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Focus on the Family Broadcast

Choosing Life For Those Without a Choice

Choosing Life For Those Without a Choice

In this broadcast, Ryan and Bethany Bomberger speak out for the value of every human life. They shine a light on an issue that is often lost in the discussion about abortion—the truth that abortion disproportionately targets the black community.
Original Air Date: June 13, 2022

Preview:

Bethany Bomberger:  We have to understand as Christians that we don’t have the luxury of staying silent about something that is the human injustice of our day, and that we are gonna be held responsible because it’s no longer gonna be that we don’t know these things.

End of Preview

John Fuller: That’s Bethany Bomberger addressing the human injustice of our day. It’s the tragedy of abortion, specifically. She’s our guest, and her husband, Ryan, as well, on today’s episode of Focus on the Family. They’ll be sharing truth and encouragement along with your host, Focus president and author, Jim Daly. Thanks for joining us. I’m John Fuller.

Jim Daly: John, it’s sad to say this, but the United States has one of the most extreme abortion policies in the world, similar to Communist China and North Korea. Think of that company, uh, that we’re keeping.

John: Hmm.

Jim: In many states, abortion is allowed in the third trimester, even up to the point of birth. And there’s a disproportionate impact on the black community especially. Yet in a 2019 survey released by YouGov, in partnership with Americans United for Life, they found that 80% of Americans reject abortion the day before a child is born and two thirds of pro-choice Americans oppose abortion in the third trimester. Y- you can sense the momentum in the pro-life movement right now, and I’ve said many times that abortion is a moral issue. It’s not political. It’s about life and death. And we’re talking about the lives of literally millions of pre-born babies and the health and wellbeing of their mothers. And today’s conversation with the Bomberger’s will be eye-opening and encouraging for many of our listeners. So please, stay with us.

John: Yeah, and Ryan and Bethany co-founded The Radiance Foundation. It’s a life-affirming nonprofit. Ryan is an Emmy award-winning creative professional, and, uh, together, the Bomberger’s, uh, homeschool their four children, two of whom they’ve adopted. Uh, Ryan has a book called Not Equal: Civil Rights Gone Wrong. It’s a really fascinating collection of thoughts, essays, and graphic design. You can get that when you call 1-800, the letter A and the word FAMILY, or stop by our website. And Jim, here’s how you began the conversation.

Jim: Ryan and Bethany, uh, welcome to Focus on the Family.

Ryan Bomberger: Thanks. It’s great to be here. (laughs)

Jim: It’s good.

Bethany: It is. It’s an honor. It’s so fun.

Jim: Yeah. And it’s so good. And I, I can’t wait to have a discussion with you on a variety of topics. Ryan, your story begins out of some very difficult circumstances. Uh, tell us about your birth mom and how your journey and passion, uh, for life began.

Ryan: Well, it began with violence actually.

Jim: Hmm. Hmm.

Ryan: My birth mom experienced the horror and the violence of rape, and yet she was courageous enough to not only give me incredible gift of life but gave me the gift of adoption. So when people ask, “Why are you so passionate about this?” And I’m thinking, you know, “Where did your story begin?” (laughs) I think, “Well, it began when I began.”

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: And the fact that she made that singular decision that literally will have reverberations for generations, just continues to impact. I grew up in a tiny little family. I have 15 in my family.

Jim: (laughs)

Ryan: Six brothers and six sisters.

Jim: That’s a big van, man.

Ryan: Yeah.

Jim: (laughs)

Ryan: Oh, it was. It was, it was the maxi van with cracked vinyl seats.

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: I’ll never forget it.

Jim: (laughs)

Ryan: And no air conditioning. (laughs)

Jim: And no air conditioning.

Ryan: No air conditioning. It was, it was rough.

Jim: Man, they may have gotten that fixed.

Ryan: Yeah.

Jim: That would’ve been helpful.

Bethany: (laughs)

Jim: That’s great.

Ryan: But it was, it was always an adventure.

Jim: And they adopted how many kids, your, your mom and dad, your adoptive mom and dad?

Ryan: Yes. 10.

Jim: They, they adopted 10?

Ryan: I was the first one. So it obviously went well.

Jim: (laughs)

Ryan: So every year, you know, there was a new person, a new flavor added to the family.

Jim: Trailblazer you are.

