host: good morning. it is sunday, january 22.

president biden marked the second anniversary of his arrival in office by touting his legislative accomplishments on friday. the halfway point of the administration comes as the president plans his reelection announcement. it is still on track despite the recent documents controversy. we are asking you, what grade would you give president biden in the so far. democrats, we want you to call us at (202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002. you can also send us a text at (202) 748-8003. these include your name and

where you live. also find us at facebook, on twitter, and on instagram. before we get to your calls, let's bring up some video. this is the president speaking on friday to that gathering of mayors. he is looking back at his first years in office. >> i had not planned on running again. why the hell didn't you follow your instincts? i didn't. my son had passed away. i had no desire. things were going fine. when i did, i decided there were three reasons to run. one was to restore the soul of america. decency, the idea that we could

deal with one another. i really mean that. i've been this way my whole career, how we build the economy from the bottom up in the middle out. i come from the state of corporate america. more corporations are in my state then any other state combined. i got elected several times there. it wasn't that i was anticorporate. i have a different view of what the priority should be. when the middle does well, they generate a chance to the working class. when they do well, the wealthy do very well. the third reason i ran was the hardest to deal with. that is unite the country. we are a democracy. we cannot be sustained if we

stay 50 different islands or two different parties that no longer talk to one another. for the last two years, i think we've made progress. in large part because of many of you sitting in the room. i am really optimistic we are implementing the laws we already past. people are going to feel them in their everyday lives. that work will continue. every city and town in this country, our best days are ahead of us. i really mean it. i was asked by my senior team, if i could do anything, what is the one thing i would change. i said i would cure cancer. nobody thinks -- is the most frightening thing to people. american can do big things

again. there is nothing beyond our capacity. there is nothing beyond the capacity of americans. we are of the united states of america. if we work together, there is nothing beyond our capacity. host: that was the president speaking to a bipartisan group of mayors. let's get reaction from republicans in congress to those first years. ohio representative jim jordan writes: here is another tweet from senate republicans:

this one is from kevin mccarthy: this from senator bill cassidy: our question is to you, how do you rate his administration and his presidency after two years. those lines are for democrats

(202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002. let's get to your calls right now. first up is mike in new jersey. caller: good morning. good morning. how are you? host: what are your thoughts. caller: i give him a double f. the first thing he did was 31 executive orders. everything got rebuked that was done in america. the border is still open. i watch fox. i watch newsmax. the news says it's open. drugs are piling in. he said your kids are our kids. do you let your kids do drugs? i guess you do.

that's why your son blacked out. you've got documents all over your house. host: all right. we appreciate that call from new jersey. let's go to paul in kentucky. go ahead. caller: i believe he is the worst president. you look at what happened. with energy independent, he goes to our enemies to try to get oil. the war in ukraine. that happened under biden. they are just pouring over the border. drugs are coming in. a hundred thousand are drying because of drugs. i know people that died because of fentanyl. he put a gun to their heads.

he is corrupt. he killed so many lives. it's impossible to name all of them. listen to what he said before he became president. he is a liar. all those documents, his crackhead son was in that house with hookers. the man is the worst. he is corrupt. he is probably treasonous. how does a man who never worked come up with three or four mansions? corruption. host: that is paul in kentucky. let's go to louisiana. randy is on the independent line. caller: i would have to rate him with a big f. i think about the pullout in afghanistan.

we were energy independent. we are not no longer neg independent. inflation is high. it's coming down. it is entirely too high. it is due to him being president. it's been a disaster. host: that is randy in louisiana. our next caller is dorothy in alabama. what are your thoughts? i think we lost dorothy. let's go to orange california on the independent line. caller: hello. i would have to give joe biden an f minus, worst president ever. everything he said he was going to fix has gotten worse. people are dying with covid.

gas prices have soared. he sold that strategic oil reserve. he did that before the midterm election to make it seem like he was doing a better job and the democrats were doing a better job. host: now on the democratic climate, virgil is in las vegas. caller: he's doing about his find a job as anybody could have done. it's a big job. i think he's doing a great job. host: do you have any thoughts?

what do you think he is done well? caller: he has a lot of empathy for the country. he's been through tough times. he's lost children. we all regret those times we experience. he is a fine individual. host: that was virgil in las vegas. let's go to mike. that's go to rick instead. caller: people have to know his past. he voted against helping the freedom fighters when the calmness were taken over nicaragua.

the drug cartels, the organized terrorists, they would be giving him an a. he transferred weapons and technology to the terrorists in afghanistan. he gets a double left. for america's enemies, they would great him and a plus. host: that was jimmy in new york. let's go now to rick. rick is in california. you are on. caller: i would give him an a plus. he passed the american rescue planet. he also has lowered unemployment. he has great foreign policy.

i would like to add that i was a republican for 20 years and i became a democrat because of president obama. host: that was rick in california. let's go to the independent line. brenda is calling from arkansas. caller: good morning. i would say he is the worst president we've ever had. starting from his incompetence with the withdrawal in afghanistan. to letting inflation get so high. i can't understand the present -- people think he's doing a good job. no one ever says what he's doing that's good. our country is in the worst position we have ever been in.

we are already in a recession. we are. with the spending, it's going to get worse. i'm not sure the republicans can keep them from spending. i don't they have much of a backbone either. host: that was brenda in arkansas. our next caller is henrietta in fort pierce florida calling on the republican line. caller: good morning. i am going to quote obama who i agree with never accept this one item. he said there is nothing joe biden could not muck up. this is coming from the president who had him as a vice president.

now, we see exactly what obama had to deal with. i have a newfound respect for that man. to work with this incompetent, this corruption. this family that sells our country for silver pieces. that's what they are. it's the biden judas family. host: that is henrietta in florida. let's go now to georgia. caller: thank you for taking my call. first off, joe biden inherited a situation. we were under a pandemic. i lost my mother because the other man said there was no such

thing as covid. i lost a student in front of me because -- we are coming out of a situation where the whole world had to close down. those documents they are finding, i call that an easter egg hunt. go look in the trees. go look everywhere. i give him -- he's doing a decent job. it's only been two years. you have over 240 million people in this country. i do know what the citizens are calling same. senior citizens, you've got to

raise this. thank you for taking my call. host: let's go to paul in ohio. go ahead. >> thank you for taking my call. it's very important what's going on in our country. there is a pandemic. let's go to everything that is happening right now. when there is a pandemic, everything shuts down. basically all the essentials are being done in the past few years. when the economy opened up, the raw materials are scarce.

labor is scarce. the economy is opening up. supply and demand are not equal. everything is high. that is not the fault of the government. the government is trying to get us up and running. i think we have so much going on. they are trying their best to get us through what's happening. host: that was ohio. up next, james is in louisiana on the independent line. go ahead. caller: good morning. i am listening to some of my fellow citizens.

we have such short memories. i'm assuming most of these people have been living for more than 50 or 60 years. i remember when i bought my first home in the 80's. instant rates were in double digits. if we're going to judge this man, judge it by comparison of other presidents we've had. he is only halfway through his administration. all the problems that we have in this country, he's doing his best to fix them. we need to get behind him and help regardless of our political philosophies. the biggest thing he is trying to do is bring our government and the people that support it back together. that's almost impossible.

he is passing legislation. he's running the government as intended by the constitution. ask yourself, who do you trust? a lot of people are spec at how we got rich. their congressman who got rich. that may be the way the government works. who do you trust? to guide our government back to where it is supposed to be? to have a nation where we are trying to have a more perfect union? i think he's doing an excellent job at attempting to do that. thank you for letting me have my little speech. host: that was james in louisiana. here is what kevin mccarthy

highlighted as his legacy after two years. >> it's the two-year anniversary of joe biden being sworn in as president. what did we get? we find out 4.5 million people came across the border illegal. last month, to hunter 50,000 -- that happened in december. inflation like we haven't seen in 40 years. now you find out we were lied about and not told they had documents, that they rated another president. they don't believe justice is equal. it should be served on people they politically disagree with and they are above the law. that's what two years of joe biden has given us. host: that was the house speaker

speaking about the first two years of joe biden's presidency. we want to hear from you. what are your thoughts? as a reminder, democrats (202) 748-8000. (202) 748-8001 republicans(202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002. we are going to go back to more of your calls right now. let's go to st. louis where ginger is on the democratic line. caller: i just want to say i think part of the problem is the weight he has had a speech impediment. he comes off slow. i think he is methodical. trump gave a tax cut that put us $2 trillion in debt. democrats voted along with republicans to raise the debt limit during trump.

republicans don't seem to ever want to work together. we've got an 8% increase for people who are on social security. how is that a bad thing. joe biden got it infrastructure deal done. did you just see him january 6, with mitch mcconnell opening up a bridge, to get a new bridge built. that's what america is about. i'm not in love with mitch. i want the people where he lives to have a new bridge. i am an american. if trump's tax cut was to give us 10% growth to pay for it, how come inflation hit it at 4% growth? you are just mad at. try loving your american brother. i love them all.

that's what i want to say. he's trying to love. i'm sorry you're all caught up on a laptop. try to get back to just us. the dollar is good in the world. you cap saying it's never been worse. we are selling energy to other countries. i don't know where you guys get your facts. look around and get other facts. thank you. have a great day. host: let's go now to new hampshire. you are on. caller: i put it on the republican line. i couldn't get anything on the democrat line. this president is off the rails.

they've got to turn around. the country is going to go is this guy competent or not? it's costing us. he has put us into turmoil. everybody is sitting around. i think it comes time when they were ready to impeach trump before he got into office. host: all right. let's go to another collar. what are your thoughts? caller: thank you. i give him na+. i am 74 years old.

