Right to Life Radio

Josh and Gabi discuss the difference between moral relativism and libertarianism, in response to a pro-choice blogger who thinks we confused the two in a recent episode about a leaked Planned Parenthood document. After defining the terms, they carefully re-analyze the document to determine the validity of the bloggers accusation.

David French is a Senior Counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he is a former Senior Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. David has written multiple books and his articles have been published by the Washington Post and Washington Times, among others. He has also founded Evangelicals for Mitt. I wanted to bring David on to respond to the most common concerns that pro-life people have about voting for Romney. And that he did... Here are the questions I asked David in this interview: What do you say to Evangelicals who say that abortion is just another "social justice issue." Why should evangelical's vote for Mitt Romney? What is your response to William Saleton's lengthy piece in Slate about Romney's abortion views? Do you think that Romney has a chance of winning the election? Some people argue that Christians should just "vote their conscience" meaning vote for whichever candidate most aligns with their personal beliefs. So they usually vote third party or they don't vote at all because they argue that the outcome is not their responsibility, but voting their conscience is. What do you say to them? Nick from Carbondale, Illionois: "Why should Christians accept the two-party system and indeed the political spectrum itself as somehow written in stone and never being able to change?" Tara from Marietta GA: "How are we supposed to vote based on principles if we are given only non-principled choices?" Jen from Rochester, NY: "Why should pro-lifers vote for Romney when his health care policy forced everyone to buy abortion coverage?" What do you say to Christians in California and New York who feel defeated before the election even happens, or to Christians in Texas where they may feel complacent? How do you tell them to avoid discouragement or apathy? Jonathan Merritt wrote a book called "A Faith of Our Own - Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars" and he argues that you're creating a false dichotomy for Christians: either fight the culture wars or stay silent. Is that a false dichotomy or is that not even your argument? Greg from Kansas City: "Why should Christians vote for a Mormon over a Protestant Christian?" What do you think Christians should be doing with social media in regards to this election? What can and can't pastors do in regards to speaking about politics from the pulpit?

Josh, Liz and Gabi discuss the wisdom of pro-life activists choosing to compare abortion to recent tragedies like the Aurora movie theater shooting, or posting pro-life status updates every anniversary of 9/11. The Life Report team considers the toughest questions from the other side of this issue, and they end the 3-part discussion never fully agreeing on the subject. Note from Josh: Bryan Kemper from Stand True Ministries and now working for Priests for Life was one of the main instigators to this comparison that we're responding to. I consider Bryan a friend and colleague, and he is doing a lot of great and important work for the unborn. Good people can disagree on this issue, and we certainly don't pretend to be right about everything. But we DO believe this is a discussion worth having, so that whatever pro-life people decide to do in the future with their Facebook statuses, they will have at least thought about it some more first. Everything we do to end abortion should be done purposefully and thoughtfully. So let's discuss these difficult topics, but don't stop there: GO DO SOMETHING.

