This month, we encourage you to share with a friend the contrasting closing statements of two women in a recent debate about abortion in Mexico. After listening together to Mara Clarke and Stephanie Gray share their final thoughts, here are a couple of questions that can help you start a conversation with a friend:
What do you think of Mara’s and Stephanie’s statements?
With which one do you identify more?
The woman’s sign said something like “No Uterus, No Opinion.” Executive Director Steve Wagner sat down to dialogue.
I was at the University of Arizona in November 2019, and one of the women with whom we spoke on the first day of the outreach returned on the second day…to protest. She sat down right in front of our “Should Abortion Be Made Illegal?” poll table with her own sign that said something like: “If you don’t have a uterus, you don’t have an opinion.”
I could have taken an approach of getting defensive. Or I could have dismissed her opinion by ignoring her. I could have also just given up and decided my opinion wasn't worth sharing.
Jon Wagner offered a different approach in his recent letter, “A Gracious and Courageous Response”. It’s a roadmap for responding to “You’re a man” comments, including specific examples of ways to listen, ask questions, and find common ground in order to make these conversations productive.
In my conversation with the protester in Arizona, it was a good thing I took the approach of listening and asking questions that Jon lays out in his letter. As it turned out, she did not think men shouldn’t have any opinion about abortion, and she did not think men should keep quiet about it. She meant instead, “Men shouldn’t make laws on abortion since they affect women.” This may seem like a subtle difference, but noting it helped me move the conversation in a productive direction. I’m confident Jon’s letter can help you do the same. Share it!
During our outreach events and around our society, a common phrase men hear is, “Abortion is a women’s issue, so be quiet!” Or, “You don’t have a uterus, so you shouldn’t weigh in.”
Many people say that men like Steve (grey) and Jeremy (blue), pictured here at UCLA, shouldn’t even weigh in on this discussion.
These assertions silence many men. Other men react to these assertions with anger. How should we respond?
This can be frustrating, especially if the person seems dismissive or arrogant. Over the years I’ve tried to carefully consider my response, rather than getting caught up in the emotions and being defensive. I could snap back with a quick answer or cower in silence, but I strive instead to be both sensitive and substantive in my response.
The challenge is the same as with other pro-choice statements: Faithfully explain the pro-life perspective while still reaching the person. That takes empathy and humility. What an opportunity to love another person!
While passionately defending the preborn we must show genuine love for the woman who may consider abortion, and also, especially with this objection, the person who believes men shouldn’t have a voice.
This can unfold in many ways because we are trying to reach each unique person, but I believe the following progression has the best chance for ultimate success—reaching the questioner and answering the objection. As with any assertion or argument, I would encourage you to employ JFA’s “Three Essential Skills” of asking questions, listening, and finding common ground. In this case, though, the order in which you use those skills is very important for showing that you genuinely care and aren’t just trying to return fire with fire:
Listen to understand (be attentive and show them you care):
Listen to reflect on their statements and not primarily to refute them. Show them you are listening by making good eye contact and clarifying their statements. Listen to their heart and their hurts.
Find common ground when possible:
“I can’t fully understand or experience what women are going through.”
“I admit up front that many women have been hurt by men and many men have been unhelpful in the way they discuss this topic.”
“Can we agree it’s important for men to speak out against rape, abuse, and mistreatment of others?”
Ask questions (information/clarification) with a calm and genuine attitude:
“What do you mean when you say I shouldn’t be involved?”
“Do you mean I can’t hold a substantive opinion, or do you mean that I shouldn’t make laws about this?”
Ask questions (ask for evidence) with a calm and genuine attitude:
“Granted, I can’t fully understand what a woman in an unplanned pregnancy is experiencing, but why does that mean I can’t hold a strong opinion or involve myself in the discussion?”
“Why do you believe I should not take a stand?”
“Why would you silence me if I am trying to care for someone I believe is in need?”
Ask questions (challenge gently; notice challenging comes late in the process):
“How are my ideas insufficient simply because of my gender if many women make the same arguments?”
