Right To Life Radio | Life Report

Comment on this episode at http://ProLifePodcast.net/193! We're interrupting our series with Steven Ertelt to give you an update on the Supreme Court case, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores. Notre Dame Law grad John Gerardi and Jonathan Keller from California Family Council explain the case and what happened during the oral arguments. Questions: 1: Where are we in this case right now and how did we wind up here? 2: One of the issues in this case is whether or not a corporation should be considered a "person." Many people think it's crazy to call a corporation a person, that it just protects the rich and helps them get richer. What are your views on that? 3: What were some of the highlights from the oral arguments? 4: Is this about religious freedom or is it about the rights of the poor employees against their corporate employer? 5: How do you think the court will rule and why? 6: Where does the religious freedom road lead if Hobby Lobby loses this case?  

Steven Ertelt from LifeNews.com discusses his list of pro-life pet peeves with Josh.   While obviously not all pro-life advocates do these things, many do, and Steven argues that we will be more effective as a movement if we eliminate these bad habits.

I spoke last month at the Students for Life of America Regional Leadership Summit at UCLA. I spent the first 54-minutes speaking about bodily rights arguments, and you can download that audio here. I spent the last 24-minutes talking about life-threatening pregnancies and taking questions.   My thinking on this subject is heavily influenced by my friend Trent Horn at Catholic Answers. Trent has done a lot of research and great thinking on this subject, and the material I presented is largely based on what Trent has written on the subject that I subsequently agreed with.   After arguing that we should treat both mother and child as patients and that in late-term situations, we can usually save both, I explain that there are still some cases where we cannot save both, particularly in tubal pregnancies.   I respond to the concern that tubal pregnancies aren't really that risky, and offer a real-world example when it was also justified to put an innocent human being's life in perilous risk.

Post your comments at http://ProLifePodcast.net/191.   Steven Ertelt, Founder and Editor of LifeNews.com, shares his expertise on the relationship between the Girl Scouts of America and Planned Parenthood.    He also explains why the Girl Scouts have sent a threatening legal letter to LifeNews.com.   Finally, Steven and Josh discuss the boycott and whether or not local Girl Scout groups should be boycotted.  

Josh concludes his interview with Jojo Ruba, former staff member of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform and Executive Director of Faith Beyond Belief. After talking about the mission of Faith Beyond Belief, Josh asks a follow-up question from the previous episode, where Jojo made a comment about pro-lifers needing to be "more offensive." Josh asks, "How can you tell whether you should be more offensive or less offensive when talking to pro-choice people?" Afterwards Jojo and Josh answer a listener mail question from Mark in Hawaii: "I'm a new listener, and I'm trying to figure out exactly what your views are regarding human development and when a person comes into being and should be granted human rights. Most importantly and perhaps most difficult, when do you believe God endues a body/soul carrier with a soul in human fetal development and what are your reasons for that?" The episode includes a discussion of the Equal Rights Argument that Josh and the Justice For All team have been using lately, and

Josh interviews Jojo Ruba, former staff member of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform and Executive Director of Faith Beyond Belief.   After talking about the pro-life presentations that have been protested and censored by Canadian pro-choice activists, Jojo answers the 9-question Life Report Questionnaire that has been answered by many other pro-life leaders in the past. I altered it a little for this interview, taking out the questions on stem cell research and euthanasia to focus more on the graphic pictures debate and how pro-lifers should treat pro-choice people.   I love this quote from Jojo, in regards to what he does when he's talking to a pro-choice person: "I say a little prayer, and the prayer is this: 'Father, show me how I can love this person today.'"   Questions:   What did you get in trouble for as a child? What is your favorite movie, and why? What has been the pro-life movement’s greatest victory (or victories) so far? What has been the pro-life movement’s greatest failing or weakness

It's Gabi's farewell show! So for something special, Josh and Gabi discuss the 21 most important lessons she's learned about abortion dialogue while working with Right to Life of Central CA and Justice For All.

