considered the most serious accident in the united states joining us to look at the event, historian and author samuel directord the acting of the nuclear safety project for the union of concerned scientists. america, on a real watch the 1979 cbs report fallout from three-mile island. please stay indoors with your windows closed. >> for almost a week last month, the people of middletown pennsylvania and in fear of an enemy they could not see, hear, or feel. >> watch american history tv this weekend on c-span3. we welcome the family research council president tony perkins back to our desk joining us for this morning a discussion on the trump administration's life agenda. discussion,to that first reminding viewers what the mexico city policy is. >> is a term we hear a lot but

don't necessarily know the history reagan, his administration in a conference on family planning with yo the u.n. announced a policy that we any organization that funded abortion or promoted abortion. that was in place during the reagan administration. put back in place by the bush administration in 2001 -- host: what was announced this week? guest: closing some loopholes. there was an expansion of the mexico city policy initially under the trump administration. $9 billion that goes into ngo's. this closes some loopholes.

you essentially have to certify that as an ngo that you are not promoting or funding a portion. if you subcontracted with an entity, they were not covered. is as anrequirement ngo contracting directly with the federal government, you have to certify that your subcontractors will adhere to the same policy. [video clip] >> as before, we will continue to refuse assistance to ngo's who actively promote abortion as a method of family planning. wille also making clear we refuse to provide assistance to foreign ngos to give financial support to other foreign groups in the global abortion industry. we will enforce a strict prohibition on backdoor funding

means that runaround are policy. american taxpayer dollars will not be used to underwrite abortions. host: you met with secretary pompeo just before that announcement. he was just saying we are following through with the commitments made by the president. no one should be surprised by this. this is in the republican party platform. the party platforms are very there was a study looking back on 20-30 years of -- thelatforms republican party 90% of the time adheres to that party platform. the democratic party, about 75% of the time.

we see that on this bold contrast on the issue of life. the democratic party wanting to force taxpayers to fund it. the republican party saying we want a clear line of separation between the two. the administration is following through on that party platform. host: secretary pompeo was talking about the state department's budget and priorities. this is one exchange he had with a democratic congresswoman on friday. [video clip] ofyour new interpretation what was called a gag rule now is harming organizations that are doing general health care, whether it is contraceptive care, hiv, maternal

and then going to give you an example. the reason -- there is an organization that has lost funding due to the expansion of the global gag rule. the expansion of the global gag rule. it affects 500,000 estimated 500,000 people receiving health care because they are closing their doors. is happening here, as we look at the $9 billion that we spend as a government and a that goes to these nongovernmental organizations for health care purposes, this directs the money to health care. not abortion, not counseling for abortion so morgan -- money is going to help. if an ngo, and the vast majority

of ngos are saying not a problem, we want to focus on health care. some are saying we will not do this anymore because we want to be able to counsel for abortion or perform abortions. as far as the expansion, this is not an expansion. this is not really an expansion because the policy was in place but it is insuring there are not organizations that circumvent stated policy by contracting with someone else to do the services they are prohibited from doing. frc.org if you want to check them out. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. line in this segment we will devote to those who worked for ngo's. 202-748-8003 is that number.

ohio.l start with art in line for democrats. go ahead. caller: the bbc had a documentary on abortion in central america. they have the strictest abortion laws in the world. they are sending their children -- the orphanages are full. there are jails, they have females in prison, they interviewed people in prison in guatemala -- 80% of the prison population is a group of women who had questionable miscarriages. children unaccompanied -- why do they want to make it harder for people to have family planning? in thisamily-planning administration does not include abortion.

there's other education available. most of the countries in central and south america are very religious, many of them heavily catholic. they say it is morally repugnant to support abortion. the last administration was in the -- we meddled shaping of the kenyan constitution to make abortion a right. we should not be engaged in forcing countries that have abortion toions to change their policies. nongovernmental organizations that work to shape that constitution and get people to engage in it for this provision of abortion rights. this is not unusual for the previous administration. we found organizations linked to george soros to fund a number of things that were contrary to the

values the vast majority of americans had. line, if youecial have worked at an ngo and want to join this conversation, 202-748-8003. gary in sterling, virginia. a republican. go ahead. caller: good morning. i'm an eisenhower republican. guest: did you grow up in kansas? caller: no, sir. claimower republicans common sense. i worked in a restaurant with 20 immigrants, 20 latinos and 20 asians, they were all immigrants, i was the only american there. wanted them what they and he said the first thing we want is help with birth control. second thing they want is a

