Life Matters

The battle of ideas is for your mind and the minds of your loved ones. If you're not on guard and thinking through the ideas that have been placed there by the popular media and maybe even by friends who are misinformed, then you can bring great harm to yourself and others and to society itself. Laws are just ideas that are enforced. So this battle of ideas is more than just a metaphor because what we're talking about is human lives. The right to life is about restoring legal protection for human beings. That was taken away in 1973 and it's getting worse. It's not just human babies in the womb. Now it's the elderly sick. It's those who are seriously ill. And the best answer is suggested to be, of course, to kill them “with compassion”. Assisted suicide and other forms of euthanasia are now being practiced in the United States. If you don't understand this battle of ideas you will succumb to this battle. And you won't be able to protect those that you love because the laws won't protect them. So I'm going to t

You know the Right To Life is made up of people of faith and some of no faith in particular, but that’s okay because this isn’t really about OUR faith.  It isn’t about OUR personal theology.  This is about whether or not that child in the womb is a human being.  Science has demonstrated that indeed it is.  It’s not because I believe that child is unique.  Science has declared that, that the chromosomal structure of that unique individual will never again exist. This is about self-evident truth.  This is about the facts.  This is about the laws of nature and of nature’s God.  That’s how we make laws in America. So, when you’re tempted to slip into theology as the basis of changing our laws, make sure that you recognize the facts are on our side and facts are terrible things to waste.

In this edition of Life Matters, Brian Johnston interviews Albin Rhomberg, a board member of the Center for Medical Progress. They discuss the exciting news that the Orange County, California, District Attorney has taken legal action and shut down DaVinci Biologics, an international marketer of human baby body parts. The significance of this action has reverberating consequences, not just for the baby-body parts industry, but for the pro-life movement all the way down to your local level. Local elected representatives can and will take action if they are encouraged by local pro-life citizens.  The role of pro-life individuals is to function as citizens and ensure that their local, state, and federal laws protect the lives of those who cannot protect themselves.

Western Civilization underscored the uniqueness of every human life, particularly in the Hippocratic Oath where the doctor swears he will never, ever kill even the most vulnerable.  Christianity reinforced this commitment to individual innocent lives.  Christians, more than anyone else, should now be committed to protecting the value of each and every life.

Welcome Back to Life Matters. We are your program on the right to life, on culture and the very real battle of ideas. Today's program is a special program - you know many Christian stations run this program and while we focus on the right to life as a very clear and non-sectarian commitment to the founding principles of this nation, it's actually a commitment to the founding principles, if you will, of Western civilization. Western Civilization is unique and America is the distillation of the ideals of Western Civilization. That's what happened in 1776. Our Founders took the best ideals of civilization and assertively placed them as their Foundation. There's a Common thread through Western Civilization about the nature of man. He is extraordinary. After the the fall of the Greek culture and its inheritance by the Roman culture, the rule of law and protection of the innocent continued to be affirmed. This thread was reaffirmed by Christianity as Christianity became the dominant cultural influence. The Hippocra

The State of California is unique in the nation when it comes to abortion. When Roe versus Wade is overturned and states again have the ability to protect unborn children, many states will immediately enact such law. But, California is dramatically different. Not only is abortion allowed at all times and can even be performed by non-physicians, but the state coffers of California are now underwriting the abortion industry. Every aspect of abortion marketing is paid for by state funds. The rent, the overhead expenses in the day-to-day operation of abortion clinics are all eligible for state financing. It is not just the ‘doctor’ with blood on his gloves who is being paid for the abortion, it is the entire infrastructure of the abortion culture and industry. But the State of California has gone even further, and is now forcing pro-life pregnancy centers to violate their conscience and promote abortion to every young pregnant mother that enters their facility. Assembly Bill 775, which passed on a party line vote

In this edition of Life Matters, Brian Johnston interviews Joyce Unangst, a paraplegic volunteer and activist. Joyce has been involved for many years in supporting those who cannot defend themselves in a long-term care setting. Brian joins Joyce at a local nursing home in the Sacramento County area. Joyce describes the actual life within a nursing home, the abandonment of many individuals, and family members assuming that professional care, paid by the state or insurance, is adequate. But, that care is overworked and often very unprofessional. Institutionalized neglect and abuse has become rampant in America and Joyce explains what you can do about it.

