Life Matters

In this episode of Life Matters, Commissioner Johnston explores the idea of popular opinion polls. At election time, the media will often present what they claim to be public opinion on the issue of abortion.

It is critically important to understand that, very often the general, and unspecific nature of the terms used does not often reflect a valid view of public opinion. More specifically, generic feelings about “choice”, support for Roe, or reproductive freedom do not accurately reflect the average American’s view of abortion particulars.

Brian examine’s the current habit for many polling organizations, Pew Research Center as one example, do actually take polls state by state and reach sweeping and generic conclusions. The most common is the statement that the citizens of (fill in the blank) state support all or most abortions.

Yet the very terms ‘all’ and ‘most’ are, in fact, contradictory. All means 100%! Most means 50% or more. There is a chasm of difference. And yet this is the most frequently used phrasing of the Pew CharitableTrust.

Specific polling questions regarding the reasons for the abortion, the gestational age of the child involved in the abortion, and other surrounding factors, greatly impact the public view of the medical procedure. The recent Wall Street Journal poll confirmed what polls have indicated for more than a decade: The majority of Americans are opposed to late term abortion, or abortions that are done for social reasons (i.e. just done for choice) and have varying views regarding the medical purpose that may be involved. Killing a child because of a genetic anomaly is still opposed by the majority of Americans. 

Similarly, if the woman’s life is actually in danger, the majority of Americans will condone such an abortion. If the definition of “health” is made specific, the majority of Americans only support abortions for very serious health issues. Under Roe versus Wade, because of its deliberate definition of “health,” as meaning any psychological or sociological reason that the abortionist himself could come up with, alarms the average American and such vague and unspecific definitions of health are not what they mean by endangering a woman‘s life. Yet, Roe versus Wade equated the two terms.

In this episode of Life Matters, Brian Johnson explains the importance of elections, each and every election.  More importantly, he focuses on the power of your vote the further down the ballot you go. 

On a statewide level, your vote is a drop in the bucket.  But as various jurisdictions get smaller, the number of voters also gets dramatically smaller and this is why local elections are so important. 

In order to have candidates for the state legislature, or for Congress, you must draw from people with some degree of political experience. Most people who run for these higher offices have had experience at the local level, whether it be school board, city council. or supervisor.

Ironically, it is THESE starter positions, where your vote and the vote of your friends, make the greatest impact. By being involved in local elections, you can launch the career of people who share your values and ideals.

Many elections for city office and for school board are determined by a relative handful of votes. That handful, five or six votes, may mean nothing on the larger level, but to keep Planned Parenthood out of your school district, that handful of votes can be the key difference. 

By paying attention to these local races, you are not only effective in protecting your community from organizations like Planned Parenthood and others who seek to control the minds of your children, but you’re helping to elect individuals who wish to see the government make wise decisions. You’re helping out individuals who share your values. You’re making a difference in your state, in your region, in your community. 

All politics is local.  

In this episode of Life Matters, Brian Johnston explains the real issues that are at stake. Brian warns listeners of the dangers of popular media culture. He reminds us that Orwell‘s purpose in writing “1984” was actually to portray how the average person responds to a dominant media culture, dedicated to influencing and controlling society. 

But there are deeper issues that matter, issues that the media either ignores, misrepresents, or intentionally attacks. In order to be truly responsible for ourselves, our lives, our family, and if we believe in God, responsible to our Maker, we must, yes, we must, dig deeper.

Sadly, we live in a culture that appeals to feelings and emotions as our primary source of understanding. These are immediate and surface reactions.  This is very unwise. The media knows exactly how to manipulate feelings. The media knows exactly how to direct those feelings into the wrong ideas. That is what it specializes in.  Advertising, promoting, and getting the masses to go in a certain direction is its art and inherently what our media culture is all about. 

Brian again examined the actual significance of Roe v. Wade and Doe v Bolton. In addition to allowing babies to be killed, more importantly, it assigned a whole new class of killers, people who never were to kill, individuals whose job it was to protect and defend the most vulnerable humans at the most vulnerable time - those in the medical profession. Since January 22,1973, doctors are now professional killers for hire.

Brian brings these phenomena full circle as he discusses the elections of 2024. 

He reminds listeners that many elections of America’s past were very, very close and would’ve changed history if they had gone the other direction. He explains the re-election of Abraham Lincoln and how Lincoln was hated by many Republicans in addition to many Democrats. 

The fact that Donald Trump has a personality that many people don’t like should not be an issue for the simple reason: the purpose of politics is actually implementing policy.

