I was recently at Wichita State University (WSU) for outreach when two young men approached my colleague Tammy Cook and me at our poll table. Tammy asked them, “Do either of you have any thoughts on abortion?” One student shared that he is pro-life. The other (who I’ll call “Dillon”) said something that left both Tammy and me quite surprised. He said,
Our August outreach took place at WSU. I’m pictured wearing a hat on the left, and Tammy is sitting behind me. Hannah Cook is in the blue shirt in the foreground.
“I used to be pro-choice, but I had a three-hour conversation about abortion with someone last school year. She pulverized all of my arguments. When I realized I couldn’t respond to anything she said even in my head, I knew I had to change my mind.”
Pictured above is Bella (in the grey sweatshirt on the right) and me (sitting on the left) talking to students at WSU during our February outreach.
The “someone” he was referring to was my former colleague, Bella O’Neill. Their conversation took place in February earlier this year. What began as a simple one-on-one survey with questions related to human rights turned into a comprehensive discourse with five other pro-choice advocates challenging her pro-life position. What’s fascinating is that Dillon showed no sign of shifting his view throughout the duration of their discussion. If he had never come back, we wouldn’t have known that he had re-evaluated his stance.
“You changed your mind after that one conversation?” Tammy asked.
Another conversation I had with a student at our previous WSU outreach in February
“Yeah, she had a really good response to everything I said. If this was a debate, she definitely won.”
Dillon kept reiterating how well Bella had made her case.
“Did you know that... more babies are killed by abortion than there were victims of the Holocaust?” Dillon asked.
The rawness of his question caught me off guard. Not only was he suggesting that abortion is an injustice; he was implying that it’s a genocide.
After his newfound pro-life conviction had proven itself authentic, I decided to challenge him with a higher level pro-choice argument made from bodily autonomy. Within a matter of seconds, he started breaking it down to explain why it wouldn’t justify abortion.
Dillon’s story is an important reminder that the impact of a single conversation is oftentimes hidden. It can be discouraging when we don’t get to witness the fruits of our labor, but God occasionally rewards us with follow-up conversations like this one to affirm that, with His grace, our efforts are not in vain. With each conversation, we must persistently pray that He will continue the conversation in their minds after we “leave them with a pebble in their shoe” (as apologist Greg Koukl says).
Dillon’s story also demonstrates the critical need for all pro-life people to prayerfully work up the courage to talk about abortion. So many of our peers are eagerly searching for truth. They desire an honest conversation that challenges the assumptions behind their current beliefs. Unfortunately, many of them have never had the chance to discuss their beliefs in a healthy way. Their opportunity to get closer to truth may begin with you.
If you would like to learn the conversational skills that Bella used with Dillon, please consider signing up for Love3, JFA’s online interactive workshop series. We will teach you how to respond to common pro-choice arguments all in the context of being a loving ambassador for Christ. You can register for free at www.jfaweb.org/love3.
Bella’s courage to talk about abortion gave Dillon an opportunity to encounter truth. And because of Dillon’s desire to follow truth, he concluded that abortion is not merely a choice—it’s the destruction of a person with rights. Please join me in prayerful thanksgiving for Bella saying “Yes!” to God’s invitation to talk to Dillon, as well as Dillon’s “Yes!” to humbly allowing the conversation to change his mind.
Note: This letter was originally sent to supporters in September 2022.