BREAKING: 5th Circuit Says Planned Parenthood Can Be Defunded

Breaking news today on Jay Sekulow Live. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals says Planned Parenthood can be defunded by the states. We'll talk about that and where it goes next today on Jay Sekulow Live.

And now, your host, Jordan Sekulow. A major pro-life victory following another pro-life victory yesterday. That was in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. This is in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Bonk. And this is huge, folks, because this has been a case that's been fought since the Obama administration. States taking the pro-life battle to the federal courts. And now, with the changes on the federal courts, and I'll walk through those in a minute, you've got a significant victory in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. That through Medicaid funding, states do not have to use Medicaid funding. They can cut off Planned Parenthood through Medicaid funding. This would affect Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

These challenges date back to 2015. There's been a significant change. See, when it was a three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Texas and Louisiana lost. They said you can't cut off that funding to Planned Parenthood. But then it went on Bonk.

And let me explain why it's so different. It's a credit to President Trump. It's a credit to Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham getting these nominees confirmed. The court's personnel has changed a lot since these cases were first brought in 2015. Now six nominees of Republican President Donald Trump sit on the court. Four of them participated in Monday's case, and all four joined Judge Priscilla Owen's opinion for an 11-member majority.

It was 11, I think 11 to 5 in that decision. This is a huge pro-life victory, and it sets the stage for how states can defund Planned Parenthood through a Medicaid, which is a program that the federal government and the states administer together through a mixture of funds. And I want to go right to Than Bennett in Washington, D.C. Than, this is a testament to what President Trump has been able to do with judicial nominees, working with Senator Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, of course Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, and there's more work to be done. Tell people about the numbers that have been confirmed, and the numbers that will likely be confirmed, even if, and I know folks don't like to hear it, but even if this is the end of the, even if the President does not get a second term, tell people the numbers that will still get confirmed to the courts. Yeah, this has already been a generational impacting legacy for President Trump, Jordan.

There's just no way about, no other way to describe it. There have been 227 federal judges confirmed under the Trump administration through the United States Senate, three of them to the Supreme Court of the United States, 53, Jordan, at the U.S. Circuit Court level, which is the level that we're talking about today, 168 District Court judges, and then three judges to the International Trade Court.

And Jordan, you're right. I mean, this impact, it's not done yet because the Senate is still in session. The President's term, his first term is not over until January 20th. There are six District Court judges that are awaiting confirmation votes on the floor of the Senate. They're queued up. Leader McConnell has them ready to go. And then there are 23 judges still in committee that are being processed as we speak, getting prepared to send to the Senate floor.

And Jordan, I would just note two of them particularly. We've talked about how President Trump has left no vacancy on the circuit court level, a tremendous accomplishment. There are now two fresh vacancies. One is for Amy Coney Barrett's seat on the Seventh Circuit, and the other one is on the First Circuit where a judge passed away. So, Jordan, those two nominations have been made. They are moving forward. And if confirmed, Jordan, that would make 55 circuit court judges nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the United States Senate.

I'm not going to get into how it impacted this case you're talking about today, but I'll just say this. For this case and many others, Jordan, this is one of the legacies that we at the ACLJ are going to be standing on and working with for generations to come. All right, folks, we are going to be taking your phone calls. 1-800-684-3110.

That's 1-800-684-3110. Frank Mannion and Jeff Surtees will be joining us. ACLJ senior counsels about these major pro-life victories back to back in the Sixth Circuit and the Fifth Circuit and what this means going forward to the U.S. Supreme Court and, of course, the ACLJ's work. This is a matching challenge month in the month of November. Whatever you're able to donate to the ACLJ, we've got a group of donors that say whatever comes in the month of November, we will match those donations.

Donate today. Double your impact at ACLJ.org. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our matching challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, Planned Parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. Welcome back to Jay Sekulow Live. This is Jordan Sekulow.

We are taking your phone calls at 1-800-684-3110. This is breaking news. If you're just joining us, this is not a repeat of yesterday's broadcast. That was out of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Another major pro-life victory out of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, an en banc panel.

And this en banc panel, 11-member majority, Judge Priscilla Owen writing the opinion for that en banc panel. Four of the judges that participated in that en banc panel are Trump nominees. He's nominated six to this court. One had to be recused, one joined the court too late. But it just shows you how the courts have been changed and are still in the process of that change. We talked about with Tham Bennett, there's still more nominees that will be confirmed regardless of who becomes President in January. That there will be more Trump nominees confirmed to the federal bench.

Frank Mannion is joining us again, senior counsel with the ACLJ. Because Frank, I want to take people through again what happened yesterday in the Sixth Circuit and then what happened today in the Fifth Circuit. These are battles that we have been fighting, Frank, for a number. This case of the Fifth Circuit dates back to the Obama years of 2015.