We must look at the actual policies being sought. We must look at the actual policies being implemented. Kamala Harris is the most radical and extreme, progressive, socialist/communist to have ever run for president. The dominant media is currently trying to redefine and lie about her policies. The media is not your friend. The media has an agenda.

Make sure that you and your family understand what’s at stake for our nation and for innocent lives in this coming election. Make sure that you vote and vote for policies that protect life.  Vote all the way down the ballot for people who will stand for the Constitution, for the Right To Life, for the principles that we have been given as Americans. These are all at stake in this election. 

In this episode of Life Matters, Brian Johnston takes a deep dive into real science. He takes a deep dive into simple grade school science, of basic earth science, basic astronomy as taught in sixth grade, and the common sense science that any fifth or sixth grader can understand.

The issue we must clearly destroy, and which is probably the most insidious and clever at this moment, is the whole idea of man-made global warming. 

The president of the United States and many internationalists have proclaimed that man-made global warming is the single, in fact the only, true dispositive threat and the ultimate threat to the world. 

They are simplistic deceivers. They are themselves deceived. But they are most desirous to deceive the population in order to control them, in order to limit them. 

This argument is essential to undercutting the belief that human beings are uniquely significant and their lives should be protected. Man-made global warming argues that human beings are the world’s greatest problem. It argues for population reduction and government control of the remaining population. It is a deceitful and dishonest argument, framing itself as the opposite - “protecting humanity” and “saving the planet.”

Listen and use Brian’s examples.   The truth is more obvious than you may think.  

In this episode of Life Matters, Brian Johnston takes an even deeper dive into the real significance of the recent presidential debate. Previously, he explored the debate through the eyes of Fox News host, Shannon Bream and United States Senator from Pennsylvania, John Fetterman.

But both of those commentators from right and left were dealing with a very facile, surface analysis, particularly focusing on the significance of Joe Biden‘s performance. 

But that is what EVERY media outlet has focused on - every Republican and even Democrat pundit has made America focus on that topic. And while competence of the current president is indeed an important topic, the deeper issue of the policies of this president and his party are being skated over.

In this episode, Brian discusses the real issue of the Democratic Party and its extreme radical policies on the issues of life and family economics. In fact, every single aspect of life in the United States is being destroyed by the policies of this Democrat Party.

Many pro-life individuals are committed Catholics or even committed Evangelicals and yet have remained registered Democrats. It is vitally important that whatever registration you may currently have, you must understand that only the Republican Party has taken a wise and measured position and life-affirming public policy stance. Only victory by the Republican Party can help restore the right to life for the innocent in the United States again. 

Brian underscores an important principal regarding digging deeper into objective facts. That principle is outlined in many places, but in particular he points out Proverbs 14:15.

“The simple believe every word. But the wise look well to their going.”

Many people do not take the time to understand the language they hear and the language that they use. A single word can carry much more significance, and at times we ourselves can actually apply the wrong mean ing to a single word and then draw the wrong conclusions to the very language that we’re hearing and using. That is what people do. 

Wise people step back, look, and measure what the real meaning is. “The simple believe every word.” 

Brian applies this principal to the single word “overturn.” Many people think that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. That isn’t quite right. In fact, in someways Roe v. Wade has been thrown open, and pro- abortion states and advocates of death like Gavin Newsom, are actually attacking pro-life states and bringing the abortion industry into pro-life states - even violating their laws. In many ways, the Dobbs decision, by simply reducing our understanding of Roe as being a states’ rights issue, has simplified and dumbed down our understanding. 

In many ways, the Dobbs decision was like the Dred Scott decision, seeming to draw a line between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces, but actually giving a distinct advantage to the slaveholders and to advocates of slavery.  So the abortion issue still must be addressed by the Supreme Court in order to obtain a complete victory. 

Nevertheless, in the presidential debate, former President Trump focused on the real issues and not just the stumbling and bumbling of President Biden. President Trump did what every pro-life individual must do today.  He understood that the Democrat Party themselves, not just Biden, are the radicals. He underscored the current law, which in fact, allows for abortion on-demand and simply empowers doctors to kill a baby through all nine months and even post-birth.

Joe Biden, and all Democrats, like to pretend that that’s not the case and will willingly lie. But Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton created that exact scenario. Doctors are now killers and unless we, as pro-lifers, focus on the killing nature of the medical profession as determined by Roe, we will not win.

The debate has given all of us a great opportunity to cut through the fog regarding what Roe  is and was, and what real issues are at stake in this election.  Whether or not Joe Biden is the nominee really isn’t the issue.  The entire policy structure of the Democrat Party is the real issue. 