my husband is deceased. i do the best i can. i want to talk about the border. i am 74 years old. they've been working on that border. we used to have work visas. now we have over one million americans who are going to mexico, building homes, taking money out of their homes, building homes over there, working over there. then they come back and renew their visa. we can't let the people who are at the border who need to work, who need to build highways, who need to build bridges, we are getting screwed on the bridges. and we renew our car taxes, we

pay for road and bridges. we have oil leases on the land. george bush and the republicans taxed those oil and gas leases. we have turbo energy. you should see in the western part of texas all the turbines there here. they lie about energy. my nephew was killed in iraq. she was like thank god for joe biden. she said this is contract workers who did not want to leave. they wanted the military to stay there.

all of us senior citizens who are complaining. thank god you got breakfast this morning. we started off, bread was $.25. the same thing with gas. we are never thankful in this world. my grandson who is 17 years old, i don't want them to go to the military. that's what he wants to do. he has offers to play football. he said i want to go to the military. we have young people who will go to the military with these ungrateful people, these insurgents who will storm our capital and they think nothing about it. hang mike pence. what christian thinks about hanging mike pence? beau biden -- obama didn't say that about joe biden. thank you.

on this sunday, where people are going to go to church, you are an incredible young lady. i appreciate you and your patience. thank you so much. host: that was anna in texas. i want to bring up some of the replies we are getting on facebook to this question. the first comment i want to read: josh writes:

those are some of the responses we are getting. let's go to new york. go ahead. caller: i want to echo what somebody or other collars have said. you are very patient. there are times in some of these people started to ramble and you let them go. that's good. you can tell a are mad. i give joe biden and f. i would kick his ass out of school. leaving our technology behind. he is so corrupt. anyone who can't see that i

dropped my phone. all you have to do is look at hunter biden. look at what he said about everything. now he's got all these stolen papers in his garage. it's just wrong. they are still pushing the shots even though many people been killed by the so-called vaccines. they are still pushing them everyday. nobody is hitting the brakes there. host: let's go now to the democratic line. tim is calling from ohio. caller: how are you? i just want to say something. they say these people are low

educated voters. god gave us all common sense. host: i think we lost him. pat is in michigan on the independent line. you are on. caller: thank you. i listen off and on to your show. i just want to say to all of these angry people, if the government did not put out such strong hateful propaganda, this country would still be unified. the democrats and republicans have become one party. the lack of transparency is unbelievable. the people of the world cs as a major terrorist group. from all of the last several

wars, i believe that we are. starting at before afghanistan. we totally destroy these countries. people in vietnam and cambodia are still dying from bombs that were left there. they can say all they want about helping people and standing up for democracy. as a small business owner, this country is a mess. it didn't start with trump and it didn't start with joe biden. when i voted, i would've voted for anyone other than hillary clinton. i did not vote for obama. i am grateful for the affordable care act. i get my health insurance for free now that i am a senior. i am totally grateful for that. i live a small low-cost life. i am grateful that i have a

life. i can't say that for the people in other countries. we put in a government. we were responsible for that. we've done that in all these countries. no wonder all these people in the world paid us. you destroy the country and leave everybody standing there. it is just disgusting. our government is so broken. our military is out of control. we keep putting more money in. these people in washington don't know any other regular people. they are tripping over their own egos. host: that was pat in michigan. we have had a lot of collars ring up the issues that president biden is having with

classified documents found in his private office and home. i want to bring up the latest that was released last night. i will be reading from politico. politico writes, officials from the justice department recovered additional classified items friday after searching the wilmington delaware home for nearly 13 hours.

now i that's go to the phone lines. michael is calling from virginia on the republican line. what are your thoughts? caller: your last caller much squid in every thing up for me. i have to agree with everything she said. she hit it right on the head. the way this country is run, it's like a tug-of-war between two parties. when the line gets over on one

side, they start pulling the other. they don't truly want much change. when paul ryan was the speaker, when he was in office they didn't want anything to get done. they handed over congress to the democrats. this is truly a one party system. it's made to look like two parties. i wouldn't say it's all joe biden's fault. i wouldn't blame it all on trumped either. i think they like it just as it is. they will continue to keep it just as it is.

it'll be a tug-of-war back and forth so nothing ever changes. host: that was michael calling from virginia. our next caller is in arizona. you are on it. caller: thank you. i agree with the woman from texas. i think he is doing a great job. he worked with obama eight years ago. we all get amnesia and forget where we were after 2008. the economy was the worst it's ever been. we watched as republicans obstructed everything obama was trying to do to get the country back on track. he did it anyway. i feel sorry for joe biden.

we conveniently forget regardless of why that our unemployment rate skyrocketed. nobody was working. our response to the pandemic had a million people dead. i'm shocked how people get amnesia. joe biden at 80 years old past to try to fix this mess. i think he's done the best he can do. they just want to complain that he has dementia. he may be old. this man does not have dementia. they just want to tear down rather than work together to fix the problems. kevin mccarthy after the january 6 insurrection was ready to throw in the towel. then he went back. we have got a far right wing

party that is pulling the country down. i am an independent. you have the progressive democrats and i don't agree with what they want. we can sit down and work it out. you've got this far right party that is just unreasonable. when you have the president saying he retreats people re-tweeting white power, what are people going to do? that is division. divided we will fall. that's all i have to say. host: let's go now to tyler, texas. david is on the republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to say they are talking about the country being

divided. when president trump was elected, the democrats are the ones who started this division. host: are you there? caller: thank you for taking my call. host: keep going. i think david is having technical difficulties. we will have to come back to david. let's try bob. in illinois? caller: thank you. can you hear me? are they kidding me? joe biden -- when the pandemic came in, he faced it. he got a black supreme court justice. he got a black vice president.

any problem we had, he confronted. i can't believe people. he is almost 80 years old. he is running for president instead of looking for old people to play bingo with like i do and watch dense smoke in the morning. he is a tremendous white man. he is in love with this country. he is trying to make it better. host: that was bob from illinois. let's go to another color. let's try warren in new york. go ahead. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. all i have to say to all of

these democrats that are speaking, i cannot believe the ignorance. they don't remember before biden took over. we had the lowest unemployment. we had the highest gpa. we were number one with oil. we didn't rely on anybody. we had our own pipelines. businesses were coming back from other places. trump got the north american trade between mexico and canada that favored the americans. he made people throughout the world pay their nato debts. the democrats -- any place where

democrats are in charge, it is the shambles. look at chicago. look at l.a.. they are in shambles. host: that was warren calling from new york. i'm going to read a couple more of the facebook comments we are receiving.

those are some of the facebook comments. we will go back to your calls. democrats (202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002. let's go now to oregon. sharon is on the democratic line. caller: thank you for taking my call this morning. i want to deal with facts. when joe biden took over, we weren't at the lowest unemployment. we weren't at the highest rate

on the stock market. we were in the middle of the pandemic in the country had been shut down. millions were dying. that is what he took over. let's look at facts and what has happened. money for veterans that were affected by burn pits. it ended up 1.7 million veteran health claims that got handled last year. that's the highest number ever. the child tax credit, 3.7 million children came out of poverty as a result of that. there was a 24% drop in family hunger. the infrastructure act, we can remember we had infrastructure week every week with the trump administration. right now, that will start going into effect. they are renovating boston

airport, they are getting the port of tampa, they are doing a pedestrian ridge in phoenix. they are doing a snow melt system in new hampshire. there was a bridge that opened with mitch mcconnell in kentucky and ohio. insulin for seniors was capped at $35. the democrats wanted it to be capped for all americans. the republicans stop that. for the first time ever, joe biden negotiated with pharmaceutical companies to get medicare prices down. the war in ukraine caused the rise in gas prices. they are coming down. ultimately, that war may squash russia's economy for years to come, which takes out a competitor. at the beginning of ukrainian

war, china it was sniffing around, sniffing around taiwan. when they saw what europe was doing in ukraine, suddenly, they backed down. the chips act, which will make the u.s. more competitive and innovative in making microchips. we won't have chinese chips in our telephones and our security systems. this is one of the biggest things, cyber war. those chip plants are being built in the midwest. they are talking about the big midwest becoming the new silicon valley. joe biden hasn't done everything. he can't cure everything into years. if you look at europe, if you look around the world, the gas prices, that's everywhere. these are some of the specifics he's done.

i am sure many more that i am not aware of. i would give him a b. host: we appreciate that call. i want to show this. this is the real clear politics average of polling on his approval rating. it shows that on average, about 43% of americans approve of his job performance. 53% this approve. he is continuing to be underwater, hovering around the 45% approval rating. that current average has him at 43%. 38% approve of how he is handling the economy. 59% disapprove.

let's go back to the phone lines. randy on the republican line. go ahead. randy in kentucky, are you there? it sounds like he is not with us. let's try roy in florida. you are on. caller: this is roy. i just get so sick of everything that is going on in the world right now. because of all the hate in the world, people aren't together in america anymore. it's not the same as it was.

i think joe biden has done a great job. i think i would give him a b. the country is back on track. we still have a lot of hate. i am doing a lot better under joe biden under donald trump. the republicans in the house, they are not doing what we want them to do. those 10 people don't want to do anything to help america. as long as that happens and they keep going after joe biden, nothing is going to change. people in congress should have term limits. it is not helping democrats or republicans. the hate that goes on, calling

democrats radicals and communists. they are not calmness. they are people just like us. as long as the hate keeps stirring like the thing with the african-americans, that's part of history. do away with that, you don't expect people to fight back? the wheel that squeaks gets the most attention. i think those people are literally crazy and couldn't run a nursery school. we've got to get back to what has worked. joe biden is guilty, trump is guilty of those documents no matter what. trump to a more degree i think.