“There are many situations about which I don’t fully understand the circumstances, but clearly I should still help. Should I as a white man have marched in the civil rights movement or risked ridicule on Freedom Rides for the sake of people who were different from me who were being treated very harshly?”
This progression may help this person to see that her dismissal of men is an unhelpful tangent (resembling sexism) rather than a substantive argument. If so, she may then be willing to move on to discuss arguments about human rights, just as if she had been talking to a woman who had made the exact same points as you.
If not, you need to remain gracious anyway. You must continue to be both calm and confident.
I suggest using a carefully-worded story to respond to the “You’re a man!” dismissal. Consider this story from my friend and colleague Tim Brahm:
“You’re absolutely right. I am a man, and I will never get pregnant. I can do my best to sympathize with women who experience unplanned pregnancies, but I will never really know what they’re going through. Let me ask you kind of a weird question, bear with me. Imagine I go fishing at the lake. I’m having a great time fishing, and then I see her [pointing to a female pro-life volunteer] about twenty yards away. I notice that she is pushing her car into the lake. Well that’s weird, why would she do that? Then I look in the back seat, and I notice there’s a two-year-old child in the car. Now, I’m a man. I’ve never been pregnant. I’ve never been a mother. I will never know what she is going through. We could even change the scenario by making her child a newborn and saying that she has postpartum depression, something I as a man could never experience. But even though I can’t understand what she’s going through, shouldn’t I try to do something to save that kid?” (Read the rest of Tim’s helpful discussion in his November 5, 2015 post at the Equal Rights Institute blog.)
This carefully crafted story can help those with whom you disagree to realize that not only can men be advocates—they should be advocates. Why? Because the preborn are human beings like toddlers.
Psalm 82:3-4 and Proverbs 24:10-12 urge us to care for the weak. And 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (ESV)
It stands to reason that men can engage this discussion, but the point is much stronger than that — we must! Men need to abound with intentionality, empathy, support, and sound arguments clothed with grace. We have to be alert and ready to serve, a compassionate and compelling voice in all our spheres of influence.
I echo what abortion survivor, Gianna Jessen (left), said in her House Judiciary Committee hearing (9/9/15),
“Do not tell me this is only a women’s issue. It takes both a man and a woman to create a child. And to that point I wish to speak to the men listening to me. You are made for greatness. You were born to defend women and children, not to use and abandon us, nor sit idly by while you know we are being harmed, and I am asking you to be brave.”
When I read my friend Stephanie Gray’s blog post, “The Greatest Love” (Nov. 18, 2019), I was struck by her behind-the-scenes look at preparing to participate in the La Ciudad de las Ideas debate which took place in Mexico in early November, reaching tens of thousands. I wanted to share the story with you.
First, I suggest watching the final few minutes of the debate (inset below). Then, read Stephanie’s post which begins below.
As you watch the debate segment and read Stephanie’s post, I encourage you to set aside for a moment the question, “How should we argue against legal abortion?” Although Stephanie is talking about a woman’s body and speaking in the context of a debate about legality, she’s not directly addressing the topic of bodily rights, per se, and her comments go deeper than legality. (For help with arguments about bodily rights and legality, see our “It’s Her Body” Series.)
Note how Stephanie’s comment in the debate appears when juxtaposed against the comments of the pro-choice panelist who speaks just prior. Stephanie cuts through the rhetoric of choice to focus the audience on the question, “What does a virtuous mother do when confronting an unintended pregnancy?” Sadly, that question is often lost or ignored. Stephanie helps recalibrate us, and her perspective might even transform the conversation. It’s worth sharing.
Without further comment from me, then, please click the video below to watch the final few minutes of the debate. (The video should begin playing at 1:55:00. If it doesn’t, move the slider to find that spot in the video or click here.)
Now that you’ve watched the video segment, read Stephanie’s post:
What would you do if, while waiting for a subway train to arrive, you noticed a seizuring man fall onto the tracks? To Wesley Autrey the answer was clear: Jump onto the tracks and help him.
