Steve Wagner
Only Two Questions?
Only Two Questions?
Rebekah Dyer
Masked Conversations
Masked Conversations
Steve Wagner
Should We Flip-Flop When Someone Flips Out?
Should We Flip-Flop When Someone Flips Out?
Steve Wagner
Conversations with Helen and Lisa
Conversations with Helen and Lisa
Steve Wagner
One Person Can Change the World
One Person Can Change the World

outreach

Aubree Changes Her Mind

Above, I talk with “Aubree” at UT Dallas in early March, before COVID-19 cancellations.

Above, I talk with “Aubree” at UT Dallas in early March, before COVID-19 cancellations.

On February 7th, I began serving as a Spring 2020 Intern with Justice For All. Before COVID-19 forced us to cancel the events JFA had planned for later in the spring, I was able to travel to Texas three times for outreach events at the University of North Texas, Trinity University, University of Texas at San Antonio, and University of Texas at Dallas.

One of the most memorable interactions I had this spring was at UT Dallas. A young woman I’ll call “Aubree” came up to our poll table that asked, “Should Abortion Remain Legal?” As she signed the Yes side, I approached her and asked her what she thought about abortion. Aubree proceeded to tell me she didn’t like abortion, but she thought it should be legal because making a law against abortion would cause more women to get hurt. She expressed the concern that even if we made abortion illegal, women would die in back-alley abortions, and it wouldn’t really prevent abortion at all. She went on to explain she also believes life begins at conception and that abortion kills an innocent human being.

There are many people like Aubree who claim to be pro-life, believe the unborn is human like you and me, and yet believe that abortion should be legal. The problem with this is multi-faceted. First, they are telling you abortion is killing an innocent human but that abortion should still be legal. Then they often support this with a second statement like the back-alley abortion claim.

Above, I am shown talking with a pro-choice student at Trinity University in February.

The challenge in this view is that to some extent there is truth to it. Having a law against abortion won’t stop all abortions. Laws do not prevent all people from engaging in a particular action, but that does not mean we should not have legislation against a particular act if it is harming or killing another person.

I began to walk through her concerns with her, and we applied her reasoning for keeping abortion legal to other issues. Laws against child abuse and rape do not prevent all those crimes from occurring, but they do mitigate the behavior. In addition, laws reflect what our society values. If we did not have laws against child abuse and rape, that would reveal a disturbing culture that does not have concern for the wellbeing of vulnerable people victimized by these evil acts. In the same way, if abortion is killing an innocent human being (which it is), then we should have laws against it.

Another helpful way to process this is to imagine we were talking about women having the right to kill their newborns. Imagine that someone argues that infanticide should be legal and safe for women because if it were illegal, women would just get hurt in back alleys trying to kill their newborns. This helps to clarify the point and keep the discussion on one central question: What is the unborn?

Of course we don’t want women to die in “back-alley abortions,” and we should take measures to help women not desire to take that risk. But because abortion is killing an innocent human being, it should not remain legal.

Towards the end of my conversation with Aubree, we began discussing women’s rights, and I remarked how I thought it was sad that the idea of women’s rights is so interconnected with abortion. “Oftentimes, abortion kills another woman [at the embryonic or fetal stage]. Our ability to be free and equal does not come from our ability to kill other weaker, vulnerable, unborn women. If we really care about women, why do we not fight for all women in all stages of their existence? It seems odd to me that we only fight for a specific group of women, and we tell some of them that they have the right to kill another woman if she gets in their way.”

“When I made that connection it was like a light bulb went on in her mind. Before leaving, she asked “Can I change my answer?””

When I made that connection it was like a light bulb went on in her mind. Before leaving, she asked “Can I change my answer?” Walking back to the poll table, she signed the No side of our poll, and we cordially parted ways.

Many people think the same way Aubree thought before our conversation, and they just need someone to gently point out the flawed reasoning in their beliefs. When the truth is communicated in a loving manner, sometimes they are willing to change their views to fit the truth. This is encouraging to witness.

As Christians, learning how to communicate the truth to a watching world is crucial. We are told to “walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Col. 4:5-6 ESV). May we all be willing and ready to communicate the truth to a lost world.

A Note to My Support Team

(Originally shared along with this story in April 2020)

Dear Friends,

Since traveling is no longer an option this spring, I have been working with the JFA team as we seek to reach people using other means. I have been helping JFA launch its Instagram account (@picturejusticeforall) while trying to get into conversations via direct message with people on that forum. I presented a portion of an online JFA interactive workshop this past week, and I’ll also be helping with online training events in the coming weeks (see www.jfaweb.org/calendar). In addition, please go to my JFA page to find links to articles I have published recently with Human Defense Initiative and Merely Human Ministries.

We continue to engage in compassionate dialogue with the purpose of glorifying God and communicating to people the value and dignity in every human life. Thank you for your friendship, support, and prayers. It is much easier to do this work knowing I have people like you who have my back.

In Christ,

Rebekah Dyer

I Didn't See This Coming (Instagram Link)

"Through this conversation, I was reminded that I cannot really know another person or his beliefs until I take the time to ask questions and hear him out. I never know what God might do, even in the heart of a student that seems closed off." -Kaitlyn Donihue, JFA Trainer

Click here to read about Kaitlyn's surprising encounter at Fort Lewis College last year.

Spending Spring Break with JFA

Angelique (second from left), the pro-life club president at Trinity University, engages students at UT Dallas in conversation during her spring break with JFA.

In February, our team held outreach events at two schools in San Antonio in one trip. For the Trinity University event, we were invited by the president of the Tigers for Life, Angelique. As for UTSA, we had been working with their pro-life club’s outreach chair for years before finally getting to do outreach on campus this spring. We also did training seminar events with both of them last fall.

Our spring break team at UT Dallas

After our successful outreach events with them in San Antonio, we asked both of them if they wanted to join us two weeks later at the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) since our events there took place during their spring break. They each decided to abandon their spring break plans to come to Dallas with us.

There they joined Mariana and Thomas, from Benedictine College, who also spent their spring break with us. We all had three amazing days of outreach at UT Dallas. The day that trip ended, the quarantine and stay-at-home orders started to be issued, so we finished the trip with God’s perfect timing. Judging from the response we got from these student leaders, they really were glad that they spent their spring break not on a beach vacation, but at outreach with Justice For All changing their peers’ minds about abortion, one person at a time.

“I am so grateful I went on a mission trip with Justice For All over spring break! It was a time of growth, intentional dialogue, and deepening of faith . . . I learned a lot of interesting viewpoints, and I was deeply moved by some of the heartbreaking reasons why people are pro-choice . . . It was truly amazing to see a variety of different people’s strengths and talents come together and impact students on campus. Abortion is not something to be ignored, no matter how hard the conversation is. I can bet the students at UT Dallas will be talking about the JFA exhibit for years to come, leading to a domino effect of conversations. Overall, I feel strengthened in my own faith through this mission, especially in learning how to do my part in a mission and surrendering the rest to God.”
— Mariana (Freshman, Benedictine College)

Mariana in action at UT Dallas

Thomas (green shirt) having conversations with pro-choice protestors

“I was amazed at how many conversations really changed people’s views on the issue of abortion—rarely a 180 degree turnaround, but more often than that, I found even sharing the perspective we were coming from helped open people’s minds more on the subject. I was especially impacted by seeing how each day the protestors became less hostile in their attitude and more open to dialogue.”
— Thomas (Sophomore, Benedictine College)

A New View of Abortion... And Pro-Life Advocates

Impact Report, April 2020

A Note from JFA’s Executive Director: Mary St. Hilaire had been an intern with JFA for less than a week when we sent her to four different cities from February 7 until March 12. She helped JFA accomplish eleven days of outreach at five universities and also learned to present a portion of JFA’s training seminar. Since COVID-19 has caused us to postpone in-person events for now, we’re thankful for Mary’s help in doing more with social media, including starting conversations with people online. - Steve Wagner, JFA Executive Director

In the first outreach conversation of her internship, Mary (above, right) interacts with a University of North Texas student who skipped his class to talk about abortion.