Ryan: Yes. Um-

Jim: And that’s something. Let me, I mean, we’re laughing at that, but what you said was very serious about how you came into the world, ’cause this probably is, you know, the most difficult thing for all of us pro-life, pro-choice to talk about.

Ryan: A- the, the tragic thing is that we think, and even Christians think that the natural follow-up to something so horrific and violent is the violence of abortion, but abortion doesn’t, you know, doesn’t heal anyone who’s actually been raped, and it doesn’t ever punish the rapist and it punishes the child.

Jim: Right.

Ryan: And I find that the common thread through those who chose to parent, those who chose adoption and those who are post-abortive, is that they believe, and they’ve expressed to us in many different events that the only redemptive part of that act is the child.

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: You know, the circumstances of our conception never change the condition of our worth.

Bethany: Hmm.

Jim: Boy, that’s so true of-

Bethany: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … a- abortion, generally. Right?

Ryan: Right.

Jim: I mean you think about it. That’s one of the things, I mean we advocate, we get it. It’s a tough decision. We understand that. And even the country, the law says you can make this decision, but I’m telling you the better decision is life, period.

Ryan: Yes.

Jim: Everything will flow better for you emotionally, spiritually, I think even physically, uh, if you make that right decision and hopefully that’ll be overturned at some point, but it will never go away. Uh, those sides will still fight through courts, et cetera. But that’s where I’ve always felt we’ve gotta make, uh, Roe v. Wade irrelevant.

Bethany: Mm-hmm.

Jim: And what I mean by that is that a woman would not want to choose that for her baby. Make it unacceptable to say, “I wanna kill my child.”

Ryan: Right. Exactly. I mean, this is what we’re working toward through, you know, the organization that we found at The Radiance Foundation. We want to make it unthinkable, and we emphasize the, the beauty that rises out of tragic circumstances. God e- specializes (laughs) in that all the time.

Jim: Yeah. And it, you know, again, I’m just, you’re speaking from a different point of conviction.

Ryan: Yeah.

Jim: I mean, you easily could not have been here.

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: Because both, e- I’m sad to say this, but even within the church and outside the church, definitely, you’re, unfortunately, the one that most of us would say, “Oh, well. It was a rape.”

Bethany: Mm-hmm.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: Right?

Ryan: Right.

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: How does it make you feel?

Ryan: Well-

Jim: I mean, that y- you’re in that 1% category.

Ryan: Exactly.

Jim: 1% of abortions are from rape and incest.

Ryan: Right. I’m the 1% that’s used 100% of the time to justify abortion.

Jim: Right.

Ryan: But I can tell you, there are a lot of people who are very happy that I’m alive.

Bethany: (laughing) True story.

Ryan: My wife, my wife, Bethany.

Bethany: It’s a true story.

Jim: True story.

Ryan: I’m pretty sure she is, too. (laughs)

Bethany: But you’re right. It’s a tangible example of what we’re told and what we’ve begun as a Christian body to think that it’s okay in certain instances. But I think that many, many Christians even don’t understand that 1% still leaves 99%. And even if we gave over the 1%, which we’re not gonna do-

Jim: Right.

Bethany: … that would still leave 99% of abortions that aren’t from incest and rape. And, and we’re saying that 100% of the time, there’s a better answer.

Jim: Yeah. Bethany let’s turn toward you. I didn’t mean to ignore you, of course. But, uh, what’s your story?

Bethany: [inaudible]

Jim: What’s your story?

Bethany: Well, I was one of those girls that grew up in church. I loved the Lord from a really young age. Uh, through my teen years, things got a little bit rough (laughs) as they do with many people, but I really stayed close to the Lord. When I was in my 20s, um, I had my degrees and I was teaching and I had a master’s degree and there were some situations that came into my life that were, I like to say them, they were disappointments. I was really disappointed and went through a number of years where really, I was emotionally numb. Things that I thought were gonna come to fruition hadn’t. Lord, where are you? Those kind of years.

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Bethany: And during that time, I was in a relationship with somebody who was emotionally abusive and wasn’t, uh, planning to be with him forever, but found that I was pregnant.

Jim: Uh-huh. How old were you?

Bethany: S- I was 28.

Jim: Okay.

Bethany: I was old enough to know, but in a place where this is just where my decisions had led me.

