Kristine Hunerwadel
"Cast Down Your Cares"
"Cast Down Your Cares"
Steve Wagner
They Stop and Think (Then We Pray)
They Stop and Think (Then We Pray)
Kaitlyn Donihue
Connecting the Dots
Connecting the Dots
Justice For All
Team Be Nimble

In this Impact Report, we feature highlights from Justice For All (JFA) events that took place from March to September. Each highlighted event illustrates the way smaller training teams can help us make a bigger impact. We’ve found that empowering our trainers to do events on their own helps our team to be nimble and ready to meet the great need all over the country for good dialogue training—training that includes outreach whenever possible.

Team Be Nimble
Tammy Cook
Passing the Baton

Tammy Cook reflects on 28 years with JFA.

Passing the Baton

Comments from Recent Events

“I was very curious of what abortion was. I never realized abortion was this horrible. Seeing the baby in the mother’s womb made me realize we all have rights and we are all created equal.” – Grace

“I need to stand against abortion. I also need to ask others what they think about abortion.” – Christopher

“I didn’t understand much about abortion, but now I know for sure that abortion is wrong.” – Joy

“I learned that abortion isn’t something we can fight with harmful words, but we fight it by asking questions and helping people understand.” – Conner

“[I learned] how I can have a conversation about abortion and maybe save a life, even at my age.” – Carley

JFA Responds to the Shootings in Colorado Springs

Justice For All (JFA) condemns the use of violence to stop abortion, and we're deeply grieved by the recent shootings at the Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs.  Our love for unborn children, their mothers, those who disagree with us about legal abortion, and every other human being involved in the abortion debate leads us to seek to change public opinion about legal abortion through non-violent dialogue.  We train those opposing abortion to ask questions with an open heart, listen to understand, and find common ground when possible, even as they are making a reasonable case for human value, encouraging people to consider truth, and gently challenging false ideas.

I thank God for...

...minds and hearts changed. See especially recent newsletters from Rebecca Haschke and other team members posted at our Dialogue Examples page.

...forty-eight individuals and couples who have made a new commitment to support JFA’s Training Program Fund or one of JFA trainers on a regular basis so far this year. 

...my JFA staff colleagues who each display exquisite skill in loving both the unborn child and the pro-choice advocate, but who join me anyway each day to prayerfully depend on God to be the “stronghold of the oppressed” and the “helper of the orphan” (see Ps. 9-Ps.10, esp. 9:9, 10:14).

The Student Becomes the Trainer

Impact Report: November 2015

Keawe shares the JFA Brochure during outreach events at the University of North Texas in 2014 (above) and the University of Oklahoma in 2015 (below).

I looked into a crowd of 200 faces on October 1, as I prepared to deliver a chapel presentation to grades 7-12 at Christian Heritage Academy (CHA) in Oklahoma.  In the eight years since I was a high school student sitting in a similar high school auditorium, I've talked with many friends and acquaintances facing unplanned pregnancies or struggling with past abortion decisions.  I hoped that this morning I could inspire these teens to get equipped for similar interactions, knowing that they might make the difference for the little ones whose lives will be in the balance in their friends' wombs all too soon. 

Not only did Keawe give this pro-life OU student ways to respond to pro-choice concerns, he even went a step further and began to step into the pro-choice role so that the pro-life student could get a chance to practice the conversation.  Interactive practice is vital to JFA’s educational philosophy, and Keawe had caught the vision. 

He caught that vision so well, in fact, that the next day he was even able to help a few of his classmates to begin putting their thoughts into words when they were stumped in a conversation.  Instead of jumping in and taking the conversation over for them, he helped them stay in the conversation and “learn by doing.”

Two of my high school colleagues decided…to try the survey approach.

One of the two was a bit shyer and had less experience, so I accompanied them just to help out in case they ran into any confusing conversations.  At first I just sat on a nearby bench to watch…  Once they had reached the end of the survey [with one woman], the two administering it hit a bit of a snag as they seemed unsure how to continue the conversation. 

“JFA training staff made 65 presentations to 4,313 people in 2015.”

Seeing the unscheduled dramatic pause, I gingerly got up off the bench and walked over to join the conversation…  Since I had been listening to the answers the woman had given during the survey, I readdressed one of the situations in which she had said she would be okay with abortion; however I didn’t correct her…  [Instead, I presented] her ideas in ways that my peers were able to recognize [those ideas] as common pro-choice arguments [so that my peers could offer a] rebuttal.  By the end of the conversation, we were able to clear up any confusion the woman had had, and she agreed with us on all points.

CHA students and JFA staff members pause after a day of  outreach at the University of Oklahoma in March 2015. Keawe is in the first row, second from right.

“251 volunteers participated in a JFA “Feet Work” outreach event for the first time in 2015.”