registered worker program. amendment,the hyde governor george allen back in the late 1980's had a gag order -- 15 years later, i work in a housing -- i work in a house occupied by a single mother with special needs children. i worked in a neonatal icu -- one spend nine months in an incubator. host: we are listening. bring it to your question. caller: i find all the hyde support -- isne a support puppy mills for pedophiles. ask gary if he

thinks the solution is to support abortion, to end their lives. i don't think that is what the american public wants. the latest poll identified as pro-life -- when it comes to taxpayer funded abortion, 75% of the public do not believe they should be able to underwrite abortion. but is not what this is about. it is not saying a country cannot do it. if a country wants to do it, that is their business, but americans should not be the ones funding that procedure. host: what is the organization of american states? guest: in terms of how they operate, or how they are -- host: when it comes to this issue. guest: i think america is a

leader when it comes to a lot of these national organizations. we can influence what they do. i do not think we should be beholden as a nation when it comes to our policies as to what international organizations do. i want to bring this back to the issue at hand -- it is our tax dollars. it is where the american money is going. our people have consistently said they don't want to be linked to abortion. they might have a different on whether someone chooses it, but they don't want to be ordered to fund it. host: when it comes to the organization of states, that was the announcement mike pompeo made when he was talking about concerns about ngo's and abortion. here is what he had to say. [video clip] secretary pompeo: i directed my team to have agreements that

specifically prohibits the use of funds to lobby for or against abortion. the institutions of the aos -- should be not advancing the pro-abortion cause. our reduction equals the estimated u.s. share of oas expenditures on these abortion-related activities. the american people should rest assured that this administration and this state department, and our usaid will do all we can to safeguard u.s. taxpayer dollars all we can to respect the security of life for people around the globe. host: what he brings up there -- abortion-related lobbying or advocacy? guest: i am not sure about the specifics, but i think that might be related to what i was talking about earlier with

kenya. they are getting u.s. dollars, sometimes without knowledge in the united states, but in the previous administration it was clear evidence it was directed that way. host: about a half-hour left with tony perkins, family research council -- president of the family research council. is next. daytona beach, california. for democrats. go ahead. guest: thank you for taking my call. i have three or four point to make. trump, when he took office, started right away to abolish the johnson doctrine, to erase the separation of church and state. i have a brother that is evangelical. he went to africa from the calvary church as a missionary time the poor women there, the africans, that birth control was not in god's plan. familye thing -- this

research council had a distinguished fellow that belong to your group, general boykin, he is retired now. do you know what he has done because of trump trying to erase the separation of church and state? he was on one of those religious tele-event you go's. he has been appointed as a minister. foras gone to campaign republicans. you people are obscene liars. host: we will let tony perkins respond. guest: well, have another cup of coffee. the reality is when the president was looking at the johnson amendment, it was in 1954, lyndon b. johnson, the head of the senate at the time, had run into opposition in his reelection from nonprofit organizations. what he did, without going through the full senate, was put a restriction into the tax code that restricted churches from speaking to issues deemed

political or into medical campaigns. what the president did was best political campaigns. what the president did was -- medical campaigns. was makepresident did it that churches are free to speak to the issues. it is an issue of free speech. it is not any line. if any line has been crossed, it is the government has entered into the business of the church and telling the charge what they can and cannot say. as regards to general boykin, a restart -- retired three-star general who served 36 years in our nation's military and left blood on a number of battlefields, there is not a greater american hero than he is. to want to deprive him of the freedom to associate with churches and be a minister once he has served his country is appalling. any american that holds the view

that someone that has fought and watched men died to preserve our freedoms does not have the same freedoms, quite frankly, i don't know what country they belong in, but that is not what america is about. host: butler, indiana. guest: i pray for you every day. i worked at a hospital on long island for 20 years in the delivery unit, and i could never get out of my head the times there was a stillborn baby, abb that did not make it. it changed my life profusely. the idea of abortion is a horror. i cannot even comprehend it. the thought that the united states will use taxpayer dollars to fund or mold other countries into slaughtering babies is horrific, and i hope there comes a time in this country where we