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: I was teaching in public school. All my colleagues were like, “Just abort. We won’t tell anybody. Nobody’ll know. The kids won’t know.” The biological father was like, “I want nothing to do with you. I’ll give you the money to abort.” And I was like, “Lord, I don’t even know what to do with all of this.” But I went and scheduled an ultrasound, and I was just a few weeks, about eight weeks, uh, pregnant. And there, I saw this ultrasound and I saw this beating heart, which looked more like a piece of rice that was blinking.

Jim: Right. Yeah. (laughs)

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: (laughs)

Bethany: But I had a moment, a defining moment with the Lord.

Ryan: Yeah.

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: And I just felt his presence just embrace me-

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: … in that room, and I just felt his heart just wrap my heart and this baby’s heart. And I went home that night and I said, “Father, forgive me for just being selfish.”

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: I want this child to be somebody that she’s proud of her mama. And I opened this old journal and in the margin of this old journal was this verse, uh, Psalm 34:5, and it said, “I sought the Lord. He delivered me from all my fears. Those that look to him will be radiant and their faces will never be covered with shame.”

Jim: Wow.

Bethany: Didn’t even know that I was carrying my f- oldest daughter, but I named her Baby Radiance.

Jim: (laughs)

Bethany: And everybody thought I was crazy.

Jim: Right.

Bethany: But I said, “You know what? Her story’s gonna be this great exchange that the Lord never gets tired of. He’s gonna take the shame of any part of this testimony and exchange it for his radiant glory.”

Jim: Yeah. Well we, you know, we have run down the line here. I wanna come back to how you guys met. (laughs)

Bethany: Oh, yay.

Jim: And that was, that was actually the second question I had, (laughs) but.

Bethany: Okay.

Jim: I mean, yeah. How’d you guys meet?

Ryan: Well, interestingly enough, it was over the whole issue of abortion.

Bethany: Right. It’s, it’s funny how…

Jim: (laughs)

Bethany: So I, I went to… We both had gone to Regent. He had graduated and I was back there getting a master’s degree.

Jim: Way to go. (laughs)

Ryan: Yeah.

Bethany: Yeah. (laughing) And, um, I was on this committee that was helping to plan concerts for youth in the area. And he won’t say this, but he was the lead singer of this big band at the time called Surreal.

Jim: (laughs)

Bethany: And thank goodness they weren’t signed ’cause we wouldn’t have ended up together.

Jim: (laughs)

Bethany: But in the process of this, one of the, one of these events that I was working on helping to coordinate was a benefit concert for a crisis pregnancy center. So it’s actually kind of funny because me and my roommates were on the marketing committee. So we have like these posters and these Sharpie markers and we’re waiting, we’re sitting in this big room waiting for Surreal to show up and some of the marketing material they were gonna bring. Well, Ryan was a creative director and shows up with these beautiful, you know, marketing material and all this branding. I told my roommate, I said, “Girl, don’t show anybody our poster. Keep it under the chair.”

Jim: (laughs) Yeah. Stuff ’em under the mattress.

Ryan: Right? (laughs)

Bethany: “But who’s that guy?” Just my heart leapt, and so I always say I fell in love with him the first time I saw him.

Ryan: It was love at first sight for both of us.

Jim: Yeah. Boy, what an experience.

Ryan: It, it was a long journey to get to that point of marriage, however, but it was a love at first sight encounter.

Bethany: And, and part of that journey was a few, a number of years where it didn’t, it didn’t work out. So when I share about l- leaving and being like, “Lord, I thought you spoke things.” That was one of the things. So we went our own separate ways for a number of years and the Lord worked on my heart, the Lord worked on his heart.

Ryan: I was a hot mess and I needed healing. And I experienced healing-

Bethany: From just some depression that I believe is actually-

Ryan: Yeah.

Bethany: … possibly in utero.

Jim: Yeah, well get into it. Let’s… What was going on for you?

Ryan: Well, this is part of the thing that we underestimate what happens in the womb to that child, what happens emotionally and psychologically. I believe that a child feels rejection in the womb-

Jim: Uh-huh.

Ryan: … because there was this rejection that I felt throughout my life, even though I was loved like crazy by my parents, there was this… and it was probably my drive toward perfection ’cause I never wanted to be rejected. And so unfortunately there was this self-loathing-

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: … that just kept increasing, increasing, and by the time, you know, I, I had got my master’s degree, it started to overtake me. And when you’re depressed, you, you surround yourself with darkness. Darkness loves more darkness.

Jim: Uh-huh.