And on January 2, 2007, that’s what he did. Except Autrey wasn’t just helping a man in need. He was putting himself in danger. Because as the fallen man convulsed on the tracks, the lights of an oncoming train flashed before them.
Autrey couldn’t get the man off the tracks in time. But rather than abandon him, Autrey laid on top of him, protecting the young man’s flailing body with his lanky frame. And then train cars came.…
(Keep reading the remainder of Stephanie’s blog post at the Love Unleashes Life Blog.)
For more from Stephanie about the debate, we suggest seeing her six-minute debate highlights video and an 11-minute interview she did after the debate which gave her a chance to reflect on the debate and clarify some ideas she wasn’t able to clarify in the debate due to the format.
Grace (center) with JFA trainer Kaitlyn Donihue (left) and veteran JFA trainer Rebecca Hotovy. (Rebecca is now working part-time behind the scenes at JFA.)
We count it a privilege to employ some of the most gifted people in the country. We also count it a privilege to serve the one true God, who is the giver of those gifts and who sustains each of our staff members in the midst of very demanding work fraught with painful realities. When God decides to guide one of our dear trainers away from our work, we are mindful of the great gift each person is who works even a day (let alone years) with us to save women and children from abortion.
Grace interacts with a student at Colorado State University in April 2018.
Recently JFA trainer Grace Fontenot sent a group of JFA supporters a letter about a transition she’s decided to make away from her work as a full-time trainer with JFA. Her letter includes highlights of her work, but I’d like to share a few additional reflections.
Grace has been a rock in our Wichita office, leading training events locally and traveling to California and Georgia and many of the states in between. In the three and a half years she’s worked full-time with JFA, I estimate she’s personally mentored over 100 pro-life volunteers through both “Seat Work” and “Feet Work” phases of our training program, given presentations to more than 1200, and personally created conversations with over 700 college students. I estimate Grace has spent over 500 hours in planes, airports, and in automobiles to show up to train pro-life Christians. She’s weathered days of outreach outdoors in 100+ degree heat and also in rain and snow. Yes, that’s right. That gumbo-cookin’, bright-smilin’ Cajun gal from Louisiana has created conversations with pro-choice advocates in the snow. As you can imagine, we are very sad to see Grace move on from her full-time work with JFA.
Grace excelled at the art of public speaking and mastered JFA content. She is a thoughtful, enthusiastic mentor of our students. She’s willing to try new things and embrace new ideas. She has a passion for women and for unborn children. She is serious about her faith, serious about doing quality work, and she’s humble when she realizes she’s made a mistake. She enjoys good ideas, good coffee, and good jokes. Grace laughs often, and she laughs heartily. We will miss Grace’s presence in our meetings and on our team.
We look forward to seeing what God will do in Grace’s life in the coming year, we pray for her ongoing discernment process for her professional life, and we look forward to seeing her join us for JFA events again as God allows it.
We thank God for Grace, and we thank Grace also for every early morning, late night, and difficult conversation she beautifully navigated with God’s help during her time with JFA. Thank you, Grace.
We also thank you for supporting Grace’s work by giving of your finances, by reading her updates, and by sharing encouraging words with her. JFA’s trainers, including Paul, Jon, Tammy, Jeremy, Susanna, Kaitlyn, and myself, will continue in 2020 to train Christians to actively love women in distress, unborn children, and those who disagree with us. We’ll continue to train Christians to create conversations that have the power to change hearts and save lives. We pray that as you reflect with Grace on the good work she’s done, that you’ll consider continuing to support the work God is doing through JFA. Thank you.
