Episode 17: Newsom's "free" baby diaper scheme & Latest Ruling on Abortion Pill

This week on Not Gullible: Governor Newsom announced a program to give "free" diapers to babies in CA but left out important details. Also, the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay on the abortion pill ruling which allows it to be sent into states where abortion has been banned. How should we think about these topics from a Biblical Worldview? 

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Transcript

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Welcome to Not Gullible. I'm your host, Vanessa Hunt, and each week we'll be discussing faith, news, and the stories that matter, all from a biblical worldview. Hey friends, I hope you've had a wonderful week. I just returned from spending time with my family in Georgia, and it was so nice to be together. I got to be with my mom for Mother's Day, which hadn't happened in many years. And I was reminded that traveling is a very good way to get an accurate picture of both the best and the worst of our culture. While I was thankful to have positive interactions with employees and, of course, a safe flight there and back, our time in the airports reflected just how self-centered people are. Seeing someone dressed nicely and acting politely seems to be the exception these days. And don't get me started on the number of people who talk loudly on speakerphones or FaceTime or are playing videos on their phones with no awareness of how it's impacting those around them. It can be very discouraging to realize that so few people are holding themselves to a higher standard or even care about how they behave in public settings. What we're seeing is the loss of a high trust society where we want to put our best foot forward and expect others to do so too. But we don't have to just roll over and accept that the way things are is the way they should be. Obviously, there's only so much I can control, but one thing I can do is be a woman who reflects a different way. My family and I will be dressed appropriately, interact politely and kindly, abide by the rules that are in place to keep things running smoothly, and never think that we are the center of the universe with everyone else orbiting around us. Just imagine what would happen if we all took that approach. We might actually enjoy air travel just a little bit more, or at least not detest it quite so much. Making the headlines in the last week has been the story out of California, where Governor Newsome announced a brand new program which will now hand every newborn baby leaving the hospital a pack of 400 quote-unquote free diapers. It's being done in partnership with a business listed as a nonprofit called Baby2Baby. In theory, this program sounds like a kind and generous way to help families, but the reality is that something very concerning is happening right under the surface. First of all, it's always important to remember that it's never the government giving away things for free. It's the government taking our tax dollars and deciding what to do with them. There is no such thing as free when it comes from the government. This story in particular highlights the problem with government overreach and how our tax dollars are stewarded. On a more subtle level, I also think it reflects the way that the state has begun to take the place of what God designed families and the church to do. Here's a quick summary of the program. It's funded with $20 million of California taxpayer money, and they've requested even more for next year. It will give diapers to around 100,000 babies this year, with plans to expand on that in the future. Soon after Governor Newsome announced this new program, it was revealed that one of the CEOs of Baby2Baby just happens to sit on the board of the California Partners Project, which is an organization founded by Newsome's wife. So it obviously raises a ton of questions about whether the multi-million dollar contract went through the most transparent process or whether it's a ruse to funnel money from the taxpayers into the pockets of Newsom supporters and even campaign funds. On top of that is the fact that the math just isn't mathing on these diapers. If you look at the most popular brands of diapers at a store like Walmart, they come out to between 16 and 29 cents per diaper. But the diapers in Newsom's program end up costing 50 cents per diaper, which is two to three times more. So it begs the question of how much of this extra money being spent is then kicked back to baby to baby. It's pretty common knowledge that leaders of NGOs or non-government organizations are paid very high salaries. And it's an excellent way to launder money through something that seems legitimate on the surface. Now, how should we think about this from a biblical worldview? Because there are broader implications for this just beyond, you know, what is happening in California. For one thing, governments that truly cared about families would focus all of their energy into making it as affordable as possible for them to buy their own items. And the very first thing they could do is to lower taxes. Proverbs 29,2 says, when the righteous thrive, the people rejoice. When the wicked rule, the people groan. So many Americans are groaning under the weight of rulers who do not steward our money well. And we become so accustomed to this system that we don't really understand that it was never the primary purpose of government to begin with. Our compassion is played upon because who doesn't want babies to have diapers? But this is how that compassion gets weaponized against us. Because what might seem kind and generous to one segment of people could actually end up being detrimental to another segment of people. And I'm not sure if you've noticed this, but governments have absolutely zero incentive to solve any real problems. A great example of this is the homeless industrial complex that we have here in Oregon. We have a Democrat supermajority here and have for many decades. And every election cycle, they promise to solve the problem of homelessness and drug addiction that they created by their policies. They raise taxes and demand more funding, but somehow they never actually solve anything. Meanwhile, those in leadership of the programs manage to get more and more wealthy. Take, for example, Ivory Matthews, who is the former CEO of Home Forward, which is Portland's largest public housing authority and a major player in Oregon's affordable housing and homeless efforts. Matthews earned a salary of $342,000 plus a $600 per month car allowance after she gave herself a 59% raise. Between 2023 and 2025, she spent more than $100,000 of Home Forwards operating budget on her own personal travel expenses. Meanwhile, she solved exactly none of the city or state's problems. And in fact, everything got worse under her leadership with deteriorating building conditions and hundreds of empty apartments that were never filled by