Skip to content 7/9/2026 Considering the Gravity of the Problems Around Us While Recognizing God’s Solution Remains Relevant Jul 9 · 54 min ...more
7/9/2026 Considering the Gravity of the Problems Around Us While Recognizing God’s Solution Remains Relevant
July 9, 2026 · 54 min
After looking at Florida medical groups promoting child gender mutilation, women harmed by abortion drugs, California’s ambition to silence pro-life medical professionals, Maine’s goal to force faith-based schools to compromise core beliefs, and Islamists seeking to radically change our culture, Tony Perkins shares a historical and biblical view of Government, and America’s rich Christian past.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio July 9, 2026 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
After looking at Florida medical groups promoting child gender mutilation, women harmed by abortion drugs, California’s ambition to silence pro-life medical professionals, Maine’s goal to force faith-based schools to compromise core beliefs, and Islamists seeking to radically change our culture, Tony Perkins shares a historical and biblical view of Government, and America’s rich Christian past. ...more Show the full description Show less After looking at Florida medical groups promoting child gender mutilation, women harmed by abortion drugs, California’s ambition to silence pro-life medical professionals, Maine’s goal to force faith-based schools to compromise core beliefs, and Islamists seeking to radically change our culture, Tony Perkins shares a historical and biblical view of Government, and America’s rich Christian past.
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In this video 0:00 Program Preview and Domestic Policy Updates11:54 US-Iran Conflict and Sharia Concerns17:31 Defending Abortion Pill Reversal27:54 Maine's Assault on Faith-Based Schools37:15 Unashamed Biblical Worldview in Policy
Program Preview and Domestic Policy Updates 0:00 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers,0:13 all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.0:18 We have many ways we could win, but we've already won military. They have very little, yeah, very little left, and they wanna make a deal so badly. They called a little while ago. They wanna make a deal so badly.0:31 I just don't know if they're worthy of making it. I don't know if they're gonna honor the deal. That's a problem.0:37 That was president Trump yesterday evening aboard Air Force 1 commenting on the situation with Iran. Welcome to this Thursday, July 9th edition of Washington0:48 Watch. I'm your host today, Jody Heiss, filling in for Tony Perkins. So glad to be with you for the next hour, and thank you for joining us. Coming up today, the US and Iran have1:00 exchanged air strikes for a 2nd consecutive day, and attacks from both sides appear to be intensifying. We'll discuss this here in just a few moments with Texas congressman1:12 and retired lieutenant colonel Keith Self. And in domestic news, we'll be talking about a couple of court cases, 1 coming out of California where the state's Democrat1:24 attorney general is seeking to punish and silence pro life pregnancy resource centers. The other case coming out of Maine where a court has upheld that state's law
1:36 requiring faith based schools to adopt left wing gender ideology if they want to participate in school choice programs. Plus, and this
1:48 is a good time to ask this question, how should we be responding to those who claim that a Christian biblical worldview has no place in public policy? Well, hang on.
2:00 Tony will be explaining that a little later in the program. So we've got a lot coming your way on today's edition of Washington Watch. Stay with us.
2:15 There is a lot of news and attention right now coming out of Iran, and we'll be getting to that here in just a few moments. But I wanna begin with some more domestic news. Graham
2:27 Plattner, who, of course, was a Democrat running for US Senate out of the state of Maine, he has withdrawn from the race. And joining us now to discuss this further is Washington stand reporter
2:39 Casey Harper. Casey, what's the latest?
2:43 Yeah. Thanks, Jody. So as you said, Maine Democratic senate nominee, Graham Plattner, suspended his campaign, which comes after allegations from a woman who Plattner previously dated who said that he forced
2:54 her to be intimate with him nearly 5 years ago. And as prominent Democrats withdrew their endorsements, their support even came out against him, and by the way, the money for him really started to dry up. Now in a video
3:06 he posted on social media, he announced this withdrawal. In fact, here's a clip.
3:10 We believe that for the movement to to continue, it can't be made. And for
3:22 that reason, we are suspending campaign operations.
3:37 This is incredibly difficult because I know that some will think it's an admission of guilt, and it most certainly has not.
3:45 Now that suspension by the progressive former US marine and oystermen is pretty complicated things for Democrats' efforts to win control of this Tennessee come November. Now according to reports, Plattner is set to
3:57 make that formal withdrawal by the deadline according to state election laws on Monday.