Right, that's right. The point you're making, which I think is something that people have to know, is that these pro-life victories don't come overnight. And we weren't getting very many pro-life victories for years. ... cases because it's the right thing to do.

We make the arguments and we go into court and we get shot down. But with this latest batch of appointments that we're seeing to the federal courts of appeals, it's a whole new day. I mean, whatever ends up happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, for pro-life litigators, it is morning in America. And it looks like it's going to be that way for a long time. Because remember, federal judges have lifetime appointments. They don't run for office every four years or every eight years.

They're there for as long as they want, as long as God wants them there. And so this is a whole new day. Two days in a row we're talking about court of appeals, pro-life victories.

This is unprecedented. You know, I want you... so yesterday's victory, let's just explain that to people because everybody doesn't listen to each day. It was at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. We were asked by the... there's a case out of Tennessee. We were asked by the Tennessee Attorney General directly for the ACLJ to get involved, write a brief, amicus brief in that case. Explain just quickly that victory and then we'll move on to the new victory today.

Right. In that case, the court ruled in favor of the state of Tennessee with regard to its ban on abortions for race, gender, and down syndrome diagnosis. Again, there are courts of appeals decisions out there that go the other way, but this is a new day.

And this is a huge victory for the cause of life. And today we get news out of Texas, out of the Fifth Circuit, that the states of Texas and Louisiana are allowed to disqualify Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider. There are courts of appeals around the country.

In fact, the majority of them go the other way. The Eighth Circuit now joins the Eighth Circuit, which of course sets up the classic circuit split, which is the kind of case the Supreme Court takes. These decisions weren't happening four years ago, even two or three years ago before some of these recent appointments actually got on the bench. But we are seeing a whole turnaround in what federal courts are going to do with the issue of life. And the other thing to remember is these cases build on factual records that the ACLJ in its litigation over the years, sometimes even in losing litigation, has established. The cases out of Texas and Louisiana are based on the CMP videos, Center for Medical Progress. We represented a board member of the Center for Medical Progress. There were cases filed in Texas against Planned Parenthood for billing practices that we were involved in years ago. All of these are part of the case that we saw today out of Texas and Louisiana, and that's kind of the nature of what we do. It doesn't happen overnight, but we're now seeing the fruits of our labors finally.

So let's move on. So we got the Sixth Circuit. Now to the Fifth Circuit. This was an en banc panel, cases out of Texas and Louisiana, but it also affects Mississippi now, their opinion. And we briefly told people about this is a way that states can actively defund Planned Parenthood. Tell people about this victory because it took going to the en banc panel of the Fifth Circuit.

Right, and here's the significance of that. The first time this case was argued, the states lost in a 7-7 tie. En banc means all of the judges of a particular circuit. Normally courts of appeals make decisions based on three judge panels. But when there's an issue of exceptional importance that more members of the court think that they need to weigh in on, they convene the entire court called the en banc court, and in this case it was, I believe, 16 judges. Well, a few years ago, before the recent Trump appointments, the case lost. Our side lost 7-7. And now we have an 11-5 victory. It shows the importance of judicial appointments.

You know, I think that this, again, I want to go to Than Bennett, too, because, Than, we look at this. President Trump's nominated and confirmed six new judges to the Fifth Circuit. Four of them were participating yesterday.

One had to recuse, one joined too late. But there are more coming as well to the federal bench. I mean, this is, again, it's breathing new life into the battle for life that the ACLJ has been engaged in since our founding.

Yeah, all across the country, Jordan. I mean, first of all, there are three circuit courts that have flipped majorities outright. The Second, the Third, and the Eleventh. There's another court like the Ninth, which notoriously has been the most difficult circuit court for us to litigate in. Ten of those 29 judges have now been nominated by President Trump, Jordan, and we've seen good rulings come out of there, because, you know, the closer that spread is, the more likely it is that you're going to get a good draw out of it. And then you have cases like the Fifth Circuit that Frank just talked about, where it's not necessarily been a flip, but it was a draw in the last time this same case was heard, and now it's an overwhelming 11-5 win. And Jordan, that was without one of the Trump nominees even getting to hear the case because of joining it too late and another being recused.

So just dramatic improvement. And again, you want to talk about continuing to work through the end of the deadline here. The Senate is still in session.

They're going to be in session through Christmas, mostly in. They have a number of these hearings that still have to be moved out of committee and then onto the floor. So there's a lot of other things that we're looking at, Jordan, and this is something that you and I discussed yesterday. There's the ongoing election litigation. There's the potential transition that's moving forward. But Jordan, as Frank mentioned, these are judges that would have lifetime appointments on the federal bench. They've been nominated by President Trump.

