Right to Life Radio

Our favorite (nearly graduated) student from Notre Dame Law John Gerardi is back to help the pro-life community understand why so many faithful Catholics that go to mass every week still voted for President Obama in the 2012 election. Gerardi explains the history of the Catholic church's relationship with the Democratic party and the increasingly uncomfortable position many bishops are in since the Democratic party is so openly pro-abortion rights and anti-religious liberty. Note from Josh: Life Report has never been an anti-Catholic show, and that hasn't changed. Frankly, a lot of Protestants didn't even vote. But there's no way to have a frank dialogue about this issue without recognizing that the Catholic church in America has had a long relationship with the Democratic party and that relationship is clearly having an impact on elections that effect the rights of unborn babies. We welcomed the chance to have a Catholic expert on the subject explain what he has learned for the benefit of our audience.

Our favorite (nearly graduated) student from Notre Dame Law John Gerardi is back to give us an update on the current status of the different lawsuits against the HHS mandate. We talk about the kinds of entities that are suing and on what grounds, whether it's looking favorable or not and which religious groups have been exempted and why. Listener Questions: Michael from Tulsa, OK: Will Scientologists get an exemption for all medical treatments that go against their religion now that Priests for Life got an exemption?

Published on the 40th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton decisions that made abortion legal in all 50 states through all nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason, out interview with pro-life hero Fr. Frank Pavone from Priests for Life was focused on the current state of the pro-life movement. Questions: What can pro-lifers do to more effectively change peoples minds? Why did 43% of church-going  Catholics vote for President Obama in the last election? What have been the pro-life movement’s greatest victory (or victories) so far? What has been the pro-life movement’s greatest failing or weakness? How can we overcome the obstacle of apathy? How should pro-lifers interact with those who are pro-abortion-choice? What single thing should pro-lifers be doing that most are NOT doing right now? What single thing do pro-life people sometimes spend TOO much time doing, when they could be doing something else that’s more effective? Graphic pictures: should we use them, and if so, how, when, and where? Assisted suicide & euthanasia: what should pro-lifers be doing about this, and why? Questions from Listeners: Patrick in Grand Rapids, MI: "Given the election results, what do we most need to double down on: politics, public education/demonstration, educating the 'people in the pews,' support Pregnancy Resource Centers, something else?" JP Prichard from Hanford, CA: "What do you see as being the best ways to promote unity among pro-life organizations and sects?"

Josh and Jonathan Keller finish their interview with Kristi Burkhart, Executive Director of the Fresno Pregnancy Care Center, focusing on the unique relationship our two organizations have and practical advice for people who want to help a girl who has an unplanned pregnancy. Topics include: Why our right to life organization has been able to maintain such a good partnership with the local pregnancy resource center. (Sadly, a rare situation.) Common misconceptions that pro-life people have of girls that are pregnant and abortion-vulnerable. How can our listeners practically help their friend that suddenly becomes pregnant? What are common mistakes that well-meaning pro-life people make when talking to a pregnant teen? Should sidewalk counselors offer to adopt the babies of mothers considering abortion? Is it true that it's impossible for college students to have kids and stay in school?

We just filmed an interview with pro-life hero Fr. Frank Pavone from Priests for Life for our January 22nd episode. After we were finished, Fr. Pavone agreed to answer one more question geared toward pastors and priests as they prepare for Sanctity of Life Sunday. (January 20th.) Specifically I asked besides the obvious messages on imago dei and the sanctity of human life, what is the most important message for pastors to preach that Sunday morning. What should the congregation walk away with?  Please forward this video on to your pastor or priest! Visit ProLifePreaching.com. Tune into ProLifePodcas.net for the full interview of Father Pavone on January 22nd, 2013.