So in the broadest sense, Western Civilization is actually dependent upon a view of the human person, that there's something extraordinary about the human person and therefore, the human person should be respected in a certain way.  We see that in the Hippocratic Oath, very specifically the most vulnerable human persons, when at their weakest, should actually be protected. That's the opposite of the law of the jungle. That's the opposite of savage civilizations. That's the opposite of many civilizations that give the powerful absolute authority. Western Civilization started it with the Hippocratic Oath. The Judeo-Christian model reflecting the teachings of Scriptures confirm that and affirm that man is made in the image of God. The value system, therefore, that came out of the Greco-Roman Judeo-christian model continued on. The Hippocratic Oath was embraced by the Romans as well and then when Roman culture was imbued with Christianity, they continued to honor the Hippocratic Oath. The value of the human perso

You’ve often heard it said, “Well, everyone has a right to die.”  But is that true?  If everyone has a right to die then I’m going to live forever because I simply will not exercise my right to die.  It’s an absurd statement that hides a much deeper and sinister meaning.  What they’re really saying is they would like to cause people to die or they feel someone should be dead, they’re just not dead enough yet so they want to do the act. That’s a very different verb.  Dying is intransitive.  We’re all going to die.  But not all of us will be killed and that’s the verb they don’t want to bring themselves to say.  To cause someone to die, whether it’s yourself or another, it’s killing.

While Life Matters focuses on the battlefield of ideas, something that often trumps ideas and influences many people’s decisions, are emotions. Emotions predate our consideration of ideas. As infants, emotions dominate our experience of, and understanding of, the world around us.  Dr. James Dobson once wrote a book called “Emotions: Can You Trust Them?”  Emotions are often indicators. They can indicate something to us about life or our circumstances, but they are not always the best guide for making important decisions. Images of an unborn child can carry powerful emotion and that’s good news for us in the pro-life movement. The journal Neuromarketing has examined the use of a child’s image in marketing because it universally draws on the emotions of the viewer. Not unlike images of a small animal, these images draw emotions of compassion and protection. That’s good news for us. But, if that commitment to protecting that child is only based on the emotions surrounding that cute pre-born child, then that pro-l

Brian reminds us of the book “On Death and Dying” where Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross outlines the emotional challenges that face everyone confronting a terminal diagnosis. Denial, anger, bargaining, despair and then finally acceptance; these emotional roller coaster challenges are universal when confronting a terminal diagnosis. Surrendering to the despair or anger or denial, and killing the depressed patient, accomplishes nothing. Kübler-Ross was adamant this was in fact the richest opportunity in the patient’s life for emotional and psychological growth. The desire for suicide is an emotional desire. Suicidal emotions can be treated. Killing the patient because of their emotional inclinations is not addressing those emotions.

Sylvia Aimerito of the PowerOf7 App explains its use and importance for the pro-life movement. The app is free to download to iPhone, smart phones, iPads, etc. Familiarity with the PowerOf7 allows individuals to quickly and easily answer the seven most common pro-abortion arguments. If you ever feel at a loss or insecure about advocating for unborn children, you should consider downloading the free PowerOf7 App to give you the tools you need. Brian is again joined by Karen Cross, Political Director of the National Right to Life Committee. They discuss the purpose of the law in protecting the pre-born. Today, in states where pro-life legislation has been allowed to pass, the abortion rate drops precipitously. Karen reiterates the five ways that pro-life individuals inadvertently elect pro-abortion candidates. The most common is falling in love with just one candidate and if that person doesn’t win then those pro-life supporters fail to work for any other pro-life candidate. This gives victory to the other side

Brian interviews Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. The medical profession in California and in Canada have both abandoned the basic principles of the Hippocratic Oath to never bring harm to a patient. The implications are severe. Ultimately, it is not the patient but the physician who decides which patients will be killed and when. Later in the program, Brian brings an interview from his visit to the New Mexico Right To Life Convention. There he met with Carol Tobias, President of the National Right to Life Committee. Carol explains what to expect in the coming year, some of the recent votes in Congress, the importance of the 2018 election, and the opportunity to join with National Right to Life at the National Convention in July, 2018. The right to life movement is on the march and individual pro-lifers need to be equipped to address the factual issues.