When Keawe shared these stories, I was astonished by his ability to converse with pro-choice advocates, but I was even more astonished by how he had caught the vision for training others.  This should not have surprised me, though, since JFA had given me the very same gift when I was Keawe’s age.  JFA training was what originally equipped me for dialogue, gave me opportunities to practice good conversations, and inspired me to take on the responsibility of training others.  It’s simply what JFA does.

“JFA conducted 36 days of outreach on 15 college campuses in 2015.”

This year, JFA trainers started this process with 4,313 people at 65 presentations and workshops, by convicting the hearts of young and old alike about the inhumanity of abortion and the need to create a different kind of conversation about abortion.  We took that a step further with 728 participants at 32 seminars, equipping them for dialogue through hours of teaching and interactive practice.  Finally, 251 people took the critical step of creating dialogue with pro-choice advocates at a JFA campus outreach event for the first time, and this prepared them to create conversations in their own spheres of influence.  It’s a joy to see that for Keawe the process came full circle as he began equipping others to make abortion unthinkable. 

- Joanna Wagner, for the JFA Team

Comment

Keawe’s inclination to take what he had learned from JFA and help other pro-life advocates tells us something about his personality and his upbringing, but it also tells us about the encouragement and training he received through the Salt and Light program at his high school, Christian Heritage Academy (CHA).  The Salt and Light team endeavors to “train American Christian leaders for every sphere of society,” and we’ve been privileged to partner with CHA and its Salt and Light program since 2007.  Salt and Light Director Aaron Ferguson has said, “JFA is the best thing we do as a school.”  We’re gratified to hear that, because we think partnering with the CHA community to train world-changers like Keawe is one of the best things we do!

- Steve Wagner, Executive Director

Unburied Treasure (Part 1)

In a 11/6/2015 email to supporters and readers of JFA, we referred to three items of "unburied" treasure on the new JFA website.  Below, we give hints and links (in parentheses) to help you find each item.

What about those Planned Parenthood videos?

They have made quite a ruckus.  Released over the past three months by the Center for Medical Progress, ten undercover videos have exposed executives from Planned Parenthood and its partner organizations discussing details of transferring tissue from aborted children for use in research.  In all of the media discussion generated by these videos, four sentences by Kirsten Powers (“Crush Planned Parenthood,” USA Today, 7/22/2015) were perhaps the most important. 

After noting that Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards apologized “for the uncompassionate tone her senior director of medical research” used when talking over lunch about different ways to “crush above” and “crush below” the parts of the fetus to “get it all intact,” Ms. Powers put things into perspective:  

“But the problem here is not one of tone.  It’s the crushing.  It’s the organ harvesting of fetuses that abortion-rights activists want us to believe have no more moral value than a fingernail.  It’s the lie that these are not human beings worthy of protection.” 

Ms. Powers nailed it.  The problem with Planned Parenthood becomes clearest when we focus on the unborn child and the abortion that takes her body apart. 

This is a good test to apply as you watch the discussion about the videos continue to unfold in the media, in House subcommittee hearings, in your church, and among your friends on Facebook.  There’s limited value in discussing funding, lawbreaking, the transfer of tissue for research, the character of individual workers, and anything else about Planned Parenthood, if we don’t, in almost the same breath, clarify that the problem with Planned Parenthood is that the unborn child is a child, abortion takes her body apart, and any organization that takes an unborn child’s body apart should stop doing that.  Otherwise, the case against Planned Parenthood makes very little sense to pro-choice advocates who are listening to us.

This brings me to another important aspect of the Kirsten Powers article.  She got the focus on the child exactly correct, but she also published her comments in USA Today, a paper with a broad-spectrum readership of 1.6 million, the third-largest circulation for a US newspaper according to Wikipedia.  In other words, Ms. Powers modeled for us what we should be doing with the Planned Parenthood story and any other story like it: talk to pro-choice people and try to persuade them.  Talking amongst ourselves has some value, to be sure.  Pro-life advocates need to be more active in opposing abortion, and the videos seem to have energized many pro-life advocates.  This is a good thing.  If we aren’t at some point finding pro-choice advocates and the forums in which they develop their beliefs, though, we will never make abortion unthinkable for a strong majority in the United States.  And surely, that is essential for bringing the dehumanization and destruction of unborn human children to an end for good.

The Planned Parenthood videos, then, call to mind two important pro-life priorities: (1) keep the conversation focused on the baby and on the abortion that takes her body apart, and (2) engage pro-choice advocates in conversation about those realities.  To the extent that the Planned Parenthood videos help us to accomplish either or both of these, they are an asset.

In "Ministry Notes for October 2015", I detail some ways that JFA is working to find pro-choice people, to engage them in a conversation about the unborn child (and the abortion that kills her), and to equip pro-life advocates to do the same.

