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--:-- John Bickley: Thousands of people in cities around the world gathered to protest COVID lockdowns, vaccine passports, and vaccine mandates.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Let doctors be doctors. Don't shackle our hands. We will not comply with your silliness.
--:-- John Bickley: The protests included medical professionals who say medical freedom and the right to refuse treatment is a fundamental human right. We take a look at the reasons for defiance taking place at home and abroad.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, January 24th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: As crime spikes in major cities, some shocking violent attacks have left communities reeling and have prompted backlash to soft on crime policies in many metropolitan areas. And this year's March for Life in Washington, D.C. had a distinctly optimistic atmosphere. Tens of thousands of people march to the Supreme Court on Saturday, hopeful that 2022 is the year that the High Court will strike down Roe v. Wade.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: Over the weekend, thousands of people gathered in cities across Europe to protest against vaccine passports and other lockdown measures. The demonstrations took place as a similar protest brought thousands to Washington, D.C.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, tell us about these demonstrations. What did we see?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, we saw coordinated protests happening in cities across Europe, especially in countries where we've seen some of the harsher lockdown measures and now vaccine passports and mandates.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: In France, for example, we saw some of the largest demonstrations with tens of thousands of people turning out against the country's new additional vaccine laws, which went into effect this morning. The new measure will ban the unvaccinated from flying within the country and also exclude them from restaurants, bars, and public transportation.
--:-- John Bickley: In England, we also saw mass protests throughout the country where 80,000 healthcare workers will soon be fired if they don't get the vaccine because of the new law there.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We heard from doctors and nurses who said this form of government coercion in their mind was a human rights violation. This is not a whether you're jabbed or not. It's a fundamental human right to allow someone to accept or decline a medical procedure without threat of reprisal.
--:-- John Bickley: And if they do accept that medical procedure, it should be with fully informed consent.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Many doctors and nurses there responded by walking off the job and placing their scrubs in the street outside of the hospitals where they worked.
--:-- John Bickley: We also saw tens of thousands gather in Brussels, Helsinki, Athens, and elsewhere throughout Europe.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, pointing out earlier COVID protests we'd covered on the show were more focused on ending lockdowns and opening up schools, these protests were different. This was much more about opposing vaccine passports and mandates themselves.
--:-- John Bickley: So what was the main message from the protesters?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, the message varied from country to country because the laws they were protesting did vary a good bit. But there were some common themes we saw.
--:-- Georgia Howe: First was that someone's medical decisions should be kept private and should not determine their ability to participate in society.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On that note, many people did carry signs saying vaccine passports would create a segregated society or a new caste system.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, we've definitely heard that message from others protesting vaccine mandates.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. But one new message we're starting to hear more focuses on natural immunity. Remember, in the early days of the pandemic, there was some evidence that those who'd recovered from the virus were largely safe from catching it again.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But now there's a lot more data to support that point.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And these protesters were definitely making that known. One nurse in London, for example, said, quote, people were once clapping for us, but depreciation anymore. I'm young. I've got antibodies from working on the front line. So I don't want the vaccine.
--:-- John Bickley: Others have pointed out a new study from the CDC, which showed that during the peak of the Delta variant a few months ago, people who'd recovered from COVID and had natural immunity were six times less likely to catch the virus than those who simply received the vaccine.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right, we saw that study.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, so the new message for a lot of these protesters is that the vaccine should no longer be viewed as the only way to prevent against the spread of COVID.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And that people with natural immunity should be viewed as safe or even safer to be around than those with just the vaccine.
--:-- John Bickley: All right, so that's in Europe. We also saw similar protests taking place in D.C.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, tens of thousands marched to the Lincoln Memorial for an event they called, quote, defeat the mandates.
--:-- John Bickley: The most notable speaker was Dr. Robert Malone, a scientist who helped develop mRNA technology, which is a vital part of most COVID vaccines.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He was recently banned from Twitter for, quote, COVID misinformation after he expressed hesitancy about blanket vaccine mandates that don't take into account varying risk profiles and individual circumstances.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, organizers for the protest this weekend say that they're just getting started and they're going to continue until mandates are lifted.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, it sounds like we're going to be hearing more about this in the future.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Cabot, thanks for your time.
--:-- John Bickley: Absolutely.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- John Bickley: Coming up, the continuing crime wave in major cities claims more victims.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's never been more important to rethink how we shop and choose brands that are aligned with our values.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Try their powerful plant-based formulas for yourself. Today, you can receive 15% off your Essentials 4-pack at naturallyitsclean.com slash morningwire when you use the promo code MW15.
--:-- John Bickley: That's naturallyitsclean.com slash morningwire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Amid a nationwide crime wave, multiple attacks made headlines across the U.S. last week, including an Asian-American woman who was pushed in front of a subway train in New York and a female student who was stabbed to death in Los Angeles.