Ryan: And I started realizing that I was surrounding myself with, with darkness. And so I was intentional, of course, about reading and I put these verses up around my room and there was this song by an artist called Cindy Morgan, and it was a song called I Will Be Free. And I would just read the, the lyrics to that chorus and just think, “I wanna (laughs) be in that place.”

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: And there was a drive home from work, and it was probably about a 30, 35-minute drive home from work and probably for the 200th time, I had listened to that song just for the last few weeks and something broke, literally broke, inside of me as I drove across that bridge. And I’m just, I mean, I’m crying like crazy. Could barely see. (laughs) And I felt like something broke. So when I sang the, the lyrics that time, “I will be free. I’ll be free to run the mountains. I will be free, free to drink from the living fountain.” The lyrics became real.

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: And by the time I got home, there was something so different. There was… I, I knew something had broken inside of me. So I go in the backyard and I’m jumping on the trampoline (laughing) ’cause, I mean, literally the joy was manifesting itself.

Jim: Wow.

Ryan: I just could not, I n- I couldn’t help but just jump. And I called my sister right away and it was, there was a freeing and of course Satan’s always trying to lie to you and so he said, you know, “You’re gonna wake up the next morning and you’re gonna be depre-” I never experienced that depression-

Jim: Wow.

Ryan: … one second in my life thereafter.

Jim: Huh.

Ryan: And as a creative individual, I mean, we internalize a lot of things. There was a breaking, there was a deliverance-

Bethany: Mm-hmm.

Ryan: … there was a freedom, and I know that this does not happen for everyone, but it was a holy spirit deliverance on that drive home-

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: … from work.

Jim: No, that’s, that’s awesome.

Bethany: Mm. Yes.

Ryan: Yeah.

Bethany: So it wasn’t long after that that we ended up back in touch with each other and here I have a one-year-old daughter, but my heart for that one year had just been turned back to the Lord like crazy and God’s working on Ryan where he is. And so we get back together and within a few months we’re engaged and then we’re married. And with, uh, just, I feel like the Lord allowed us to hit the ground running together.

Ryan: Yes.

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: And y- you know, we could have gone through our healing together, but he didn’t… That’s not how it worked out.

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: And I’m just so grateful that, you know, we both realize there’s a transformational God who loves us. And when we talk about our marriage, we talk about our family, and now we talk about the ministry that we do to- together. The foundation is a God who never gets tired of redeeming.

John: You’re listening to Focus on the Family and this is a conversation with Ryan and Bethany Bomberger. And, uh, Ryan’s book is called Not Equal. We’ll encourage you to get a copy of that from us here at Focus to better equip yourself on pro-life matters. Call 1-800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY. 1-800-232-6459 or you’ll find that book and other resources at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. Let’s continue with more from Ryan and Bethany Bomberger.

Jim: Let’s, uh, let’s turn the corner and, uh, you know, we’ve talked about this. I think we’ve given people a great insight into how you guys married and-

Bethany: (laughing) I know.

Jim: … and the way the Lord, uh, brought you along.

Bethany: You got; you covered a lot of ground.

Jim: No, this is good. But then, you know, culture. You guys speak a lot about culture, especially the, uh, issue of abortion, but a, a wide variety of things.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: Planned Parenthood, the, the whole enigma there I’ve often said, you know, from my perspective, just as an observer, um, anybody that has skin in the game, you should first ask the question, “What motivates them to do and say what they do?” Right? So a- applying that to Planned Parenthood, on average, they’re making like 600, 700 dollars an abortion, and then they go right to the wall promoting abortion through public schools. Uh, the government gives them money-

Ryan: Right.

Jim: … to promote abortion. But they are profiting off of abortion. I mean to me it’s like, “Look the other way. Don’t look here.” But e- y- we’ve gotta recognize the simple fact that they make money-

Bethany: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … off of ending the life of a child.

Bethany: Right.

Ryan: They make a lot of money. I mean, they bring in $1.7 billion a year. They have $2.3 billion in assets, and they get, I don’t know, last year, $618 million from taxpayers. I mean, why does a $2.3 billion corporation, which is what they are, they’re a 501(c)(3), nonprofit. People confuse that. They think they don’t profit, but they do (laughs).

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: Right.

Ryan: They, their profit last year and their last reported year was $70 million. But they profit, actually, primarily from fear and they promote fear. So when you have women facing the unplanned come in, what do they project? They project fear onto the… The very demographic that they’re always saying, “Women are the future, women are strong,” but not when they face the unplanned? And that’s the shame of it all. People don’t understand the exploitation that happens in addition to the destruction of the unborn child, but they’re exploiting mothers, they’re exploiting fathers. They are a big business.