Ministry Notes for October 2015

At JFA, everything we do is aimed at creating life-changing dialogue with pro-choice advocates and equipping pro-life advocates to change hearts and minds.  Here are a few things we’ve been up to lately:

JFA HAS A NEW WEBSITE

Check out JFA’s new website.  It’s packed with features that help pro-life advocates participate with JFA, learn from JFA online, and share JFA with friends, including:

JFA CONDUCTED 11 DAYS OF OUTREACH ON 9 CAMPUSES IN 4 STATES IN THE PAST 2 MONTHS

See pictures from JFA’s recent work on some of these nine campuses via the new JFA Blog (more pictures and updates coming soon): 

  • Fresno City College and Fresno State University (CA) [with Right to Life of Central CA]
  • Colorado State University (CO)
  • University of Kansas and Wichita State University (KS)
  • Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, University of Georgia, and University of North Georgia (GA)

JFA IS BUILDING A NEW EXHIBIT

Pray for us as we work to print and construct at least one new large-scale campus outreach exhibit in November, for use in 2016.  If you’d like to talk to me about the specifics of the project or if you have an interest in contributing financially to make it a reality, please contact me using this form.

A Response to the Strongest Violinist

Here's a paper I originally posted back in April 2013:

"De Facto Guardian and Abortion: A Response to the Strongest Violinist"  

Ernest Hébert, "Le Petit Violoneux Endormi" (1883), Musée Hébert

Ernest Hébert, "Le Petit Violoneux Endormi" (1883), Musée Hébert

It begins in a "Cabin in a Blizzard," where Mary finds herself stranded with a newborn that's not her own, and ends with a short reference to one Carl and an annoying "wilderness explorer" named Russell (from the movie, Up).  In between these thought experiments, we attempt to describe and give a suggested account for our intuitions about our obligations to children.  We believe that account sheds light on and casts doubt on the viability (pun intended) of the strongest version of Judith Jarvis Thomson's Violinist Argument from her 1971 "A Defense of Abortion."  We invite you to wrestle with that argument and with our response to it.  Share comments below.

Notes: 

  • This paper was originally posted on April 13, 2013 at the Life Report website (no longer active).

  • I wrote the paper, but many others deserve credit for helping crystallize the ideas in the paper and for supplying some of the raw material for the central thought experiment. See the preface and the footnotes for my attempt to give credit where credit is due.

  • The main url for discussion of the paper, www.jfaweb.org/DFG, is now being directed to this post.

  • July 28, 2021 Update: We’ve recently updated our bodily rights resources at www.jfaweb.org/body. There you can find the De Facto Guardian paper along with many other resources and other approaches to bodily rights articles, including:

Note: This post was updated on Dec. 14, 2015 with the link to the Tony George article. It was updated on Sept. 25, 2019 with the link to the ERI Video featuring Timothy Brahm with his 12-minute response to the strongest violinist. It was updated again on July 28, 2021, changing the way the links were presented and adding a button to a newly-reorganized Bodily Rights Resources page at www.jfaweb.org/body.

From One to a Crowd

Conversations: September 2015

Phase 1

Navigating a one-on-one conversation about a controversial subject can be difficult.  Now add nine more people with varying opinions.  Is it possible for the conversation to remain productive, or at least civil?  At our University of Arizona outreach in February 2015, I watched a one-on-one conversation transform into a conversation with a crowd that lasted three hours.

“Michael” (Phase 1) approached me in order to share his view that he didn’t believe life began at conception.  Overhearing the conversation, two other students wandered over to listen in (Phase 2).  Then two more students arrived and began peppering me with their opinions and thoughts, including multiple questions related to their disagreements regarding what they had heard me discuss with Michael.

At this point there was no way to answer every student’s questions at the same time (not to mention that every response I shared prompted more questions).   In order to respect Michael, and not forget him in the midst of this developing crowd, I asked a favor of all five students.  I said something like,

Phase 2

“You are all bringing up important topics and questions to cover.  I want to answer all of them, but I want to respect each of you by doing it in an orderly fashion so that we don’t miss anything.  Here are the concerns I have heard:

  • What about poverty?  What about women who don’t have the means to care for a child?

  • What about women who already have too many children?

  • What about a woman who has been violated (rape)?

  • Women’s liberty:  Doesn’t the pro-life view violate our liberties?

  • The unborn aren’t human so shouldn’t abortion only be illegal after we become human?

  • Men shouldn’t have an opinion in this matter.  It’s a woman’s body. So it’s her choice.

“I need your help though.  Please help me remember each of these questions if I forget one.  If you have another question, let me know so that we can add it to the list.  I am going to start by answering one of Michael’s questions first, the one about women who don’t seem to have the financial means to care for a child.”