until this division stops, this country is never going to heal itself. that's what god wants. jesus wants that. we are not acting like christian people anymore. we just hate each other. the anger from both parties, it is ridiculous. host: we appreciate your call this morning. let's go now to patrick on the democratic line in pittsburgh. go ahead. caller: president biden has been the greatest failed presidency in our history. the most corrupt. we see the most illegitimate assaults on our liberty that we've ever seen. we are watching over $100 billion being siphoned off and thrown down a rabbit hole. 70% of it is missing from

ukraine. biden is going to start world war iii. he continues to escalate and escalate with a country that has a greater nuclear arsenal than we do. i don't know how anyone can say this president has done anything positive. he is about to create the greatest catastrophe in the history of our nation. that doesn't even remotely come close to the destruction of our democracy. all of these revelations from twitter are literally a watershed of people that we are now seeing. how in the hell could any democrat vote for this president? i can't even believe it.

host: that was a call from pittsburgh. on the line from columbia is george on the independent line. caller: good morning. a lot of people -- when donald trump started, he was a democrat before he ran for president. in order to do the things he did, he went to the republican party. they will fall for anything. he won the election because of vladimir putin. everybody knows that. they want to turn a blind eye to that.

nobody is perfect. joe biden is not perfect. i think we ought to stay out of ukraine. the other caller was right. you can't let vladimir putin take over eastern europe. we did not stop hitler's. remember that. look what happened. donald trump is the worst thing that ever happened to this country. just think about it. think about what you are saying. that's just a little gift for you to think i'm doing a good job. it was his creation of low gas prices. that's not defeating unemployment. he gave tax cuts to the rich

people. don't be brainwashed by the little things. look at the big picture. thank you. host: let's go to colorado. raymond is on the independent line. caller: good morning. i would like to send a blessing out to california. they had a mass shooting in the asian community. no one has mentioned that. i would like to send all the heartfelt blessings to those people. i would give joe biden a b. if i am comparing him to the last three presidents, he is not at the bottom. i would rate donald trump at the bottom.

what i called about is the hypocrisy. this country is full of hypocrisy. we say guns don't kill people. now, they are talking about sentinel. i would say the same thing. fit nault doesn't kill people. people do. i am 64 years old. i never did any drugs. how can we blame people who are putting these drugs in their mouths, smoking marijuana. we know that if you are not buying it from a store that these people are putting all sorts of stuff in. i just don't understand america. i know that jesus came as a lamb and he's coming back as a lion. we should all prepare for that. have a blessed day.

host: our next caller is sharon from washington dc. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to say that's the beauty of america. we can change political parties if we choose to. that guy mentioned donald trump was a democrat at first. a lot of people have changed political parties. that's the beauty of america. i think the president that we have an office now his trying to decimate the democracy. we you have the illegals filling hotels every night, free of charge, on our american taxpayer dime.

i do not like that. they have come over here and taken from america. they do not hire and allow americans to live in their communities and complexes. you have to be a foreign national. that is discrimination to me. thank you. host: we are going to take a quick break, but before we do, a caller mentioned there was a mass shooting late last night in california. the latest headline from cbs los angeles said that monterey park mass shooting, 10 killed, 10 injured after lunar new year festival. shooter at large.

that is the latest headline. coming up, it is the 50th anniversary of the supreme court decision on roe v. wade. we talk with amy littlefield of the nation magazine, talking about the change to abortion access around the country since the landmark decision was overturned. and alexandra with concerned women for america discusses the pro-life movement. >> the state of the union is strong because you, the american people, are strong. >> president biden delivers his state of the union address, outlining his priorities to congress on tuesday, february 7, his first since republicans when back -- won back control of the house. watch live coverage on c-span, c-span now, or online at

c-span.org. >> in the 837 page biography of j edgar hoover, she writes, but i do not count myself of hoover's admirers. in the introduction, she said her book g man is less about judging him but understanding him. he died at age 77 in 1972. she did her undergraduate work at yale and received a phd from columbia writes that hoover emerged as one of history's great villains, perhaps the most universally reviled political figure of the 20th century. >> officer beverly gage on book note plus, available on the c-span now app forever you get

your podcasts. >> book tv, every weekend on c-span two, features authors discussing nonfiction which. she details her attempt -- is the author of muppets in moscow. and also how baby boomers have impacted the economy and the impact on future generations. watch book tv every weekend on c-span two and find a full schedule on your program gui or watch online anytime on book tv.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: the nation's magazines amy

littlefield joins us to discuss abortion access since the supreme court jobs decision last summer that overturned roe v. wade. thank you for joining us. guest: good morning. thank you so much for having me. host: what does action correspondent -- access correspondent mean? guest: we know even when abortion was legal nationwide, access dependent on where you lived, what race or class you came from, or whether you lived in a state whether there was medicaid coverage of abortions. there always been trouble with access for men of color and lgbtq people seeking abortion. so abortion access correspondent

encompasses not just the law and supreme court decisions but everyday realities for people seeking abortions and activists supporting them. host: we want to give up the phone numbers for people to start calling in. if you are in favor of restricting abortion access, your number is (202) 748-8000. if you are in favor of expanding access to abortion, we want you to call us at (202) 748-8001. you can start calling in now with your questions for amy littlefield or your comments about abortion access, and we will get to them shortly. how have you approached your abortion access beat, particularly in the seven months since the dobbs decision was passed down by the supreme court? guest: let's remember, even before the dobbs decision came

down, texas was already a step ahead, because legal strategist for antiabortion had figure out how to use the so-called bounty hunter law which banned abortion at six weeks and allowed private citizens to enforce it through civil lawsuits. in texas, there were restrictions on abortion long before the dobbs decision came down and allowed states nationwide to ban abortions. the way i approach this is the way i approached it before is to talk to grassroots activists, people on the ground moving mountains in order to get people to care. that is abortion funds, people working in abortion clinics, and i also tried to keep an eye on those seeking abortions and making decisions in this moment, in addition to following this vast, uncharted landscape we are

in in terms of the legal struggle and questions coming up as states and cities move in opposite directions to either protect and expand abortion access or restrict it as much as they can. host: the new york times is out with charts on tracking states where abortion is now banned. it shows where full bands are in effect -- bans are in effect and also has charts that shows states where bans, a full bans , six week, 16, 18, 20 weeks, and some on the right hand where bans have been attempted but locked by the courts. in the green, these are states

where abortion is either legal in the dark green or lighter green shows abortion is legal but limited in some way. my question to you, amy, is -- what trends are you seeing in the states, particularly after the supreme court ruling which put that decision back at the state level? guest: if your head is spinning after reading those charts, i think that is understandable. this is incredibly confusing, even to the people who follow it every day. there is a lot of concern about the people who are sitting there in louisiana or mississippi in the middle of the heart of the states that have abortion bans and trying to figure out what their options are. it is daunting facing this legal landscape. i want to talk about the 14 states where it legal abortion is basically unavailable right now.

that includes 12 states that currently have bans in place, banning it outright and two states, wisconsin, 1849 abortion ban and clinics have stopped providing services, and north dakota, where the only clinic has relocated to mississippi -- minnesota. you have those who have current abortion bans in effect. 10 of those 12 states are in a row in a wall up against each other in the south. that stretches from el paso, texas all the way to the eastern edge of alabama. the next state over is georgia, where there is 86 week ban -- where there is a six week ban. missouri and kentucky is the stretch, about half of the country when you think about the

width of the country that has banned abortion entirely. you have other states where it has been held up in courts and other restrictions don't go as far as a total ban. i am imagining a teenager in rural louisiana and found out she is pregnant. what does she think her options are? a mother of three in mississippi, looking out every state in a sea of red abortion bans. how does she contemplate this issue? is it a real hill sick -- a realistic option? there are options out there for self managed abortion, i am thinking about whether it feels possible to access abortion in those states right now. host: if you are in favor of restricting abortion access,

your number is (202) 748-8000. if you want to expand abortion access, we want you to call us at (202) 748-8001. our first caller is in welborn, florida, francis, in favor of restricting abortion. what is your comment or question? caller: i would like to say that this is one nation under god, built on judeo-christian laws that god's word is true and we should build our life on the word of god. god says that he knew us before the foundations of the earth were laid and walked with us and this is an abomination, the shedding of innocent blood.

the baby is a separate person from the mother. it is her body, but the child in her is a separate person than herself. so, i am totally against abortion and i think everyone, even in the constitution, everyone has the right to pursue happiness. every child has the right to get prayer and get an answer, to have a problem and have somebody solve it or solve somebody's problem. when that child is killed that child is denied all of the wonderful things. god says come to life and give it abundantly and he will live and not die. those are god's words. host: i want to get a chance to despond, particularly the caller and the whole debate on abortion is very much wound up in

christianity and conservative christianity in particular. what has your reporting taught you about the convergence of these two? guest: thank you for the comment, francis. there are many anti-abortion conservative legal strategist who have the same vision of the world as ansys, who believe religion -- as francis, who believe that religion should be taught in schools and there are different rules for men and women and that abortion is an abomination. we are seeing them in bold and as they are anti-transgender, want to empower prayer in public education, and that really is sort of the endgame. i think there are concerns among including christian clergy, about this narrow and particular view of christianity being imposed through the law on a

population that disagrees with it. we know that a majority of the population supports access to abortion, including areas in texas. we saw six states where abortion was directly on the ballot, including conservative states like kentucky, and where the abortion rights triumphed in those contests. it is interesting you are seeing a lawsuit filed out of missouri by an organization saying that an abortion ban tied into religion and lawmakers in that state have made it clear that this is about their narrow view of christianity that it is a violation of the church and state in the central tenet of the constitution to have that imposed on an unwilling population in missouri. it will be interesting to see

where that lawsuit goes. host: let's go to new jersey. norman is calling on the line in favor of expanding abortion access. what are your thoughts? caller: good morning. i have a very simple question i would like answered. this all came about with the new supreme court, when this glia passed away -- when scalia passed away, the state would not let obama put in a new justice. when ginsberg passed a way -- a way, the republicans pushed through a supreme court justice favor of abortion. is this a corrupt country that we could put in whoever is in

the legislature and can determine how the country will run? that is my only question. how is it that scalia passed away and they would not let obama put in and when justice ginsburg passed away, they got one immediately? host: your thoughts, amy? guest: norman, i think that is a great question. i think books will be written about that in is all tied into the state of our democracy. the death of one justice, ruth bader ginsburg, has resulted in the change of where we are with the supreme court says something about our democracy. you have to look at the relative willpower and energy of the republican and democratic party on this issue.