--:-- John Bickley: While it's easy to let these deaths become statistics, it's worth examining why the uptick in violent crime is happening at all.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Dear investigative reporter Mairead Elordi is here to tell us more.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: So, over the past month, there have been quite a few stories about random attacks in big cities.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, obviously, the uptick in crime overall has been well documented, but what kind of effect is this having on communities?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Yeah, fatal attacks like what we've seen in L.A. and New York have left communities pretty shaken.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In Los Angeles, a 24-year-old woman named Brianna Kupfer was randomly stabbed to death while working at a high-end furniture store in the city's Fairfax district.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: She was alone in the store during the attack and was found by a customer about 20 minutes later. Unfortunately, she was already dead by the time she was found.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Her killer was a homeless man with mental issues who had previously been arrested.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: This horrific incident prompted the Los Angeles sheriff to harshly criticize the district attorney's lax attitude towards crime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that LA has a, quote, open-air mental asylum and is allowing killers to walk freely amongst us.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: The sheriff also said that homicides in Los Angeles County spiked by nearly 50% last year, and other violent crime also ticked up.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And Kupfer, that's the young woman in the furniture store, she wasn't the only random attack in L.A. recently.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: That's right. Within a few days of Kupfer's death, a 70-year-old nurse was brutally attacked at a bus stop and died from her injuries.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Her killer was also a homeless man suffering from mental issues and was found asleep nearby shortly after the attack.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: In another attack, a man assaulted a woman with a bike lock, leaving her bloodied.
--:-- Georgia Howe: When police responded to that attack, a stray bullet from a Los Angeles police officer ended up killing a 14-year-old girl.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: An off-duty L.A. police officer was also shot dead earlier this month, allegedly by gang members, while he was house hunting with his girlfriend.
--:-- Georgia Howe: After the cop killing, the sheriff said that he has, quote, no confidence in how the local district attorney, George Gascon, will handle the city's crime problem.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: So it sounds like this is a mix of gang crime and homeless crime, which is probably more to do with mental health.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. According to a sheriff at Villanueva, there's a cycle of home individuals committing petty crimes, getting released by police and then committing more violent crimes later.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: And what about New York City? Are they seeing a similar pattern?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yes. In New York, a 40-year-old Asian-American tourist named Michelle Goh was killed when she was pushed in front of a subway train earlier this month.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Her home community in San Francisco, which has also experienced a crime spike, is still reeling from the shock and a vigil was held for her in the Bay Area.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One woman who attended the vigil told local media that she didn't know Go personally, but said, quote, I just feel like she could be any one of us.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: And that's really a sentiment a lot of the community members are feeling.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. And it's one thing to hear about crime statistics, but it's really another to hear about the stories.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: It really is.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Maraid, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- John Bickley: That's Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The annual March for Life celebrated its 49th anniversary this weekend. The march was held in Washington, D.C. on the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
--:-- John Bickley: With at least one highly consequential Supreme Court case in the balance, this year's march may be the last during which Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to talk about the event is The Daily Signal's Mary Margaret Olehan.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: Yeah, sure. Thank you, John. So as you mentioned, this is a particularly big year for the March for Life. As we know, the Supreme Court is hearing a major abortion case that may overturn Roe v. Wade.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, and it was brought before the court on December 1st.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: So in light of that, the march had a distinctly optimistic theme. I spoke with a lot of people at the March for Life, including March for Life president Jeannie Mancini, who told us that pro-lifers are working towards a culture where abortion is unthinkable.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If Roe is overturned, and please God, let's pray and fast that that happens, it will be a new moment in building a culture of life, but the work will not be accomplished.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: So we're working for a culture where abortion is unthinkable. And the reality is that Roe will simply return the question of abortion legislation to the states.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So finally, states like Mississippi and Texas can enact laws that protect life prior to viability.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: I also spoke with many young people who had traveled to D from all over the country. They described themselves as the pro-life generation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Kangmin Lee, who's 24, told us that he traveled from Georgia to D.C. for his very first March for Life.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: I'm here to advocate for the babies, man. Right now, like seriously, too many of our babies have been killed, brutally murdered.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And it's our job as grown adults to protect life.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: Now, last year's march was held virtually due to the pandemic, but this time people were able to come out in person.
--:-- Georgia Howe: How many people do we think attended this year's event?
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: Well, we aren't 100% certain, but we've seen multiple reports that there were tens of thousands of people in D.C. this year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Most years, a large portion of the marchers travel from town, but that was a little more difficult this year due to fears about traveling as well as D.C.'s new vaccine mandate.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: Likewise, some large institutions like the University of Notre Dame, which typically sends hundreds of student marchers each year, pulled out this year due to fears about Omicron.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It was also bitterly cold all day with temperatures in the low 20s.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: That said, energy was high and it was really upbeat. There was a lot of singing and cheering and praying as the group marched towards the Supreme Court.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's definitely a very diverse crowd with a variety of religions represented, as well as all ages and races.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: What about protests? Did you encounter any protesters against the march?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Not many. I'd say we saw surprisingly few people protesting, in fact.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: But the night before, the group Catholics for Choice projected multiple different massive pro-abortion statements onto the largest shrine in North America, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast DC.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The group projected the words pro-choice Catholics, you are not alone, as well as several other really pro-abortion statements.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: And this was a very controversial move as the official position of the Catholic Church is pro-life, and the Church has described abortion as, quote, a crime against human life.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Not surprisingly, D.C.'s Archbishop Wilton Gregory strongly condemned this move in a Friday statement.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: And while I was at the March for Life, I also spoke with Arlington Bishop Michael Burbage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's what he had to say.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: It was chilling to hear that that kind of behavior would be conducted. But in my homily at mass this morning, I spoke about that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I said, you know, we have the truth and we can march peacefully and joyfully. But there are evil forces who will try to disregard, to discredit us.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: And they will not do so in ways that are proper.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The most high-profile counter-protesters were probably President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: The administration released a statement Saturday commemorating the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and they warn that the decision is under attack like never before.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So clearly there's lots of supporters and some powerful detractors.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olehan: That was Mary Margaret Olihan reporting from D.C. for The Daily Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Use code morningwire to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