Jim: That’s the right word, exploitation. And it’s like the whole media culture, everybody looks the other way.

Bethany: Right.

Jim: We’re not pointing out the biggest glaring conflict-

Bethany: Right.

Jim: … of interest that they have.

Bethany: They have the nerve to call them healthcare-

Jim: Yeah. (laughing)

Bethany: … when every… You know, they don’t own, not even one, uh, mammogram machine.

Ryan: Not one.

Bethany: And all of their other services that they’ve ever even offered to women are plummeting because they know that they don’t profit from them the way they do abortion.

Jim: Exactly.

Ryan: Right.

Bethany: And, and you’re right. And they’re, th- they have the backing of, of mainstream media and of all of these corporations.

Jim: Let me, let me ask you. You’re biracial. Um, I think a Caucasian mother and an African American father through-

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: … the tragedy of rape. Is that accurate?

Ryan: That’s, that’s correct.

Jim: Yeah. In that context, when you look… I was, y- you know, we were in New York, and we did, in 2019, we did something called Alive from New York. Yes, that was my-

Bethany: Awesome.

Jim: … that was my marketing background.

Bethany: Loved it. It was great.

Jim: But I remember our general counsel said, “They could sue you.” I said, “Well, what will they do first?” “Well, they’ll send you a letter.” And I said, “Okay, let’s wait for the letter.”

Bethany: Okay.

Ryan: Exactly. (laughing)

Bethany: Good.

Jim: If comedians don’t get this, then you…

Bethany: Right.

Jim: Anyway. So we did this event, Alive from New York.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: And, uh, it was to do a live ultrasound.

Bethany: Yeah?

Jim: I just felt the Lord lay on my heart, “Show ’em the baby.”

Bethany: Yes.

Ryan: Yes.

Jim: That’s really all you gotta do. Back to your experience, if 60% of abortion-minded women-

Bethany: Yes.

Jim: … roughly, when they come in and get counseling and see the ultrasound of their baby, they’ll choose life.

Bethany: Yes.

Jim: That’s the data. And so I thought, “Okay, let’s go to New York, go to Times Square, and we’ll do it.”

Ryan: Right.

Jim: And we did.

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: And what was so amazing in that moment was hearing the heartbeat right from the stage.

Bethany: Right.

Jim: Th- there was a, a model, a pregnant woman. It actually was-

Bethany: Was Abby.

Jim: … Abby Johnson.

Bethany: Yeah, that’s right.

Ryan: Right. (laughs)

Bethany: That’s our girl.

Jim: And so they were back there and, and, uh, doing it, and the heartbeat you heard, and I’m on the stage just looking at everybody. The bypassers and-

Bethany: Mm.

Jim: … you know, the people participating. Everybody stopped. And then the, the monitor came up and the, uh, sonographer was saying, you know, that baby’s waking up from a nap. The baby’s yawning. You can see the baby yawn in the 4D ultrasound.

Bethany: Uh.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: And it, yeah, it was breathtaking.

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: I mean, and the whole place went silent.

Bethany: Hmm.

Jim: It was like the Lord declaring-

Bethany: Mm.

Jim: … “This is life.”

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: Right there in the heart of the Big Apple.

Bethany: Right.

Jim: And it was awesome.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: So it was either Benjamin Watson or one of the speakers we had-

Ryan: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … um, from an African American background, obviously-

Bethany: Right.

Jim: … and he said, “More babies were killed-”

Bethany: Were aborted than born alive.

Jim: “… than were born alive in New York City.”

Bethany: Yeah.

Ryan: Yeah, to be exact, in Manhattan-

Jim: Wow.

Ryan: … which is where Planned Parenthood is based, for every 1,000 black babies born alive, 1,226 were aborted in the last reported year from the New York Department of Health and Hygiene.

Jim: Think of that, everybody. And that’s the highest demographic.

Ryan: Yeah.

Jim: Right? The other… White babies are 200 or 300 out of a thousand.

Ryan: Yes, and Hispanic… I mean, the Hispanic… It’s, the black demographic is the only demographic where there’re more induced deaths than births. Uh, Hispanics have, um, about half of that rate.