the republican party has had a single-minded focus on overturning roe v. wade as one of its priority for many years. they took a stand despite outrage from the american people. i think it is a great question. it is one in should put the democrats in leadership wherever you are and i think it is an important one that gets to the heart of our political system in terms of why there wasn't more protest about these publican supreme court justices when we knew exactly what was going to happen when they got on the court. that is why we are seeing a call to expand the supreme court in order to counteract the fact that in many peoples eyes, republicans were able to steal a supreme court seat. host: on the line now from clearwater, florida, rick, on

expanding abortion access. go ahead. caller: i believe our country is getting more away from the bible and christian values, and with the border -- i am 65 years old and i have never seen the border wide open like it is. democrats like to confuse illegal immigration with legal immigration. i want to expand abortion, because all of the cities down there and states around the border are completely broke. the hospitals are completely full. the pantries are empty. people living in the streets. we have to let americans kill their own babies in order for the immigrants to have space in our country. host: any response, amy?

guest: i have no idea what i just heard, but i will tell you why i think we need to expand abortion access. that is because i think immigrants and non-immigrants alike serve the right to bodily autonomy and self-determination. so whatever someone's story may be, i think they deserve that right. it is pretty straightforward. unfortunately, on this anniversary of roe v. wade, we are seeing an infringement on the rights of people who are pregnant and don't want to be an untold suffering as a result. if you lived in one of the states where abortion is banned, you so have options. you can go to the national network of abortion funds and look for an organization that can help you travel or seek abortion care in states where it is legal. you can go on plan c pill.org

and find out information about how to access medication abortions and self manage an abortion at home, even if you live in a store -- state where it is legally restricted. host: our next color is richard from durham, north carolina -- our next caller is richard from durham, north carolina. caller: can in make a comment to improve "washington journal?" host: make it quick. we would like to focus on the abortion access. caller: you should have an evening version of washington journal."

there are people during the day who cannot call in during the day. abortion, to me is a form of population control that african-americans are only 10% of the population, yet they are 70% of the abortions. you never hear anyone come on the air and talk about that aspect of this abortion issue, since roe was blocked in the supreme court, they have been many pro abortions and people on "washington journal." to me, it is ovulation control -- population control that no one is talking about.

why are people not talking about that? host: let's give amy time to respond. guest: i think this alludes to an important point, which is the right to abortion is not enough in and of itself. that is white we have this framework funded by black women in the 1990's called reproductive justice. it is about not just the right to access abortion but the right to access social services to care for the family you want to have, about the right to have children if you want to have children and to have and parent them in safe immunities with the support you need and to be free from police violence. when you look at reproductive justice, it is much more encompassing an antiracist framework that looks at the intersecting lives of people's color and that is the framework we need to be thinking about. with what the caller said was

true, the people who seek out abortions tend to disproportionately be people suffering from societal oppression, whether financial racial or both. we need to be providing social services for families. the very same states that are banning abortions are often states where those supports are not available for families, often places where people might feel unable to support a child financially because they don't have the support available to them. so i think we need to look at the whole landscape, including how this is very much an issue of racial and economic justice. host: up next we have tony from pennsylvania on the line in favor of restricting abortion access. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have a comment regarding this issue. i think it is pretty straightforward when we are talking about rights that we

need to think about the rights of those innocent little babies that were formed in the womb and who stands up for their rights? they have the right to be born. i know they are a little life inside the mother's womb, but that should not give the mother right to kill their own baby. you want to talk about rights, everyone has the right under the constitution and so those little infants in the womb. so that is what we talk about rights and meet being a nurse and in health care, i don't believe health care should be in the business of taking a life. we are supposed to protect life. i appreciate the time. thank you. host: we have heard a few people talk about fetal rights, also known as personhood. how do you feel about that? guest: we need a clear

understanding that the endgame of the antiabortion movement has always been to enshrine the rights of fetuses in the constitution. it has always been about fetal personhood, and that opens up a terrifying landscape, what happens to in vitro fertilization? what happens to contraception right? what happens to a whole host of issues if you have people who are sick who are carrying pregnancies? people who have cancer or can't carry a pregnancy to term without it being a threat to their life? the main issue i have here is that hundreds of thousands of pregnant people have abortions every single year in the united states. i believe that those people are making the best decision they

can given their financial circumstances, given their hopes and dreams for their future, even though the fact that the majority of those people are already mothers and parents, they are making decisions based on what is best for their children. i have trouble when people describe abortion seekers as murderers, as people who are taking a life. i think they are people who are making a complicated or in some cases uncomplicated decision about what is best for their lives. in order to believe abortion should be banned, you have to believe that you are knowing better than one in four women in the country. i tend to think we should trust the people who are pregnant and the complexities and nuances around abortion are best left to the realm of people's personal spiritual and religious

decision-making, to poetry, literature, to an array of places that we haven't made room for far more nuance. host: yesterday, jeannie mancini, president of the march for life education and defense fund, spoke at the first of march for life rally since the supreme court struck down roe v. wade. let's watch. [video clip] our 2023 march for life theme is emerging into a post roe america. leading up to today, we were asked will we still march? let me ask you all, what do you think about that question? should we still march? [applause] i'm sorry, i didn't hear some of you, should we still march? [applause]

over the course of the past 50 years, the march for life has become the largest human rights demonstration worldwide. it began as a response to roe, we don't end as a response to roe being overturned, because we are not done. [applause] let me say that again -- we are not yet done. [applause] while this year marks our most significant victory, human rights abuse of abortion is not over. sadly, this year there will be well over 700,000 abortions, and we know in every abortion, one life is taken and one life is wounded. so we will continue to march until the human rights abuse of abortion is the thing of the past. we will march until abortion is

unthinkable. host: that was jeannie mancini, president of the march for life education and defense fund speaking at yesterday's rally. what do you think, after the midterms, what are your takeaways on the impact the abortion issue had on the outcome of the midterms, and republican's have a thin majority and already trying to push through new antiabortion measures through the house? guest: i think the antiabortion goal is to make abortion unthinkable. i think they are categorically failing in that goal. that is because we came out of a midterm where the supreme court decision to overturn roe v. wade catalyzed the sweeping giants of the pro-choice majority, and where democrats were predicted to lose resoundingly in this red

wave, did far better than expected, because people across the political spectrum are incensed over the overturning of this fundamental right. it is telling it is the march for life that there are only a few republican members of congress there and a march where we saw president trump in attendance and former vice president mike pence in previous years. i think it is a mark of the republican party realizing they are on the wrong side of this incredibly important political issue. we saw a lot of republicans running from the issue of abortion in the last election. i think again the end goal of the antiabortion movement is personhood, there is a difference in tactics among strategists within the movement about how to get there, whether it is incrementally through state-by-state legislation that

might inspire less public outrage or going for a national ban, which is going to inspire outrage, because it says the quiet part out loud. we saw what happened when lindsey graham came forward with this before. the basic fact is that abortion rights are deeply popular, and that is true even in republican states. our system will have to reckon with the fact that the supreme court has overturned a fundamental human right that a vast majority of the population supports. host: we are taking your calls this morning on the issue of abortion. if you are in favor of restricting abortion access, we want you to call us at (202) 748-8000. if you think abortion access should expand, your number is (202) 748-8001. our next caller is on the call for expanding access, tina, in

greensboro, north carolina. go ahead, tina. caller: good morning. i would like them to expand access because the male species do not nurture those that they help correct -- to make. the job is overwhelming. the abortion language exonerates men from their paternal spots abilities -- paternal responsibilities. this is an absolute comment, the appropriate language is when the girl or woman, male and female, find themselves pregnant and speak on that consistently throughout the abortion debate.

health care workers say they are in the business of saving lives, well, i work in health care for 10 years, and i do know that people died to -- due to neglect and sometimes intentional. death is not one-dimensional. and for those who call themselves christians as i do, abortion is an option that only occurs after incest, rape, two consensual sex for nonmarried people, according to the bible. a moral offense can send you to hell. they do not preach on those things, they only talk about the abortion option. there is a lot not discussed on the pro-abortion side and on the anti-pro-abortion side, because

when is it right for a male to say all of the sudden that they are not going to care for all the children they produce, regardless to class or anything else? thank you. host: any response to that caller? guest: thank you for that point. i think that she is right that societally we are going to see another generation of young women who are having their hopes and dreams curtailed. this falls disproportionately on women. i want to highlight that transgender men and they can get abortions -- pregnant and seek abortions and we need to talk about that. a major trend we are seeing right now is a huge surge in anti-transgender legislation and

anti-lgbtq legislation across the board, huge surge in state legislation aimed at restricting the ability of trans person to seek gender affirming care. so it is clear the christian right is feeling emboldened and trying to unify its base by restricting transgender health care and attacking trans people as the next sort of aggressive push in this battle to assert a narrow vision of a christian nation upon people who do not agree with it and who will suffer as a result. host: up next we have david in indiana on the line in favor of restricting abortion access. what is your question or comment? caller: i just have a question for your guest. i am on the fence on abortion. what i would like to know is what the actual, when the doctor