They are currently sitting in the United States Senate, and the United States Senate has full constitutional authority to consider them and confirm them. And no matter how those other things shake out, Jordan, they would sit on the federal bench for the rest of their lives or until they retired. That is absolutely something that is worth fighting for, and it yields, Jordan, the results that you talked about yesterday and then we're talking about again today. You know, I'd say that, you know, these cases, Frank, to me, it just underscores how you can continue to fight for life and see victories, regardless of who's in the White House in January. These states began this battle under the Obama administration, a hostile administration to life. We may have another hostile administration to life.

We don't know yet, but we might in the Biden administration. If we do, though, these are battles that are waged in court. And the courts have been fundamentally changed because of what President Trump has done, and we're able to take a much more kind of aggressive approach to these cases across the country because other states will now look at this, states that have kind of pro-life majorities in their state legislatures, their governors, and say, you know what, these aren't just going to be cases we, legislation that we pass because we feel like it's the right thing to do, and then we're going to have to fight it out in court and probably likely lose. Now it's, hey, we can fight this out in court and likely win.

And what a refreshing change that is, Jordan. I mean, I can't tell you how many meetings or phone calls or conference calls I've been on over the years with your dad and others at the ACLJ where we talked about, well, we could bring the case, but we're going to lose. Let's save our ammunition for another court somewhere else. It's a whole new day. I mean, we have a chance in basically every single federal circuit now that we didn't have before.

And I'm excited about it. What you just said there is so important. Again, it kind of underscores with anti every federal circuit. It's not like the Ninth Circuit is not the Ninth Circuit of 2012.

Let's put it that way, Frank. Exactly. I mean, it hasn't flipped, but the idea of bringing a case on behalf of life in the Ninth Circuit in past years was just sort of tilting at windmills. There's nothing wrong with tilting at windmills, but it's nice to win once in a while.

And I think we finally have the chance to do that, and it's a good chance. I mean, so we're looking at ways states can defund Planned Parenthood. And by the way, they're defunding Planned Parenthood because utilizing those videos they saw of how Planned Parenthood was misusing funds and carrying out abortions the wrong way so that they could sell body parts and things like that of aborted babies. That's what these states base their defunding on.

Why are they defunding this way through Medicaid? And you've got an en banc panel saying you can do that now, and you can do that now in Texas and Louisiana and Mississippi. And I think it will encourage other states to pass similar laws. They'll be challenged by Planned Parenthood, but they know they've got a much more friendly, it's not 100 percent, but a more friendly federal court system. And then, of course, and we're going to talk about it in the next segment, all the way to the top at the Supreme Court, too. So, Frank, just quickly, I think this just kind of shifts how, I mean, we're working on all these cases, but it shifts how we'll be approaching, regardless of who the President is, how we'll be approaching these cases and working with state legislatures and governors that are pro-life to get things done. Yeah, it's a whole new day for the pro-life cause. It really is, thanks to the judicial appointments going forward.

Think about that. I want to thank Frank for joining us again today. Jeff Surtees will be joining us the next segment, talking about how this may end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.

But understand that, folks. It's a new day and a new battle. Let's be ready for the battle. Let's be ready to file.

Let's be ready to assist those states and those governors. Support the work of the ACLJ. Pro-life cause is one of our top causes. Donate today at ACLJ.org.

Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases. How we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists. The ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later.

Play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry. And what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad, whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith. I'm covering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress. The ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support. Take part in our matching challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org.

Welcome back to JCEC Your Life. We are taking your phone calls. We are live today at 1-800-684-3110. I wanted to remind people about that. I just wanted to get that information out to you about these back-to-back pro-life victories in the Sixth Circuit and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. As you heard from Frank Manion, this is kind of a new day for the pro-life movement when it comes to battling in court, supporting good state legislation. We work with states all the time on this legislation to make it the best possible because we know it will be challenged in court, so get it ready. In the case out of the Sixth Circuit, of course, we worked with the Tennessee Attorney General, directly asked us to come and be involved. This case out of the Fifth Circuit dates back to 2015 and the states kept going back, kept fighting, and the judiciary significantly shifted within the Fifth Circuit to a point where when it went en banc, it wasn't at the three judge panel, it went en banc, they won 11-5 to be able to stop funding, to be able to defund Planned Parenthood through Medicaid. Jeff Surtees, also Senior Counsel with us, the ACLJ, works on a lot of the pro-life issues with us, is also joining us right now.

If you want to talk to us in the area, you've got questions about this, 1-800-684-3110. Because, Jeff, what I wanted to focus on with you is, after we discuss this with Frank, is that ultimately these cases that involve the abortion issue make their way almost all the time to the U.S. Supreme Court. Do you see the case we're talking about today, the Fifth Circuit, and likely the one out of the Sixth Circuit, too, ultimately being before the Supreme Court?