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: Uh, it’s the only demographic like that. And you have to look at the historical aspect and you look at the present targeting that happens and so it’s, it’s undeniable when you actually present people with the data and with the information and these powerful stories, but s- mainstream media isn’t carrying these stories. (laughs)

Jim: So in that regard, I mean, here’s the thing. And we’ve, we’ve done newsletters about this. Margaret Sanger-

Bethany: Yes.

Jim: … the founder of Planned Parenthood, was about eugenics.

Bethany: Yeah. Absolutely.

Jim: Her idea was you get rid of the unfit.

Bethany: Correct.

Ryan: Yeah.

Jim: You know, those that aren’t worthy for life-

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: … because they’re drain on the social purse. I mean, that was kind of the language she used.

Bethany: Right.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: In other words, let’s get rid of minority babies-

Bethany: Yes.

Jim: … because they cost the state too much-

Bethany: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … to take care of.

Bethany: Yeah.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: That, that was the thought.

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: And then now you see in New York City, her vision is being achieved.

Bethany: Right.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: And nobody is looking at it except the Christian community-

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: … saying, “What are we doing? Killing our minority children at a far higher rate than Caucasian kids.”

Bethany: Right.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: And nobody has a problem with that.

Ryan: And it, it’s all wrong. Regardless of hue of skin, the, the killing of the unborn of the, the most marginalized-

Jim: Yeah, exactly.

Ryan: … is wrong. But I mean, you look at… It’s interesting, people say, “Well, you know, during Margaret Sanger’s days, Planned Parenthood was far worse.” No, actually it’s far worse today because they actually (laughs) abort over 345,000 human beings of every hue. But like we said, the demographic that is hardest hit in city after city across the country are those black lives. I mean, we talk about things being systemic. (laughs) That is an example of systemic racism ’cause you have the history of the disproportionate targeting-

Bethany: Mm-hmm.

Ryan: … and you have the present disproportionate targeting that happens.

Jim: Evidence that they’re fulfilling their vision. A-

Ryan: Yes.

Bethany: Right. It was Margaret Sanger who birthed The Negro Project, which w- that was her goal to really rid, you know, poor blacks from the scene. And so we talk about The Negro Project 2.0 because it’s exactly what you’re saying. This is all by design.

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: This is happening on purpose.

Ryan: Right. And she did that through birth control. They were disproportionately targeting poorer black communities through birth control. Well, today it’s now-

Bethany: And sterilization, too.

Ryan: And steriliz- forced sterilizations-

Bethany: Right.

Ryan: … which people don’t wanna talk about. Margaret Sanger, earlier on, actually supported forced sterilizations. But, and here we are present day, abortion on demand without restrictions.

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: Without accountability.

Jim: Yeah. It’s something.

Bethany: Yeah.

Jim: Let, let’s talk a little bit about, uh, the m- m- group that did the videotaping in the clinics. And you can fill me in on some of these things ’cause I know a bit. I don’t… n- I’m not as knowledgeable perhaps as you two are, but, uh, a group went in, I think it was Veritas-

Ryan: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … that did some filming. Uh, kind of undercover journalism is the way they did it. And, uh, talked to Planned Parenthood representatives who are willing to sell body parts, aborted baby body parts-

Bethany: Mm.

Ryan: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … which is illegal.

Ryan: Right.

Jim: Uh, but obviously they find a way to do it. Describe that and what’s taken place with, uh, the y- young man who led that project.

Bethany: Yeah, it was David Daleiden.

Ryan: Yeah, David Daleiden. Uh, the Center for Medical Progress was the name of the organization.

Bethany: Right.

Ryan: And they went undercover. They went to these conventions. People don’t realize this. They don’t understand-

Jim: Right. (laughs)

Ryan: … the gravity of the big business that is abortion.

Bethany: Yes.

Ryan: I mean, these supposedly unwanted babies.

Jim: Yeah.

Ryan: They are wanted for (laughs) their, you know, their wanted body parts.

Jim: Yeah, think of that.

Bethany: Mm.

Ryan: And he exposed that. And you know, the first thing that Planned Parenthood… When these, these videos started coming out, and of course they were edited. I, I love how m- mainstream media says, “Well, they’re highly edited.” I’m like, “You are highly, highly edited. (laughs) You’re mainstream media. You edit your news all the time.” But yeah.

Jim: Twitter?

Ryan: Yeah.

Jim: How about that?

Ryan: Yeah.