Josh, Liz and Gabi stayed after the two episode shoot and responded to arguments for and against Bryan Kemper's picture, from both pro-life and pro-choice people. Here are the arguments we covered: "We wouldn't hesitate to make [the Aurora] comparison if it were three year olds." “It’s the 4,000 a day that are being minimized; this is a good opportunity to make the stats meaningful to people.” “Babies are dying and we should do whatever it takes to end the apathy.” “No comparisons are needed if both events are inherently wrong.” Josh tells a story about what he recently told pro-choice people that reject ALL analogies to slavery and the Holocaust. Nick on Facebook: “If [the picture] leads to the question, 'well what makes killing a born person different from killing the unborn,' than it helps advance the discussion for unborn rights. Comparing abortion to say infanticide may help make the comparison seem more apparent. Yes some people will be turned off, but people are always turned off by the pro-life message." Kelly on Facebook: "I believe these comparisons are basically good (usually) and, many times, necessary. Like any good teacher would do, in explaining a pro-life view to a non pro-lifer, one must use examples & images of familiar things in order to reach the student where he/she is. What better way than to use an example from the media that everyone (well, almost everyone) knows about? It almost doesn't matter if they initially respond negatively; they certainly won't forget it!" Andrew on facebook: “My question for prolifers is do you think it’s appropriate for the media to talk about the 'need for gun control' after this tragedy? I feel its a double standard." Jessica (pro-choice): "I will whole heartily admit abortion kills. But to that person, whom was carrying that fetus, they felt terminating that pregnancy was needed or else they wouldn't have done it, its not a choice taken lightly. I feel like comparing a random killing spree by a mad man to the termination of life within one’s womb is a stretch. And probably offensive to those involved. 'Oh, your son was shot in the head? That's totally like this aborted fetus over here.'" Greg: (personally pro-life) "On another page somebody compared the right to having an abortion to the right to removing or treating cancer. I cannot imagine a pro-choice person looking at this picture thinking, 'Oh, no! I never realized women who abort or the doctors who perform abortions could be equated to mass murderers. I'm switching sides! Thanks for the heads up.' The same way I can't see pro-life people reading the cancer comparison and saying 'Oh, I see now. I don't want to live with cancer. People should be able to have all of the abortions they want. Thanks for explaining it in that way.'" Angela: ‎(reacting to caption under Bryan’s pic) "Some may say it is wrong to compare these two issues. So what, we don't care about people's feelings. GO PRO LIFE!" Lindy: (pro-life) "I guess I don't like the word "murder" in pro-life graphics. I think 1) it turns people off extremely fast and 2) technically "murder" is the illegal taking of a life, which abortion isn’t."

Josh, Liz and Gabi discuss the wisdom of pro-life activists choosing to compare abortion to recent tragedies like the Aurora movie theater shooting, or posting pro-life status updates every anniversary of 9/11. The Life Report team considers the toughest questions from the other side of this issue, and they end the 3-part discussion never fully agreeing on the subject. Note from Josh: Bryan Kemper from Stand True Ministries and now working for Priests for Life was one of the main instigators to this comparison that we're responding to. I consider Bryan a friend and colleague, and he is doing a lot of great and important work for the unborn. Good people can disagree on this issue, and we certainly don't pretend to be right about everything. But we DO believe this is a discussion worth having, so that whatever pro-life people decide to do in the future with their Facebook statuses, they will have at least thought about it some more first. Everything we do to end abortion should be done purposefully and thoughtfully. So let's discuss these difficult topics, but don't stop there: GO DO SOMETHING.

Josh, Liz and Gabi react to a leaked Planned Parenthood document that trains their volunteers to purposefully have bad dialogues with pro-life people. A stark contrast is made between the kind of dialogue that Planned Parenthood wants us to have, and the kind of dialogue we've been training people to have on this show. There are also some insights that can be made on the way Planned Parenthood directors think based on things that are said in this document.

Josh explains a relatively new app we're using on our facebook fan page to reward our most active fans. In the past we've been rewarding with free pro-life books. Future rewards to include pro-life clothing and exclusive Life Report audio.

Josh responds to a listener mail question about a pregnant Chinese immigrant Bei Bei Shuai who attempted suicide and in the process, her baby died. She is now being charged with feticide, and pro-choice advocates are talking about this story all over the country. Josh clears up a common misconception among pro-lifers about Roe vs. Wade and the Laci Peterson Law, and offers a thought experiment to defend why perhaps this woman should be charged with something. Josh claimed that most 26-week premies survive. This is based on a premie survival rate based on stats from March of Dimes. According to MOD, 80-90% of 26-week premies ultimately survive. Bei Bei Shuai's baby at 33 weeks almost certainly would have lived.

Josh responds to a listener who believes she found a flaw in Trent Horn's definition of personhood. Luckily, she just misunderstood Trent's definition, and strongly oversimplified it. Josh explains why and recommends some good books on the substance view of persons.

Josh Brahm responds to a listener who disagrees with a recent Life Report episode on voting principles, featuring Scott Klusendorf and Jonathan Keller. The listener thinks we need to use long-term strategy when voting, like chess.

Josh, Liz and Life Report's newest co-host, Gabi Vehrs, discusses that "after-birth abortion" article, including how many pro-life people responded to it, as well as a refutation of the underlying premise in the article.