One of my favorite conversations this semester was with a girl I’ll call “Liz,” a student at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. From the beginning I could tell that Liz was very hesitant to engage us in any way. When I asked if she wanted to weigh in on our poll (“Is Abortion an Injustice?”), she seemed almost nervous to do so, but eventually got up the courage and signed the “No” side. I then asked if she had time to share her thoughts with me, to which she timidly replied, “Yeah... I do have time actually.”

At University of Texas at Dallas in March, Mary talked with the group of students pictured here. As we traveled home from Dallas, we began to see cancellations of public gatherings nationwide.

I followed up by asking her what she thought about abortion. Right off the bat, I recognized the love and compassion that Liz has for women, for she responded, “Well, I don’t really like abortion, but I understand that it’s necessary for some women if they are raped or if they’re too poor to take care of a child.”

This was the perfect opportunity, early in the conversation, to set Liz at ease and help her know that I cared about her view and about these circumstances. I responded by saying, “I agree that rape is a terrible experience for any woman to have and I can’t imagine going through that. And poverty is something I’ve never had to experience, but my heart really goes out to anyone living in poverty, especially single mothers. Both of those situations are really sad to think about.”

Almost immediately after saying this, there was a change in Liz’s disposition. I saw a transformation in her face and could tell that my response was not at all what she was expecting to hear. In fact, not only did she become more willing to discuss the topic of abortion with me, but she also began to open up about very personal struggles in her own life. She said that both she and her boyfriend have problems with their mental health. They plan on getting married, and they would love to have children, but they feel trapped because they don’t want their kids to have the same mental challenges they have.

I could tell how distressing this was to Liz, and I was able to really empathize with her. “Wow,” I said. “That is such a difficult situation. I want to have children someday, too, so I can understand how hard this must be for you because obviously we want the best for our children and would never want them to experience the same hardships we have experienced. I’m sorry you have to go through this. Is your family supportive of you and your boyfriend?” “Yes, luckily they are very supportive and loving,” she answered. “I’m so glad to hear that,” I replied. “It’s so important to have people in your life that you can lean on to help you through the hard times.”

The way that Liz opened up to me and the way in which I was able to empathize with her created a strong connection between us. In fact, most of our conversation was spent just getting to know one another. We talked about our shared Christian faith, joked and laughed over stories from our past, and talked about our families and backgrounds. We didn’t actually discuss the topic of abortion in depth until a friendship had begun to develop. Because of our connection, when I did ask her about abortion again, she was very open and willing to discuss it with me.

“So, do you think the unborn is biologically human?” I asked. “I’m not sure,” she replied. “That’s okay!” I said. “Would you be open to hearing what I think?”

“Absolutely!” she eagerly responded. I then walked her through evidence that the unborn is biologically human. For example, the unborn exhibits the three characteristics of living things, it has human parents and human DNA, and it is a whole organism that is developing itself. Liz said that those reasons made sense, and she was willing to agree that the unborn is biologically human.

I then tried to help her see why all human beings deserve the right to life by asking her a few questions: “Look around at everyone on campus. We’re all different, right? Different religions, races, ages, and genders. But could you agree that everyone on campus deserves to be treated equally at least in the sense of the basic right to life?” She nodded. “Of course.”

I continued, “So then there must be something the same about us that gives us the right to demand this equal treatment. What do you think is the same about us?” Liz paused and thought for a moment. “That’s a good question. I don’t know. What do you think?” she finally asked.

“Well, I think it’s simply that we are all human beings!” I could see that this answer really resonated with Liz. “Yes, that makes sense,” she quickly replied. I continued: “So if the unborn is also human then shouldn’t he also deserve the right to life?”