4:04 Certainly big news politically coming out of Maine. But we've got some other big news, Casey. A US appeals court has issued a ruling that permits Florida's attorney general to move
4:16 forward, with a lawsuit against medical groups there that allegedly have been promoting gender mutilation for minors. That's big news as well. What's happening there?
4:26 Yeah. It's big news indeed. Florida's AG is accusing the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as, 2 other groups of violating state racketeering and deceptive trade practice laws by really
4:38 allegedly misrepresenting, the safety and reversibility of these so called gender affirming procedures. Now the American Academy of Pediatrics, they're pushing back saying that the state's legal action is just a
4:49 retaliation, is trying to silence their their advocacy. It's political and really trying to clamp down on their, 1st amendment rights. But in an unusual kind of procedural twist, the full appeals court has
5:01 stepped in to hear the case directly bypassing the standard initial review by a smaller panel of judges. So this is definitely 1 to watch, Jody.
5:10 So we got gender mutilation, issues happening, and we also have a group of women who have been hurt by, mail order abortion drugs. They are calling on the acting US attorney general
5:22 Todd Blanch to settle a major federal lawsuit so that abortion drugs are no longer accessible through the mail. Another big, big issue that we're facing. What can you tell us about
5:34 that?
5:35 Yeah. This is a big 1. It's not going anywhere. This letter from 14 women highlights the dangers of mail order abortion drugs. They argue that the lack of an in person medical, oversight requirement, it leads to
5:46 instances where men, boyfriends, husbands can get these pills on their own and use them for ill. Now a woman who survived, abortion drug coercion, just like I'm speaking of, is suing the FDA for, to eliminate the
5:58 for eliminating the in person requirements that would have prevented her situation altogether. Now this letter, it's coming, on Blanche's desk right as he is facing his senate confirmation hearings where this abortion
6:10 pill issue is very likely to come up, Jody.
6:13 Yeah. No doubt it will. 1 other issue before I let you go, Casey, an another high profile legal challenge aimed at overturning New Hampshire's women's sports, law. Of
6:25 course, that that would protect female athletes. It's been officially dropped by male athletes that have been challenging that law. What what's happening there?
6:35 Yeah. This, really transgender advocacy lawsuit has, been dismissed. It means that both the state's athletic policies and the related federal executive orders, are going to continue to be enforced without any any
6:47 interruption. Now the shift comes directly after that major US Supreme Court decision really, bolstered female athletes standing legally. So this is a a big a big decision here, Jody.
6:59 Alright, Casey. As always, thank you so much for these updates. A lot happening and, of course, not only domestically, but with Iran. And I wanna turn our attention there now after president Trump told reporters
7:10 yesterday that he believes the US cease fire with Tehran is over. The 2 sides, as you know by now, have traded renewed air strikes with the US Central Command reporting yesterday
7:23 that US forces struck more than 90 targets in Iran. So where is all this headed and how is this potentially going to unfold? Well, we want to bring in an
7:34 expert who can help fill in some, those information gaps for us. And I'm talking about congressman Keith Self. He's a member of the foreign affairs committee. He represents the 3rd
7:46 congressional district of Texas, and he also served our country so faithfully for over 25 years in the US army. He retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Congressman Self, always great to
7:58 see you, my friend. Welcome back to Washington Watch.
8:01 Great to be here with you, Jody. Thank you.
8:05 Alright. So what's your take on what's happened over the last couple of days between the US and Iran?
8:11 It's not surprising at all. Fully expected this. Iran wants to draw this out as long as they can. They know we've got the midterm elections coming up. They know that
8:23 president Trump is in a conundrum. Does he go full bore attack on Iran's infrastructure, Or does he back off, because of the midterms? So we don't know how this will wind
8:35 up, but this is not surprising at all. Iran is doing what they can to draw this out so they can rebuild, they can rearm, and frankly, nothing happens to that 60 percent
8:47 refined uranium that they've got. So this to Iran Iran is what they wanna do. They're willing to trade barrages overnight. They're willing to do that, to draw
8:59 this out, to extend the timeline, and yet try to make sure that people understand, the world understands that they still have drones, they still have, missiles that they can fire at, ships in the in
9:11 the strait. They can still disrupt the world oil supply.
9:17 So that's a question that that a number of people have been asking me with all of this because what you said is very much reality. It's true that they're gonna just draw this thing out. So why do we
9:29 not just go ahead and finish the job as president Trump has suggested on a number of times? What would that look like, I guess, for 1 thing? And secondly, why don't we just go ahead and do it?
