Hi, Just when you thought you were safe, We're back with another segment of the nonprofits, and right now we want to talk about a disturbing trend that used to be popular in America but is surprisingly coming back. And who's going to take us there none other than Infidel's sixty three point five himself.
In the wake of Roe v. Wade reversal, there is a troubling trend, as you mentioned, Kelly, that's emerged with Catholic, primarily Catholic and Evangelical groups aggressively expanding maternity homes across the US. These institutions, under the guise of providing shelter and support, often service instruments of religious and doctrination, pressuring vulnerable pregnant women. Critics argue these groups active invasive pest imposing their strict doctrines and limiting women's choices during a
very critical time in their lives. But as state level abortion restrictions intensify, these maternity homes are becoming more than just shelters that become battlegrounds where ideological warfare takes precedence over genuine care, further entrenching the divisive culture and political conflicts surrounding the topic reproductive rights.
Now.
This story is from AP News by Tiffany Stanley on August second, twenty twenty four.
Well, that's kind of depressing, I think in some ways. I did anyone who was reading anyone who was reading this story, did y'all notice that every one of these maternity homes was a religious organization? I thought that kind of bothered me a little bit. But John, the one thing that stuck out to you was, Wilson thinks maternity homes are one answer to the to the criticism they and can you discuss that some more?
Yeah, this whole, this whole thing, they're expanding these things. It really reminds me of the homes for wayward girls and a bunch of victim shamings, you know that. But this whole thing is a is a propaganda ploy by the right to right to death I call them, but right to life of movement in order to say, yeah, they keep complaining that we don't care about the baby after it's out of the womb, and we don't, but
we don't care about the mother and her health. These are places where they can go and will take care of them, you know, sometimes for years afterwards, and make sure, they get up on their feet. Yeah, but this is what maybe right now a few thousand, maybe there's one hundred and five of these places, and probably so you might even get to one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand people are being taken. There are a lot more than
that who can't get any services like this. And I would be surprised, absolutely surprised if the amount of marginalized groups of mothers are even really that well represented in these things. This is just a propaganda ploy. See, we're taking care of them. No, you're taking care of about one hundredth of a percent of them. You know, that's not taken care of them. So that was the thing I had that I really wanted to make the point that, you know, statistics can be very tricky, but this isn't
even statistics. This is just math. This is just it's not even math, it's arithmetic. You know, any any third grader should be able to do this, you know. So that's what I had for it kill them.
I agree, Eli. I know you looked into some of the past histories of these maternity new homes. Can you kind of give us an idea of how these things, you know, like, how what they were like back then is compared to maybe how they are today.
Yeah, so even the article kind of makes the comparison that, you know, the early days of these menterinary homes, these were like young women that were sent away because they, you know, they told the parents they got pregnant, and the parents didn't want anybody in the family or the church or the neighborhood to find out, so they sent
away secretly. They would wear like fake wedding rings. Sometimes after they would give birth, they would leave the baby there and they would go back home and pretend nothing happened. And one of the women interviewed for the article who had experienced one of those homes, had made the statement, our babies were stolen from us, and that was an
experience that a lot of those women had. But to on that note, Valerie Harkins, who is mentioned in the article, she's the director of the Maternity Housing Coalition, which is a nonprofit anti abortion network. She says that she wants to make sure that the you know, that that ugly history doesn't come back. And I honestly think that perhaps we're being a little bit too harsh because we always say,
and John, you kind of pointed it out. We always say that people who claim to be who call themselves pro life are really just anti choice and they don't actually care about the life, because if they did, they would be doing this. It may be the yeah, exactly, and it may be the case that perhaps, you know, their assistance has religious connotations, but we also have to recognize that that's what they think is in somebody's best interest. They are like, they think they're trying to do the
right thing. It may not actually be, but it seems like they have good intentions. And I think the fact that they are limited in how many people they are able to help, because if they're doing things correctly, if it's religious, it's a nonprofit organization. So if they're limited in their resources, I don't think that should be held against them by virtue by way of like how many people they have helped, just because they're doing the thing that we always say, if you actually were pro life,
that's what you'd be doing. And I think I give them credit for it.