in woman get together for the abortion, what are the actual surgical techniques that happen? c-span is supposed to educate. this is your opportunity to tell us what is exactly done to the fetus and to the woman and to the fetus afterwards. thank you. host: amy, go ahead. guest: i have work in clinics before and can give an overview of what happens. in rising number of cases, we are talking about abortions accomplished with the use of pills and medications and the majority now and since the pandemic and people who can access telemedicine doing so at home and with easing restrictions around the abortion pill, people are self managing or through consultation with medical provider, taking pills to have an abortion at home. it consists of taking a pill

that stops the growth of pregnancy by blocking the pregnancy hormones. and then a certain time later taking pills which caused the uterus to contract and expel the pregnancy. that tends to happen in the first trimester of pregnancy. in terms of patients who might choose to have an in clinic procedure if it is available to them, the doctor is dilating the cervix and using vacuum aspirator to remove the pregnancy in most cases. then it is exposed of in accordance with whatever medical regulations might be in the state and federal jurisdiction where that clinic is. i hope that answers the question. there is lots of information out there that makes and abortion providers have been willing to put forth to educate people. the fact is the majority of

people do not have a basic rudimentary understanding of how abortion works. there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation about their -- out there about it. host: debbie is in you, louisiana on the access -- expand access line. caller: every situation is different for each woman involved. i have a granddaughter that has down syndrome and is very young. it is so heartbreaking to see the right for life group yesterday having a young lady with down syndrome making a point that those are babies that are terminated. they are not. my daughter-in-law and son have a precious they be girl. for someone to say their parents don't have the right in the event she is mishandled by somebody in the community, that

she would have to carry a child is unbelievable to me. louisiana has no rape or incest terminology in the law to protect the woman -- women in the state and it breaks my heart. i consider incest, women that have been raped, need an avenue here to be able to come forward. children are the innocent. the young children born right now that cannot make these types of decisions and become pregnant because of nothing to do with them or woman raped, please, men, stand up for the people in your community and give us the right to make these conscious choices. i thank you for allowing me to speak. god bless you for having that opinion and to give clarity to the people who are listening. please, people, stand up.

collier congressmen and representatives. allow them to note -- call your congressman and representatives. allow them to note it is our right to look at it consciously and make a true decision. thank you so much. host: any final closing thoughts, amy? guest: debbie speaks to an important point and thank you for that comment. the majority of abortion bans in place do not have exceptions for rape and incest. we are witnessing human rights concerns coming out every day because of children, people with disabilities, people who are subject to rape and incest who are carrying pregnant sees and being forced -- pregnancies and being forced to. i am thinking about those concerns and the funds who are moving mountains to get the

people the care they need on this roe v. wade anniversary. host: we have been chatting with amy littlefield with the nation magazine. you for joining us. guest: thank you for having me. host: up next, we will talk with alexander mcphee with concerned women for america. she will discuss the 50th anniversary and the future of the pro-life movement. i want to remind people, vice president kamala harris will mark the 50th anniversary of that decision from tallahassee, florida. life coverage right here on c-span, on our free mobile video app, c-span now, and online at c-span.org. later, we will also speak with richard reeves of the brookings institution who will discuss issues disproportionately

affecting boys and men. we will be right back.. ♪ >> over four days, c-span's cameras had unprecedented access to the floor of the u.s. house as california republican representative kevin mccarthy became the 55th speaker of the house. it was unscripted moments from the house floor, like we always have the past 43 years, with complete, uninterrupted, unbiased coverage. here is what people are insane. the hollywood reporter wrote c-span is america's hottest tv drama in 2023. the wall street journal said the house speaker drama has one winner, c-span.

from the washington post, c-span has become much watched tv. c-span will be there thanks to the support of these cable and satellite companies. c-span, your unfiltered view of government, powered by cable. >> 10 days after 9/11, an analyst was arrested by the fbi on espionage charges, passing classified information to the government of cuba, sentenced to 25 years in prison. she was released in early january 2023, after servi 20 years. tonight on q&a, an investigative journalist talks about the life and career of anna montes and the damage caused by her treachery. >> she didn't take documents out of the building.

very rarely which you take a piece of paper or photo, instead she would memorize. for day job is study and memorization and then she would go home to her apartment and now her night job begins, where she would type in what she had learned into her encrypted toshiba laptop, put it on a disk and date after date for nearly 17 years, she is aggregating this information by passing it along. >> his book, codename blue red, tonight on c-span q and a. you can listen to it on the free c-span now out. -- app. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back. we are joined by alexander

mcphee, the government relations director for concerned women for america, and she is here to continue our discussion on the 50th anniversary of the roe v. wade decision, talking about the future of the pro-life movement. good morning. guest: good morning to you. host: can you talk about concerned women for america, its mission and how is it funded? guest: the organization was started 40 years ago, when the wife of a pastor in california wanted to respond to the, really the push at that time for certain policy changes that she felt did not represent the voice that she had and the voices of the women she knew, with respect to the equal rights amendment and the national organization for women having strong views about the particular policies at

the time. it is a grassroots organization and has over 500,000 members, we are nationwide, the largest public policy organization with women in the country. host: you do outreach on college campuses with young women? guest: that is right. young women for america was an initiative started in 2011. she wanted women of the christian faith to have an outlet for applying their faith to policies, politics and wanted an opportunity for fellowship for women on campus. host: as we continue our discussion about the abortion issue, we want you to call in. as a reminder, if you are in favor of restricting abortion access, your number is (202) 748-8000. if you are in favor of expanding abortion access, (202) 748-8001

(202) 748-8001 you can call -- access, you can call (202) 748-8001 and we will get to your calls in a moment. what were your thoughts as far as the overturning of roe v. wade in the dobbs decision and what has that impact been you have seen over the last several months? guest: i had the privilege of being in front of concerned women for america, other organization and students for life in celebration of the overturning of roe v. wade by the dobbs versus jackson women's health organization case. we were celebrating that day because we believe that abortion must come to an end. i was there with women across all generations, ethnicities and political persuasions. we had individuals there who

were republican, democrat, and it was an unifying movement in the support for life. host: we know that the march for life rally was friday. what is, now that roe v. wade has been overturned, what is your organization focused on? guest: the most encouraging aspect of the dobbs case is that the conversation about abortion policy is now back in the hands of the people. roe v. wade really cast prohibition on the ability to legislate on the issue for the past 50 years. it is only in the past couple of months we have had the chance to hit the road. what are grassroots are doing today as the legislatures are in the session across the country is advocate for stronger protections for life for the unborn and also resources for the mother.

one we are advocating is clearinghouse for every public and private resource, important for an expectant mother and family so she does not feel like she needs to ever resort to in abortion. let's go to the phone lines. if you are in favor of restricting abortion access, call us at (202) 748-8000. if you're in favor of expanding abortion access, call us at (202) 748-8001. . we are going to go to new york, peter is on the expand access line. caller: good morning. i am really tired of this issue. i have been hearing it for the last 50 years. i believe we need to settle this -- i personally don't like the idea of abortion, but i understand that half of the american people do not -- do

want access to abortion i agree with the supreme court knocking roe down. there is nothing in the constitution in the people should decide, but the congress can come up with a bill and make abortion legal up to 15 weeks, because within half of the american people want it and make it illegal after 15 weeks, because i don't agree and most americans don't agree with partial-birth abortion and having the right to kill a child after 7, 8, 9 months of pregnancy. i haven't heard anyone discussing partial-birth abortion which is part of the issue. today with everything they have to prevent pregnancy, there is no reason why anybody can get

pregnant, but it does happen. there has to be a law by the federal government in order to get rid of this issue, because it is blocking other issues that are more important, in many single women are voting democratic because of this issue and not on more important issues, in my opinion. thank you. host: what are your thoughts? guest: we are in fort -- we were in favor of the protect children act that was introduced protecting a baby at the point at which they can feel pain which is definitely at 15 weeks and as early as 12 weeks and at that point they have a nervous system. we are very much advocating for stronger protections, not just

at the federal level but at the state level as well, where there are over 20 states that have lifesaving laws. we want to make sure laws are as protected as possible but do so with the public support as well. the goal is not to ban abortion outright. those were the issues with roe v. wade, the total ending of the debate and education on what happens when an abortion takes place, which is the termination of human life. in addition to the legislative push, we are pushing for education and also getting everyone up to speed that a baby has a heartbeat at six weeks. it has fingers, toes, hair, nails at 15 weeks. and reminding everyone that over 70% of people support protection for life after 15 weeks. we will continue to push for

that wherever it is these noble and whenever -- whenever it is reasonable and whenever it is possible. host: next caller is great in florida on the restrict access line -- is ray in florida on the restrict access line. caller: overturning roe v wade demonstrates how constitutional amendments have become conflated with supreme court decisions. every time i hear a woman's constitutional right to reproductive choice, i keep thinking, which amendment is it? we have 27 and i don't remember seeing that one. you also, in honor of the 50th anniversary of schoolhouse rock streaming on disney plus, you have to undo a constitutional amendment. a supreme court decision can be overturned. this is a policy and tipping a

hat to retire supreme court justice, i don't remember his name, the one who was just replaced, stephen breyer, he said this idea of overturning roe v. wade, because it is a constitutional right, would be like saying that segregation of jim crow laws were constitutional rights between the time of brown versus education of topeka. i would like your guest to comment. host: alexandra? guest: you make a lot of great observations about the role of the constitution and the constitution says nothing about abortion and the rights from which the decisions invented the right to abortion are -- existed before and only applied to the decision of abortion.