Impact Report - December 2019
Rebekah Dyer traveled to five states to participate in six JFA outreach events in 2019 (University of New Mexico in March, UCLA in May, Benedictine College and University of Kansas in September, University of Oklahoma and University of Arizona in November). She is a big encouragement to everyone on the JFA team. In this Impact Report, she tells about one of her favorite conversations from the year, in which God gifted her with a glimpse of the impact He was making through her efforts. Rebekah is also a prolific writer, posting regularly at the Human Defense Initiative. - Steve Wagner, Executive Director
Rebekah interacts with a student at JFA’s University of Arizona outreach in November 2019.
The most encouraging conversation I had this year was at the University of Arizona in November. I spoke with “Joe,” a young man who expressed his support for abortion being legal because he saw it as being a “necessary evil” that could prevent suffering in the future. When I began to ask him questions to further understand his position, I found out he had a close friend who grew up in foster care where he suffered abuse and needed therapy and counseling for the mental trauma he went through. It became clear that Joe wanted abortion legal because he didn’t want people to suffer. As misguided as it was, I realized that he was actually a compassionate person who didn’t want people to suffer like his friend. He was just channeling that compassion in support of something that is not compassionate at all—abortion.
Rebekah (center) and another JFA volunteer who traveled to participate, Enrico (left), are pictured here in conversation with a student at JFA’s University of Arizona outreach in November 2019.
I commended him for his compassion and desire to be a good friend and then I asked how his friend was doing. Once we spoke about things that were a little more personal, I then proceeded to gently make the case that suffering does not justify killing someone no matter what stage of life he/she is in. I asked him if he believed it would be okay to kill a two-year-old in foster care who we knew would suffer a lot? He said no. I then applied that to the issue of abortion: just because humans endure suffering and some grow up in horrible environments, it does not follow that someone else has the right to end that person’s life to prevent future suffering. Suffering does not diminish a person’s value or right to life. We should be caring for the suffering and vulnerable more; not advocating that someone should be able to decide that someone else should die at an earlier stage of life.
Rebekah interacts with a University of Oklahoma student at the JFA Free Speech Board in early November.
We exchanged a few words about our personal lives and then we parted ways. Later that day, I was told by a JFA staff person that Joe came back to the exhibit and told her he had changed his mind on supporting abortion after speaking with me!
It made me think of all the other people impacted by conversations that don’t come back to tell us. I don’t know what the tipping point was for him in our conversation. I do know that his change of heart was something God did. Not me. I am acutely aware that my words and what I say have no power in themselves to change anyone. Being able to see changed hearts on this issue is very rare. God is working behind the scenes in the hearts of the people in front of us. Every once in awhile, He allows us to see the work He is doing by the power of the Holy Spirit.
At a recent outreach event, Rebekah and JFA Director Steve Wagner spoke at length with a young woman who turned out to be very receptive not only to the pro-life position, but also to the possibility that knowing moral concepts like virtue, rights, and “ought” can be as real and “solid” (or, indeed, more “solid”) as scientific knowledge.
God uses all of our interactions with people—the good ones and the really hard ones. Oftentimes, it is very difficult to see His hand in the work up close as so many people seem so hardened in their support for abortion. It can be difficult to feel like I’m kept in the dark as to the results—to feel like no matter what I say and do, nothing changes for the most part. I need to remind myself that my feelings are often not good indicators of what is true. God is working in the hearts of people, and He will accomplish His purpose through imperfect servants who are willing to step out and have a conversation about a difficult issue.
Without Jesus, people are hopeless and lost. Wherever we are, and with whomever we speak, “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us” (II Cor. 5:20). Only in Him are we set free. And when the Son sets us free, we are free indeed (John 8:36).
- Rebekah Dyer, JFA Volunteer
Please pray for JFA as our team plans and prepares for upcoming events in 2020. Pray for each person we have trained recently and each person with whom we have conversed at outreach, that God will help each to actively love every human being involved in unintended pregnancy.