Trent Horn is back in studio for one more episode, to discuss logical fallacies that both pro-life and pro-choice advocates make. What is logic? How do arguments work? What are fallacies? What are the most common fallacies that pro-choice advocates make? What are the most common fallacies that pro-life advocates make? Most people know that an ad hominem is a fallacy, but they aren’t sure how to describe it or refute it. How do you refute ad hominems? What are some fallacies that people may not recognize but are very common? How can we graciously explain to someone that they are relying on a logical fallacy? Isn't it more important to focus on emotional relationships and not just on who has the best argument? Are there any books you recommend on how to argue and spot fallacies? Trent talked about a few faulty pro-life arguments in this episode. This is actually a common topic on our show. Click here for more faulty pro-life arguments: http://prolifepodcast.net/tag/faulty-pro-life-arguments/ Watch other Life Report episodes with him at prolifepodcast.net/tag/trent-horn.

Josh responds to a listener mail question asking whether the potential health benefits a mother receives during pregnancy negate bodily rights arguments. Check out other resources on bodily rights arguments here: http://prolifepodcast.net/tag/bodily-rights

Josh talks about the recent improvements to the functionality of the Life Report website, (ProLifePodcast.net) as well as some changes to how we're responding to listener mail now.

It's Life Report's 150th episode, and Trent Horn is back in studio to discuss how pro-lifers should respond when their discussion of abortion gets down to the "metaphysical basement:" why are human beings valuable in the first place? Why should pro-lifers be concerned with answering the question “Why do humans matter?” How do pro-life advocates often answer the question? The imago dei is probably the most controversial or least understood reason, how do you understand this reason? Why shouldn't pro-lifers just quote Psalm 139, Jeremiah 1:5 and similar verses to pro-choice people? Can abortion be considered immoral even without reference to God? What do you do if a pro-choice advocate says that you’re imposing your religion on everyone else? Are there some inherent problems with Don Marquis' "future like ours" argument? Trent Horn is the Coordinator of Respect Life Leadership Support at the Diocese of Phoenix. To learn more about Trent, visit DiocesePhoenix.org. Watch other Life Report episodes with him at prolifepodcast.net/tag/trent-horn.

Trent Horn begins the show with a discussion of what a philosophy is (and isn't) and talks about why pro-life advocates need to study the discipline of philosophy. Issues Trent touches on that need philosophical reflection include: Why is killing wrong? What is a person? Do people have a right to control their own bodies? Are morals relative or objective? Trent then surveys the major philosophical contributions to these issues. (Singer, Marquis, Warren, Thomson, Finnis, Noonan, Schwartz, Beckwith, Kaczor, Tooley.) Finally, he shares how understanding philosophy has helped him have gracious conversations with pro-choice advocates. Trent Horn is the Coordinator of Respect Life Leadership Support at the Diocese of Phoenix. To learn more about Trent, visit DiocesePhoenix.org.

Pro-life philosopher Trent Horn explains how some pro-choice arguments don't seem so crazy if you view them through the lens of Judith Jarvis Thompson's violinist analogy instead of an anti-personhood worldview. This is very important, because we want to understand where pro-choice people are coming from, and in my experience, more and more of them are coming from a bodily rights case and not only an anti-fetal-personhood view. Trent Horn is the Coordinator of Respect Life Leadership Support at the Diocese of Pheonix. To learn more about Trent, visit DiocesePheonix.org. Watch other Life Report episodes with him at http://prolifepodcast.net/tag/trent-horn. More Life Report episodes responding to bodily rights arguments can be found here: http://prolifepodcast.net/tag/bodily-rights