that was privacy rights coming equal protection but not so heavily relied upon by the courts. there has been a history of those bases for those so-called constitutional right for abortion applying to other matters, like contraception, like sexual activity. the distinguishing factor that was articulated in the opinion is that human life is not debated by anyone, pro-choice for life personhood is frankly a discussion of the court because it could not enter it in a principled manner. it is a mistake to think that there is any possibility of settling a lot if we base it on the idea of personhood, because it has to be based on life. there is -- as i mentioned before, no right to abortion listed in the constitution. we were so grateful when the court rendered its decision in

dobbs, and when we work in the legislative branch, we will be sure to do so consistent with the authority given to the people and every other person of different ideology, political persuasion, and the grassroots are on the ground right now. they are in iowa, virginia, and telling their governors, legislatures, support life. host: let's go now to wake forest, north carolina. jay is on the restrict access line as well. go ahead. caller: i am not sure what your name is, ma'am. i would like to thank you what you're trying to do to save babies lives. i would like to ask you a few questions. last night in atlanta, we watched democrats once again burn and loot and try to murder cops on camera.

no one cares because they are democrats and do what they want. they support margaret sanger, who was the person who began planned parenthood and she was a supporter of hitler's. guest: it emergent -- it emerges that you can terminate life when it is convenient and fulfillment is possible by severing any obligation we have that hinders our ability to reach our so-called authentic self. this is a cultural conversation, really, that we are actively engaged in at concerned women for america. we support biblical values, making sure laws that govern us reflect what is necessary for human flourishing and the fact

of the matter is, regardless of whether we call something based on too value or not, everything has a normative quality to it. even with an organization not being biblical, it is just from a different authority. when it comes to protecting the unborn, we have seen apart from republicans and democrats. unfortunately, there is a lot of money behind keeping pro-life republicans out of government. there are organizations putting money toward it and it should not be that way. at our organization, we are activating in a way to counter that push to crowd out voices, not just the voices of republicans but of democrats, as i mentioned before, and the millions of women who support abortion. a poll released said 70% of

people support protections for life after 15 weeks, as well as 90% of people, republicans, democrats, independents believe that lot will protect life and that is all -- that law will protect life and that is all we are for. host: we are talking to alexander mcphee of concerned women for america. if you are in favor of restricting abortion access, call (202) 748-8000. if you are in favor of expanding, call (202) 748-8001. our next caller is patty on the expand access color line. caller: thank you for presenting your side of the argument. i am a woman, mother, grandmother. should -- i am also a christian,

top of the list. i have a 13 year old grandmother , and should something happen to her, god forbid, i would want her to have a safe procedure to terminate the pregnancy. i am also a retired nurse, and i have taken care of women who had back alley it's horrific. so all of you who are very prohibitive against having a woman consult a physician should see a botched abortion. we are not taking care of the children who are already here all over the world, at the border, at airport schools, inadequate water -- at our poor schools, inadequate water. it should be between the woman and the doctor. --

speaking to a fellow question -- guest: speaking to a fellow christian, most of the cases of abortion tragically are because it is not the right time. that is an argument we have heard a lot that it is out of a feeling of a lack of resources to handle a child. speaking as a christian, we believe that god's love encompasses all circumstances. the does not mean there is no suffering, but it does not mean we accept the fact that women have to get an abortion in order to succeed, that they have to get an abortion in order to keep their partner, or to feel beautiful about themselves. that is a conversation we are

having in the culture. we support life protections that are the next best thing. sometimes those protections do include exceptions in the tragic cases of rape and incest. that is a small percentage. it is important to remember that the battle we are fighting is about the battle between really where does empowerment come from and that empowerment does not come from getting to do whatever you want and having everything the perfect or at the right time. that is the argument for ending the life of an unborn child. it is about making sure the laws reflect what is necessary for human fulfillment, and that will never include abortion. host: vice president kamala harris will be speaking on the 50th anniversary of roe v. wade.

this is karine jean-pierre. she was asked about vice president harris's speech. here is a portion of what she said [video clip] earlier this week. [video clip] -- here is a portion of what she said earlier this week. [video clip] 0 the presiden -- >> the president has issued 2 executive orders. the executive orders are to safeguard access to contraception and abortion, make sure everyone has access to health care free of discrimination, it defends the right to travel across state lines for medical care, it protects the physical safety of clinics' clients and staff. it also includes an expansion to medicare. the president has been very clear, the vice president has

been very clear, the only way to restore the protections of row are for congress to pass a national law codifying the right to choose. no executive action will deal with that issue we just laid out. we need to codify roe and that is what you will continue to hear from the president and vice president. host: karine jean-pierre, the national press secretary for the white house speaking about the anniversary of roe v. wade. vice president harris will be speaking this afternoon, and it will be carried live on c-span. i want to go, number one, alexandra, what are your thoughts when you see how the white house has framed this and the vice president's speech? guest: whe -- president biden came into office making

clear he would defend access to abortion. we are here to make sure the voices of women across the country are represented who support life. the fda expanded access to abortion drugs. this is something our grassroots opposed. we will be activating them in opposing that change and the many others that the administration has undertaken, removing health protections for the distribution of abortion drugs, really disregarding, or at the very least not prosecuting the way they should, attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers. we will be responding -- host: we will go back to the phone line. if you are in favor of restricting abortion access --

(202) 748-8000 if you are in favor of restricting abortion access. (202) 748-8001 if you are against restricting abortion access. caller: i cannot understand how anyone would want a baby when there are so many people in this world willing to adopt a child. it only takes nine months out of your life, and you can make someone so happy. who knows what your child will become. all althoug -- all of those children who were aborted, who could they have been? all of the people out there protesting for abortion? they would not be here if they were aborted! do they understand that?

the same people who run down the street to save a kid will not save a human being's life? they would rather let that little baby die but save a puppy or a kitty? host: your thoughts, alexandra? guest: it's true. there are over 400,000 children in foster care. there are more parents seeking to adopt babies than there are babies for adoption. what we are advocating for at concerned women for america is laws that really strengthen the adoption process, because that needs to be an easy option for the family, the mother considering the adoption, the mother involved, and the parents who would be the adoptive family. this process is something that will be at the state level, and we will be working with our

grassroots to make sure children who are up for adoption are always under -- are always supervised, that there are no unregulated custody transfers. that tragic circumstance we have seen over the years, which is a child that is -- we are supporting laws that increase protections for those children, and we also support what are called responsible father registries, that allow anyone, any man who believes he may have conceived a child to register so that when a mother might consider that, there is a way for her, for the prospective adopted family to know the other parties involved, which would include the father, so any concerns around parental custody can be sorted out, so if an adoption is pursued --

host: our next caller is regina and michigano the restriction - michigan- on the restricting access line. i think we lost regina. let's go to mississippi instead on the expanding access line. jerry? caller: yes ma'am. the point is we shouldn't forget where we came from. we fought and died to have the right, and if we allow these people to take our rights away from us,, we are doomed. look at what has happened down in florida. if we don't -- women have

fought and died to have the right, and we are going to let somebody up there in washington take our rights away from us? no, no, no. wake up, people. these people getting on here talking about restricting all this, they didn't get out here and march. they didn't get out here with fire hoses on them for their rights. we done that. we got people -- wake up, people. don't go back down to jim crow slavery. we allowed this to happen. use our rights to vote. we are doomed. go and register now, wherever you are, register, become a voter.

2014, that is going to tell the tale. if we lose, we are doomed as a people. wake up! host: jerry and mississippi. any thoughts, alexandra? guest: i suspect jerry might be speaking about voting rights, but even so when it comes to the issue of abortion, one of the things we are grateful for is now people can actually vote on it. before it was totally cut off,, that conversation by the supreme court. host: let's go to alicia in virginia on that expanding access line. you are on, alicia. caller: thank you so much. this lady mcphee here is interesting for everyone to consider. if the government forces a woman

to take an unwanted pregnancy to term, then i could argue -- anyone could argue -- that it stands to reason that the government should care for and pay for all, i mean all expenses, at least up until age 21. perhaps the one who would have to care for it should be the ultimate decision-maker. i am interested in your comment and opening this part of a new discussion on this issue. thank you. host: alexandra? caller: when it -- guest: when it comes to the amount of aid provided by the government, we already have $1 trillion in government aid. we could have the discussion

about where it should go. the discussion about the unborn does not necessitate the government aid nor does government aid rely upon the ability to protect the unborn. the two can be considered together, but one is not a necessary consequence of the other. we are here to just say that the process of birth, even for unwanted pregnancies is a natural occurrence. ut is as -- it is as natural as haircolor or eye color. an independent human being who has a heartbeat, hair, fingernails, toes -- that is the point at which most americans support protections for them. we will continue to advocate for that. the extent to which the government plays a role in

socialist system is an important conversation, but not one that relies on the question of access to abortion. host: you just mentioned some of those statistics i want to bring up a recent knights poll that was conducted earlier this month that said 21% a americans support abortion on demand, any time during the pregnancy. 25% support abortion during those 23 weeks. another 26% say they would allow abortion only in cases of rape to save the life of the mother. i wanted to ask you, as your organization decides on its position, how much are you

affected by the fact that even among conservative christian women, they support abortion as a form of terminating a pregnancy without rape or incest exceptions? guest: we are advocating for the most protective law at the federal level. that is the bare minimum, 15 weeks. from state to state, we are advocating for the next strongest protection. unfortunately, in new york they repeal the law that would allow a prosecutor to pursue a criminal case against a violent attacker if the attack was on a pregnant woman and the prosecutor is no longer able to bring a case for the attack against the unborn in that criminal action. we advocate in new york for

instance for the ability to prosecute a crime committed upon both the mother and an unborn child. it is a step-by-step process, where we are not only advocating for legislation but speaking to the culture to try and change hearts and minds. host: john in new york in favor of restricting access, go ahead. caller: i'm not on the restricted. i'm pro-life. host: go ahead with your thought. caller: thank you for sticking up for pro-life. on the liberal side they do not mention a woman's choice for an abortion, but i don't identify what a woman is. a woman would be someone going through their menstrual cycle beginning at 12, 13. a 12-year-old can go to planned parenthood, have an abortion, and the parent would never be notified that their child had an

abortion in the state of new york. in the, remaining states a child can go to planned parenthood, have an abortion without parental consent -- they need consent but they can get a judicial bypass, and that parent would never be notified. host: -- guest: that is right. the underlying principle behind our position on abortion, behind why do you may find if you go to concernedwomen.org is that the law must protect human flourishing. in the case of the unborn, that means protections in the womb. when it comes to surgical hormonal changes, especially for the young, we believe that men

were created in the image of god and that they were created with eve. we are advocating for laws that really facilitate their comfort with their bodies. women are beautiful, and men are equally dignified. when it comes to these questions, so much of it is wrapped around, "i should be able to do whatever i want with my body." we say there is a specific design in which people are best equipped to really pursue their actualize asian and their support for the unborn -- ac tualization and their support for the unborn. host: alexandra of concerned women for america, think you for

joining us this morning. up next we will be talking with richard reeves of the brookings institution. he we'll be discussing the need for the federal government to investigate issues disproportionately impacting boys and men. we will be right back after the break. ♪ >> the state of the union is strong because you, the american people, are strong. > president biden delivers his annual state of the union address, outlining his priorities to congress on february 7, his first state of the union speech since republicans took back the house. we will take your texts, calls, and tweets. watch online at c-span.org. >> c-span now is a free mobile app, featuring your unfiltered view of what is happening in