Bethany: (laughs)

Ryan: Well the Center for Medical Progress also provided the raw footage, so if people wanted to watch all the footage and come to their own conclusions, they, they could. And nothing was distorted. But Planned Parenthood’s initial response to being exposed was they pretended that their websites were hacked. And so when you went to Planned Parenthood’s website, it said, “Our sites have been hacked by extremists.” I mean, this is what a $2 billion- (laughs)

Bethany: Um, wait. No, no. When your, when your (laughs) website is hacked, you really can’t write a message on it.

Ryan: Right, exactly. (laughs)

Bethany: It’s typically like the website is down-

Jim: Right. (laughs)

Ryan: Right.

Bethany: Like, anyway.

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: It’s just such a farce. And, and, and they really were s- like scurrying, like, “How are we gonna respond to this?” Because, you know, what, what these folks… What David and these folks did is they-

Ryan: [inaudible]

Bethany: Yeah.

Ryan: Yeah.

Bethany: They swung open this door wide open.

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: See, we live in a time where we can no longer say we never knew.

Ryan: Right.

Bethany: We can no longer say we were blind to the fact that not only are they coercing women, but they are profiting off of the baby parts. And when you watch it, some of the… I promise you; I could not even get through the footage.

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: I couldn’t.

Ryan: The inhumanity of it all.

Bethany: It was so… I mean, they’re counting hands and fingers and they’re, they’re explaining that they have to keep them intact ’cause they will receive more money if they are intact. We have to understand as Christians that we don’t have the luxury of staying silent about something that is the human injustice of our day and that we are gonna be held responsible because it’s no longer gonna be that we don’t know these things. The doors are swinging wide open and we’re seeing into what’s happening and we cannot remain silent.

Jim: Yeah.

Bethany: We’re gonna be held responsible for what we know-

Jim: Right.

Bethany: … and what we’ve decided to do with it.

Ryan: Right, and that’s part of what we do through The Radiance Foundation, is equip people to know how to engage in conversations. A large part of Christians holding back (laughs) and not engaging in these, these vital conversations is they don’t know how to start the conversation.

Bethany: Right.

Ryan: They don’t know what to say. They don’t know how to frame the, the culture-shaping issue. And that’s part of what we do. That’s our heart to, to equip people to know here’s how we can talk about these things.

John: Well, Jim, that was an energizing, really terrific conversation that you had with Ryan and Bethany Bomberger. And I do hope for our listeners, this has motivated you to do something, to come alongside mothers and their pre-born babies.

Jim: Absolutely, John. Uh, you know, there are several ways you can directly be involved in saving a baby and helping a mom right now. Uh, donate to Focus on the Family’s Option Ultrasound Program, uh, which has saved almost a half a million babies from abortion by providing 3D and 4D ultrasound technology and training to pregnancy resource centers across the country. Free ultrasounds help women to choose life after seeing their baby and, uh, $60 is what it costs to save that baby’s life through Option Ultrasound. And right now, some wonderful friends of Focus on the Family are offering to match your gift dollar for dollar. So when you give, uh, your $60 donation, it will be doubled, and two babies will be saved. And with that generous gift, or a gift of any amount, we’d like to send you a copy of Ryan’s great informative book to help you in the pro-life cause. It’s called Not Equal.

John: Make a donation today and request your book when you call 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY, 800-232-6459, or stop by focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. And then you can learn all about SeeLife 2022 when you visit the website. And tomorrow we’re gonna be hosting a live event. It’s called SeeLife 2022 Livestream Experience. It’s gonna be right here on the Focus campus at 7:00 PM Mountain Time. We’ll feature, uh, some really great pro-life champions like Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens, Jeanne Mancini, and others. This is a call for you to see, uh, pro-life care and advocacy in a new light, as a desire to follow God’s heart on the issue and to become equipped to live out your pro-life values. All the details about SeeLife 2022 are at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. On behalf of Jim Daly and the entire team, thanks for joining us today for Focus on the Family. Plan to be with us tomorrow as we once more help you and your family thrive in Christ.

 

Today's Guests

Help Save a Baby's Life!

Your gift to support our Option Ultrasound program will equip pregnancy medical clinics across the country with ultrasound machines, resources, and nurses’ sonography training so a mother considering abortion can see her baby, hear that tiny heartbeat . . . and be moved to choose life. Give now, and we’ll say thanks with a copy of the book Not Equal -- and your gift will be doubled through a special matching opportunity!

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