Notre Dame law student and former Life Report guest John Gerardi joins Josh Brahm and Jonathan Keller in the studio to discuss the Supreme Court's "Obamacare" decision. Josh opens the show by focusing on how this legislation promotes abortion and tramples on religious liberty. This includes a brief explanation of why "ella" should definitively be considered an abortifacient, and not merely a contraceptive. Josh also discourages people from making baseless claims about Chief Justice Roberts' intelligence or intentions. Afterwards, John Gerardi gives a careful analysis of the decision, including what constitutional issues were examined. The show ends with a discussion of what pro-lifers can do to fix things. Note from Josh: After this episode finished shooting, we stayed on the air for over an hour continuing the discussion and responding to questions from our live stream audience. We will be releasing that footage in sections over the next week or two, so keep checking ProLifePodcast.net for regular updates, or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Listen to WGSO talk show host Jeff Crouere interview Josh Brahm, asking the following questions: You believe that if they communicate the pro-life position properly, that any pro-life person can go toe-to-toe with any pro-choice advocate, is that right? Don't we see a reduction of abortions across the country? What is it within the pro-choice message that you can find common ground with? You still want to see Roe vs. Wade overturned, right? What would that look like on a national level? California is definitely a hostile state to pro-life causes. Does it help that there's such a large influx of Latino people who are often Catholic, and thus, pro-life? Won't ultrasounds have a dramatic impact on this issue? Is adoption an area where both pro-life and pro-choice people can find common ground? Do you think abortion-minded women realize that there are couples available to adopt their baby? Callers: "I think it's horrible that the government is using abortion as a political way to control people." "I don't think we should try to find common ground with someone who thinks it's okay to kill a baby!" "The abortion rate is going down because RU-486 isn't being counted."

Josh Brahm interviews local student Jillian and her mom. After interviewing Josh and Kyle, Jillian wrote a paper and gave a pro-life speech to her entire class, and got very positive feedback from her teacher as well as her fellow students. Even more impressive: Jillian is just 14-years-old. Listen to her story here.

Former Life Report co-host Carrie Guy was beloved by many fans. She brought something different to the show, as a youth pastor and a post-abortive pastors kid. She had to leave the show last year when she had baby, but she's come back for a special episode to share her story that includes having an abortion as a teen, her recovery process later, and ultimately helping other post-abortive women. Carrie also talks about how the modern church is doing responding to the abortion issue as well as tips for talking to pregnant women who are considering abortion. Learn more about Carrie and invite her to speak to your group at http://www.CarrieGuy.com

Josh Brahm responds to listener mail from a fan who's veterinarian co-worker thinks life begins at birth. Got a question for Josh? Email it to [email protected].

Eric Scheidler, Executive Director of Pro-Life Action League and Matt Yonke, PLAL Communications Director join Josh via Google+ to discuss the HHS mandate and what pro-lifers can do to stand up for religious freedom via public rallies on June 8th. Topics covered: - What is the HHS mandate? - Why should Christians be concerned about it? - Is this issue about religious liberty or contraception access? - Exactly how does the HHS Mandate violate the First Amendment? - What's being done to fight the HHS Mandate, and where does public protest fit in? - What were the results of the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally on March 23rd? - Why hold another Stand Up Rally on June 8th? - What is the next step if the Supreme Court rules against us on "Obamacare?" Related Links: - Look up the nearest rally near you: http://StandUpForReligiousFreedom.com - Learn more about Eric and Matt's work at the Pro-Life Action League: http://ProLifeAction.org - Read the full letter from Notre Dame's president to his staff about the lawsuit against "Obamacare:" http://goo.gl/sDUAM

Scott Klusendorf is a travelling pro-life speaker who interacts with all the big advocacy groups, as well as Pregnancy Care Centers. He has a unique perspective about the position pro-life advocates are in to make their case right now in history, as well as some observations about Right to Life of Central California that he requested to share in a special Life Report episode.

Josh Brahm retracts his argument in a recent Life Report episode that Ray Comfort begged the question during his 180 interviews.

There are some Christians and even pastors who believe the Bible's silence on abortion means that we should not speak up about the issue. Scott Klusendorf from Life Training Institute deals a devastating blow to this argument. Topics covered: - Should pro-lifers defend their view with Psalm 139, Jeremiah 1:5 and others like it? - A better biblical argument for the pro-life position; - Responding to the argument that biblically speaking, life begins at "first breath;" - Responding to the Mosaic law about fighting men that accidentally cause a premature delivery; - Responding to that weird passage in Numbers 5 with a priest giving a suspected pregnant adulteress a potion that may result in an abortion; - Responding to the argument that God is the "greatest aborter of history" because so many unborn children die in miscarriages; - The inherent exegetical danger of modern Christians using directives from Mosaic law or the Old Covenant. - Evaluating Mark Driscoll's statement that 2nd-trimester John the Baptist leaping in the womb in response to 1st-trimester Jesus is a great biblical argument for the personhood of the unborn child. For more Scott Klusendorf, check out his website: http://ProLifeTraining.com Watch or download the Mark Driscoll sermon Josh referred to here: http://marshill.com/media/luke/mary-elizabeth