Brian Johnston interviews Karen Cross, Political Director of the National Right to Life Committee. Karen tells the story because she initially was involved in only wanting to help crisis pregnancies. She felt this was the easiest way to address the widespread abortion culture sweeping her state. A young woman she was counseling told her that she had had an 18-week saline abortion. She had been told at the clinic that there was no baby, that it was merely a piece of liver. Seeing the expelled child horrified her. Karen felt that giving such a simple and false description before a decision like abortion is made should be illegal, but it was quite legal. Virginians For Life had introduced an informed consent measure that was always defeated in the state legislature because of the chairmanship of one key committee. Karen finally got involved in the election to replace that legislator and the dam broke! Without that ‘pro-abortion’ legislator stopping all the good bills, West Virginia law could be substantially imp

Confronting the Culture of Death Brian interviews a returning guest, Nancy Valko, RN. Nancy is a medical ethicist and she discusses her hands-on experience in seeing various medical professionals dismiss vulnerable, medically dependent patients. Nancy demonstrates what the medical practices in many other nations have proven to be true; neurologically impaired individuals are greatly benefited by involvement, interaction, and personal regard, even if they are not initially able to personally respond. The new American medical “tradition” of considering a human being to be a “vegetable” and let him or her simply lay in a hospital bed has proven to be a decidedly ineffective treatment for restoring and healing neurological conditions. With the recent legalization of medicine to kill vulnerable people, the minimized value of human life presents a great danger for patients in any medical situation. Without concerted efforts and family advocacy, vulnerable patients can be at great risk. Brian, Nancy Valko, and Alex

Is there a right to die? If there is, then I will live forever because I refuse to exercise my right! The phrase, “right to die” is used to imply that everyone should be free to determine their own death. This desire is from the fear of a painful or difficult death. But the resources are there to deal with even the most difficult of pain. If you or a loved one are in pain the answer is not “kill the patient,” but instead get another doctor! The phrase, “right to die” is actually very deceitful, as it is used to promote something quite different. It is not about letting people die a natural death - that is already quite legal. No, this phrase is used to sell a completely different verb and action. It’s used to justify killing a patient whom someone feels “should be dead” and therefore, “we’re going to make that happen”. It is a phrase used to get you to accept the killing of ill and medically dependent individuals.

In this episode, Brian again interviews Nancy Valko, R.N. As a Commissioner on Aging and an elder advocate, Brian has seen, up close, many of the issues Nancy refers to; the overworked nursing home employees, the failure of families to visit the medically dependent, the sometimes intentional but often unintentional neglect of nursing home residents. Both Brian and Nancy give concrete suggestions to prepare you for caring for loved ones that end up in those circumstances. Because of the current government takeover of healthcare the threat of limited and intentional rationing of the care given to these patients is very, very real. This is a seed bed for the widespread euthanasia of the neglected and forgotten. The Obamacare rationing system is still law and is still in place (as of October 1, 2017). In a later discussion, Brian explains the cultural challenge in legally ending abortion. The incredible parallels between the legalized practice of slavery and the legalized practice of abortion is legally and ethi

Brian Johnston interviews Nancy Valko regarding copycat suicide and suicide contagion. Nancy, a nurse with a 47 years of experience in the clinical setting dealing with trauma patients and depression, has dealt with all aspects of suicide, including the push for assisted suicide. She is very aware of effective approaches to dealing with depression and suicidal ideation from patients. Suicide contagion is a phenomenon that has been witnessed throughout history. Starting with the works of the first historian, Herodotus, the only way a culture has been able to prevent suicide contagion or suicide clusters is if society clearly condemns the act of suicide. Endorsing, ‘tolerating,’ or approving of the act only creates more suicidal individuals. In the second part of the program we examine the ongoing threat of the Obamacare rationing board, the independent payment advisory board, which would force a federal standard of medical care on the entire nation in the name of keeping low cost of medical inflation. It woul

Statistics have consistently shown that abortion is being used as a racial tool. In the year 2016 for example, while Michigan’s population is 14% black, 50.5% - more than half of all the abortions in Michigan were done on black babies. Nationwide, while 13% of the population is black, 36% of all abortions were done on black babies. This should not be surprising as Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was herself a eugenicist. She also founded and implemented the “Negro Project”, designed to eliminate large portions of the black population. In order not to alarm the black populace to this genocide, she intentionally recruited black pastors to sell the idea to the black population. Abortion is an evil action; but abortion done for racial purposes is inescapably evil.

As the California legislature comes to a close for 2017, Brian announces several legislative victories in stopping SB 309, the prochoice license plate bill, and SB 481, regarding intentional dehydration of nursing-home residents. California ProLife citizens responded to a decidedly pro-abortion California legislature and made known they were concerned about the ideological super imposition of the abortion and death culture on our state. Because of their effective work, both of these bills were stopped. It was the state wide messaging of Life Matters Radio that made a difference and the faithful follow through with prolife individuals from San Diego to Redding. In the second part of the program Brian interviews Sylvia Aimerito, one of the creators of the “PowerOf7,” a free smart phone app that helps with the tools to become effective in presenting the Message of Life. In the third part of the program we hear congressional updates and information on upcoming events at BIOLA University as well as in New Mexico,