I hate to use this expression because it has religious overtones, but something my mother used to say all the time, the road to hell is paid with good intentions. You know.
I was just thinking the same thing, Kelly.
Yeah, yeah, And I'm thinking that those people who were stealing babies back in the nineteen twenties and the thirties were thinking the same thing we're doing the LIFs there, you know, yeah, up into the fifties, right, yeah. And I'm not that I'm saying you're wrong, Ela, I'm just looking at the big picture of it all. And I really think that Valerie Harkins is I think she really yet does have a good intentions for what she's doing.
But I have to question what some of these other organizations are doing that are in the same field, Like I know, the article mentions one that is literally right next door to an adoption agency, and I'm afraid that we're still seeing these women having their baby stolen from them still today, So infinite, would you like to expand on that at all?
You know, absolutely I'm with you on this, And let me just interject real quick that I agree. I think that most of these people who are down here in the trenches doing this, their intentions are good. However dangerous I think they are because they're teaching an education of shame and guilt to avoid this happening in the future. I don't think this is a healthy way to deal with things. But I do think their intentions are the
best intentions that they know of in the situation. And agreed, they can't help everybody, So the fact that they're helping who they can in the way that they think they are is finding good except the fact that, as you mentioned, this does put back into that point of shame and
humiliation and isolation of these young girls. And what it's going to do is it's going to create situations where people who want to say, I just want my life back, And in those situations, I think that it's going to be far too easy for them to say, you know what, we can help you make sure that this baby makes
it into a good Christian home. And I think that that's just far too easy of a segue for them to take these women who are in vulnerable situations obviously or they wouldn't be there in the first place, and then say, you know, we've got a solution for you. Do I think that that's going to be what's an
evil intent necessarily for these people. No, but I personally know a couple that has a several children and they may or may not be better off than what they've been otherwise, but that they're in a good Christian home.
Now that's part of the cell. And when you get these people under control, I'm afraid we're going to see women taking advantage of and we're going to see more and more children who feed this, especially if we see what we're seeing potentially with IVF restrictions, that's just going to increase the demand more for children, and that this could be the next this could be the next opening. You know, twenty twenty four was opening up schools on
the on the dime. Let's open up a maternity homes on the federal dime and yes, and so we can start getting babies out there. And that's a very concerning situation.
You know, whenever I hear the phrase good Christian home, I've made it no secret that I was physically abused as a child, and I used to go to a group therapy session and one of the guys that I met there he was orphaned at a very young age and bounced around from foster home to foster home and told me about some of the horrors that he had
experienced in these foster homes. And when he was about eight years old, he got adopted by a good Christian family, and they were worse than any of the foster homes that he ever was in, and he was stuck there until he was eighteen years old. So I just hate to hear that expression is and I know you weren't using it in the way, but like, oh, it's better, it's a good Christian home. Everything's going to be great.
You know.
So, yeah, his own adopted parents made him live underneath the kitchen table.
Too much harm is done, you know, It's just it goes that far. If these mothers give up their kids, those kids are not going to be in a better situation. I just don't think that that's possible, because they're going to be indoctrinated and that causes more harm. And anybody who's we know who's been through that situation, we know how much harm that causes. And though they don't want to be aware of the fact that they're teaching them things that well, they'll have to go to therapy for many,
many years to get rid of once they're adults. I just don't think that anybody in that situation should be put through that. The indoctrination is too intense. The religious side of things is just hogswallop. So it's like, no, don't send your kids, don't let your kids be adopted by a good Christian family, because a good Christian family is not good parenting. And that's I won't go any further than that.
I'm sorry I lost it a little bit. I started thinking about what I just was talking about. I do one of the things that I noticed in this article is one of the things they talked about is how the reasons for these homes have changed over the years. Before they were there for moral reasons and now they're they're more more. They are there more so for financial reasons to help women who can't afford to have a baby.
