There’s “a monumental presidential election approaching,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on Monday’s episode of “Washington Watch,” and pro-lifers in 10 states have the opportunity to stand up and protect life, or see countless pro-life protections erased. One of the 10 states with abortion-related ballot initiatives is Missouri with its Amendment 3. According to Perkins, this initiative, “if passed, would enshrine a deregulated industry of abortion and gender transition into Missouri’s state constitution.”

Chris Williams, pastor of Kansas City’s Abundant Life Church, insisted that “we need all hands on deck to defeat this ideology trying to get a stronghold here in the state of Missouri.” There are a lot of dangers Amendment 3 poses, Williams explained, emphasizing how important it is for churchgoers, in particular, to understand what it’s all about. “It seems like momentum is in our favor,” he said before reminding people there’s still work to do.

According to Williams, a recent poll conducted within the state found that, not long ago, “about 58% of the state of Missouri were going to vote yes” on Amendment 3. However, “That number is now down to 53%,” which means “the needle is moving.” But as he went on to highlight, it’s a tight margin considering “this constitutional amendment … only need[s] 50% plus one” to pass. “So,” he added, “we need a little bit more movement coming from those on the ‘yes’ side to the ‘no’ side, but … I like where we’re going.”

“The clock is ticking,” Williams reiterated, and “the question is … do we have enough time?” The election is only three weeks away, and as Perkins pointed out, proponents of Amendment 3 have done “a lot of advertising.” They have been “putting in millions of dollars in states across the nation to try to get abortion written into the state constitution.” This is why “we just got to keep working,” Williams interjected. “We got to keep praying.”

As Perkins explained, the continued effort is also necessary because Amendment 3 is about “more than abortion.” In fact, Missouri happens to have “one of the most far-reaching amendments on the ballot,” which “includes gender transition” and “an attack on parental rights,” he warned. It’s “very deceptive,” Perkins went on, but this isn’t surprising because “if you’ll kill babies, you’ll lie too.” Williams agreed, noting that funding of “about $20 million has poured in from outside groups,” with “75% … coming in to push this wicked, murderous ideology.”

“This deception,” he continued, “is coming from folks like the George Soroses, the Michael Bloombergs, [and] the Planned Parenthoods, which is really no surprise.” But the reality is, Williams stated, as many as “52 [pro-life] laws” will be “off of the books” if it’s passed. “It will create the greatest deregulated industry in our state” that will “be harmful for women, for children, for minors,” he argued. It also opens the door for “traffickers [to bring] young girls across state lines to have abortions,” he added.

Additionally, “We’re going to see young boys or girls who are confused about their gender who perhaps could be taken down the street from the school and be given gender transitioning drugs” with no say from the parents, Williams stressed. “This bill is just completely rotten to the core.”

But as “rotten” as it is, Williams reminded people that “this is what the enemy does, is it not?” The enemy “has one purpose,” he contended, and it’s “to steal, kill, and destroy,” which is “exactly what this amendment is going to allow the enemy to do in our state.” To put it bluntly, he added, “We have a fight on our hands.”

“[A]s a follower of Christ,” Williams continued, “I believe every person has been created on purpose, for great purpose, in His image from conception to grave.” Amendment 3 contradicts this truth, Williams concluded, “and so, the church must speak boldly. The church must be unequivocal on biblical issues. … The church must be engaged here.”