After shooting the Life Report episode on arguments for embryonic stem cell research, Dr. Buratovich graciously stuck around 37-minutes to answer more questions! This audio includes my new favorite fact about early human development!   Questions:   1: Ronald Bailey has argued that since somatic cell nuclear transfer can transform a nucleus from an adult cell into an embryo, then every cell in our body is a potential embryo. Since we do not get upset about all those cells we lose when we sneeze or scrape our knees, we shouldn’t get upset about the death of a bunch of embryos. I train people to respond to that by saying they’re confusing parts with wholes and talk about what an organism is. How do you respond?   2: Some argue that embryos are like acorns as opposed to oak trees. The loss of a majestic oak tree is a genuinely sad, but an acorn? We trample hundreds of those while playing with our kids at the park and think nothing of it. So people argue that embryos are similar, in that they only become valuable

Join the discussion at http://ProLifePodcast.net/187   Dr. Michael Buratovich is Professor of Biochemistry at Spring Arbor University and the faculty advisor for the SAU Students for Life club. Josh interviews him on what stem cell research is and how to respond to common arguments for embryonic stem cell research.   Purchase "The Stem Cell Epistles: Letters to my Students about Bioethics, Embryos, Stem Cells, and Fertility Treatments:" http://amzn.to/1f2rM3b   Read Dr. Buratovich's blog at http://BeyondTheDish.wordpress.com.   01:09 - How did this book come along?   04:10 - Can you explain for our listeners what a stem cell is, and why they are sought after in research for regenerative medicine?   11:03 - Can you talk about the differences between embryonic stem cell research, adult stem cell research and induced pluripotent stem cell research?     17:18 - Many people argue that the embryo is just a tiny clump of cells with no nervous system; no heart, no consciousness, no ability to feel pain. They think it

Listen to Josh's speech at the Students for Life of America 2014 West Coast National Conference: Josh responds to these four common statements:1: "I'm pro-life, but people tell me I come across like a jerk. What can I do about that?"2: "I'm pro-life, but I don’t know how to convince people that abortion is wrong?"3: "I'm pro-life, but I think it should be legal."4: "I'm pro-life, but what about rape?"

We weren't able to cover everything I wanted to during the Life Report episode, but Dr. Poupard was gracious enough to spend some more time answering questions about this important topic. 1: How do birth control pllls and Plan B work, why do some people think that they are abortifacients and why do you think that they may not be? 2: Comment on article from Catholic Bioethics...Quarterly that cites studies indicating that Plan B is not an abortifacient and argues that the labels on Plan B may not mean anything. Is there a medical bias issue at play? 3: Question #1 from Dan: What about the studies cited in Randy Alcorn's book that breakthrough pregnancies while on oral contraceptives are more likely to be ectopic? 4: Question #2 from Dan: What is the state of the research on Progesterone-only pills like the mini pill and copper/hormonal IUD's?

We've been wanting to shoot an episode on this topic for several years, and it's finally done! It's sometimes a contentious topic among pro-life people, but it's an important one nonetheless. How should pro-life people think and talk about birth control, aside from the important religious debate about whether or not you should plan your family? Dr. Rich Poupard from Life Training Institute comes on the show to offer his expertise. 02:25 - Dr. Poupard summarizes what he's learned about the medical question of how birth control methods work. 04:55 - How does Plan B work according to the research and what does a woman's weight have to do with it's effectiveness? 08:45 - Do you think women are getting enough information about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of Plan B? 09:25 - Why the new Plan B research will probably result in MORE abortifacient use, and not less. 12:32 - Were pro-abortion-choice advocates talking about the new Plan B/weight study when it came out, or have they been hesitant to discuss it pu