I don't know which is better. I honestly don't you know economics that the reason that what is a better reason to have to have these homes, you know, economic reasons or moral reasons. I think it's both sad that we had that that's the reason these homes have to exist. But I can see the necessity and Eli, you were talking about them caring for the child more. But I wonder, and i'd like to hear from you what you think about this, And I don't have an answer. I'm not
sure you do. But do you think these places are still sticking with these mothers, like three years down the road, five years down like when this mom has to put her child in school and needs the money to buy school supplies, are they going to be there for or then?
Do you think, Well, it's difficult to say, but I mean, yeah, I don't have an answer directly to that. I would think probably not. But I don't think we can expect any one organization to be there every step of the way for every single person that they help, You know what I mean. I think at a certain point there are other programs, other organizations that can step into help when it is time to enroll that kid in school, when that kid does get into third grade and needs
like subsidized lunches or things like that. I think that the I want to go back to something that John said, because I've said plenty of times that you know, anything we can get from religion, we can get from a non religious organization that does just as well or better without any of the harm. And while I do agree that, I don't let me start that over. I well, I don't agree with indoctrinating children into any ideology at all.
Let alone a religious one. I think there are worse fates than you know living in it with Christian parents. I mean, you know, I think that to say that, you know, going to these religious maternity homes because they are religious is inherently automatically going to make that child worse off. I think it's probably not quite a fair thing to say, because I think, again, I don't think we should lose that these people are at least trying to do the thing that they think is the better
alternative to abortion. And even if you know their religious aspect of their help, isn't that good? This can now inspire perhaps some secular organizations to do the same thing. You don't have to be you know, anti choice to help new mothers or pregnant people. So I think that's a pretty important distinction to make.
Several several What it is is this baby steps right. You can't get rid of the religious part of it if that's what's motivating them to do the work when the work still needs to be done. And I agree with that, but I think there has to be a program or other programs that the follow on is that
they started the ball rolling. Now let's see if we can get secular community together to do that as well, or you know, in some way have a plan for these people that they know there's options other than you know, going to church on Sundays and you know, or in the case of some people, you know, going to Mass three or four times a week. You know, it's like, yeah, you don't need to be on your knees for anybody, you know.
Well, you know, one thing I wanted to say is is that when we started by getting the ball rolling, let's not forget that. However well intentioned these people are. These are the same people that but oh thank you Jesus when Roe versus Way got overturned, they created this problem. They're part of the people that created the problem that
we need these homes for right now. And they're also the ones that consistently vote against things like women with infants into wick and snap and other food insecurity and all types of things like rental assistance. These are the people that want to say, pull them up, pull it up by the back bootstraps, and they want to go with all this, and they're the ones who're taken away these people's right in the first place to do what they want need to do with their own body.
You know, this is a real problem for me, and you brought this up, and it's not with you, it's with the instance that you're talking about. Because if I see polls of Americans about issues, do you agree with this you know, yes or no? Do you agree with this yes or no? Do you agree with this yes or no? It turns out like eighty percent of Americans are liberal when they're think when you just keep politics out of it and ask them about the issues, they are on the side of liberals for most issues. But
they keep voting. So when you say these are the same people, a lot of them aren't. A lot of them aren't the same people. They've been hoodwinked by the people that are voting for this crap. And I think that's one of the problems, is this hoodwinking.
Right, I would say that the people that are putting their money where their mouth is and actually trying to help these women would very much so be opposed to abortion, would very much so be those people who rejoice when Roe versus Wade Rod return. I agree to that, that's why they're involved.
And I agree, O yeah, but I bet you're those thing people would still support Wick and snap for these women, you.
Know, and and on that you're probably right, but they're right now, they're giving cover and so yes, I may be lumping them all together in one unit here, but you know, they they got they came to the dance with this group. They're the ones who are and they're feeding this. And yeah, so the other ones may be doing something, they may be trying to do something about it, but they need to turn around and take a hard look at the people that they're having as allies. It's
kind of like one time. I remember an election where I went to my in law's houses and I knew who they're voting for, and I was like, staying with the Klan, vote for whatever, and because that was who they were going to support, was a person who are a clan member supported, and I just wanted to make them uncomfortable with that awareness. And I think that sometimes these people need to be reminded of who their bedfellows are.
