the pregnancy. Fears that the baby will end everything important in life…and she also does what many people do in her situation.

LESLIE: And then I looking in Google for with clinic help me get abortions.

She turned to Google.

MADELINE SCHLENZ: Most of the time, it's a Google search, and it's a Google search on a phone, they will type in something like abortion, or abortion pill near me, or abortion clinic near me. There's different keywords that they will most of the time search for.

Madeline Schlenz is the Executive Director of Assist Pregnancy Center in Annandale, Virginia. Assist runs Metro Women’s Care, a pregnancy medical center.

SCHLENZ: You've got to be in the Google searches in order to bring people in the door.

But what happens if Google hides pregnancy centers in its search results? Or what if they show up, but Google puts a label on them that steers some women away? Those are two scenarios many pregnancy centers faced last year. And the discovery has caused a shift of strategy in how they reach women considering abortion.

ANNA EASTMAN: And so the timeline of this is the Dobbs decision was the end of June.

Anna Eastman is the Digital Team Manager at Choose Life Marketing, an agency that works with pregnancy centers across the country. About a week before the Dobbs decision, 20 Democrat lawmakers wrote a letter to Google. In the letter, they urged Google to limit the appearance of what they referred to as “anti-abortion fake clinics or so-called ‘crisis pregnancy centers’.”

EASTMAN: Around August is really when we start to see things change within Google, where they quietly started to make some of these changes and updates in the landscape.

Google responded to the letter saying the company would make changes to its abortion-related advertising. It also promised to update its Local Search services for health-related queries, including those related to abortion services.

Back in 2019 Google began requiring a disclosure for businesses who wanted to advertise for any terms related to abortion. The disclosure requires organizations to certify that they either provide or do not provide abortions. Since Dobbs though, Google has moved these disclosures to the top of its ads. They also increased the text size and made it darker.

SCHLENZ: The ads are the first thing that people see. And so the goal is to be the first thing that someone sees and clicks on it.

What does a woman searching for an abortion clinic in Annandale, Virginia see in the Ads now?

SCHLENZ: What we found is that now—and it's only on our paid ads—we now have this disclaimer that runs across the top that says either or, for us, it says does not provide abortions. I don't see that chiropractors have to be I have a disclaimer that says, may or may not prescribe meds, but with us, we have to have this disclaimer.

Disclaimers on ads are one thing, but there are also problems with pregnancy centers even showing up in the Google Business Profile. That’s the spot just under the Ads with the word “Places.” It has a link to the business website, contact information, and a map to show you how to get there.

SCHLENZ: Right now. The preset on Google is only show an abortion clinic Yeah, we used to show up in that space. That was one of the changes that they've rolled out since the Dobbs decision.

So they used to, but now they don’t. Some pro-abortion groups argue they shouldn’t. Should a pregnancy center show up in a search for an abortion clinic? Should a Greek diner show up in a Mexican restaurant Google search?

SCHLENZ: I think I can understand that if somebody is looking for something that they would want only that to come up. I also know that when I look for things, other things come up. And I don't then ask Google to place a disclaimer on that, or to give me a better search. I realize that's how this works. That's how advertising works.

To find clients, pregnancy centers have had to change their marketing paradigms. Shlenz says the marketing plan for Metro Women’s Care now has to involve more than just paid Google ads:

SCHLENZ: We have a Facebook marketing campaign, we have an Instagram marketing campaign, and while we don't have necessarily anti abortion, pro life ads on there, we do want to be something that catches girls eyes, and name recognition. So it's a different way of marketing where we're just trying to get in front of people's faces. You have to have so many impressions in order to make a conversion.

Not a “conversion” in a spiritual sense. In digital marketing a conversion is when someone takes an action on the Metro Women’s care website. For example, they fill out a form or request an appointment. But, what will women see when they get to Metro’s Website?

SCHLENZ: The website says abortion consultation in the greater Virginia, DC and Maryland area.

That language: “Abortion Consultation” is new on Metro’s website since the Dobbs decision. But is it right for a pregnancy center to use the language of abortion in its marketing? For Schlenz, the short answer is yes—if they actually offer it.