Josh facilitates a discussion with Life Training Institute's Scott Klusendorf and RLCC's Jonathan Keller on pro-life voting principles. Topics discussed include: - the current political reality the pro-life movement is in; - the different nuances to voting for someone in the Senate, House, and Executive branches;- voting for third-party candidates;- the meaning of the word "pragmatic;"- are all "social justice" issues equivalent? For more Scott Klusendorf, check out his website:http://ProLifeTraining.com

Josh, Liz and Andrew begin a two-episode discussion of the popular pro-life documentary, "180," by Ray Comfort and Living Waters Publications. The Life Report team discuss both what they liked about the movie, and then they debate the things they didn't like. Topics covered in part two include whether or not Ray Comfort begged the question during his interviews and how pro-lifers should use this movie

Josh, Liz and Andrew begin a two-episode discussion of the popular pro-life documentary, "180," by Ray Comfort and Living Waters Publications. The Life Report team discuss both what they liked about the movie, and then they debate the things they didn't like. Topics covered in part one include the value of taking more time with people and allowing them to "put the puzzle together themselves," and whether or not 180 should be considered a "training film" for pro-life people.

Josh believes that some church leaders are silent about abortion because of ignorance, fear or apathy. Pastor Jim Franklin, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Fresno and Father Larry Toschi from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Bakersfield offer practical advice to pro-life congregants who want to communicate with their church leader about abortion. They close by offering practical advice to pastors on what they can and should do to be a pro-life pastor. (It's not as much as you might think!)

Pastor Jim Franklin, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Fresno and Father Larry Toschi from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Bakersfield join Josh in the studio to talk about the HHS mandate forcing religious institutions to pay for sterilizations, contraception and the abortifacient drug, "ella."

A Catholic film studio called Spirit Juice Studios released a short pro-life film called "To Be Born" last June. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it for free at ToBeBorn.com, or click the embedded video below. I had the opportunity to interview Ray Kaczmark, the director of "To Be Born," to ask him some questions about the movie.

Assemblywoman Dr. Linda Halderman comes to the studio to discuss a California Senate Bill that would allow non-doctors to perform surgical abortions. Dr. Halderman is a surgeon who can speak with expertise on the problems with the abortion training non-doctors across California have been given for over a year.

Josh, Liz and Andrew have been talking to pro-choice people for years, and every once in a while, they've come across some very unique arguments. We discuss how pro-lifers should respond when they come across arguments like these: "How do you know you're human?" "If I have a tie, and giving you this tie will save your life, I still don't have any obligation to give you this tie." "Personhood begins when you can visually determine the baby's gender on an ultrasound." "Abortion is okay because the unborn will be reincarnated into a family that will love them." Correction from Josh: At 14:30 I said that in some states you not only have a moral obligation to dial 911 if you see a mugging going on in the distance, but also a legal obligation. I have not yet finished my research on this subject, but since recording this episode last year, my opinion has changed and I am no longer convinced that there are any state laws that requires anyone to dial 911 in this situation. Whether these laws should exist is another debate. Judith Jarvis Thompson does argue in her famous essay that everyone is morally obligated to do this. It would be the act of a "minimally good Samaritan."

During a recent episode of Life Report, Liz and Andrew became concerned by Josh's statement that he has "pro-choice friends." Steve Wagner joins the show via Skype to talk about whether pro-life people should have pro-choice friends. What about people that say they're "pro-life" but in action are effectively pro-choice?

We've interviewed Steven Ertelt from LifeNews.com before, but this time Steven came into the studio to discuss the state of the pro-life movement in 2012, personhood bills, and voting principles. Ertelt also gives us an exclusive on a very significant change in Steven's personal life.

Josh has been doing research and making calls to experts about the front page Chicago Tribune story that there are thousands of unreported abortions in Illinois. After explaining what's going on, Josh has some questions for pro-choice people to consider, as well as a warning to pro-lifers about how NOT to use this story.

This is the recording of a sermon Josh preached on January 22, 2012 at Free Grace Church in Clovis. After presenting three questions that Christians can answer to bring moral and theological clarity to the abortion issue, Josh takes a hard look at the main reasons that many Christians remain silent on the abortion issue, and how a proper understanding of the Gospel resolves all three of them. Josh closes with the three things that every Christians should do MINIMALLY about abortion.

Many people donate money to the American Cancer Society through their annual Relay for Life events. But the ACS funnels some of that money to killing human embryos for stem cell research. Should this fact cause pro-life people to donate to alternative cancer organizations? Josh thinks so, but Liz and Andrew disagree. Watch the biggest internal debate from Life Report season one.

Topic 1: Satirical Pro-Life Video Depicts Scarlett Johansson in KKK Robe for Promoting Planned Parenthood The Life Report team discusses this question: assuming for sake of argument that PP is in fact a racist organization, is it wise for pro-lifers to make satirical videos like this? Why or why not? Topic 2: Donald Trump's Pro-Life Views are Grounded in Irrelevance The Life Report team explains why this has got to be the worst attempt ever at grounding the view that abortion should be legal. We close by explaining how YOU could use stories like this to start conversations on abortion with pro-abortion-choice people.

Listener Mail: 1: "Should we use a different word than 'abortion,' because that word can also refer to a natural miscarriage?" 2: "One of my friends at school is planning on becoming an embryonic stem cell research scientist. Is there a unique way you would discuss the issue of life with an abortionist or a stem cell researcher?" Includes a discussion on whether you should ever end a friendship with a pro-choice person or stem cell scientist. For more information on stem cell research, visit StemCellAnswers.org

Trent Horn, Director of Youth Outreach with Project Defending Life joins the show via phone to discuss whether emotionally appealing arguments are automatically fallacious. Josh and Trent have both recently been countered by debaters who immediately object whenever they make an argument that pulls on peoples heartstrings. Certainly some appeals to emotion are fallacious, but are all of them? What are common fallacious appeals to emotion that pro-lifers and pro-choicers make while debating abortion?

Jay Watts from Life Training Institute join the Life Report team via Skype for a round table discussion on whether modern day Planned Parenthood is actually a racist organization. Jay offers a brief biography on Margaret Sanger and the two most significant events in her life. In response to the question of whether Sanger was racist, Jay responds that "racist" is too limiting a term for her. Also discussed are the stats that seem to implicate Planned Parenthood in targeting minorities, as well as the location of some of their clinics in minority neighborhoods, and the Live Action Racism Project. Finally Josh offers an alternative explanation for the higher abortion rate in the black community and the location of some Planned Parenthood clinics in minority neighborhoods.

The pro-life community has been buzzing for a week now about the "180" documentary. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it for free at 180Movie.com. I had the opportunity to interview Ray Comfort, the author and filmmaker behind "180," to ask him some questions about the movie. Questions: 1: Ray, how did you come up with the idea for "180?" 2: Was the hidden camera footage legal? 3: What are you hoping to accomplish with the film? 4: Now you often compare abortion to the Holocaust and a lot of pro-lifers do this. Ray, tell me how you respond to people like Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who doesn't believe that abortion and Holocaust are comparable? 5: What percentage of people interviewed, not just shown on the movie but interviewed, changed their minds on abortion? 6: You know I do a lot of work with Justice For All and we go out and we train pro-life people to dialogue with pro-choice people about abortion in the most effective ways possible. Would you encourage other pro-life advocates to use hypothetical situations the way that you did when talking to pro-choice people? 7: Your video showed graphic images of the Holocaust. What do you think about the need for pro-lifers to show graphic images of aborted children and how effective do you think they are? 8: A lot of Christian ministries avoid talking about abortion because it is a controversial issue. Based on your experience, do you find that it has been effective to get people to talk about their beliefs? 9: The first 20 minutes of your movie got a really good review from a pro-life non-theist on the secular pro-life blog. But that person was disappointed in the evangelism, last part of your movie. What do you think of non-Christian participation in the pro-life movement? 10: How can pro-life people get involved?

