Transcript
00:00:00 OAN
As the Supreme Court gets ready to hear oral arguments on December 1st in the Dobbs versus Jackson Women's Health case, which challenges Mississippi's 15 week abortion ban, advances in medicine begin to question the definition of fetal viability cutting right at the heart of Roe, created even before a baby is viable as a fetus, it is still a human being.
00:00:20 OAN
An individual unto themselves, created by God, and possessing both a soul and a right to live. That said, the left arguments about when a baby deserves that right to life based on its ability to survive outside the womb are starting to wear thin.
00:00:33 OAN
Meet Curtis means Curtis just celebrated his first birthday this past July, which was something of an historic moment, not just for him, but for everyone that argues against the concept of fetal viability. They're not only cruel, but they're out of step with science and with reality. Curtis's birthday was a historic 1 because Curtis is the most premature baby ever born.
00:00:53 OAN
Vibe. He was born at just 21 weeks and one day into gestation, and as you can see on the screen when he was born, he was so tiny that it really is amazing to see him smiling today. I believe he was about 15 oz. What it is even more amazing is that the record that Curtis broke was set by a baby that was born a mere month before him. This just goes to show that the rate at which medicine is changing.
00:01:15 OAN
The conversation so join me now to discuss. Is the US representative from Idaho's first Congressional District, Russ Fulcher. Thanks for joining us tonight, Congressman.
00:01:25 Russ Fulcher
My pleasure. Thank you.
00:01:26 OAN
Great. So I know you've been a huge and a much needed supporter of the unborn in Congress. What are your thoughts on this Mississippi case of the Supreme Court is about to start hearing?
00:01:36 Russ Fulcher
Well, it's about time. You know, as you pointed out, many of us believe that life is a gift from God, that it's sacred and that we should do everything we can legally and personally.
00:01:45 Russ Fulcher
Protect it. But now we've got an additional argument on our side and it's science, you know, much has changed since the road decision back in the 1970s. We've got the technology and the understanding that we didn't have back then and the whole issue of viability is such that the fact that children can live.
00:02:05 Russ Fulcher
In more premature time frames now and we have the the technology to save babies that are premature. And so it's really a game changer and I think it's way overdue that the Supreme Court take a look.
00:02:18 OAN
That's that's exactly right. Now of course, as the Supreme Court is getting set to hear this, you know, you're fighting with your fellow Democrat colleagues on this issue because in Biden's new bill back, better agenda that he's trying to get passed through in its totality. They got the infrastructure. Now they're trying to reconciliation. But I believe the Hyde Amendment is not.
00:02:37 OAN
Part of that they're still trying to make, you know, you and I, the taxpayers here in America, pay for abortion, talk to us about some of your your fight on Capitol Hill, defending the unborn.
00:02:49 Russ Fulcher
You know, on major legislation for for the last several decades, the Hyde Amendment has been Keystone and it's been mutually agreed upon. It's been bipartisan in nature. But now to your point, it's not part of this at all. And more and more of the democratic leadership want to strike that out. They want to increase taxpayer funded.
00:03:11 Russ Fulcher
Make no mistake about it, that's where a lot of their support comes from. And you know one other point along this line. I feel it a bit of irony here. The irony is that many of the same people, my colleagues, mainly on the other side of the aisle that have argued that there shouldn't be any medical interventions or the of the law.
00:03:30 Russ Fulcher
Intervening with abortion procedures or medical interventions are the same ones arguing for vaccine mandates.
00:03:39 OAN
I I know it. It's hilarious, isn't it? You know my body, my choice. They only say that when actually the body they're talking about is not their body. And then when it is someone's, you know, only body such as the vaccine mandate, that's when all of a sudden they want to, you know, rip that one up. But when we're looking at it right now, whether or not the Mississippi case, really, you know, is able to scalp grow as we are hoping that it does.
00:04:00 OAN
Do you think the pro-life movement should be prepared whichever way it goes, to keep the movement going?
00:04:06 Russ Fulcher
Yes, I do. And there's a big role for the states here as well. And many states have been aggressive with their pro-life legislation. I'm from Idaho, former state legislator. That was a keystone of a lot of what the work that I did and the the. So the states have a role to play here. And as you know, if Roe gets reversed then.
00:04:25 Russ Fulcher
The the overall authority goes back to the state, so state legislatures beware. You're needed regardless of what happens with this case. But we also have 3 untested judges that were appointed by Donald Trump. And so we're going to find out where they are in this issue here very soon.
00:04:44 OAN
When it comes to legislation, has it been harder in recent years to work with Democrats on the issue of abortion? I mean, I know for decades it's been a very contentious one, but at least back in the day, you could, you know, name at least quite a few pro-life Democrats. But now, I mean, they're going the way of the dodo. Bird Democrats are actively you have the progressive wing of the party actively pushing out.
00:05:04 OAN
Any kind of pro-life Democrat, it's almost as if they they no longer exist. So has that made it more difficult when it comes to your negotiations on legislation in the House about the unborn?
00:05:15 Russ Fulcher
You know, it really has. And it's not just abortion. There's so many issues that have become so polarized, and it just seems like there's a greater divide across the board, to your point on the life issue. I'm a member of the pro-life Caucus in the United States Congress. We had up until just last year, one Democrat that was on that.
00:05:35 Russ Fulcher
Caucus and he got voted out of office. And so right now there's no Democrats even on our pro-life caucus. So the divide has gotten bigger. And that's such a shame because there is no greater cause than life. If we can't stand up for life. If we can't stand up for the the the legal right to have our.
00:05:56 Russ Fulcher
Our lives, regardless of where you are on the on the scale, whether it's the beginning of life or the end of life and who have we become as a society. This is a serious issue and and I hope we can get some of our colleagues across the aisle to change their position.
00:06:11 OAN
Congressman, I'm glad to have fighters like you in Congress. Thanks for joining us tonight.
00:06:16 Russ Fulcher
Thank you so much.