We've got an unaired episode that was never published on YouTube for technical reasons that we recently resolved. Josh Brahm and Liz Goddard interview Bobby Schindler, the Executive Director of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network which works to protect the lives of the medically vulnerable and disabled from the threat of euthanasia. Join the discussion at http://ProLifePodcast.net/185. 00:29 Can you give us a brief overview of your sister Terri's story? 04:18 Did Michael wait 30-45 minutes after Terri's collapse before calling 911? 05:27 Can you define "persistent vegetative state" for us, and whether you believe Terri was in a persistent vegetative state? 06:53 Is there an objective definition of PVS? 08:11 Did Terri fit that medical criteria for PVS? 09:04 What progress did Terri show in the first two years of rehab before Michael took her off of rehab? 10:15 What happened to the trust fund that was earmarked for Terri's therapy? 12:25 Why do you think that Michael refused to divorce Terri after movin

Rebecca Hashke from Justice For All joins Josh Brahm and Gabi Vehrs to discuss a question that pro-lifers often struggle with. After offering some thoughts on how pro-lifers should respond to this question, the discussion turns to another philosophical conundrum that pro-choice people often ask about: should the fact that abortion bans would be hard to enforce mean that we shouldn't try to make abortion illegal?

Our favorite Notre Dame Law grad John Gerardi joins us again, this time to discuss the Pope's recent confusing comments about abortion. Note from Josh: We recorded this episode in October, 2013. I'm grateful that yesterday (December 9th) Pope Francis made a clear pro-life statement to the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, a pro-life group in Rome.

Steve Wagner from Justice For All joins Josh Brahm and Gabi Vehrs to discuss what Students for Life clubs should do with their events. Steve argues that every event should create a debate about abortion that can be turned into a dialogue. Here's the list of typical pro-life campus club activities that Steve assesses in this episode: 1: Cupcakes For Life. 2: Poll table event - Debate2Dialogue.org for pics. 3: Bringing speakers (pro-life apologetics, post-abortion, etc.) or hosting a debate. 4: Screening movies like "It's a Girl," "180," "October Baby" and "Bella." 5: Volunteering for the local Pregnancy Resource Center. 6: Diaper drives. 7: Traveling to the March for Life. 8: Bound4Life events. (Red tape over mouth.)

Steve Wagner from Justice For All joins Josh Brahm and Gabi Vehrs for a two-episode discussion about common terms and labels used in the abortion debate.  In this episode they focus on the labels that both sides of the debate call the entity killed in an abortion: unborn, preborn, zygote, embryo, fetus, fetal human, baby and child. Steve uses the word "unborn" at the beginning of a dialogue with a pro-choice person so as not to add an unnecessary impediment to the conversation, and to avoid begging the question. Steve responds to the following challenges to his approach: "Aren't we humanizing the unborn by calling her a 'child' or by using male/female pronouns?" "What about when we're writing? Do we always need to make a case for the humanity of the unborn before we start calling her a 'baby' or using male/female pronouns?"

Steve Wagner from Justice For All joins Josh Brahm and Gabi Vehrs for a two-episode discussion about common terms and labels used in the abortion debate. In this episode they focus on the labels that both sides of the debate call each other: pro-choice, pro-abortion. pro-abort. pro-abortion-choice. pro-life. anti-abortion. anti-choice. Steve, Josh and Gabi explain why they are willing to use the term "pro-choice" when beginning a dialogue, even though many pro-life people see that as an inaccurate "weasel word."  Steve argues that he needs to ask the person in front of him a lot of questions to accurately understand what they think about abortion, and he doesn't want to create unnecessary impediments to the dialogue by using offensive terms that he doesn't even think accurately portrays most abortion advocates. Steve also responds to the following challenges to his approach: "But isn't 'pro-choice' the least accurate label for the other side?" "What about when it's just pro-life people hanging out? Shoul

Megan Almon from Life Training Institute joins Josh Brahm and Gabi Vehrs to discuss strawman fallacies. Josh starts the show by stating that both pro-life and pro-choice people strawman the other side all the time, and he shares several examples. They then discuss how people can avoid making strawman arguments. How can we intentionally listen to people and ask a LOT of clarification questions to determine what they actually believe?

Josh Brahm and Gabi Vehrs have a candid conversation about the state of the pro-life movement, and some of the most important things we need to do in the next ten years to set ourselves up in a good trajectory towards victory.