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listen to c-span anytime. just tell your smart speaker, " play c-span radio." c-span, powered by cable. >> preorder your copy of the congressional directory for the 118th congress. it is your access to congress with a bio and contact information for everyone in congress. scanned the code at the righ to preorder your copy for early spring delivery. every purchase helps support our nonprofit operations at c-span shop.org. >> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. we are with richard reeves of the brookings institution. h will bee discussing the need for federal government instead -- he will be discussing the

need for federal government intervention on issues that disproportionately affect men and boys. guest: thank you for having me on. host: you have written some essays about the need -- you think the federal government should establish a commission. why do you think a commission is needed on this issue and what are the issues that you think a commission is needed to address specifically? guest: sure. we are at a point now where it is clear that on a lot of fronts now boys and men are struggling. in education there is a bigger gap on college campuses today in favor of women than there was in favor of men when title ix was passed in 1972. there has been a big reversal i the gender gap in education. it is fantastic news that women

make up nearly 60% of students, but we are seeing women's enrollment fall. we have also seen a huge drop in male labor force participation. 10 million men out of the labor force. changes in family life have left many fathers with an uncertain role in family life. some of the symptoms of that can be seen in the depths of despair i suiciden -- in suicide and depression. the rate of suicide is 4% higher for men than for women. we have many agencies focusing specifically on the issues women and girls continue to face, we have no institutions whose job it is to look at boys and men and i think it is time to redress that balance. we can rise together and think

to thoughts that once. -- think 2 thoughts at once. host: i want to preview the phone lines because we want you to begin calling in with your thoughts on this question, whether there should be a commission addressing the issues for boys and men. if you are in the eastern or central time zones, we want you to call us at (202) 748-8000. if you are in the mountain or pacific time zones, your number is (202) 748-8001.we want you to go ahead and start calling and now with your questions or comments for richard reeves of the brookings institution. richard, you mentioned there is a proposal in washington state, and you make the case that the effort in washington state could serve as a good model for a

federal commission. can you tell us, what is the status of that washington state proposal, and what would that do that you think is the right track? host: what is -- guest: what is being considered in washington state is the creation of a boys and men commission at the state level that would complement the existing commission for women and girls. it would be the first state-level commission whose job it would be to look at what is happening to boys in our, school system what is happening to men in our labor market and, are there specific issues where looking at it through the lens of boys and men would be useful? in public schools there is a big gap between outcomes for boys and girls. it is important to say that, that coincides with

intersections between race and class. it t is importanto add the -- i t is important to add the intersectional lens. in most states in the u.s. there is a girls and women commission. none yet for boys and men. i think the state level is a good place to start with this because many policies are conducted at the state level. at the federal level there could be an office of men's health. there are lots of ways this can be institutionalized in different places, but if it happens in washington state, i think that would be an interesting precedent, a bipartisan bill with equal dem and republican support, there is

a chance -- to complement the existing one on women and girls. it would be a signal. responsible people are taking this issue seriously. host: i want to point out, i'm sure you have been looking at it, there is a federal commission on the social status of black men and boys, but it looks like you are advocating for something more comprehensive to all men and boys. you talk about the difference between what exist -- can you talk about the difference between what exists and a federal commission? guest: i think it is a great innovation. it does have a very specific focus, which is much needed. there are problems boys and men are facing. many of the deepest problems are those faced by black men and

boys. if we take the suicide rate, suicide rates are higher for white men than other racial groups. it seems to be middle-aged, working-class white men where the most vulnerable to suicide or deaths of despair. it is important to look at these through different lenses. we don't know what groups will need them most help in a particular area. in the same way we have lots of commissions and institutions looking at the problems of women of color there is also the women's commission and many for women's health. i think we could do both. any federal body looking at boys and men could work very closely with the existing commission on black poisoned men. -- black boys and men. host: if you are in the eastern or central time zones, your

number is (202) 748-8000. if you are in the mountain or pacific time zones, your number is (202) 748-8001. our first caller calls from leesburg, virginia. caller: nasa has a wonderful site for nasa stem education. i;m not sure he has -- i'm not sure he is aware of this. they will teach math, biology. it is full of 100 subjects, 100,000 education materials, and everyone, parents, educators, yourself should be using this to teach kids. it is just a wonderful website. they teach the subjects. are you aware of that? guest: i am not aware of that

specific website, but i will look it up. we have looked to get more people into stem and women and girls especially interested in stem subjects. there is more work to do, but there is a tripling of girls doing stem subjects now. there has been a huge push on stem. we need an equal push to encourage and incentivize more men into health, education, there are fewer male social workers and teachers and psychologists. i think that is a problem for our society that we aren't encouraging men into those roles. just as we have worked hard to break down barriers into what were seen as men's jobs, i think we also have to increase the number of men in women's jobs and we can learn from the stem movement that you just referred

to. host: our next caller is donald in washington. caller: good morning. i just want to thank you guys. it seems like every time i call i asked c-span to do something on this, not that anything else isn't important. the statehood of boys and men, i have noticed that one of the things that gets missed with all the different top, from abortion to rights to voting, is father's and fathers in court. it seems to me that there -- i have been battling myself for over six years, and there is a

community of father's and even mothers that see the value of a decent dad who is just trying to do his best. and sometimes the courts seem to be the problem. even when they know that something isn't the way it was, it seems like state lines and different laws just block things. and in the end, it's usually father's. there is a word for it, you might know it, it is 70% of fathers who get ousted. and i live in washington and i have never heard of your institution. i have heard of brookings but i have not heard of this because it is new but i am very interested. more than getting help for me

and my son, i would like to help others. i will dig into it. god bless you guys and thank you for your time. host: your response, richard? guest: first to just thank donald for that great intervention. when thing that is important to bear in mind is there is no competition between ongoing work for women and girls and men and boys. when it comes to parents, it is obviously hugely important to continue to support children and mothers but he is right, sometimes fatherhood in the role of fathers is not given enough weight in the court system. this support -- the divorce courts do a good job now. a men -- men get about a third of the time with very few soul

custody. 40% of children are born outside of marriage and they don't get covered by the divorce laws. given that we have seen a real big change in outside of family life and marriage, but the laws in many states have not caught up. so father's not married to mothers and mothers not married to fathers, they take it separately. he is right that the legal distant has not caught up to the new realities of family life, that is a big issue. the proposed commission in washington state has experience with men in court systems is one of the issues. and the way fathers are treated is very important. host: you mentioned from your

organization, 40% of children are born outside of marriage but the brookings institution also found that amongatr's who do not complete high school, 40% live apart from their children and another statistic within six years of a couple separating, one in three children never see their fathers. those are some statistics that relate to those issues. andy in kentucky, what is your question or comment? caller: several things if i may. i am sure you are aware but what would you think of having such a low rate or percentage of males teaching in school systems now? it is 18% i think now.

you don't send your child to school to be a female. the other thing is that come in the bible, john has roles assigned and when you start saying these roles are reversing, i think that what the word is called effeminate. it is a reversal of god's roles. that is very confusing to the nature of a man and of a woman. it is much greater in depth. thank you. host: your thoughts about that? guest: thanks. one i strongly agree which is the need to have more men in our classrooms. men in k-12 teaching is down to 12%. there are essentially no man in

early education. as a share of the occupation, there are only half as many men teaching kindergarten as there are women flying u.s. military planes. it is very good news we are seeing increasing numbers of women in those roles, but from the societal perspective, the lack of men in the classroom is a problem and when that is not being addressed. i hope a commission on boys and men would encourage how we get men in more classrooms. they tend to treat male behavior different. male teachers are less likely to punish male behavior immediately. there are differences in teaching style. the women's movement had this great line, you have to see it to be it. i am afraid if we keep sending a message to boys that education is a female thing as a teacher and learner, that is a problem. i think what we are in the world

is where we can have much more flexibility about our roles. i spent time as the main carer raising children, but we don't want to be forced into overall. instead, it is to help go forward and recognize we need to give men and boys more chances and opportunities to get the kind of equality we are after. we are in a position where we have transformed women's lives but not men's as much so that is creating difficulty. we need to go forward rather than back, which is what the women's movement was trying to reduce. host: are annexed caller is robert -- our next caller is robert in new york. caller: i disagreed with you on certain subjects.

in an institution, you notice that ladies are 10 to one two men. that is where i disagree with you on that concept. the second question concerns institutions and governments. will the government let soldiers come into the united states freely and influence our children in school and society and there is no one to take notice and say something about it? i would give your opinion concerning why that takes place in the brookings institution. host: any thoughts, richard?