In this episode of Life Matters, Brian Johnston examines the real implications of the recent presidential debate. Interestingly, he agrees with Pennsylvania Democratic senator, John Fetterman.

In an interview with Fox News' Shannon Bream, Fetterman points out that he himself was in apparent mental collapse and his debates with candidate, Dr. Oz of television fame were complete failures due to Fetterman’s slurring and confused use of language.

It turns out that Fetterman went on to actually win the election by several points. 

Brian points out that the real issues of the most recent presidential debate were not how either Trump or Biden spoke. The real issues in the debate are the ideas, the policies, the laws that are brought to bear by their respective political parties. Politics is about policy. The Democrat Party of America today is the single most radical entity that has ever existed in the United States of America. It is no longer the mildly liberal Democrat Party of perhaps your parents’ generation or even of just recent years. On the abortion issue, they believe in unlimited government financed, government advertised, government promoted abortion through the ninth month and even after birth. That was admitted in the June 2024 debate! That is what Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton authorized. 

Listeners from both parties were deeply disturbed by Biden’s failures and many Democrats want a better leader to be the puppet for their policies in order to inspire victory. But the issue, nevertheless, is not who is at the head of the party. The issue really is the policies that that party will bring to bear and who that president will equip not only his entire cabinet with, but all the appointments of the federal government. 

That president’s policies are going to be what the rest of their party will follow not only on the federal level, but Democrats all the way down through state and local government are influenced by the policies stated by that party’s platform and plank and leadership. That was the real significance of the most recent presidential debate. 

In another program, Life Matters will examine the actual debate topics and demonstrate that the Democrat Party commitment to the logic of Roe v. Wade is very present. They want to insist that Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton remain the law of the land.  

Who has choice? It’s not women! It was only doctors who were authorized to kill, to decide when to kill and what procedures to use. Yes, in Roe v. Wade choice was given only to doctors.

In this episode of Life Matters, Brian Johnston explorers the confusion that many individuals have regarding what happened onJanuary 22, 1973. The Roe v. Wade decision is actually quite direct and explicit. There is no right of a woman to a woman’s own body. Justice Blackmun, the author of Roe, was not giving women the right to do whatever they want, whenever they want, and especially with a very difficult medical procedure like human abortion.

Blackmun was explicit in both Roe, and in particular in Doe v. Bolton - only doctors would be authorized to kill. Specifically, they were to be free to decide when, where, how and for what reason, even for no reason in particular, to perform a human abortion.

They were the ones given a choice. 

Later, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, attempting to teach feminists that they still had not achieve their goal, underscored that Roe and Doe did not give women the right to choose. It only gave them a right to ask. All authority of the medical decision was to be made by a medical doctor, the now killer, the abortionist. 

Brian reminds listeners that because of human psychology, and, in particular, the phenomenon known as attachment theory, human beings are emotionally supportive of young creatures, particularly young mammals. The wide eyes, mewling and ‘baby sounds’ bring an innate adult reaction. That would include human babies, but for some people canine babies – puppies are even more emotionally attractive! 

But the crime of abortion is not that cute babies are killed and that OUR emotions are stretched by that action. The crime is that this is a human being has been killed. 

That is the most startling culture change that ever hit our society.  Doctors were now to kill their fellow human beings and explicitly to ignore the Hippocratic Oath.  Western medicine was now destroyed. 

The most trustworthy and honored profession in society has become the most evil and diabolical profession. Doctors, regardless of their personality, are under tremendous financial, sociological and cultural pressure to endorse, and when put upon, to end the lives of their fellow human beings.  The foundation that Western Civilization was built on - protection of innocent lives - was now terminated.  

The physician was now transformed to a paid killer.  

A cursory look at the current practice of medicine reminds us that there are bizarre ideas and values, and sociological confusion, allowing doctors to say and do things that are explicitly harmful to their patients, but that was not the case before January 22, 1973. 

In every state, the laws of that state regarding killing or harming were reflected by the ethos and guidelines of the medical profession, and the medical regulations, the laws, of the various states fell in line with that. Before Roe v. Wade doctors didn’t kill babies because doctors didn’t kill anyone. 

The Oath

We must restore the Hippocratic Oath. We must focus on what the crime is, who the perpetrators are.   If we make the mistake of focusing only on the victims, on how old they are, when they die, on what situations (rape, incest, difficult social circumstances) if that becomes the action of the pro-life movement, we have lost our way . We must restore the Hippocratic Oath to the medical profession. The laws of Georgia in 1973 were actually very good and reasonable and did allow doctors to determine if there were unusual circumstances, because a panel of three different doctors experienced in childbirth determine if this was indeed a problem pregnancy.  They could exercise their medical judgment, and the state could still hold them responsible. That law of Georgia, which was overturned in Doe v. Bolton, was ironically one of the best state laws that protected human beings because it protected doctors from the temptation to kill. 