9:41 Well, 1st of all, he has, said that we're gonna start taking down the civilian infrastructure, because the Iranian economy is already hurting. You start taking down, the railroad bridges, the railroads, the
9:53 airfields, all of the civilian infrastructure that keeps the economy going. The the Iran, will be in a world of hurt. But remember, you really don't defeat a nation
10:05 until you destroy, the national infrastructure like we did to Japan and Germany in World War 2. So we've done a yeoman work against their military facilities and their military
10:16 capabilities. But by and large, we have not struck civilian infrastructure. That is a step above that's the next, level war against Iran. If president Trump decides to do that, I
10:28 think he can do it fairly quickly, and it doesn't really answer the straight of our moves, but it would hopefully bring Iran to the table because, remember, their 1 number 1
10:40 priority is regime survival. Draw this out so that the regime can survive.
10:48 Let me throw this in in light of this conversation, kind of a related topic, on at least on the issue of radical Islamic ideology. And that's something that you've been working with to
10:59 counter right here in the United States through Sharia Free, I guess, that well, you you started a caucus, but just overall momentum trying to
11:11 build with that. So and by the way, that caucus is growing. So what do you say to critics right here in the United States who would say that Sharia law is not an issue here in America?
11:23 Well, 1st of all, I am at ground 0 for the Islamization of America. Yes. You heard that right. Secondly, we have 1400 years of history that shows when Sharia, when Muslims, when
11:35 Islam comes into a culture, it eventually dominates because that's what it means to do. 1400 years of history. Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, we see the countries that were Christian and now are not. Let me give you
11:47 1 more. Qatar will not allow their young people to come to certain universities in the United States because they may be radicalized into radical Islam.
US-Iran Conflict and Sharia Concerns
12:00 Think about that. Qatar, Muslim nation, will not allow their youth to come to the United States to the universities because they might be radicalized.
12:11 Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Let me, before unfortunately, our time's running out. Before I wanted to get your take on something happening in Texas. This week, your governor, governor Abbott ordered an
12:23 investigation into a Texas hospital that was advertising birth packages, to people in Mexico. I this all, of course, is coming in light of last week's US Supreme Court
12:35 decision on birthright citizenship. Some are calling this birth tourism. How serious of an issue is this?
12:42 A very serious. We know there are well over 1000000 Chinese, young men and women that now have US citizenship that came here simply to be birthed because they would have US citizenship. This is a
12:54 very serious problem. And you know what? Unintended consequence of the disastrous supreme court decision is now people are aware of it. Now we can do whatever we need to to stop issuing visas
13:06 to pregnant women, to, go after those hospitals that advertise, and they they now admit they did it. So we now need to take legislative action at the state and the federal level to
13:18 stop this birthright tourism as you call it.
13:23 Wow. As always, my friend, congressman Keith Self, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your insight so much. Alright, friends. We've got a lot more to cover. I I do wanna just say real quickly. If
13:35 you will text the word Iran to 6 7 7 4 2, we'll send you some guidelines to help pray for that situation and all who are involved. Iran to 6 7 7 4
13:46 2. Alright. Coming up after the break, some are calling it the pro life trial of the century, and we wanna discuss it next. So stay with us. We'll be back in just a moment.
14:01 America, what formed the fabric of our freedom? What stitch together the hearts of those that fasten the stars and stripes? 250 years ago, our founding fathers penned the invisible
14:12 words woven within every heart that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
14:25 Unite with others who will pledge to defend these eternal truths today at Family Research Council's Pray Boat Stand Summit, September 24th to the 26th at Cornerstone Chapel in Northern Virginia.
14:38 In 17 76, our country declared independence in reliance upon divine providence. In 20 26, in the same spirit, we'll declare dependence upon God by gathering for
14:50 a time of prayer, inspiration, and action. Use promo code America at checkout for a 25 dollar discount. Register now at pray boat stand dot o r g.
15:05 The family is the oldest, most tested, and most reliable unit of society. It is divinely created and sustained, and yet there are those who are always tampering with its values and structure.
15:17 That's why we need organizations like the Family Research Council that can effectively defend and strengthen the family.
15:24 Family Research Council began over 40 years ago, like all great movements of God, with prayer. Today, rooted in the heart of the nation's capital, FRC continues to
15:36 champion faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
15:43 FRC is 1 of those bright lights that helps us focus on true north. And I shudder to think had they not been here that it could have been worse, worse, worse.