SCHLENZ: We are a pregnancy Medical Center with a resource arm. But I have to put myself in their shoes and realize this is a medical decision for them. So then we're going to speak medical language at them, including the term consultation.

Diversified and discerning marketing is part of the new approach, but it also requires an understanding of Google algorithms—or what it takes to get to the top of a Google search.

SCHLENZ: One of the strategies is to have new information on the website, because Google loves new. And so we constantly have new data and new things on our website.

On March 2nd, Metro Women’s Care threw a baby shower for one of its clients.

SOUND: [BABY SHOWER]

As they celebrate, the battle between Google and pregnancy centers continues. In November of last year, Democrat lawmakers sent another letter to Google. While appreciative of the company's new refinement tool for searches, they urged Google to make even more changes. The company has yet to respond.

SCHLENZ: I would love for a response from somebody on the other side to say, why are you doing this to Google, you know, and the fact of the matter is, they are getting enough pressure to feel like they have to prevent women from getting and having a choice. And we are out here saying you do have a choice. Consider us. We will love you all the way through, we will mentor you, we will support you even after you have that child. And yet women go without those services. Because they can't find us.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jeff Palomino in Annandale, Virginia.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, March 29th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Next up, WORLD Commentator Ryan Bomberger says the heroes of pregnancy resource clinics need protection, too.

RYAN BOMBERGER, COMMENTATOR: I’ve had the blessing of working with hundreds of pregnancy help centers across the country. They are the underground railroad in the pro-life fight for human dignity. Too few know they even exist, and too many wish to keep it that way for those seeking help and rescue. By the way, you can easily find your local center at PregnancyCenters.org. To the radically pro-abortion, those centers are the enemy. To those facing unplanned pregnancy, they’re the heroes.

There aren’t Ad Council campaigns celebrating women who lead many of these medical clinics and resource centers. Corporate America isn’t tweeting or posting about them during Women’s History Month. Hollywood doesn’t highlight how they’ve persisted in the face of discrimination and violent hostility.

Nationwide, pregnancy centers have endured heinous attacks by pro-abortion zealots since the historic Dobbs decision overturned Roe back in June 2022. Jim Harden is the CEO of CompassCare in Buffalo, New York – a state with extreme abortion policies. One of his centers was firebombed in June of last year. Thankfully, no one was physically hurt. The domestic terrorists did half a million dollars in damage. The FBI and DOJ have made no arrests.

On March 16th, the center was attacked again by an activist who vandalized the medical clinic’s sign. Local police arrested Hannah Kamke for the crime. The FBI arrested two people who vandalized a pregnancy resource center in Florida in January. Still, Harden doesn’t think the agency is doing enough. He writes: “The DOJ refuses to recognize the crimes against pro-life pregnancy centers as subjects of investigation on their dedicated webpage. This runs contrary to Merrick Garland’s testimony under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the DOJ and FBI are being even-handed and objective to investigate and prosecute the rash of violence against pro-life pregnancy centers.”

That kind of violence makes proposed legislation like Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney’s Pregnancy Resource Center Defense Act necessary.

Millions of human beings, today, owe their lives to these directors, doctors, nurses, client advocates, counselors, receptionists, parenting class educators and volunteers. Because of their courage, care and compassion the trajectories of millions of moms and dads have been powerfully changed. I’ve traveled around the country and have seen hundreds of these centers up close, touring each one to know their unique stories. My soul is stirred to hear how God rewrites broken narratives. These pregnancy centers bring hope to desolate neighborhoods and despairing hearts. There’s a reason why over 99% of pregnancy center clients report positive experiences and that they are “respected, valued, and well cared for.”

As a nation, we should be doing more to empower the heroes that help transform fear into faith. Pregnancy center staff and volunteers won’t ask for it, but they deserve to be respected, valued, and well cared for too.

I’m Ryan Bomberger.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: WORLD reporters in Nashville will have an update for us on the aftermath of Monday’s shooting.

Also tomorrow: a preview of the second season of Lawless. That’s our podcast on the life and death of Terry Schiavo. She was the brain-injured woman at the center of the so-called death with dignity debate more than two decades ago.

We’ll have that and more tomorrow. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.  

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 Bible records that as [Peter and John] were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed. Acts chapter 4, verses 1 to 4.

Go now in grace and peace.

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