guest: the first thing is, i am not exactly sure where those statistics came from. it is certainly true that in colleges and areas of life women have overtaken men. it is equally important to point out there are still many areas of life where there is imbalance the other way. in politics, still only one third of legislators are women demo -- in one third in the u.k.. one in four legislators are women and we have not had a female president. in areas of tech, fewer women. in board rooms, one in five are women. you can look for places where there is a dominance of one sex over another, and the truth is there are both. we should be able to look at

both and see whether each are a problem and address both. i have written about how do we have some quota systems for women into politics. at the same time, i am worried about the lack of men in classrooms. as for how our institution should be, it should be how far institution should be involved in the classrooms. i tend to agree we should be trusting teachers as far as possible to do their job and not be too interventionist but it matters who the teachers are. just as we are concerned getting more teachers of color in the classrooms so they represent the children their teaching, it is important also to worry about gender balance in that regard. host: this is a comment we received on twitter from mary lou. one of the disturbing developments is the large number of young men joining far right

hate groups like proud boys, oath keepers. i think the wagg -- white nationalists are recruiting angry young men whose families blame nonwhites for the lack of education and success. is that part of your research at all, the rise of the far right movement? guest: mary lou is right that is a principal recruiting ground for many of those reactionary movements is disenchanted young men. it is still a very, very small minority of young men. i do worry we end up having to brought a rush -- brush and that is not true. what is true to her point is that if there are problems in society, the responsible people don't address it in irresponsible people can exploit them. if it is true young men are

struggling in school and not sure what their role will be in a family or struggling in the job market, they are struggling in those different ways and if we don't help or if we sometimes dismiss those struggles as complaining, then they are very open to being persuaded online, or the ballot box by people who are essentially saying, yes, it is the feminine movement or people of color are the government and we need to go back. that since of reaction is a reactionary movement and one we deal with not by judging or dismissing all of these young men. of course we should judge the far right movements but have compassion and understanding that underline some of the problems of boys and young men are real problems. if we don't address them, then

we should not be surprised if other people, along and weaponize them. host: let's go back to the phone lines. as a reminder, if you are in the eastern or central time zones, (202) 748-8000. mountain or pacific, (202) 748-8001. our next caller is ruth in maryland -- bruce in maryland. caller: education is a very important thing. if you look at the inner city, what you look at is the male shortage, those who are not educated and end up being drug dealers or imprison. they do better by just a few men being there then all of the money being there from the government. they do need a commission but a violation of title ix, not having male teachers is another

way to get more to help voice which will help girls too. thank you very much. host: any thoughts, richard? guest: i strongly agree with the thought of getting more men in classrooms. it is great that richard and others are volunteering and we need to make more of an effort to get men into our schools and colleges. private schools have more men in them. the share of male teachers in private schools is increasing. parents do not want an all-female teaching staff. they want some men in there. i don't think there is a legal right to male teachers anymore than a legal right to female doctors, but i think that as a society, having a diversity of

providers in all of those fields is something we should be taking seriously. fewer men in the classroom should be something policymakers are paying attention to, and they are not, and that may be because there are not a commission on boys and men ringing the alarm saying do we want men teaching and if so we want to get men teaching. host: up next from arizona, michael is on the line. caller: good morning. are you there? host: go ahead. caller: i just want to say it is all about education. the fact is, this education thing has to be brought up way before high school. they have a saying down here, if you don't have control of a relationship with your kids by the time they are 10 years old,

you have lost them to their own peer pressures that are going on today in schools. education is what it is all about. youth, and hatred, the women are going to control everything. they already do. argue there still? guest: i will disagree strongly with the last point you made that women control everything. that is not what i see when i look at the u.s. congress, the white house or board rooms of major companies where i still see a majority of men. there has been a huge increase in women in those occupations and professions, but we need to go further. at the top of society is not the focus in the elite, it is everywhere else, which is in schools. it is a chance to point out that

boys develop later than girls in terms of brain development that could be the reason white girls are twice as likely to get a better gpa and go to college and must -- much less likely to be in trouble. girls are just more mature at age 16. i am not making a judgment, it is just a fact that girls hit puberty earlier and brains develop earlier. they are a bit more grown up. if you have a school system that rewards you for being grown-up, coming to class and learning, it gives girls more of an advantage. i think one thing we could consider is giving boys an extra year for they start school so they are more developmentally ready. they are behind girls in the beginning of the k-12 system. host: up next in california, tom

is on the line. caller: good morning. to pick up on this last segment, there was a text sent in by some individual who was blaming proud boys and these other people. i have heard of them, never met any or seen any. there are semi-racial things going on, primarily started by the democratic party for their racial hate thing. it is election time. if these people exist, the clan, white supremacists, i am an american. we don't hate anyone and i have never seen it. it is largely made more, i think

some of it exists but more so on tv. guest: people feel incited to feel a grievance against other groups and blame another group. what is happening around gender and sex, the grievance that can be stirred up in many men sometimes overlaps, but it can be tied into some of the actual problems men and boys are having in school in the labor market, etc. it is important to distinguish between, here other groups that are struggling, working class or black boys struggling in school. that is not made up, they actually are struggling and that is true. but why is it happening and whose fault is it?

we say it is because the school system is not working well for boys and mail teachers. we need our school systems to be more male friendly. here are some policy solutions. if we ignore it, or if we say, they are not really struggling and they can't have a problem definition, then we create conditions under which those young ways and men can be persuaded by other people and that we don't care about them and we are ignoring them and dismissing them. the way to cut off some of the supply of young men to these reactionary groups is by taking their problems seriously. taking the fuel out of the fire. host: our next caller is a lois in silver spring, maryland. caller: i am glad you are having this topic. thank you to the seeker --

speaker and c-span. what i have heard from men that they enjoy paternity leave and they want to have other men beat open to having paternity leave. it should not be stigmatized that you are less than a real man because you want to have eternity leave, but also it is a cultural issue. i have heard from a lot of women that one of the primary reasons they got a divorce when they have children is because a lot of men have serious anger issues. i think the culture sometimes will say, you are not a real man if you have these other kinds of emotions. it is almost like the men are being forced to cap down these feelings, which are this human being feelings. the only one they are thinking of being a man is showing anger.

i just wanted to know what your reflections are about that. guest: i think it is important to note that we have seen a big decline in violent crime in recent decades, and that is really good news. i agree, what does it mean to be a man and what does masculinity look like is a very important question and to help develop sure masculinity. i do not like the framing of non-toxic masculinity or toxic masculinity. it is not a good thing to put in front of boys and men. it is by doing it or something like paternity leave. you mentioned masculinity and paternity leave, which institution gave a number of parents, largely fathers, three months of paid parental leave? the same as mothers get?

the answer is the u.s. military. the u.s. military is now giving three months of paid paternity leave to dads. very few people will come along and say, they are not real men. you are literally the men and women but the men also get three months and they are taking it. what about the rest of us? i am hopeful we can help men in the new world which does recognize their role as others. host: next from south portland, maine, julianne -- joanne. caller: just back to an earlier point about boys and starting school, my son was in august birthday and they decided to wait another year before starting him because i knew if i put him in the classroom you would be 22 display.

it was -- he would want to just play. it was a good decision. i started my daughter earlier. i got a lot of comments from my family saying he is too late and she is too early. when i run into parents with younger children now and ask about especially their sons, i say when do you plan on starting them in school? they say, he is born in july or august, wait a year. it is very important. even though my son had his license first and felt like he was the older one in high school, it was a good decision.

he said you didn't hold me back or delay me? i said no, i gave you another year to play because i recognized that you needed that. he is out of college and doing great. also, i think how they teach the school system has added more movement into teaching. voice need to move a little more. girls are able to sit and focus a little longer and are more mature. i am not saying there are some boys who do that too. if they had some way of, there are all sorts of ways of teaching that can add movements to keep the boys'attention, but they need that room to move and run. thank you. guest: thank you. the first point about how we

teach and more chance for movement, you are right, many girls would benefit from that too and few girls with hurt from having the chance to move around. it is just the boys seem to need the movement more than girls. i have a book from brookings and an essay where i argue that as a default we should start boys in school a year later for academic reasons. because there is a big gap in development. it is about a year in certain skills. it is the prefrontal cortex, that that helps you do your homework and organize yourself. it is not that boys are less smart than girls, but the danger is for that being held back is somehow a stigma. it is a question of are you ready?

again, private schools, it is an open secret that in private schools boys are much more likely to start school a year later. they know boys develop later. catch up but there is a critical gap in the high school years. host: bob in dallas, texas, we have time for a quick question. caller: richard, i believe it would be academically encouraging to identify the racial demographics of absentee fathers. host: richard, your closing comments on that? guest: i think he is thinking about race and class together and it is quite clear there are differences by race in the chances of kids being born

inside and outside of marriage. the stresses and strains on the black family have been around for a long time, so there is a higher chance for a child born outside of marriage. but black fathers are more involved and their kids lives when they are not married to the mother than other fathers are. i see an opportunity to learn from the experience, although it is the unfortunate one of black fathers. we can learn from those differences as well as pointing them out. i want to say responsible and engaged fatherhood matters. it is not contingent about being a breadwinner. that is the message we need to send through public policy. great if you are married but you do not have to be married to be a great dad. dad's matter as much as moms and

that is the message that is being lost. host: we have been talking to richard reeves of the brookings institution about issues that disproportionately affect boys and men. thank you for joining us. guest: thank you. host: that will do it for "washington journal" today. vice president harris will be making remarks to mark the 50th anniversary of the 50th anniversary of roe v. wade. she will be speaking from tallahassee, florida. you can watch on c-span, on c-span now, or online at c-span.org. "washington journal" will be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. thanks for joining us. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]