can look back and say it was just like slavery -- the most horrible thing that we did. we have to become human beings by loving human beings, and there are millions of human beings that would love to have children that cannot. god bless your work. i hope we someday come to the realization that slaughtering innocent babies is horrific. god bless you. i am going to go cry. i did not want to cry on the phone. guest: i do hope there is a time when we look back, because america has gotten it wrong on a number of issues. we got it wrong on the slavery issue. unfortunately, we corrected -- fortunately, we corrected it. it was unfortunate how we corrected it -- having to go through a civil war. i will say this, we are moving closer and closer, and that is why this intensity has built-in we are moving closer and closer to being a predominantly pro-life nation. more and more states -- bills

like the heart beat bill -- once the heartbeat is detected, that life is protected. these are moving through the states. a nala -- anomalies there. the president coming out boldly say we will have none of that. congress having a discharge position to end what we call birth day abortions. it is a big issue. the reason it is become so contentious -- when the courts said 46 years ago they were going to solve it, they have not solved it because americans have never reached consensus. host: do you think this supreme court with its current makeup will overturn roe v. wade? guest: people say roe v. wade will be overturned -- it was actually modified in 1992. i think it will be revisited again. what will ultimately happen is

it will be sent back to the states and the state will determine what their policies will be one it comes to the issue of abortion. it will not be a blanket -- this is my view -- i am not saying is going to happen. when i see happening, the way the court has operated, whether or not it is this court for one more judicial nominee, i see this going back to the states -- the court not blanket leaf , but saying this is an issue the state should deal with. guest: at least 20 -- casesat least 20 abortion -- which are you most interested in? ofst: i am watching all them. as a former policymaker at the state level i encourage state legislatures to reflect the values of their constituents. you have some states -- kentucky just advanced, i believe, a

bill.beat you have the five-month bill, based on pain, when a baby in the womb feels pain from that point forward, it is prohibited. from that case, maybe they look ofit from the standpoint reevaluating the timeframe. --ing it back to a heartbeat one it is detected, when do we declare someone dead -- when the heart stops. when do we declare them alive -- when the heartbeat begins. if they take up one of those cases, it is more likely that you go back to the fundamental issue of abortion which would be back to the states to decide. host: the washington post article was talking about what is next. guest: i do not know exactly what case will be next before the court. some have speculated. the court can do whatever they want. they can choose to take a case or refuse to take a case.

there have been cases i thought they might take and did not take. it is anyone's guess. you think they would take that they did not -- what were you disappointed about? guest: there was a religious case out of washington state with a football coach. it was a marine veteran coaching high school football who at the end of the game would kneel on the field and pray himself .uietly -- not forcing students the school took action against issues that other they were being forced to do so because the check -- separation of church and state. that case was before the supreme court and it would have been a major religious liberty case and did not take it. they did take the bladensburg-cross case, another major religious liberty case.

you never know what the justices are thinking as they talk about the cases they will take and how far-reaching decisions will be. host: have you been to bladensburg to see the cross? guest: i have not, but seen many pictures and talked to many people involved in the case. host: what do they tell you? guest: this is a cross that has been there almost 100 years. the implications here could be far-reaching. when we look behind you we see the united states capital. all around the city -- this weekend i am leading a tour of the people that came in just to look at the christian heritage in this fair -- city and one of the places we will go is arlington cemetery. i have been to arlington many times. when you look at the crosses on that field, it is reflective of the sacrifices many have made, and also their hope and commitment to a faith. those crosses are potentially at

risk if the decision behind the bladensburg case stands. those crosses could be eradicated. about 15 minutes left. rick -- with about 15 minutes left tony perkins. rick. california. guest: greetings from the people's republic of california. i see abortion is a hot topic now that the republicans have lost the house. can you tell me why the faith hustlers and the gop grifters don't get hot under the collar that the last two budgets they sent to president trump did not rider, andiabortion the six budgets they sent to president obama had antiabortion rider's he and harry reid had to strip out in the middle of the

night before they got signed? guest: ashley, they have stayed in place. the hyde amendment has remained in place. it has been a writer on budgets since harry reid -- i'm sorry, henry hyde put it in place back in the 1970's after he was elected. the issue here on this particular topic is our foreign policy and the restriction that is done by the administration and how they spend the funds. they have the right to do that and that is what they have been doing. i go back, john, to the party platforms. this president, i was in las vegas for the third presidential debate with hillary clinton and donald trump, and he aggressively took on the issue of late-term abortion. he spoke about this with a and a persuasive manner that i have not heard a