Josh and Jonathan Keller interview Kristi Burkhart, Executive Director of the Fresno Pregnancy Care Center. This is not just a puff piece about PRC's. Most of our discussion is about the most common accusations leveled at PRC's by pro-abortion-choice people and organizations. Topics include: The National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) says that PRC's give false information about the abortion/breast cancer link, post-abortion syndrome and physical effects of abortion. Kristi explains how her center handles those three topics with their clients. What does her center do if a client doesn't want to discuss one of her options? (Parenting, adoption, abortion.) How does her center talk about birth control? The difference between PRC's under CareNet, NIFLA and Heartbeat International, and "rogue centers" that often have less quality control.

It's the eleventh part of our popular "Responding to Pro-Life Lies Video" series. The video lists 55 “pro-life lies” she’s heard, and in this series, we’re responding to them all. This was easily the toughest episode in this series to record, because so many of the statements are blatantly hateful. These are the worst statements from that entire video. Josh ends the episode with a plea to pro-lifers be good ambassadors for Christ. Here are the 8 "pro-life lies" we respond to in this episode: "Abortion is anti-feminist." "Jobs aborted children could have held are taken over by illegal immigrants." "Women who abort should be sterilized." "Childbirth is easy and women who don't want to do it are just lazy." "Planned Parenthood lies to women." "Teen mothers are whores." "No mother would ever kill her child." "Women don't know what they really have." Stay tuned for the final episode of this series coming soon!

Valerie from Silver Lake, Kansas emailed Life Report to ask for advice on a discouraging debate she had with her pro-choice, Christian father about abortion. Josh continues a three-part video series responding to different aspects of her email, and some of her dad's pro-choice arguments. This is part three, where Josh discusses... how to respond when somebody claims that personhood begins when a baby takes its first breath; what to do when the person you're talking to states that their mind is closed on the issue.

Valerie from Silver Lake, Kansas emailed Life Report to ask for advice on a discouraging debate she had with her pro-choice, Christian father about abortion. Josh continues a three-part video series responding to different aspects of her email, and some of her dad's pro-choice arguments. This is part two, where Josh discusses... how to respond when people call the unborn a "potential human being;" the claim that life is just a cycle and nothing really begins at fertilization; how to use Richard Stith's Polaroid analogy; how to define the term "human being."

Valerie from Silver Lake, Kansas emailed Life Report to ask for advice on a discouraging debate she had with her pro-choice, Christian father about abortion. Josh begins a three-part video series responding to different aspects of her email, and some of her dad's pro-choice arguments. In part one, Josh discusses the most important question when somebody states that the unborn is "not a human being," how to effectively "narrate the debate" when people don't answer our reasonable questions, and a few quick thoughts on Valerie's dad's assertion that the functional DNA of an early embryo is different from the DNA at later stages.

Josh responds to an email from Ashlen who was debating abortion with somebody who responded that parents should have the right to kill their children until they are 18 years old! She wants to know what she should have said. Josh's response includes comments on what to do when you get stumped or run out of steam and the proper introduction of humor into a dialogue.

Josh responds to a listener email that makes some strong claims about Margaret Sanger. Josh has a different take on Sanger's views and explains why.

Josh responds to an email from someone who isn't finding lots of success using economic arguments for the pro-life position. Her pro-choice friend's response is to reference "Freakonomics" and add that if the country needs more people, we should just open up the borders.

Josh responds to an email from someone who seems frustrated that Josh mis-characterized pro-life people as being uninformed about fetal development. Other topics include late-term abortions, Down Syndrome abortions, post-fertilization age vs. LMP, and the use of the term "pro-aborts."

Josh, Liz and Gabi respond to the story of a pro-choice blogger who wrote some things about sex-selection abortion that was deemed embarrassing by her pro-choice colleagues and publicly berated for it. Is there an inherent inconsistency in Laurie Penny's article? Can you be both pro-choice and opposed to legal sex-selection abortions? Should the other pro-choice bloggers have responded a different way? What does it mean to have an attitude of seeking truth? How can pro-lifers use this story to start conversations with pro-choice people? These questions and more are discussed on this episode of Life Report.