I really do, Jordan. Let's just take the decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding Planned Parenthood funding. We now have what we call a split in the circuits regarding that issue, whether or not Planned Parenthood can sue under federal law to question a state's determination that they are no longer a qualified provider under the Medicaid law. And you have a split in the circuits where you've got the Fourth Circuit, the Sixth, the Seventh, the Ninth, and the Tenth, all saying that Planned Parenthood does in fact have that right. So now with the Fifth Circuit's decision, you've got the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, you've got the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals saying that no Planned Parenthood doesn't have that right. Now, because we're dealing with the interpretation of federal law and because we have a clear split in the circuits with a majority of the circuit courts of appeals having ruled on this very issue, the Supreme Court, as much as it wants to try to avoid controversy at times, it's not taking an activist approach to these things, it's not going to be able to ignore this issue much longer. And I imagine that if Planned Parenthood does go ahead and file a surpetition with the Supreme Court, that the Supreme Court is not going to turn away that surpetition.

That's the strategy position that Planned Parenthood has to make here. We're now looking at, with Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett now on the court, they've got to be wondering whether or not they now have a chance before the United States Supreme Court to prevail on that issue. And if they take that case up to the Supreme Court and they lose, then that's going to directly undermine the victories that they have scored and all those other circuit courts of appeals that I have mentioned. So going back to what you were talking about earlier with Frank, the legacy of President Trump, and hopefully this legacy will continue, has been enormous now that we have one third of the United States Supreme Court having been appointed by President Trump. And a third of the circuit court judges have been appointed by President Trump.

I mean, it's a major shift. And Jeff, I want to get to that point you just made, and we are taking people's phone calls. Linda wrote it on Facebook, she's listening in Sacramento. Thank you, ACLJ, for the work you do to protect the preborn.

We appreciate that, Linda, we appreciate you listening and your support. But I want to go back to, because now Planned Parenthood has to make a decision that used to not be so difficult for them, which is, Jeff, if they take it to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court rules against them and says, yes, all the states can do what Texas and Louisiana did, then there's about 26 states I can point to right now because they're Republican state legislatures and governors who would probably, knowing that it's not going to face the kind of, that they've got Supreme Court precedent backing them, if Planned Parenthood loses, this could be where more than half the states in the country are able to defund Planned Parenthood through Medicaid, or if it's the sex-selective abortion out of the Sixth Circuit or Down syndrome-focused abortion out of the Sixth Circuit. I mean, they have a different calculation to make. They have a much different calculation to make, as I was saying, and as you were just saying, you know, Planned Parenthood runs to the Supreme Court here as used to be the knee-jerk reaction with these types of issues. The Supreme Court ruled against Planned Parenthood, and of course, you know, who knows what the Supreme Court's going to do, but if you were to read the tea leaves, I think at least the state of Texas here would have a very good chance indeed. Then Planned Parenthood stands to lose a lot of the victories that it has won in these other circuit courts of appeals.

Planned Parenthood will have an uphill battle in other states, Republican-run states, that want to go forward with defunding Planned Parenthood. So they have a huge strategy decision to make here, given the fact that one-third of the Supreme Court are now Trump appointees. And, you know, that further emphasizes the issue, you know, going back to the courts of appeals judges themselves.

You know, as you were discussing with Frank earlier on the show, you know, it used to be that, well, in the circuits, the Ninth Circuit at one time, the Sixth Circuit, the Fifth Circuit at one time, you know, you just really didn't have a very good shot if you were engaging in pro-life litigation. And now it's a new day in those circuit courts of appeals. So, yeah, Planned Parenthood has a big old decision to make here, and this is why, going back to what you've been talking about with Fan on the radio in previous episodes, you know, this is why those special elections in Georgia matter so much. You know, the Democrats get control of the Senate, and assuming Biden does become President, of course we don't know that for certain yet, then those judges, then they're going to push their judges through as well. And then, you know, there's also that court packing question, which, again, would take action by Congress, and we know this came in through a YouTube question, can Joe Biden pack the court? Well, a lot of that, I mean, Jeff, you just mentioned, I'll go to Fan Bennett, Fan, this is going to, a lot of that will be based on whether, where the Senate goes and these Georgia runoffs, because it's not going to happen if it's Mitch McConnell in control of the U.S. Senate, Republican majority. And it might, I don't know if it can happen with just a one or two seat majority, but we do know, Fan, that Joe Biden has pledged to put together a committee to look at increasing the numbers on the Supreme Court, so he's looking at it.