.politician" speak about it it is like he just discovered the atrocity of this, and i knew he was not working off talking points. he was speaking from his heart. i was also in the white house the monday night before the state of the union address and the president brought up this issue of what was happening in virginia and new york and spoke with great passion. this president is not pandering. this president is convicted on this issue. reflective of the party platform. the republicans have staked out a position on this abortion issue. --re consists 20 want it constituency wanted overwhelmingly -- we will build this wall between taxpayers and abortion. the democratic party wants to eliminate that. that is new. in their platform, they want to a limited stuff hyde amendment. that is not been there before.

host: how much influence do you think vice president mike pence has had? guest: clearly it has had an impact on his entire journey. this guy was building buildings in new york city dealing with zoning issues. he was not dealing with policy issues like abortion, probably never thought about it. facewhen he came face to about it, it is like someone for the first time discovering something -- how are we doing this. i think he is more passionate than many people in the pro-life movement that have grown weary and callous. i find it refreshing that we have a leader that is so devoted to protecting the sanctity of human life and ensuring that taxpayers are not forced into a with organizations like planned parenthood and other abortion providers. host: florida is next. the public in. caller: thank you for taking my

call. good morning, mr. perkins. i think you for your organization that reaches out for life. i think mr. -- thank mr. trump. life begins at conception. you go to matthew and read about where jesus was conceived by she wasd that very day conceived she went to john the mother, anderson she in herre, john leaped will because he spelt the holy spirit of christ being there. they can gopeople shepherdschapel.com, or go to matthew, chapter one, and see if i cannot -- if i am not telling you the truth. that happened that fairy -- that

very day. life begins at conception. guest: when you see this is not a blob of tissue, but a child -- technology gives us the ability to detect a heartbeat. moved some states have forward with acknowledging that life does in fact begin with conception. i think this is where the court sends it back to the states and the states adopt their policies. i would support, as my home state in indian -- louisiana, where i authored a number of pro-life bills, which is one of if not the most pro-life state in the nation, i support that life does begin at conception and we should protect it from

that moment for. host: -- forward. host: brian in d.c. guest: i have several national and caller: i have -- caller: i have several points i want to make. we have two white men sitting shouldlking about what go on with a woman's body. , he says we don't want to pay for abortions. well, as a tax the -- taxpayer, i don't want to pay for foster care and children that are in orphanages, and those that are born with disabilities, and until these orphanages and foster care organizations are empty with people adopting them -- which they are not, we had millions of kids in there, and you're not doing anything about them. you are really a hypocrite

because you don't go out and adopt these kids -- you leave them in there to languish and suffer, but you tell them we are pro-life. right, you are pro-life. this wouldssue is not be an issue other than the census has said in 10 years white people will not be the majority in this country. brownountry is turning and black and what people are not having kids like they used to. an issue.omes you both sit up there and talk about a woman's body, as if she does not have any say. it is between her and god. it does not have anything to do with you people. you are down there in virginia making women go through all kind of atrocities while they want to have abortions with doctors touching them, reaching inside them, and you don't have anything to say about it. you all are hypocrites. guest: it is a great thing about

america -- we can all have our own opinion, speak to those things, but we don't have our own set of facts. i will start with his last point about the demographics in this country -- yes, when you look at the demographics, you see -- actually it is the hispanic community growing, but if you look at the argument that he is making, in new york city, if you are an african-american child you have a greater chance of being aborted than born. they abort more african-american children in new york than are born. i am protecting the rights of minorities, of hispanics, african-americans, to have the freedom to live. this is not about the white population. tos is a racist statement suggest that because we are protecting african-americans, hispanics, that somehow we are wanting to grow the white population. that is crazy.

we fact of a woman's body -- are talking about whether or not you and i should be able -- should be forced to fund the taking of an innocent life that has an effect on the broader culture, the coarsening of moral conscious in this nation, which i believe has led to the devaluing. a woman is free to do what she wants with her body in terms of whether or not she concedes and engages in the act, but when it ofes to me being a part aborting her baby, i have a voice in that matter. caller: i would like to make a comment about foreign policy. i was a diplomat for a country. the previous administration's foreign policy was wrong on so many levels. abortiont spoke about

being forced into kenya. it was like a package in a previous administration -- abortion and gay -- you have to take it and leave it. if a -- [indiscernible] this.d like to reiterate african countries are evolving in those matters. that is what i applaud with this new administration. they are cautious in their approach in foreign countries. thank you very much. remembercannot even the number of ambassadors from foreign countries that i've spoken to over the last decade, particularly in the previous administration, that were telling me they were being forced on the issue of same-sex marriage, of abortion, and that foreign funds were being withheld if they did not kowtow to the administration's exporting of values, which were