Oct. 31 (Del City, OK): Interactive Seminar — Christian Heritage Academy
Nov. 3 (Norman, OK): Presentation & Interactive Seminar — Trinity Baptist Church
Nov. 4-5 (Norman, OK): Exhibits and Dialogue — Univ. of Oklahoma
Nov. 9 (Wichita, KS): Interactive Workshop — Kansans For Life Convention
Nov. 17-19 (Tucson, AZ): Interactive Seminar, Exhibits, & Dialogue — Univ. of Arizona
Nov. 26 (Wichita, KS): Interactive Seminar — Regan Institute
Dec. 2 (Fairfax, VA): Exhibits and Dialogue — George Mason University
We invite you to explore the wide array of resources available at JFA’s Extending Your Learning webpage. Read articles from JFA’s own Interactive Guide, access scholarly articles on fetal development through convenient links, and watch videos of dialogue artists in real conversations. Prepare for common questions and objections including “Does the Bible Say Anything About Abortion?” “What if the Mother’s Life Is in Danger?” “Is Abortion Legal Through All Nine Months?” and “Abortion Should Be Legal Until the Unborn Is Viable.” If you haven’t explored the vast resource library on JFA’s website, Extending Your Learning is a great place to start.
We invite you to start a conversation by watching The Voices Docuseries with a friend or family member. On a road trip through five U.S. cities, our friends at Voices for the Voiceless filmed over 130 on-the-street interviews of people sharing stories of unplanned pregnancy and abortion. The videos they compiled from these interviews can help you start a conversation with common ground. After watching, ask your friend for his or her reflection on what you saw together. If you have a chance to share, start by expressing empathy with specific circumstances that were discussed in the interviews. Consider asking, “What do you think are good solutions to these specific struggles? Do you think abortion is a good solution? Why or why not?”
I sent a message to our email list in 2017 that is just as relevant today as it was then. It’s a quick read, so I decided to feature it in this Impact Report along with numbers illustrating JFA’s impact in 2019. The letter puts our impact in its proper context, as God was pleased to accomplish these things through us —through you working together with the JFA team in a multitude of ways. Has this letter sparked a desire to help JFA in one of the ways listed? You can give a year-end gift using the enclosed giving form or using our Donate page. You can share other ways you plan to help JFA in 2020 using our Contact page. — Steve Wagner, Executive Director
We at JFA have a thought we want to share with you. It’s about your answer to the following questions:
Did you pray for one of our events this year?
Did you pray regularly for us?
Did you lead your church in praying?
Your support in all of the forms described in this post helps our team of dialogue artists and volunteers create conversations during outreach events like this one at Benedictine College (and afterward). Conversations have the power to change lives one person at a time. For stories of changed lives, see recent reflections from Kaitlyn, Jeremy, and Rebekah.
Did you host a JFA staff member or volunteer in your home during an outreach trip?
Did you provide a meal for us?
Did you give to our Intern Scholarship Fund or Staff Support Fund?
Did you give a monthly automatic gift to our Training Program Fund (General Fund) or to support the
work of one of our missionaries?
Did you set up a speaking event for one of our staff in your community?
Did you make an appeal to a pastor to consider partnering with JFA?
Did you call or email a JFA staff member to encourage him or her?
Did you volunteer at a JFA event and create conversations with pro-choice advocates?
Did you use JFA’s monthly Resource Bulletin or other materials to create conversations with people in your everyday life?
Did you speak up when someone in your everyday life brought up the topic of pregnancy, unborn children, women in distress, or abortion?
Often we worry that you, our friends, feel like you are not truly contributing to our work unless you give money. We worry that you may put any giving that is not financial in a sort of “second-class” category. Giving financially is certainly one important way to partner with JFA, but all of the activities we’ve listed above are essential, and we do mean essential, to our work of training Christians to create transformative conversations that can help save the smallest humans on earth (and their parents) from abortion.
Surely we cannot do our work without financial support, but we trust God will provide the support we need. Just as surely, though, we simply cannot do our work without these other gifts you have given this year. Without host homes, our team wouldn’t be able to create conversations on campuses across the country. Similar things could be said about every item listed in this letter. And we trust God to provide these needs, and he has provided for us mightily through you.