the very people that she was hired to help. One of the main takeaways I want to give you as we wrap this up is that government mismanagement and overreach wears the mask of kindness, but puts a heavy burden on taxpayers and undermines the God-ordained roles of families and the church. When the state positions itself as the provider, it almost always expands its power at the expense of liberty and personal responsibility. Galatians 6,2 says that we are to bear one another's burdens, and this includes meeting both spiritual and physical needs. True care for families doesn't begin with government giveaways, but with a return to the biblical model where charity comes through the household first and through the body of Christ if that household is unable to provide for whatever reason. While we're on the subject of babies, the Supreme Court just issued a temporary stay that preserves mail order and pharmacy access to the abortion pill, while appeals to their ruling in an ongoing battle over its distribution and how it fits into the debate over abortion and states' rights. Reading now from the Federalist, online abortion pill sellers can continue illegally trafficking Mifepristone into pro-life states until litigation over a landmark abortion drug lawsuit out of Louisiana is resolved. The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The high benches grant of Mifepristone Manufacturers' Emergency Appeal endangers women and babies who are not required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to receive in-person medical care before or after obtaining abortion pills. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals initially paused the FDA's mail order abortion permissions when it unanimously granted Louisiana's request for a stay at the beginning of May. Two days later, the Supreme Court temporarily temporarily halted the Fifth Circuit's block. So this is particularly important as it pertains to the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, which sent this issue back to each state to decide. This ruling was disappointing for those of us who want to abolish abortion because it kept Methopristone widely available without actually resolving any of the deeper debates over its regulation. And it allows a pathway for access to abortion even in states where it's been banned. In his dissent, Justice Alito wrote, quote, What is at stake is the perpetration of a scheme to undermine our decision in Dobbs, the Jackson Women's Health Organization, which restored the right of each state to decide how to regulate abortions within its borders. From a biblical worldview, we have to remember that the intentional killing of a pre-born child is still murder, no matter its size or stage of development. Just because the abortion pill is taken early on in a pregnancy doesn't negate the fact that it is the taking of a life. And having this kind of a drug shipped directly to women without the oversight of a doctor means that they are only increasing the odds of complications as they get little warning or preparation for what will happen once they take these pills. Contrary to what our culture, and even maybe some fellow Christians might try to tell you, this isn't simply a medical procedure. And it's definitely not quote unquote reproductive health, because you guys, reproduction has obviously already occurred. No matter how many euphemisms people use in an attempt to downplay the horrific nature of this act, it's still horrific. And the age and location of a human being doesn't negate the value and worth of that human being. In a recent exchange before Congress, an abortion advocate was asked by Representative Brandon Gill to share her favorite type of abortion and to explain more about the actual procedures. She absolutely refused to answer, even though he pressed her and he described the procedures in detail. And it made me ask why. I mean, if it's no different than any other medical procedure, if it's just a clump of cells, if it's just whatever, it's not a life, it's not anything, it it doesn't have its own DNA. If if there's nothing valuable about it, then why can't she answer which type she prefers? A cancer doctor would have no problem explaining why they prefer one method of treatment over another. The real reason this woman couldn't answer is because she knows. She knows what's actually happening. She knows the truth about it and she is complicit. But her worldview won't allow her to acknowledge the truth. I think the best passage to sum up this perspective is found in 2 Corinthians 4, where we we read, therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word. But by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ is Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. When I was with my mom last week, we were discussing this topic, and we both agreed that a nation that allows the slaughter of millions of pre-born children every year is a nation that will never fully thrive. The people who are advocating advocating for giving free diapers to babies are the same people who advocate for the intentional killing of babies. The irony is just hard to fathom. Recent estimates show that one-third of Gen Z was aborted. Just take a minute to let that statistic sink into you. It's truly astonishing. Just as those who sacrificed their children to idols in the Old Testament face judgment from the Lord, we too are living under a kind of judgment. It's the consequence of ever allowing this to become legal in the first place. It's the consequence of thinking that we get to determine the worth of a life. And it is a life. Friends, as Christians, this should absolutely not be a complicated issue. The Bible is so clear about this topic, but it's been made to seem complicated by those who seek to twist and soften God's word to fit the culture and want us to believe that we can sacrifice God's word on the altar of so-called compassion or kindness. Yes, we absolutely should be able to navigate conversations about abortion with both grace and truth, especially when we know that so many women deeply regret taking the life of their unborn child. And we absolutely should point them to the forgiveness and hope that they can find in Jesus. But we can do that while also standing up for the lives of the most vulnerable among us. We need to commit to living counterculturally, valuing life all the way from conception, stewarding our resources wisely, and pointing people to the hope found in Jesus Christ rather than earthly systems. A return to biblical principles in our homes, churches, and communities is the only solution. Thank you so much for listening today. If this episode encouraged you, I would love for you to share it with a friend and or let me know by sending me a message on Instagram. As always, if you are enjoying the Not Gullible podcast, I hope you'll subscribe. Please subscribe and leave a five-star review. I hope you have a great weekend and week ahead, and I will see you here next time.