Skip Stam Recounts Pro-Life Successes & Challenges In North Carolina

We all look for the day when you can actually say that would treat abortion like medical three to connect with what it is is family policy not with Pres. John Rustin thanks for joining us this week for family policy matters are yesterday is former North Carolina State Representative Paul Stamm, an attorney who lives in Apex, North Carolina recently completed 16 years of service in the North Carolina state house, during which time he held a variety of leadership positions, including most recently Speaker pro tem port not only just get been a stalwart defender of life and liberty in the state legislature and in the court. Throughout his legal career, but he is also a personal friend and a great ally of the North Carolina family policy Council as part of our emphasis this month on the sanctity of human life. We are excited to welcome Skip to the program today to discuss the current status of pro-life laws and policies in our state. Skip Stamm welcome to family policy matters. As always it's great to have you back on the show B year January 23 marked the 44th anniversary of the US Supreme Court's decision in Roe V Wade essentially legalized abortion across our nation. How did Roe versus Wade affect North Carolina's abortion laws. At that time, North Carolina and Colorado were to state that it's sort of legalized abortion before Roe V Wade, but with some restrictions and Roby Wade for all it that the purposes eliminated all restrictions on abortion well throughout your years in the general assembly. You have been one of the strongest proponents of pro-life legislation that we've had the privilege of working with and were so grateful for you. I am your many years of service both inside and outside of the state legislature. During this time we have often gathered to discuss pro-life initiatives and you have always been very focused on evaluating these proposals based on a very practical measure and that is how many lives would be saved if a specific bill is enacted in the wall.

While this may seem like a fairly simple approach to our listeners.

It really has been an incredibly effective tool in making sure that pro-life legislation that is pursued in the North Carolina Gen. assembly will really make a difference once it is enacted. Why has this been so important to you to remain as focused as you have been on saving lives over the years, John, in addition to the time it takes to pass a bill which could be hundreds of hours there's a certain tolerance on any issue to pass a certain number built in any given session. So if you use up your quota on bills that don't have a practical effect you are causing unborn children to die unnecessarily that the right way but so amongst other criteria's criteria. I've always thought that Will this bill actually save lives of innocent unborn children to be a very important question that's helpful! Not this good. North Carolina has made huge strides in protecting the unborn and their mothers in both the legislative arena and also in the course over the last 20 years, which pro-life initiatives do you believe have made the most difference and which ones are you most proud of that you have had opportunity to participate in the parental consent law that was passed in 1995 was upheld the court has stopped say about 2000 abortions a year to the teenagers end up he did not get pregnant the first place because they don't look depressed old or they don't have the abortion rate proud of that because we work on that. We help support it in the in the federal courts. What was challenged the cut off of almost all funding for abortion has been a 43 year project and that is been almost complete. And then of course woman's right to know that passed in 2011 and that was strengthened in 2013 strengthened again in 2015 by going to a 72 hour waiting period which is three days has been the thing that is save the most innocent lives. So those those three would be the three most important. We all look for the day when you can actually say that we not to treat abortion like a medical procedure with Freda Lico connect with what it is the taking of a human life. We are so grateful to you and to your leadership over the years because you have been so instrumental in the enactment and the passage of those important pieces of legislation and many others. I think it's fair to the pro-life policies into a few different categories funding health and respect and I'll explain those a little bit but you just did touch on the first of those categories, which is funding what is the current status of public funding for abortions in North Carolina today. I and what kind of public funding is available for mothers who experience an unplanned pregnancy, but who decides to seek alternatives to abortion and carry that child to term. John funding issue is been a process in 1978.

We got a limit on how much state money would be spent for medically unnecessary abortions in 1981. We got the court stopping the counties from doing it in the mid-90s we got a drastic reduction in the state abortion fund for welfare that did not touch the state health plan or insurance policies through the exchanges.

So in the last four years we been able to cut out all almost all abortions in the state health plan which covers about 800,000 N. Carolinians now for help for women facial implant pregnancies.

There's a lot of resources that a been there for a while through the Department of Health and Human Services for Medicaid.