Yeah, both of these issues are absolutely on the ballot in Georgia, Jeff is absolutely right. If Democrats would pick up both of those seats, and a Biden administration would take the White House, Jordan, there's no doubt that a legislative filibuster and then a court packing scheme would be on the agenda. Now, we know from previous efforts on this exact issue that it can be hard with a narrow majority. You know, Senator John McCain infamously denied the defunding of Planned Parenthood through his vote in the reconciliation process, but Jordan, that process would be open to Democrats in that scenario. And just, you know, sort of to tie these issues together, this is exactly why I have always believed that this state-based effort to defund Planned Parenthood through the Medicaid process was always the most likely to succeed, Jordan, because it's the one that doesn't have to go through the United States Senate.

It doesn't have to get a narrow majority, which can always be difficult. And Jordan, it still represents the vast majority of federal funding that eventually flows to Planned Parenthood. So look, I'll tell you that court packing and this defunding of Planned Parenthood, they're both on the ballot in Georgia come January. Let me tell you something, there's a reason why folks, and I'll go to Jeff, we've got 10 seconds for you Jeff, but there's a reason why we said fill that seat before the election with Judge Barrett, now Justice Barrett on the Supreme Court. Amen to that. That was a blessing indeed that Justice Amy Coney Barrett is now on the United States Supreme Court.

And folks, that's why we worked so hard to fill that seat pre-election. Second half hour coming up at JSECO Live, thank Jeff Surtees for joining us, Frank Mannion for joining us live. We're taking your phone calls at 1-800-684-3110.

Harry Hutchinson will be joining us, so will Rick Grinnell as well on some of these lockdowns. Support the work of the ACLJ, Double Your Impact, Matching Challenge Month, ACLJ.org. Donate today.

At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Live from Washington, D.C., JSECO Live. And now, your host, Jordan Sekulow. Welcome back to JSECO Live.

This is Jordan Sekulow. We are taking your phone calls today, 1-800-684-3110. It was great to be joined by Frank Mannion again today and Jeff Surtees, another huge pro-life victory. If you're just joining us, this went out of the Fifth Circuit. We talked about one out of the Sixth Circuit yesterday.

This is out of the Fifth Circuit. This is new, folks, that you're getting these pro-life victories on en banc panels with new circuit courts at play. And the Fifth Circuit is saying states can defund Planned Parenthood through Medicaid.

They don't have to fund them through Medicaid. And this affects Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It was an en banc panel, so it will likely head to the Supreme Court. But as Jeff Surtees, our senior counsel, mentioned, and Jeff and Frank focused so much on the pro-life issues, that if this Planned Parenthood has to make a different calculation now that President Trump has put Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, let me underscore that, Barrett, on the bench of the Supreme Court. Because if they lose Planned Parenthood at the Supreme Court, states have the precedent to go in, not have to worry about the legal challenges so much, and do exactly what Texas and Louisiana have been fighting to do since, we've been with that fight since 2015, so since the Obama administration. And it underscores to you how you can move forward in these battles regardless of if you've got a friendly administration like the Trump administration, or a hostile administration like a Biden administration, because these battles underscore that.

And, Than, this to me, I think it just breathes new life into the pro-life effort, takes it down to the state level and the federal courts. And, of course, it is very important to see how those Georgia Senate races, explain that to people, too, as we're kind of forward-looking here, to January 5th, how those Georgia Senate races impact this directly, too. Yeah, well, the way our government is set up, Jordan, as you know, I mean, some of these issues cease, and when an administration changes, some carry over, like the legacy of the federal judiciary. All these judges will continue, so they will continue to hear cases, cases like the ones we're talking about today. And then on some things, Jordan, there's an overlap, and that's where the races in Georgia come in.

If Democrats were to pick up both seats in the state of Georgia, that would make a 50-50 split in the United States Senate, and if Vice President Biden prevails, and there is a Biden administration, that would give the Democrat Party control of the White House, the Senate, and the United States House. So, on the issues that it takes legislative action, which, by the way, the issue we're talking about today has a legislative component, they could go in and try to eliminate these states' ability to defund Planned Parenthood through Medicaid through legislation, Jordan. They could say, they could change the legislation that authorizes Medicaid, and say that Planned Parenthood and others that are situated like it must receive those dollars. There is a lot of discretion to states right now, and that's why we're able to litigate in that space. So, Jordan, while we're in this posture of we don't know exactly what next year will look like, it's why it's so important that we focus on both the Senate, also the federal judiciary, while we wait to see what takes place in the election. And, Jordan, just substantively, let me just make this comment on this case. There are limited Medicaid dollars available to the states, so, of course, they should be evaluating whether or not they want to spend those limited dollars on a life-ending procedure when they have an obligation to spend them on life-saving procedures.

There's a lot of substance here that people don't think about. Joining us in the next segment, and, again, we're taking your phone calls at 1-800-684-3110. If you have questions about this or other issues, 1-800-684-3110. Harry Hutchinson from our legal policy team will be joining us. The ACLJ is putting together kind of this forward-looking plan for 2021 and beyond, and Harry is kind of leading that charge. He's going to explain that to you about how the ACLJ is preparing for the future. And then, in the final segment of the broadcast, Rick Rinnell, our special advisor for national security and foreign policy, but he's going to be joining us on the lockdowns. He's a Californian. He's experiencing it directly, but some of these lockdowns that are affecting Thanksgiving and travel seem very much not American, let's put it that way. They could have police knocking on your door.

How many family members do you have in your house? That kind of thing. And let's just mention, the Dow Jones Industrial has hit 30,000. So your 401K's doing pretty good right now.

I mean, stock market up almost 500 points today. We will be back on JCECio Live. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad, whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support. For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn. It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support and the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, Planned Parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. Welcome back to Jay Sekio Live, taking your phone calls at 1-800-684-3110. I know many of you will still be traveling. In fact, I think it's the busiest travel time since COVID in the nation's airports right now. So people are kind of sick and tired of the lockdowns. They understand that, you know, the risk cost benefit analysis they need to make. And, you know, I would say, like, listen, if you got a flu and you haven't had time to get a COVID test and you're going to potentially see family members who are elderly or who are dealing with any kind of diseases, think twice about that right now or try to get a COVID test before.

You know, that's important to do. At the same time, these lockdowns, which we're going to talk about with Rick Rinnell in the next segment, the broadcast, so Rick will be joining us because he lives in one of the states that's the most locked down right now. I mean, they got a curfew from 10 o'clock at night till 6 a.m.

I mean, that's really early and it affects a lot of people, especially during a holiday. But again, we're going to talk about that with Rick Rinnell. But Harry Hutchinson joining us in the studio right now and kind of looking at the victories that we have seen this year at ACLJ and the work that we have done and also kind of forward-looking as well into 2021 because we're preparing for that as well. Harry, just to start with some of those victories, I know we were talking about just some of them on the life issue, but it's been more than that.

Absolutely. So the ACLJ has been very, very active within the educational arena. We have gone to bat for parents who have children who have been, if you will, placed in a difficult bind by the coronavirus shutdown. So many schools have been shut down.

In addition, some parents have lacked sufficient resources with respect to virtual learning. We've gone to bat for over 1,900 families who have been adversely affected by this shutdown. We've issued numerous letters in California, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, and Nebraska. We've also launched a school choice initiative. And as part of that school choice initiative, we've participated through an amicus brief in an important case before the United States Supreme Court, Espinoza v. Montana. Basically, the state of Montana had what it might be called a Blaine Amendment, which prevents parochial schools from receiving state aid. That decision by the United States Supreme Court opens the door to school vouchers in the state of Montana and hopefully throughout the United States. We've also participated in two other Supreme Court cases before the United States Supreme Court involving education, Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. James School v. Beale. In both cases, the quintessential issue was whether or not the litigant had to defer to the school's decision-making under the so-called ministerial exemption. Again, we prevailed in that particular case.

We wrote a brief suggesting that second-guessing of the school's assessment about whether the teachers were ministers was wrong because it violated the religious autonomy principle. So we had a vindication in that particular area. As you've already indicated, Jordan, we've had a number of pro-life victories. We've helped initiate and write pro-life legislation in a number of states. We've also worked heavily with the Trump administration to appoint and confirm numerous federal judges.

Our victories go on and on in terms of religious liberty, also in terms of the abortion issue, and also in terms of supporting the independence of the nation of Israel. It's interesting, too, as we look kind of forward-looking at some of the battles ahead, Harry, a good friend of ours, Ted Gross, he wrote in that 47 Clinton and Obama circuit court judges may go senior status. Another 12 will be eligible for the next four years. That would open up 59 circuit court seats, potentially for Biden, which, again, underscores why it is so important. Not that every judicial nominee, even if Republicans are in control of the U.S. Senate, but it underscores those Georgia Senate races, that they'll all be denied, but that the most extreme will not make it through a confirmation process if the Georgia runoffs are successful for Republicans.

I think that's very, very important. I think it's very, very important for the voters in Georgia to look forward to the future. And that future could or may include a Biden administration. And Biden will be pulled by the left wing of his party in support of socialist agendas, the Green New Deal, and a variety of other left-wing projects. But in order to sustain those projects, it will be absolutely essential for the Biden administration to appoint judges who are sympathetic to the course of action that the left wing of the Democratic Party supports. So it's very, very important for the voters in Georgia to take that into account when they vote in January. This is a very, very important election for the future of the country.

It is clear beyond question that Joe Biden is prepared. He's already announced that John Kerry will become his so-called climate czar. What does John Kerry want to do? He wants to ban fracking. He wants to ban carbon. That will have an adverse effect in terms of American jobs but also in terms of American manufacturing.