Phase 3

In the next three hours I witnessed something beautiful unfold.  Because each of the students knew that I thought addressing each question was important, they patiently waited their turn. As more and more students wandered over to listen in (with most of them eventually joining in) each one witnessed a particular type of conversation taking place:  It was a conversation in which disagreement was readily present but anger was absent.  People were asking questions to seek clarification.  People were actively listening to understand each other.  People where not interrupting each other.

This respectful conversation set a precedent, and this precedent caused a second beautiful response from the students.  Newcomers recognized the calm demeanor of those who disagreed with me and quickly followed suit.  So much so, that they would even raise their hands (see Phase 3 above) and wait for me to call on them before sharing thoughts or asking questions.

At one point in the conversation I was able to ask the students present how they felt after the past hour of conversation.  One of the students had changed his mind about when we are biologically human.  Another student felt that abortion should still be legal but not in as many cases as she had originally thought.  A third student commented that, although she was still pro-choice, she had never heard these pro-life arguments and they made sense.  Later that day a fourth student returned to tell me that although he is pro-life he had never witnessed a conversation about abortion like that one.  He was amazed by the response of the students.

One pro-choice student who joined the group conversation had spent two hours in conversation with me the day prior.  During the group discussion he responded to several of the pro-choice arguments using the same pro-life responses I had shared with him the day before.  Although he stated he was still pro-choice, it was clear that he now also saw the validity in some of the arguments I had proposed to him.

Thank you for helping JFA turn the debate about abortion into a productive dialogue by respecting the dignity of the unborn while also respecting the dignity of each person in the conversation.

Lightbulb in Los Angeles

Impact Report: August 2015

I almost didn’t talk to her.  It was the morning of the second day of our outreach event at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  “Jenny” was standing across the walkway, and I was uncertain if she had seen our “Should Abortion Remain Legal?” poll table question.  She appeared to be lost in thought, and I didn’t want to be a bother to her.  I immediately began an internal argument with myself about all of the reasons why I shouldn’t talk with her.

CK’s story took place near this series of poll tables on UCLA’s Bruin Walk.

The longer Jenny stood there, the more I felt like I should ignore my fear of interrupting her day.  I approached her and asked if she had an opinion on our question.  At first she seemed hesitant to talk to me, but as the conversation continued, I learned that Jenny did have an opinion.  She believed that if a child was going to be born into poverty that abortion would be justified.  I listened to her concern and acknowledged that growing up in poverty would be extremely challenging.  In response to her concern, I used a conversational tool that we teach at Justice For All (JFA) called “Trot Out the Toddler” (TOTT)* to help refocus the conversation on the central question, “What is the unborn?”  After discussing the humanity of the unborn, Jenny agreed that abortion was wrong in most cases, but she still had one very serious concern.

Jenny asked me about the issue of a woman having to care for a child conceived in rape.  I took great care to share just how evil I think rape is and how we need to take better care of the woman in that situation.  After spending a significant amount of time talking with Jenny, I shared another belief that I hold strongly.  I said, “You know, often when women are in the midst of an unwanted pregnancy, pro-life people come alongside them and say, ‘Don’t get an abortion!’  What if, instead, we said, ‘Let me help you’?  I think we need to do a better job of coming alongside the woman and the unborn child inside of her.”

Marcos Espinoza (center), a staff member with Right to Life of Central California, interacts with UCLA students in front of the JFA Exhibit on Bruin Plaza.

After a short pause, Jenny looked at me with eyes wide.  She said, “You just turned on the lightbulb for me.  I realized we've been talking about the woman, but there is a child involved in this, too.”  She then asked me what she could do about abortion.  She went over to our “Should Abortion Remain Legal?” poll table and signed the side that said “No.”  I gave her the JFA Exhibit Brochure and showed her how to share it with a friend.  I also gave her the contact information for a local pregnancy care center so that if she ever encounters someone considering an abortion, she herself could say, “Let me help you.”

I’m so thankful that God enabled me to face my fear and talk to Jenny.  The fruit of that conversation has shown me how a small step can accomplish a lot.  I pray that God continues to strengthen her to take a stand for unborn children. 

-CK Wisner, for the JFA Team

* Scott Klusendorf (Life Training Institute) gave us our initial formulation of “Trot Out the Toddler.” For a step-by-step explanation and dialogue excerpts, see www.jfaweb.org/tott.

Comment

In this Impact Report, JFA trainer CK Wisner tells the story of one of her conversations from JFA’s UCLA outreach in June.  What I love about CK’s description of this conversation is that we get to see the specific decisions CK made at different points which helped one UCLA student change her mind about abortion. 

This is a different kind of conversation, the sort that 49 staff members and volunteers created many times over during two days at UCLA.  Among those volunteers were mission trip participants from Houston, Nebraska, Central California, and Kansas, who have already taken what they learned back to their communities.  Thanks for helping JFA train pro-life advocates to create conversations that are changing minds and engaging hearts in Los Angeles and beyond.

- Stephen Wagner, Executive Director