You know, you look like you wanted to say something over there. No, I think that we just move on.
I think Thatdel made a good point that I was missing, although I am, you know, I'll say impressed by their effort to at least do what they think is best to help. These are the same people that are voting to create the circumstances where people don't have a choice, and having the choice is what is important. We can have homes for people who don't want to have abortions but don't have any other choice other than a maternity home.
We can have those, and it doesn't have to require religious messages and't have to acquire like I think John might have said, going to church on Sunday, you can you know, you cannot want an abortion for non religious reasons and still have no other option. So I think having options like this available, like we said, getting the ball rolling and taking these baby steps, the journey of a thousand miles, of course, starts with a single step,
and I think this is one of them. And I'm honestly surprised that it was a religious organization that did something like that. You know that at least we're talking about Maybe they didn't do it first, but I heard about it first, rather than a secular one.
Yeah, I think that's a place where the secular, where secular nonprofits need maybe to pick up the ball that we need. We have an opening here that needs to be filled by secular organizations to step into this place and help with this right here hopefull I mean, let's hope, let's hopefully and when you know, when you mentioned like programs up the road that they might be able to get into, I started thinking about those prog wicks, snap,
all those our liberal programs. You've got these conservative religious people and they're going to and five years up the road. We don't care about your kid because there's all these liberals it all help they carry you in. It seems really, uh, I don't know, silly to.
Me that was true. You know, we still have the terror of the foster care system and the fact that a lot of the foster kids end up in being you know, warehoused someplace. You know.
So yeah, we have a foster care warehouse up here by me and like a little it's like a little wilderness camp, you know. But they've got like four trailer homes. I don't know how many kids they got living there, and got to have at least a dozen. You know, it just seems it does.
It seems like it's a horrible upbringing. You know, it's terrible for these kids. I wasn't one of them, but you know, Uh, I'm a very privileged individual as far as my upbringing. But so what happened to you? I don't know. You know, I woke up one morning and said, screw this, I'm just going to go jump off a bridge, you know. And so I did, and I fell into water and the Navy saved me.
Welcome my money, he said, I'm going to be an atheist.
Yeah to you know. One thing we have to remember is that ultimately there are going to be children adopted out of these homes. That's an inevitability. And the question that I kept asking myself is how open would they, most of these organizations be to an LGBTQ couple trying to adopt a family. I think I know that answer, And that's another one of the things that makes me think, you know, what are you doing and what is in the best interest?
Yeah, they have taken account what's in the best interest of the child, not in the best interest of well, G I have to spread my faith, or G I have to unspread my faith, or G he needs to be a doctor, or they need to program their lives for them. No, let the kid be who he's going to be. Give him some good ideas about what he might want to do and ask him questions. That'd be fine.
I was wondering, if you know how churches don't have to open up their books to the irs. I was wondering if, because these were a religiously run organization, if they were exempt from that too. And it's neither here or near here, neither here nor there. For this story, I can't talk again. But I just thought it was
an interesting concept. And I think I'm going to look into that and see what that's all about, because I'm not sure that they should be getting tax breaks or at least be given the shelter that churches get with their nonprofit status. And I hear a lot of atheists all the time saying we need to text the churches. I don't want to text the churches. If we tax them, we have to tax all nonprofits. That's taking money out of their budget that goes to help people. So let's
let them keep that money. But let's make churches open up their books so everybody can look at them and see where the money is going, because they don't have to do that, and every other nonprofit does, and that's wrong. So I think it's that these houses are helping people. I go ahead, and you you're going to say something.
I had a thought that you know, when you said infidel that you know kids are going to be adopted out of these homes. Right. There's no law that says you can't pretend you're a Christian. If you're a secular humanist, you can just go, yeah, I'm a Christian. Yeah, go adapt some of these kids, give them someone actually safe to live. There's no law. True, I don't know if that's true.
Does the ends justify the means? Sure it can, as long as nobody's getting hurt.
Right, I don't have like a dogma that says I can't like I have to say I'm an atheist.
Like so it's the paragraph three of the fourth page of the oath you signed. Okay, page.
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