15:53 The Family Research Council has literally millions of people that follow what they do, and that small army makes a difference. Every time I meet with Tony, he prays for me. That matters. This is a grassroots
16:05 organization. Tony and his team in Washington do a great job, but the power of the FRC is the people.
16:11 It's just a wonderful para church organization that doesn't seek to take the place of the church, but it seeks to assist the family and the church as we try to move forward
16:23 successfully, not in a defensive mode, but in an offensive mode as we seek to live our lives according to the holy scriptures.
16:32 FRC, is not gonna be whooped. You know, we're we're gonna fight. We're gonna take a stand. And, again, we don't retreat.
16:41 To thousands of Americans who love this country and happen to believe the Bible as a definitive way to live, we will not be silent. We will not shrink back. We will not apologize for biblical truth. We will
16:52 continue to stand for it.
17:02 Thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch. Welcome back. I'm Jody Heiss. An honor to be filling in for Tony today, and glad to have you tuning in. Alright. Some are calling this the
17:14 pro life trial of the century. We're talking about a trial that is currently underway in California that pits the golden state against pro life pregnancy resource
17:26 centers. It's a stunning case. California's Democrat attorney general Rob Bonta is literally seeking to punish and silence Heartbeat
Defending Abortion Pill Reversal
17:38 International and Real Option Medical Clinics is accusing them of false advertising. But as our next guest will explain to us, this is a case about
17:49 information, about information that the left does not want to flow freely. So joining me now to discuss this is Peter Breen. He's executive vice president
18:01 and head of litigation at Thomas More Society, which is defending these pro life ministries. Peter, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you with us.
18:11 Hey. Great to be with you. Thank you.
18:14 Alright. Before we lay out the case, which I want you to do here in just a moment, it may be worthwhile 1st to share with our viewers and listeners about abortion pill reversal, which really is at the heart of this
18:26 thing. So lay that out for us.
18:29 Sure. And and the current chemical abortion regimen, it's 2 pills. And so you take the 1st pill and then 24 to 48 hours, you take the 2nd pill. And as you would expect and
18:41 as we know from post abortion ministries, many women will regret having started that process. And so what we can do as, as, the pro life movement is to come in with extra progesterone,
18:53 which is something that's been used in pregnancies for decades, and it can help to reverse the effect of the abortion pill. That 1st pill and the 2 pill chemical abortion regimen, this is something that is safe. It is
19:05 effective, but the abortion movement hates it because it makes it it it shows abortion regret and shows that the abortion clinics are not telling people that, hey. You might be able
19:17 to reverse that abortion, even in progress.
19:21 Wow. Great explanation. Now let's go to the case itself. Can you lay that out for us?
19:27 And and sure. The the attorney general is saying that by offering to connect women to providers so they they Heartbeat International is the lead plaintiff or the lead defendant
19:39 here. You know, network of thousands of pregnancy centers across the country. They will connect women in need with medical providers to get them the progesterone. So for that act, that act of charity, that act
19:51 of information, the attorney general is saying, we want a gag order and 20000000 dollars in fines against them, for that. So it would be ruinous. It would bankrupt heartbeat and,
20:03 and really cripple the American Pregnancy Center movement.
20:08 And they're calling this false advertising. How so? What what are they saying here?
20:16 And so this this is the problem. The, the attorney general is treating Heartbeat International like it's Coca Cola or Ford or or any other commercial business. But when you're dealing with the issue of abortion
20:28 and something that is so, controversial in American life now now the idea that a woman who, decides she wants her baby, so she started an abortion, wants a baby, in theory, no 1 should disagree with helping
20:40 her. If you're pro choice, put quotes around that, you should be all in for helping her to have the baby that she wants. But, at this point, you know, the other side is saying, well, no. No. No. You're lying
20:52 to them about the safety of abortion pill reversal and the efficacy. And so what we've been doing, we have been putting medical experts, statistics experts, all sorts of folks on the stand
21:04 here in Oakland, California to make the case that abortion pill reversal is not just an available treatment, but it is effective. It works, and it has saved
21:15 thousands thousands of babies' lives.
21:19 So how is the trial going given the the strategy that you're using and the expert the process of it?