Just recently we are able to get about 300,000 a year to 28 different pregnancy care resources, resource centers and they get some state money for certain of the services they offer a course. Choose life license plate about the a portion of those plate costs go to help Bob pregnancy resource you are listening to a resource to listen to our radio show online resources have a place of persuasion in community website collecting Skip. I would argue that some of the greatest gains made in state-level pro-life policy have been in the areas of health as well. Both from an educational and a healthcare standpoint tell us briefly about the current state requirements for school curricula are related to sexual health education and also parental consent as it relates to abortion. I believe it was in 2013 that we are able to require in the curriculum for sex ed that the students be taught which is true that an induced abortion is a big indicator for future problems with preterm birth extremely low birth weight, so that in your subsequent pregnancy. Your good health of much higher risk of those very serious conditions which, for example, could lead to cerebral palsy and that's in the curriculum today in the public schools, parental consent, we made a big striding that recently for years the courts had held that a 15-year-old 60-year-old could forge her parents consent. And if they took that to the abortionist that that was sufficient parental consent but with our informed consent law that the group that became law in 2011 we had a provision that not only was the teenager required to give actual written bit but also the parent who is given the written consent health standards from abortion clinics and abortion doctors in North Carolina well I wish I could give you better news on that there have been some strides in that with the 2013. Legislation, but it didn't go very far but it did require annual inspection. There were some other requirements that we actually in 2015 required that it abortionist actually have some training in abortion.

Before that abortion could be carried out by podiatrist or a dermatologist and would not of violated the law so that was an improvement but as a matter fact, in my opinion the abortionist are not held to the same standard of care because I'll just give one example. There's lots and lots of studies in academic periodicals that a prior abortion greatly increases the risk of preterm birth extremely low birth, low birth weight, which is a fib for lease, all sorts of complications including cerebral palsy to the abortionist tell about that. No, no, that affect Planned Parenthood South Atlantic they have on their website today that the other no problems in future pregnancies. No problems will we did 20,011 legislation have lots of remedies for a woman who's harmed by that but we have not. Understandably, we have not had a lot of women come forward to say I was misinformed and would like lots of damages against the abortion clinic, but the laws there and they can do it if they feel they were misinformed by the abortionist. Finally, skip the third category that I want to talk about his respect and there are two general perspectives here one is respect for the unborn child. Even after an abortion is performed, the legislature has taken some action regarding that as well as respect for individuals, particularly healthcare providers who object to participating in abortion. Tell us about the success for Carolina lawmakers have had in both of these areas some good success in it as a proxy.

There were some conscience protections written into the 1973 law, but it was full of loopholes that was tightened up quite a bit in the 2011, 13 and 15 sessions so that today any healthcare provider can refuse to perform an abortion or assisted approval. An abortion without much blowback. We've also had a couple bills for got outside the for example, to choose life license plate.

In addition to writing a little bit of money for the pregnancy research brief resource centers also proclaims on your car that you respect life that is people see thousands of those around the state will start thinking that you might be a get in there so the gradual process but I think were making progress on on see that I actually I think the real progress there is by the fact that you can mail see on your television, a video, these run periodically of the unborn child from conception through birth and his people see that in real life, his children see it as teenagers see it.

Were seeing a much greater respect for this child who used to be invisible itself very visible in the good color in 3D and motion and I think that's what's good cause the greatest respect for this child. We've also seen the legislature take action on the remains of unborn children after abortion which is just awful situation, but course a series of videos in the last year brought to light what Planned Parenthood in a number of other abortion providers have done which is to sell the remains of the body parts of aborted children and the general assembly cooks maximum amount legislation to the not in 2015.

Prohibited actually made it a crime to sell the remains of an unborn child resulting from induced abortion know that in reply to a miscarriage but to an induced abortion. But still, there's their use around the country. The remains and you'll hear a lot about that from a special committee set up by the Congress that investigating these activities and not affect us last week there was were last month. There was a criminal referral by the special committee of the Congress to various law enforcement agencies will continue to watch that with great expectation as well, and encourage the Congress and continued the Congress will take some swift action to address those just really grisly of circumstances that those videos brought to light so well that gets damn unfortunately were just about out of town for this week, but is we close, I wanted to just thank you so much for being with us on family policy matters for your many years of service both in the North Toronto general assembly and outside of the general assembly. I'm sure your work in the realm of her life initiatives legislation and just valuing the sanctity of human life will continue for many years to come. But you have been a true champion of life and liberty. You've been a wonderful ally and partner of the Solana family policy Council and were so grateful for all of your many years of service and look forward to continuing to work with you in the future. Thank God without family policy Council not a lot would get done like you so much for sending to family policy matters production of NZ family to listen to our radio show online for more valuable resources and information about issues important to families in North Carolina website see family.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook