JFA Blog — Justice For All

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Justice For All

A Conversation, a Seed Planted, and a Life Saved

Impact Report, March 2025

In this Impact Report, our newest intern Alora Tunstill (Northwest Arkansas) shares one of her favorite conversation stories. She underscores how important it is to engage those around us in conversation about important topics like abortion, lifestyle choices, and spiritual things.

Our mission is to help you to learn the same conversation skills Alora discusses in this letter, and to help you teach others around you in your church and community. See jfaweb.org/calendar for upcoming workshops, both in your community and online anywhere in the world. Thank you for partnering with JFA through financial support and prayer as we seek to reach more people.

-Steve Wagner, Executive Director

My mom, Rachael, grew up in a lukewarm Christian home only going to church on holidays like Easter and Christmas. She had a basic understanding of who God is. She knew she was a sinner and that if she died she would be forever separated from God.

Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center made an eight-minute video of Rachael (right) and Alora (left) sharing this story. Watch the video here.

Her parents divorced when she was three years old. She didn’t have a real relationship with her siblings; her friends were her priority. During high school she often spent her time with the wrong influences.

She got a job working at a small barbecue restaurant when she was in 10th grade. It was here she met my dad, Nicholas. He was a country boy who had no spiritual knowledge. They started dating, partying, and drinking together. Their lives revolved around themselves.

My dad’s family unit was also a wreck. His dad was an alcoholic, and his mom was completely uninvolved. He lived with his great-grandparents, and some of his aunts and uncles took an interest in him.

Shortly after my mom graduated from high school, she moved in with some friends and began using drugs. She continued to work at the restaurant but also got a job at a dental office. Three of her co-workers began speaking to her about making good choices with her life. Her aunt also took time to encourage her and share truth with her. My mom felt safe to open up to her co-workers and her aunt because they took the time to start conversations with her about hard things and remained her friends even when they disagreed. They found common ground with her through everyday conversations. They accepted her for who she was. They challenged her with truth by their own right living.

Around this time, my mom discovered that she was pregnant and that she was already five months along. She was only 19. She was still using drugs and still dating my dad, but they weren’t married, and she felt alone. She felt the only option she had was an abortion.

Since she was so far along, the procedure would take two days. The first day the doctor would implant laminaria which is used in the dilation and evacuation abortion procedure. The next day she would go in for the surgical part of the procedure. The clinic was cold, unwelcoming, and lonely.

After the implant was finished, they did an ultrasound, and she saw her baby and heard the heartbeat. Suddenly she realized she couldn’t go through with the procedure. She felt God calling out to her, asking her to stop running and surrender to Him. She gave her life to Him right there and left the clinic.

Because her Christian friends at the dental office had taken the time to talk with her, listen to her, and challenge her toward truth, she knew she could call them and that they would help her.

(Above) Alora and her parents enjoy the snow when Alora was just four months old. (Below) Alora and her mom pause for a recent photo. Alora is now serving as an intern with JFA in Northwest Arkansas and raising support to serve as a Training Specialist. Learn more about her work here.

Through the scramble of trying to figure out what to do next, my parents made some phone calls to several OB-GYN doctors. No one wanted to take her as a patient since the abortion procedure had already been started. Her co-workers, however, knew of a local pregnancy resource center close by, and they decided to see if they could get care there. They went in looking for help and love.

The Huntsville Pregnancy Resource Center (huntsvilleprc.org) immediately called a doctor who was willing to help. The doctor didn’t promise that he could save their baby, but he said he would do what he could. He removed the laminaria that the abortion clinic had implanted. Everyone held their breath and prayed. They did an ultrasound and there was a heartbeat! What a miracle!

Shortly afterward, my dad gave his life to the Lord, and my parents got married. Four months later their baby was born – me! I was born with no health issues or side effects from the drugs or from the first step of the abortion procedure.

What can a conversation change? Turns out it can save a life! Because my mom’s co-workers took the time to talk to her about spiritual things as well as everyday things, she knew she could reach out to them. What if they hadn’t talked to her? I might not be here today. They never could have guessed that the simple conversations they had with my mom would lead to them helping to save my life.

Conversations are powerful. At Justice For All we work to equip Christians to have conversations with people around them about the important issues of our day because these conversations can have an incredible impact. Just like in my story, they can plant a seed and later maybe even save a life.

– Alora Tunstill, for the JFA Team

Team Be Nimble

Team Be Nimble

In this Impact Report, we feature highlights from Justice For All (JFA) events that took place from March to September. Each highlighted event illustrates the way smaller training teams can help us make a bigger impact. We’ve found that empowering our trainers to do events on their own helps our team to be nimble and ready to meet the great need all over the country for good dialogue training—training that includes outreach whenever possible.

Setting Starfish Free

Note: Catherine Wurts served as a JFA Trainer from 2009 until 2017. In this “Classic Reprint” of her June 2014 letter, “Setting Starfish Free,” Catherine tells one of my favorite JFA stories. In the story of “Anthony,” Catherine both makes a persuasive case for the value of unborn children and seeks to help a young man realize his own worth as “one loved by God.” She also illustrates the heartbeat of the JFA community, seeking whenever possible to open a door to deeper reflection on spiritual things, in hopes that starfish will by the Holy Spirit allow our conversations to nudge them to “dive in.” When you support JFA, you support this heartbeat on the campuses and in the churches where we train and conduct outreach across the country. Thank you for considering a special gift to JFA this month to help us train more Christians to “make a difference for even one.” - Steve Wagner, Executive Director

 

Catherine (right) interacts with a student at the University of Georgia (UGA) in March 2014.

My colleague, John Michener (bottom photo, center), often illustrates JFA’s mission by referencing the story of The Star Thrower, by Loren Eisley:

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

John Michener (blue tie-dye) engages Arizona State University (ASU) students in dialogue in Feb. 2014. John served as a JFA trainer from 2010 until 2014 and now directs Oklahomans United for Life: www.oklahomansunitedforlife.org.

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” At this, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “I made a difference for that one.”

Who are our “starfish”? They’re the thousands of students streaming by our university Exhibit outreaches on their way to class. Many of them have had or are going to have abortions. Many others are pro-life Christians who are either silent or unloving when the topic of abortion comes up. Many, many of them are blind to the inherent dignity of the unborn – and of born people – because they have no idea how valued and loved they, themselves, are by their Creator. One significant difference between us and the boy on the beach, however, is that our “starfish” have free will. We can take them to the ocean, but they have to choose whether or not to dive in. [Editor’s note: We are not intending here to weigh in on the precise nature and interrelation of human choices and divine providence.]

Meet Anthony (name changed), a “starfish” at the University of Georgia, Athens (UGA). I met Anthony on a very rainy day in front of our Draw the Line kiosk on his campus last fall. He is a pre-med student from Egypt and has only been in the U.S. for a short time. We spoke for a while about abortion – he considered himself generally pro-life but thought abortion should be allowed in cases of rape and other difficult circumstances. We established a lot of common ground about needing to be compassionate to women and to provide resources for them. Also, he said he thought the logical argument I laid out for why abortion is not justified, even in these tough cases, was consistent and probably true.

Then he asked me, “Are you religious?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

He smiled as though he’d “got” me. “It seems like everyone I’ve met who’s pro-life is religious.”

“Well, I know of atheists who are pro-life,” I said, “which makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it, if the unborn is a human being? If we think about it, does a person have to be religious to recognize that murder, rape, and child abuse are wrong? The question is, ‘Is abortion a similar injustice against a human being?’ There are atheists who would say that it is.” *

Anthony agreed this made logical sense. He went on to explain that he’d been raised in an Orthodox Christian home in Egypt, but when he came to the States he put all of that behind him. He had started to think that morals are relative and that perhaps God doesn’t exist.

We talked for a while, him sharing some of his disillusionment with Christians, and me sharing that I’d had similar doubts and concerns when I was in college. I told him I admired him for asking the tough questions he was asking. Then I challenged him to look more deeply into the claims that Christianity makes before rejecting it – and before rejecting Christ. I suggested he begin by reading C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. He said he would, but I thought, “How many times have I intended to read something and never gotten to it?” Then Anthony left for class. I guessed he wouldn’t read the book, and felt sure I wouldn’t see him again.

Come March of this year, I found myself in the same quad by the student center at UGA standing in front of the JFA Exhibit. I was talking with another student who was sharing very similar things with me to what Anthony had shared, but this student was decidedly more antagonistic, sarcastic, and unwilling to dialogue. All of a sudden, I noticed Anthony standing next to us, listening in! He smiled and when the other student left, Anthony said he’d come to tell me that he’d read Mere Christianity and talked a lot with his uncle. As a result, he had decided to come back to his Christian faith.

He’s started attending an Orthodox church in town and doing some service projects with them. He told me, with a huge smile on his face, “When I met you, I was obsessing about these questions about life and about God. When I would eat my food, I would be thinking, ‘Is there a God?’ Everywhere I went I was worrying over it. But I’m not obsessing anymore! I am happy!” St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, wrote, “For freedom Christ set us free, so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Anthony, like the little starfish, had been set free. Praise God. Please pray for him as he continues on his journey with the Lord.

- Catherine Wurts, June 2014

* For example, Secular Pro-Life (SPL) is both strongly pro-life and explicitly atheistic. See JFA’s blog post featuring a list of links to SPL posts every pro-life advocate should read: www.jfaweb.org/secular-pro-life.

Human Fetuses Are Not Parasites

Free Speech Board comment at the University of Kansas.

“The fetus is just a parasite.” Some pro-choice advocates make this claim, and they can mean very different things by referring to unborn children as “parasites”. A student at Kansas University wrote the following:

The women’s rights should take precedence over the rights of a parasite (technical definition of a fetus in the 1st trimester) because she is already an existing human who has every right to decline to birth something that she might not be able to take care of, or would be psychologically traumatic to raise or give up. NOT YOUR BODY, NOT YOUR CHOICE.

Let’s break down some aspects of this comment:

“The women’s rights should take precedence over the rights of a parasite (technical definition of a fetus in the 1st trimester)…” If after asking clarification questions you find that the person is using the parasite language in a biological sense, it’s important to point out that fetuses do not fit the scientific criteria for parasitism. JFA Trainer Rebekah Dyer notes this in her article Human Fetuses are Not Parasites:

fetuses do “not match the biological definition of a parasite. 'Biologically defined, parasitism is a “form of symbiosis in which one organism (called a parasite) benefits at the expense of another organism usually of different species (called a host). This host-parasite association may eventuate to the injury of the host.' In order to understand the relationship between mother and fetus, we need to look at the various types of symbiosis. There are three kinds of symbiosis: commensalism, mutualism and parasitism. In commensalism, only one species benefits while the other is neither harmed nor benefited. In mutualism, both partners benefit. In parasitism, one organism benefits while the other suffers harm."

The parasite claim is often complex and the person using the term can mean different things by it. Sometimes the person doesn’t mean it in a biological sense at all. Rebekah Dyer’s second article on the parasite term goes more into depth on this aspect of the “parasite” claim some pro-choice advocates make, and she provides insight on how to navigate that in conversation.

Note that the writer of this comment states that the woman is “already an existing human” implying the additional phrase, “unlike the unborn who is not an existing human yet.” But this is merely an assumption. It begs the central question “What is the unborn?” Then the comment concludes with a bodily rights statement at the end.

To learn how to respond to comments like these, sign up for our Love3 Workshops.

You’re Invited! Oct. 17 Workshop at Christopher Newport University

Event

“Creating Dialogue on Abortion to Reach Hearts and Minds - An Interactive Workshop led by Steve Wagner”

Click here to download printable flier. // Click here to register.

Date

October 17, 2023

Place

Washington Conference Room, David Student Union Building, Christopher Newport Univ., Newport News, VA

Time

Part I: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM (Check in at 5:15 PM; Includes Pizza Dinner)

Part II: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (Check in at 6:50 PM; Includes Dessert)

Note: Each part includes different content. You may attend one or the other, or attend both for the best experience. More notes on Content below.

Cost

There is no charge for this event, but you may make a donation to defray event costs.

Content

Part I will cover the following topics (some interactively, some briefly):

  • Three Essential Skills: You can start a conversation and keep it productive using just three skills: listening to understand, asking questions with an open heart, and finding common ground when possible.

  • Are Images Helpful? Learn to use images appropriately and sensitively in order to help people face the reality of abortion. Learn to use JFA’s “Invitation to Dialogue” Brochure (digital version and paper version) to guide a conversation.