21:31 You know, it is going really well. So it's a bench trial because they were looking for an injunction. And under California law, you're not entitled to a jury for this. So we are we are in front of 1 judge, and we are
21:41 presenting our evidence. You know, the the prosecution got to go 1st. And, you know, what's what's funny, in a in a commercial fraud case, usually, if you're the prosecution or any sort of prosecution, you put on the
21:52 victim. You put the victim on the stand. Well, who did they put on the stand? A late term abortionist who was explaining how abortion works, so they have no victims. And in fact,
22:04 so far, we've been able to bring out really good evidence from the state's experts. And so that has been a great blessing. And we had an APR mom. So a mom who actually called in,
22:16 who got the, the progesterone, reversed that abortion, and has a beautiful, healthy baby, and and who was willing. I mean, not just to to do that and go through it, but to actually come in under her own
22:28 name in the California court, stand up there, raise her right hand, and talk about the fact. She wasn't deceived. She was served and helped.
22:38 Wow. Well, listen. Thank you for what what you're doing, with all of this. Life is such a critical issue that has implications
22:49 that are spiritual, political, moral, across the board. But this case also seems to me to threaten constitutional principles. Is that accurate?
23:02 Absolutely. So the 1st amendment is, to to some extent on trial here. If this attorney general in California can succeed, then attorneys general across the country can come after the pro life movement. In
23:13 fact, Leticia Jane in New York has filed a copycat case, and so we are defending that right now. Now that's that case has been bottled up a bit, but everyone in the country is watching this case here in Oakland,
23:25 California to see, are we going to be able to succeed against this vicious vicious, prosecutor? You know? Remember, our our last 3 attorneys general of California had Kamala Harris, Javier
23:37 Becerra, and now Rob Bonta, who brags about having procured an abortion, you know, with his then girlfriend. I mean, so it's it's a really tough situation, and we're we're in a we're in a difficult spot. But in order to
23:49 be able to speak freely for our pregnancy centers to be able to reach out to women, I mean, we've gotta have those free speech rights. We've gotta be able to talk about abortion and what it does to women and does to
24:00 families. And so we are very much hopeful that we're gonna vindicate that right here. But but what's great is we're also beating them on the science. You know, they say, oh, we're pro science. Well, guess what? The
24:09 science is on our side.
24:12 Wow. Well, listen. I cannot tell you thank you enough, certainly for coming on the program, but for the work that, you are doing with this and Thomas More Society.
24:24 Great job. And thank you for coming on and, laying this out for us here on Washington Watch. Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation at the
24:35 Thomas More Society. Alright. Coming up, we're gonna discuss another very important court case, this time regarding a state law. Catch this. A state law that is
24:47 forcing faith based schools to adopt leftist gender ideology ideology in order to participate in school choice programs. Unbelievable. That's next.
24:59 Stay with us.
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25:29 Have you noticed the upsurge in gambling ads? How could you not? The ads are big, bold, shiny. They virtually glitter with gold. Well, fool's gold Because as they say, the house always
25:41 wins. But some lessons are easily forgotten, and nowhere is this more evident than the rise of the sports betting industry. Since 19 92, 39 states and Washington DC have legalized sports
25:53 betting. And as a result, more than 600000000000 has been wagered on sports since 20 18. Now Christians should be instinctively concerned about the latest growth in gambling. For 1, gambling profits are
26:05 often losses for those least able to afford them, causing unnecessary friction within families. Secondly, it's inherently exploitative. The gambling industry necessarily harms 1 person to benefit
26:17 another. Gambling offers me the chance to gain at your expense. For me to win, you must lose. But even if I win, I lose the dignity and satisfaction of earning what I have. By greenlighting gambling,
26:29 cities and states across our nation take the short term gain of a little extra revenue for the long term loss of strong communities. States think they're winning when in the long run, really, they are losing. Remember,
26:40 the house always wins. Follow Family Research Council's news outlet, The Washington Stand, for more stories that speak out against policies undercutting strong families and strong communities. Because the
26:52 only house that truly wins is a house built on a solid rock, God himself.
27:02 Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony. Thank you for joining us. Alright. Attorneys representing 2 faith based schools in Maine plan to appeal
27:14 a 1st circuit, court decision that upheld a state law requiring them to adopt leftist gender ideology in order to participate in a school choice program. Now
27:26 the law had been designed to prevent faith based schools from participating in Maine's, school choice program. This came after the US Supreme Court had ruled against that
27:38 state's religious discrimination. That was a case, Carson v Macon, that took place in 20 22. So does Maine need to be taught yet another lesson?
27:50 Well, joining us now to discuss this is Jeremy Dice. He's a senior counsel and chair of the education and religious institutions practice group at 1st Liberty Institute, and 1st Liberty isShow more
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