By Macyn Field

During the opening ceremonies of the 2019 Pennsylvania Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference, 17-year-old President Logan Dubil walked on to the stage, accompanied by a smattering of applause.

Dubil, who now attends Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pa., grew up in Landsdale, and went to North Penn High School, a school that he describes as “majority liberal.” However, this had no influence on Dubil’s political views as his social media is now riddled with support of President Trump.

Dubil comes from a religious background and considers himself extremely pro-life. He sat down with me over Zoom to discuss how reproductive rights could be influenced by this upcoming election.

How many years did you hold a state officer position for FBLA, and have you always been interested in politics?

I was a vice president at large and then state president for one year, so two years total. I wasn’t always interested in politics; I kind of just went with the flow throughout the 2016 election and didn’t really watch any of the debates or keep up with the news. When Trump won, at first, I was confused because all I had heard were bad things about him so that’s kind of what got me interested in looking into current events and doing my research. Obviously, he was voted in for a reason. People saw something in him so that’s kind of what got me interested, and then when I did more research, I found out that my views kind of aligned with his.

What are you majoring in at Point Park? Do you have a job there?

I’m majoring in marketing and sales, with a minor in political science. I wanted to major in political science, but my parents were more comfortable with me going in through the business side of things. I am a server at a local restaurant, but I just got a job with Campus Reform. It’s a news site that’s focused on exposing liberal bias on college campuses. I get paid for every article I write and so I just reach out to students who go to colleges where they feel like they’ve experienced liberal bias, whether that be through professors or the administration. Then I write articles and interviews about it and it gets posted on the Campus Reform website. 

What are your thoughts on the Affordable Care Act and its ties to Planned Parenthood?

As someone who is pro- life, I do not support Planned Parenthood’s abortion aspect. I support the other services they offer, but I don’t think that taxpayers’ money should be going towards paying for abortions.

President Trump has admitted that he used to be pro-choice before he became pro-life; what are your thoughts on abortion and has your stance always been the same?

My stance hasn’t always been the same because I wasn’t really informed about politics and certain viewpoints on policies before and I just went with the consensus in my hometown. As I did my own research though, I realized I was more pro-life then pro-choice. Actually, as the years have gone on, I would consider myself becoming stricter and stricter pro-life as I continue doing my research and watching the news.  

You said you used to go with the consensus in your hometown. What would you say your hometown’s political views are?

It’s not one sided; there’s definitely a variety but I would say that it’s mostly liberal, like maybe a 60/ 40 split. It’s pretty even, but there’s definitely a liberal majority.

What is your family’s view on abortion, and do you think they influenced your political beliefs?  

I do not know my mom’s stance on it, but my dad puts up his Planned Parenthood stuff every time I’m over. He and I disagree a lot and he makes sure that I know how pro-choice he is. They have not had any influence on my views on abortion.

Did they have any influence on your political views growing up?  

Not at all. Both of them are very liberal; my dad is a big Biden guy and my mom told me she voted for Obama both times.

How do you think this election will influence reproductive rights in America?

The Democratic party’s concern right now is that if Trump nominates this new judge to the Supreme court then that will bring about a big change in reproductive rights in America. As someone who is pro- life,  yes, I see the other side where people may be concerned, but overall I am hopeful that even if abortion does not become fully illegal, there will be more restrictions that go along with it. I do recognize that it is the woman’s body, but I can’t think of it as just a clump of cells. I see it as life. I would love for it to be illegal, but if that’s not possible, then I hope that more restrictions would be something that would come out of a re-election of the Trump administration.

What are your thoughts on Amy Coney Barrett and how do you think her appointment to the Supreme Court will affect Reproductive Rights?

She is a religious woman so everyone is assuming she will vote to overturn Roe. W Wade. If that’s the case, then there would be major changes to reproductive rights in our nation. I come from a Catholic background — I’m not trying to generalize that community — but as a religious person I do not support abortion.

So, you mentioned that you support Trumps plans to defund Planned Parenthood. Some people disagree with these plans because of the preventive screening that they provide for the greater public, including mammograms, papsmears, birth control and STD testing. What would you say to somebody who argued to keep funding Planned Parenthood on these grounds?

I am all for the other services that Planned Parenthood offers. I would be for just the defunding or elimination of the abortion services. If that’s not possible through Planned Parenthood, then I think we could take the money we save from defunding Planned Parenthood and put it toward other places that offer those services. Just so people know that there are other places to go and other options for where to receive those similar services.

Now, abortion has been called a “women’s issue” and some people have stated that it is a woman’s body, so she should get to choose what happens to it. How would you, as a man, respond to someone arguing that men in power should not be able to decide what happens to a woman’s body?

The argument I use with this is usually just looking at other issues.  You look at people in office and they make gun regulation laws, but they don’t own guns. There are a whole bunch of other policies that don’t affect the people in office, but they still get to vote on them. I feel like they were voted in for a reason. They are the ones responsible for making laws and they were voted in and it’s their job and duty to focus on the needs of the people. Instead of blaming the people in office for writing these laws, you need to go out and vote or do interviews or write to them or run for office yourself. There are a lot of other options than just pointing a finger. From a guy’s perspective, there are states where a woman can go and get an abortion without her significant other being notified, so I guess that’s where if affects me. So yes, I am not the one who has to carry the child for nine months, but it does affect me in a certain way.