Unless we focus on who is exercising choice, who is the perpetrator, and restore that profession to its once noble position, we cannot win.  At present, the pro-life movement is not winning. It is viewed as emotional and emotions can be arbitrary. It is viewed as religious and religious doctrines can also be confusingly arbitrary.

The Hippocratic Ooath was founded on the principles of natural law and the laws of nature and nature‘s God. Coincidentally, that was also the premise that America’s founders insisted be our guideline in making law. 

Restore the Oath.  That should be our goal. 

In this episode of Life Matters, Brian Johnston discusses the actual nature of how a republic works. It works by representing the people through elected representation. These representatives exist at every level of government and through diversified jurisdictions .

Brian interviews Scott Peotter, a long-time pro-life advocate who has served in local jurisdictions and has enforced just laws on the most local levels, including city council.

In July 2023, Gavin Newsom attempted, in his role of governor, to force the Temecula school board to promote LGBTQ doctrines and accept Planned Parenthood abortion mandates in that district. The school board, by a very narrow margin, insisted that they are held accountable and will be accountable for the assets of that particular school district and that the governor was functioning as a dictatorial autocrat.

The school board prevailed.

It is critical to understand, if you care about the direction of our country, that we are a nation and a government that is, “of the people, by the people, and for the people” in the words of Abraham Lincoln, America’s first Republican President.  

If you desire for your nation, state, county or community to embrace good values in the civic realm, you absolutely must be aware, and then be involved in your local community.

In this episode of Life Matters, Brian interviews Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. They discuss in depth the recent failure of California Senate Bill 1196 by Senator Blakespear.

The irony is that the bill was not defeated by pro-life efforts. The bill was actually attacked by other pro-death organizations, lobbyist and legislators. Why would other pro-death advocates attack this measure?

The prospects of passage in the California legislature are very good - the progressive Democratic Party holds a super majority in both houses. The governor would’ve gladly signed off, as he himself has been supportive and wrote of participating in the intentional killing of his own mother before it was even legalized in California.

SB 1196, would no longer allow a need for terminal diagnosis, would make provision to kill those who are not a sound mind, and would remove most qualifying limitations on assisted suicide.  The reason the bill was stopped is they knew it would likely pass, and that passage would send alarm bells to an otherwise sleeping public. 

Assisted suicide is going on in California medical facilities. Assisted suicide is, in fact, the intentional killing of a depressed person. It is happening now and as the death lobby knows, because of media coverage or perhaps lack of coverage, most Californians have no idea California doctors are killing patients.  

Brian and Alex point out that ‘choice’ whether it be in abortion or in euthanasia, does not actually refer to the patient.  It is a medical decision and it is the choice of the doctor to do the abortion, it is the choice of the doctor to perform euthanasia. So when the term ‘choice’ is applied to these procedures, it doesn’t mean protecting a patient. It means protecting the choice of a killing doctor, a doctor who is blatantly defying the oath that made the medical perfection respected. That Hippocratic oath is now gone. 

In this episode of Life Matters, Commissioner Johnston explains the importance of not being religious in our attempts to change the laws to protect innocent human life.

Johnston reminds us that America’s founders were themselves deeply religious individuals, but they understood that many of them had disagreements within their own theologies - differences in doctrine. The answer to this difficult challenge was actually found in the formation of other republics throughout history.

A republic asserts that there is more than simple voting and majoritarianism in making law.   Votes must be according to higher laws. The founders referred to this existence of a higher law, a natural law premise, self-evident and ‘revealed in nature’, when they spoke of creating a more just government and founded on the principals of the laws of nature and nature’s God. 

It is essential for earnest pro-lifers, now that the various states are free to create new laws regarding abortion, that these pro-life advocates not be merely religious or doctrinaire advocates, but instead realize that they must build our laws on self-evident truth and be able to work within the principles of natural law and the methods of conducting a republic’s business through parliamentary procedure and debate. 

This necessitates setting aside our personal theology, working towards those higher laws, those common goods, and most importantly, being willing to compromise in order to get as much as we possibly can within the political process.

Johnston explains how the current debate regarding appropriate abortion measures requires an understanding of natural law theory and practice, “the laws of nature and nature’s God” as the founders outlined it, and the ability and humility to compromise in order to accomplish goals.