Consider this: none of our conversations will have any impact on anyone without God moving in each person’s heart before, during, and after our interactions. When you pray along with us, you place your trust in God as the one who brings about change.
Our team wanted to take this moment to say thank you for partnering with us so faithfully through these very real gifts we’ve listed earlier in this letter. The stories we’ve shared this year are very truly your stories. The impact numbers we share below very truly represent your impact.
Thank you for your many sacrifices in so many different forms this year. We consider you to be such an important, “first-class” member of the JFA team. We thank God for you.
Imagine it is Sunday, and because you love football so much, you sit down to watch the NFL for eight hours straight. It’s going to be great!
This artful flick from Kelce to McCoy in the September 29 Chiefs-Lions game would never have happened. Read the rest of letter to see what I mean, then go see the flick for yourself in the game’s highlights.
It’s a unique day because all of the NFL’s 32 teams are playing. 16 games packed into eight hours. The first game up is the Chiefs versus the Lions. The kickoff happens, and the ball is down. Patrick Mahomes* receives the hike and, at the 12-second mark, he disappears. He disappears. Just like that, the ball falls to the ground. Chaos ensues on the field. A bit unsure of how to proceed, the referees call for a replacement. More than a bit bewildered, Coach Andy Reid puts his second-string in. Play begins. Another 12 seconds and Travis Kelce disappears. Every fan’s face is riddled with shock. Reid puts in his second-string tight end. Play begins again. And your eyes are glued to the screen as every 12 seconds from that point on, one of the players disappears. The Lions might have been a little pleased when the Chiefs starting losing players, but then it is their turn, as they see quarterback Matthew Stafford disappear. Then another player. Then another.
Your hand sits motionless with a chip halfway submerged in guacamole. As you flip between the various games, you can’t believe your eyes. None of the NFL teams can hold on to their starting players. Every game features the same disturbing rhythm: every 12 seconds, another player disappears.
Commentators start discussing if there should be a rules change to accommodate this astonishing phenomenon of “the disappearing player.” Twitter is on fire with comments and rage. One post guesses that it’s a publicity stunt by the NFL to boost ratings. Another muses that this is a promotion for the latest Avengers movie, calling to mind the “snap” from Infinity War, in which people mysteriously disappear. Still others liken this to Bilbo’s “little joke” in the opening scenes of The Fellowship of the Ring. Everyone agrees on one thing, though: It’s the biggest news of the year.
You scan the channels and see each coach running through an entire roster of 53 players. The first string is gone. The second string is gone. Kickers are playing quarterback. Some coaches are drafting the waterboy and the mascot on the spot just so they can field a team at all. Is this a circus or an organized sport?
By about six hours into your marathon football day, you’ve watched the entire NFL disappear. About 1700 players no longer playing. Gone without a trace. Imagine how that would feel. The loss. The tragedy.
This scenario is just an imagined scene, and admittedly, it’s very far-fetched. In an eight-hour day in the real world in America, though, once every 12 seconds a woman will decide to end her unintended pregnancy by abortion.** So our imagined NFL scenario is actually a very good picture of abortion in America. Not just today—every day. Let the sixth hour finish and the seventh, and the eighth, with even the NFL’s drafted waterboys and mascots all disappearing every 12 seconds, and you have a good picture of abortion over just one day in America. About 2300 women confronting an unintended pregnancy today will end it by abortion, and about 2300 unborn children will disappear. About one every 12 seconds in an eight-hour day.
For many of the 2300 women who sought those abortions, though, that memory will never disappear.
Our JFA team was in Pittsburg, Kansas recently, and we had the privilege of speaking to 212 middle school students, high school students, and faculty throughout the day at St. Mary’s Colgan (see photos below). JFA’s Director of Operations, Paul Kulas, and I were musing over breakfast about how we might make the reality of abortion more relevant to the students. That’s when we concocted our little imaginary tale about the NFL.