But it will also mean that we will become very dependent on foreign nations for energy. So I want to talk to Thanh about this as well because, Thanh, as we're looking towards the future battles and whether or not it's the seats that maybe some of the older judges try to open up for the Biden administration, we don't want to see a shift back if it is a Biden administration to the gains we've made. Now, those numbers still would not equate to what President Trump has been able to do, but it would certainly change the direction of where the courts have been moving.

But the most radical nominees won't get through a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. And right now, that hangs in the balance. Yeah, no question. I mean, there's two factors here.

One is quantity, the other is quality. I mean, and the reason that both the quantity and the quality of judges under President Trump was so outstanding was twofold, Jordan. It's because both of the components that are found in Article II, Section 2, both of the authorities that are given a piece of this, the President of the United States and then also the United States Senate, were led by individuals who were committed to this. I mean, Leader McConnell, Chairman Grassley and then Chairman Graham, along with President Trump, made this a top priority. And that's why there was such a high number, 227 federal judges, and that's why so many of them were of such excellent caliber.

I mean, someone like Justice Amy Coney Barrett, that might have been a hard lift in a different scenario, Jordan. But look, the outcome that you're talking about where you had a President Biden and then a Leader Schumer in the United States Senate, that would again be the American people giving both entities that have a share of this authority to the same branch. And the numbers that we're talking about, Jordan, could come very close to what you see. Now, it would take them making it a priority just like Leader McConnell and President Trump has been. I don't know if they would do that or not, Jordan, but they certainly could make great strides.

But if you're right, if the United States Senate stays in the control of Leader McConnell and the Republicans, they will have one of the two levers of power when it comes to the federal judiciary. And if President Biden would get some nominations through Jordan, but both on quantity and on quality, the quantity would be lower and the quality would be higher. Both of those things would be very welcome news in a new administration. Let me ask you, Harry, looking forward into – I know you're working on kind of this plan for the ACLJ, this forward-looking plan.

Talk to people about that, this kind of forward-thinking future planning, if you will. Well, one of the things that the ACLJ will be working on should Biden become President is making sure that we put guardrails on the ability, for instance, of John Kerry through executive action to commit the United States to bad deals. I think it is clear beyond question, if you look at John Kerry's record, both in terms of the Paris climate accord and also with respect to the Iran nuclear deal, that John Kerry does not put United States interests first. He puts global interests first. And one of the dangers associated with a Biden administration is that elites who basically disdain much of America, they will now be in charge.

And they would much prefer to deal with people in Paris and London than people who live in Tennessee, Kansas, or Oklahoma. Folks, we've got Rick Rinnell joining us for the next segment of the broadcast. You're learning about what we're planning in the future, the victories we've had this year, what the ACLJ is doing. This is a critical time to support the work of the ACLJ. We have a matching challenge right now at ACLJ.org. Whatever you're able to donate will be matched. A group of donors gets together before November and says it will match all the donations that come through in the month of November. So you double the impact of your donation if you donate today. If you're financially able, I only want you to do that if you're financially able. Donate today at ACLJ.org.

Rick Rinnell joining us next on Jay Sekio Live. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad, whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support. Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Welcome back to Jay Sekulow Live.

This is Jordan Sekulow. You know, as we all prepare for the holidays, depending on where you are in the country, it can be a very different preparation and also the threats that are being made by some government leaders at the state level, local level. We've got police and sheriffs saying we're not going to enforce these rules, and so it can be a little complicated. We're also getting reports it's one of the busiest travel times since COVID in the airports.

So since COVID started when the airport travel really went, the airplane travel really went down, this is like the busiest time right now. So a lot of Americans are saying, you know, enough with these shutdowns, enough with the lockdowns, I can put on my mask, I can, I'm going to go see my family, try to do it safely as possible. Rick Renell, who is a Californian, and there's a lot of benefits to that.

The indoor-outdoor living, the climate, the ocean, of course. Special advisor to the ACLJ, former Trump cabinet member, is joining us now because he is in a state in California which has got some of the most serious lockdowns that have been occurring and threats. I mean, Rick, thanks for joining us and a happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Let me first ask you about this with the way Gavin Newsom and the California government has approached this is like threatening people with arrest if they get together with their family to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Yeah, first of all, let me just say to all our listeners and to you, Jordan, and your whole family, happy Thanksgiving, what a great week to really be thankful for so much that we have and to be really, I think, cognizant of the fact that living in America gives us incredible freedoms. But some of our freedoms are under attack. And I think this is a week that we have to really focus on what is important for individual freedom and what do we need to do to push back.

I mean, ACLJ, right, exists to fight for individuals' freedoms when governments, local, state, and federal government begins to take away some of those freedoms. And this is exactly what we're talking about this week with our governor in California, Gavin Newsom. What I don't understand is the hypocrisy of all of these decisions that are being made. Let me give you one example.

Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, San Diego Airport, all of the airports are open, and you're going to tell me that putting 200 people on an airplane, 200 people that you don't know, is safer than having 15 of your family members come to your house that you do know for Thanksgiving. This is the inconsistency of the decisions of governors like Gavin Newsom. And, you know, we all know, and we've been laughing about it, but it's actually quite serious that Gavin Newsom has been caught a number of times lying about what he's doing while he's finger-waving at the California public to, you know, not go to restaurants, not be around people without face masks, and yet he's been caught at fancy restaurants inside, indoors with a lobbyist. I mean, there's multiple layers to this hypocrisy story. It's not just that he broke the COVID rules that he's telling everybody else to follow. He literally said it was a friend's birthday party, and now we're finding out that it was a lobbyist that actually did the dinner. Did any reporter in Sacramento ask who paid for that?

Did a lobbyist pay for this big, fancy French Laundry dinner? There's just so much hypocrisy to dial back, and I think people are left with wanting to see their family, wanting to be smart about these COVID restrictions. No one is going to put their family at risk if they think that someone is sick or you've got the flu. I mean, I think everybody is smart enough and we're adults enough to understand that you've got to be smart on these restrictions, but having a governor just, you know, allow everyone to go to Target and Walmart, but not to church, and to say airlines get to be open and you can jam-pack hundreds of people that you don't know on an airplane, but you can't have 15 people for Thanksgiving. This is ridiculous. This all started with me, I think, Rick, too, when we started to see the hypocrisy, and you talked about it a lot, with Nancy Pelosi going into the hair salon unmasked. I mean, any time I've had to get my hair cut, and I live in one of the more open states in the country, a deep red state which has not had a lot of the most severe closure mandates since early on, and yet still, I mean, if I go get my hair cut, it's like going to the doctor's office.

I mean, your mask is on. It is a very serious process to go through and timely to keep those businesses open. And yet Nancy Pelosi was flatting these rules since the very beginning. It's always been like a, well, this is the rules for the common people, but for the elected folk on the Democrat side, they don't need to follow the rules for the common man. You know, I actually think on the Nancy Pelosi angle, too, there's one more outrage that people forget, which is that after she got caught, she literally looked at the salon owner, and she snapped at the person and said, you owe me an apology.

Now, think about that. This insider in Washington, D.C. is telling a small business owner that you owe me an apology. And if you take that to the next level, the reason why the Speaker of the House, a powerful person in Washington, D.C., is demanding that a small business owner give an apology, it's because this small business owner called her out for being a hypocrite, embarrassed her. And that's not what you're supposed to do to Washington politicians.

You're never supposed to embarrass them because they create the rules and you're supposed to follow the rules. So I really believe that we're getting to this system and it's a good time to focus on the problems of COVID lockdowns during Thanksgiving week when we're gathering with our families and we're thinking about how thankful we are to live in this country to also remember that we have a personal responsibility to fight back when government makes decisions that really take away our personal freedoms. We have to fight back.

And I'm so thankful for ACLJ and other organizations that help us fight back. You know, and we can all be smart. Like you said, Rick, if you're feeling sick, if you feel like you've got the flu, but maybe you don't have time to get a COVID test, we've all been through this now for a long enough period of time that it would be reckless to go to your grandma's, you know, or to someone at house that may have a disease that they're fighting in.

Maybe they're battling cancer. Okay, so you're not, you shouldn't go there. But I think that people have been educated enough by the Trump administration, by all the briefings that we've had to be able to make those decisions on their own in a country where we have this kind of individual liberty, where we make those kind of choices about the risk that we're willing to take or not take. And I think for the most part, I am glad to see, Rick, that there's a lot of sheriffs out there in California. This is not just happening in California, by the way, but Rick is living it in California. But a lot of sheriff's departments who said, you know, we're not going to monitor these curfews of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and we're not going to stop people and say, should you be out right now? Is it because you're going to work or not? We're not going to do that.

So that's good. But I mean, there is this fear because we're seeing it in Europe, where there's going to be like people going through and they're planning to do it during Christmas, knocking on doors, checking out how many people you have at your house. Look, I think we've got to be science-based. You've got to follow the science. And it's certainly silly to think that the science suggests that after 10 o'clock somehow, COVID gets more contagious.

These rules don't make sense. This is a power grab from Democratic politicians, governors like Gavin Newsom. I would be remiss if I didn't say, Jordan, that we do have a recall Gavin Newsom effort.

It's recallgavin2020.com. If you live in California, sign the petition and recall this guy. We've got a lot of California listeners.

It's probably one of our biggest state with the most stations. So, again, check that website out. Rick, thanks for joining us.

Have a happy Thanksgiving. Support our matching challenge at ACLJ.org. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20. A $50 gift becomes $100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org.