valleys at the time that were not in reflected in our own culture. that has long been how the state department has been used, to push a lot of these liberal-leaning, leftist policies into other countries coming through the united nations into the back door, making a full circle here into the united states. host: a couple of minutes left -- i wanted to ask you -- you are talking about president trump's passion and his passion at the campaign rally led to some colorful language that has gotten some feedback. if the democrats will continue fraud in the public with ridiculous b.s., that led to this tweet --

guest: i was actually with david yesterday. he is a president -- full package. you take the whole package. i'm spoken to a number of pastors and leaders across the country that are uncomfortable with the hard nature of some of his tweets, the statements, the language. host: are you uncomfortable? guest: i would prefer that he not do that. you know, yes -- i don't use that kind of language. i know the president is on a journey. here is what i encourage people to do -- i don't in any way condone that type of language. we want you our leaders those that we can model. the president is doing a really .ood job doing better he is on a journey, and we continue to pray for him and

encourage him on that journey, but i always point back to don't miss the policies, the people he has put in place -- mike pompeo, mike pence, rick perry -- these different individuals that are solid, conservative, respected individuals that uphold these values that helped make america great the first time. this president, from our standpoint in terms of the policy, is doing an outstanding job. we will continue to encourage and pray for him to work on the tweets --two tone them down a bit. have you been pleased with all the people he has picked in his administration -- some have left under the shade of scandal. guest: for the most part, yet -- in the key places we work and focus on, yet. this guy has put together a team that under the circumstance you see every movie has been making has been scrutinized.

you have this russia investigation that has turned out to be nothing and has tried to derail his administration, but he has stayed focused on sunny days. i get him an a plus. peter is waiting to west palm beach. democrat. guest: good morning. i am at in this conversation. i'm 88 years old and i was born at a time when abortion was illegal. on one side of the street there were 1200 boys. on the other side of the street there were 1100 girls. notof the boys were orphans. they were not orphans pay they were abandoned. almost 90%s side, were abandoned children because abortion was illegal. we want to go back where you have people with wires performing abortions, back-allie

abortions, and nobody taking care of thing because abortion is illegal, then you go ahead and put restrictions on legal abortions. you will have the same problem we had when i was a young man, and i lived through it and i don't ever want to see it again. thank you. really get he brought that point up because i did not get to it from the other color. first, i would say i am sure there were those that grew up in that are glades they have a life like him and hopefully are still alive. here is what is happening on the issue of adoption -- there has been a concerted effort from christian organizations and christian groups to work in the adoption field. i have been part of making adoption more affordable and easier. we have changed it to where there are tax benefits, incentives, rebates for adoption.

the problem -- the president pointed it out in a national prayer breakfast, the faith-based groups that are placing kids are being driven out of business, like in michigan, because of this the lgbtwith those in committees that are driving faith-based adoption agencies out of business. they have been shut down in massachusetts, here in d.c. they are speaking out of both sides of their mouth. if they really want to put children in these homes, they should come to an agreement that organization should be able to operate according to their faith, and there are many, many families across this country that are eager, ready, willing, to adopt these children. host: karen has been waiting in weatherford, texas. independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. off before i finished making my point because i have been wanting to make this point for several months.

i was raised as a democrat. my father used to go to washington and lobby. he kind of lost interest in doing that when nixon let him down, but that is a whole other story. i have always been against abortion, and this past year i have found it hard to understand how the democrats can say it is ok to abort a baby, but it is not ok to separate a child from its parent at the border when they are trying to cross illegally. that is a little bit hypocritical their. they are talking out of both sides of their mouth. i am against abortion. i have known of people -- i know this person personally -- i have never done it, i've never been a drug taker. that was not my thing. i would rather go out dancing,

but this person was into drugs heavily, and instead of staying on birth control pills she would use her money for drugs, get pregnant, and then get abortions. she used it as a means of birth control. 15 has had at least 10 abortions. i don't want to pay for that. if there is one doing that, there are several doing that. guest: that goes back to the point the secretary of state made -- we will not fund through nongovernmental organizations abortion as birth control. that is essentially how it is being published and promoted, not only here in domestic policy, the more importantly what we are talking about is in our foreign policy. host: on c-span2. perera aselcome liz our guest for the first time. she serves as director of common policy at sierra clu