Does abortion create the same chaos that the disappearing NFL would create? Should it cause all of us the same urgency we’d have if we were watching the NFL disappear? We think so. That’s what motivates our team and our volunteers to keep “taking the field” to train Christians to create conversations that change hearts and save lives.
Thanks for standing with us. You’re not just fans in the stands. You’re on the field with us, essential to making our work happen. Let’s pray that God uses our efforts to create a great win for women and unborn children this year.
(Pittsburg, KS: Sept. 30) Having just finished the “Disappearing NFL” story, Steve Wagner gets ready to hand the mic to Tammy Cook to lead a discussion of three different kinds of abortion conversations: good, bad, and ugly.
Paul Kulas, playing the part of a pro-choice person, reacts strongly to Grace Fontenot, playing the part of a pro-life advocate. Grace was talking over him, assuming the worst, and calling him names like “Nazi.” As you can guess, this was our dramatic presentation of an “ugly” conversation.
* Yes, I am aware that Patrick Mahomes did recently really “disappear” from the field due to an injury. Our resident Chiefs fan, Tammy Cook, is counting this a great tragedy, while our resident Packers fans, Paul Kulas and Jeremy Gorr, appreciated the reprieve in the recent game on October 27!
** See www.jfaweb.org/facts and www.jfaweb.org/more-facts. Approximately 2.8 million women in America experience unintended pregnancy each year (2011), and approximately 862,000 choose abortion (2017).
Our JFA team recently spoke to 212 middle school and high school students throughout a day at St. Mary’s Colgan in Pittsburg, Kansas. A recent reflection from JFA’s Director, “The Disappearing NFL,” explains one way we sought to help these students understand the reality of abortion.
Please pray for the health of our trainers in this season of travel. Pray for each person we train and each person with whom we converse at outreach, that God will help each to actively love every human being involved in unintended pregnancy.
Michigan: Interactive Workshops in Four Michigan Cities (10/1, 10/24, 10/27, 10/30)
Kansas: Equipping Events in Pittsburg & Outreach at Pittsburg State University (9/29-10/2)
Texas: Interactive Workshop at University of Texas at San Antonio (10/5)
Louisiana: Presentation for Friends of a Supporter (10/9)
Colorado: Four Interactive Seminars in Four Days in Three Cities (10/10-10/13)
Virginia: Outreach at George Mason University (10/21)
Oklahoma: Two Interactive Seminars & Outreach at University of Oklahoma (10/31-11/5)
Kansas: Workshop for Kansans for Life Conference (11/9)
Arizona: Interactive Seminar & Outreach at University of Arizona (11/17-11/19)
Watch the recently-released JFA outreach clip, “Abortion: Should We Legislate Morality?” to prepare for your conversations. This 8-minute dialogue footage from Colorado State University features former JFA trainer CK Wisner. Watch as CK patiently listens to a CSU student who feels conflicted about her position on abortion. CK artfully prompts this student to explore questions with her including, “When are we human?” and “What is the basis for human rights?” After eagerly discussing these biological and philosophical questions, the student turns to the topic of legality, asking CK about “imposing” one’s beliefs on others. This video touches on several topics in a short period of time. Use it as a springboard for further study, or use it as a springboard for your own conversation by sharing it with a friend.
We invite you to start a conversation by sharing JFA’s recent video blog post, “She’s Not Sure What to Think... How About You?” (also JFA’s Featured Resource for October). This conversation footage from JFA outreach at CSU touches on biology, human rights, and the question of “imposing” one’s morality on others, all in a short segment. Because the student in the video feels conflicted about the topic of abortion, her conversation with CK provides an ideal platform for you to ask a friend, “Do you have a clear view on abortion, or are you not totally sure what to think? What factors contribute to your certainty or uncertainty?”
The truth about Prenatal Genetic Testing. #JustSaying #WorldDownSyndromeDay
A genetic abnormality detected (or presumed to exist) through prenatal genetic testing is a common reason for considering abortion. What do you think about abortion in this case?