Josh starts the show with a quick rant about annoying people who nitpick other people's language that aren't "pro-life" enough. As you can guess, this happened to him recently. Afterwards the Life Report team discusses something Justice For All Director David Lee said during Josh's interview with him. David said that "everybody is a little bit pro-choice." Is this true? Do pro-life people REALLY believe that unborn children are full persons? Do they act like they believe that? Lastly, the Life Report responds to a pro-choice argument Josh had never heard before: "abortion is just a medical treatment for unwanted pregnancy, and medical treatments should be legal."

Josh & Liz respond to questions from the audience. Caller: 1: "Are you pro-life activists because of your belief in God, or because of something else?" Listener Mail: 1: "I think pro-choice bodily rights arguments are all strawmen arguments." 2: "How would you respond to a consistent death ethic, where the person responds that it would even be okay to kill toddlers for that reason?"

Special guests Steve Wagner and Becca Haschke from Justice For All join Josh for a discussion on how pro-lifers can best interact with post-abortive people. We don't want to make them feel unnecessarily guilty, but we also don't want to overcompensate and act as if abortion is no big deal.

This is the first of a series of recorded conversations between Josh Brahm and abortion advocates we're going to publish exclusively on this website. It's not an attempt to make pro-choice people look dumb, but an attempt to understand them better, as well as let you hear the arguments and methods we talk about on Life Report used in real time, with real people. Primary Dialogue Topics: 1: Summary of Crystal and Josh's positions on abortion 2: Are the unborn constructed or developed? 3: Is the current capacity for conscious thought necessary for personhood? 4: Is the zygote comparable to bodily cells? 5: What about rape?

Special guests Steve Wagner and Becca Haschke from Justice For All join Josh for a discussion on how to respond to "impossible" pro-choice people.

Josh Brahm interviews Jen Roth, a pro-life philosopher who's also an atheist and co-founder of All Our Lives. Jen explains how she communicates and defends her pro-life position. Jen also responded to questions from both pro-life and pro-choice live listeners, and closes the show by asking Josh how he grounds his view that humans are valuable. Josh's Questions for Jen: 1: How would you communicate your pro-life position? 2: How do you respond when a pro-choice person says the unborn are not persons as you and I are? 3: Do you distinguish between humans and all other animals? 4: How would you respond to someone who bites the bullet and concedes that newborns are not valuable people? 5: What about rape? 6: Assuming the unborn are valuable people, how do you respond to the objection that making abortion illegal would you would be violating womens' bodily autonomy, or bodily integrity? 7: By basic needs, do you mean universal or something else? 8: As an atheist, would the argument that the uterus is designed for pregnancy hold weight? 9: How would you respond if a pro-choicer moves from bodily rights to rape? Does parental responsibility hold up in that case? 10: Some say that not allowing abortions is inherently discriminatory because she could not walk away from the pregnancy in the same way a jerky man could. What do you say to that? 11: And what do you think of the counter that a law prohibiting abortion would not be inherently discriminatory unless it stated that only women could not have abortions (as men could, theoretically, one day become pregnant despite the extreme risk of danger)? 12: Would you consider yourself a moral relativist? 13: How would you respond to the pro-choicer who thinks that we should be able to abort babies that have physical or mental defects? 14: How do you think the way you ground your pro-life argument differs from pro-life theists? Questions from Live Listeners: 1: Would the thought that birth gives us full human rights not be consistent? 2: Even if we concede there is an intrusion going on in the woman's body, in the case of rape, to remain pregnant against her will, the intrusion against the child's body in the case of abortion outweighs the intrusion in the case of rape. Is that a good pro-life argument or a bad one? 3: As an atheist, what do you believe makes humans so valuable that all humans, even the unborn, should be protected? 4: As an atheist, from a pro-choicer who believes abortion is permissible from a moral relativist position, how would you answer that objection and say that abortion is never morally permissible?