The look on Liz’s face told me that she completely understood this argument and was really grappling with it. After a moment, she answered, “I guess abortion is an injustice. But I do understand why some women need to get abortions.” This response impressed me because of Liz’s willingness to admit that she had changed her view of abortion as not being an injustice. I wasn’t at all surprised that she held onto the belief that it is still necessary for some women, despite it being wrong. I know that she was simply trying to process through everything we had discussed. A total change of heart may come later when she has had more time to dwell on this complex topic.

With all that being said, my conversation with Liz is one of my favorites not because of her altered view of abortion but because of what she said in parting after we had talked for about an hour. She looked at me earnestly and said, “Thank you! You have changed my perspective of pro-lifers and the pro-life movement.” Those are the most precious words I have heard in any of my conversations.

One of our main goals as staff at Justice For All, and as pro-life advocates in general, is to have dialogues that convey Christ’s message of love, forgiveness, and understanding. Liz’s parting words confirmed that I had fulfilled that message in our conversation. Whether or not she completely changes her mind on the issue of abortion, I know that I had a great impact on her because she has a new view of pro-life advocates as people of acceptance, love, and openness. This, in and of itself, opens so many doors for more productive conversations in the future. She will now be much more willing to listen to and understand the pro-life position without the interference of a negative association with pro-life people.

So often, pro-choice people don’t want to engage us simply because they think we don’t care about their views. Let us change that stigma by our examples of Christ-like love, unconditional and immeasurable, in every interaction we have with people with whom we disagree. Let us truly live out Jesus’ command to us: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)

JFA Outreach Featured in The UNC Mirror

This month, JFA held a two-day outreach event (April 8-9) at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. The student newspaper, The UNC Mirror, covered the event.

Click here to read the article, including an interview with JFA Trainer Grace Fontenot.

Click above to read the full interview and coverage of JFA’s recent outreach at University of Northern Colorado in The UNC Mirror.

Click above to read the full interview and coverage of JFA’s recent outreach at University of Northern Colorado in The UNC Mirror.

JFA's Las Vegas Outreach Makes TV News

WARNING: Graphic Images Included

Click on the picture above to view news coverage of JFA's February 2017 outreach to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). (Warning: Graphic images included.)

Click on the picture above to view news coverage of JFA's February 2017 outreach to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). (Warning: Graphic images included.)

This past Wednesday (2-15-2017), the Fox5 Las Vegas news station covered JFA's outreach to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) . The video features JFA Training Specialist Rebecca Haschke.  Click on the image (right) to hear her share one reason JFA uses graphic abortion imagery.

The JFA team ended a busy few days with another outreach to UNLV on Thursday, after holding seminars and outreach events in both Arizona and Nevada earlier in the week.  To view JFA's events coming up next, visit JFA's calendar page. 

Late-Term Abortion? ... Our Open Mic Archives Help You Prepare for the Dialogue

Did you know that you can watch real JFA open mic conversations at our  "Explore Resources" page?  We've even created some questions to help you practice having similar conversations.

VIDEO CLIP: Late-term abortion has been in the news recently.  Here's a dialogue excerpt from the JFA archives to help you prepare for conversations with your friends. *(See parental advisory below.)

  • Step 1: Listen to the first thoughts from this student at ASU. Stop the video.
  • Step 2: Think of a question you can ask to build common ground with the speaker. Write your ideas in the comments section.
  • Step 3: Now listen to the remainder of the video. Did Steve's attempt at common ground succeed?

*Warning: Parental Advisory. 
The audio/video clips of JFA's Open Mic sessions contain unedited free speech audio and portions include profanity and frank discussion of sexuality.  If you are under the age of 18, please invite your parents to preview this material and approve it for your listening.  Once they've reviewed it, you might invite them to listen along with you!  These clips provide great opportunities for discussing what you think about life before birth, pregnancy, and abortion.