  • One Central Question: Focus on the question, “What is the unborn?” and defend the idea that the unborn is a living human organism biologically.

Part II will cover the following topics (some interactively, some briefly):

  • The Equal Rights Mystery: Many people are unsure if the unborn are persons or have equal rights to the rest of us. We train you in this session to navigate that conversation beginning with the common ground of the Equal Rights Mystery.

  • The Question of Rape: Learn to meet both the relational and intellectual challenges inherent in the questions: “Is abortion right or wrong in the case of rape? Should it be legal in the case of rape?”

  • Do Bodily Rights Mean Abortion Is Okay? When someone says a woman should have a right to do what she wants with her body, we always begin with a response that surprises many pro-life advocates. Then we also offer a sophisticated intellectual response.

  • Q&A including Threats to the Pregnant Mother's Life and “Personally Opposed but It Should Stay Legal”

Dinner and a Dialogue

At Justice For All, we are passionate about creating a space for healthy dialogue about divisive issues. While most of our conversations are centered around abortion, our training skills are applicable to any situation where disagreement exists.

After losing some friends over political disagreements, Ted Wetzler, an Ohio resident, started an organization called "Dinner and a Fight," with the word "fight" crossed out and replaced with "dialogue." He brings people together for a meal with all different viewpoints and helps foster good communication and understanding. His organization is worth checking out!

To learn skills for having productive dialogue about abortion, and by extension, any controversial issue, take our online Love3 workshops.

JFA Intern Kristina Massa Speaking at the National Pro-Life Summit

We’re honored to announce that our intern Kristina Massa will be speaking at this year’s National Pro-Life Summit in Washington D.C. on January 21st! Those attending will be equipped and empowered to change hearts and minds about abortion by learning effective dialogue skills that balance truth and love. Kristina will share some vivid stories from her own experiences in conversations that will provide guidance in navigating the abortion issue with those in our culture

Click here for more info and to register/attend. View the free live stream for this event at this link (Kristina speaks at about 10:45 AM Eastern).

Roe v. Wade Overturned

On June 24 when the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Court made a significant correction and a step toward justice.

This case centered around a 2018 Mississippi law that banned abortions after 15 weeks. The law sparked litigation that challenged the constitutionality of such a ban because Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey claimed abortion was a constitutional right well beyond 15 weeks. After hearing the Dobbs case in December 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 upholding Mississippi’s abortion law, and ruled 5-4 to strike down Roe and Casey.

Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion and said,

“We therefore hold that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.” (Dobbs, p. 69)

On June 25 the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition captured these powerful photographs showing the division on this topic.

As we look back on the past 49 years with Roe in place, we are thankful that our nation finally recognized that the Roe decision was egregious and faulty. Overturning Roe was a significant step toward a more just society.

While it is worthwhile to take some time to reflect and celebrate, that time is short. We need to double down and focus on reaching our communities with the message that every human being, born and unborn, deserves equal protection from violence. We need to focus on serving families in our communities, especially women in need that are all alone in raising their children.

It’s as important as ever to actively, boldly, and faithfully engage our college campuses and wider culture with truth. We are gearing up for the fall semester. Our travels will take us across the country to talk with students and many others about the grave evil of abortion and the great value of unborn children. As we engage, we will continue to eagerly love babies, mothers, and those with whom we disagree.

“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
”
— Colossians 4:5-6

Colossians 4:5-6 holds much wisdom for us in this time. We need to use great care in how we talk to each person about Roe and the state of abortion in this country. Many people are celebrating. Many others are grieving. People with different experiences and backgrounds require a careful approach that is gentle, compassionate, and truthful. We need to dig deeper to discover underlying issues that form people’s views on abortion. May we be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19-20) so that people feel safe to transform their views about unborn human beings.

We are grateful for every person who has taken time to get trained to communicate well about abortion. We are also grateful for every person that has taken time to reach out to someone to have a conversation about abortion even when it has been uncomfortable.

The Justice For All team is excited to train and impact many more pro-life advocates during this critical time in history. We are deeply committed to training these advocates to speak the truth in love and treat each person we meet with gentleness and respect. This will create a world that is more just and more safe for every human being. We expect the Dobbs decision to save many lives. There are, however, many more lives that can only be saved when abortion becomes truly unthinkable for more people in our country. These efforts continue to be Justice For All’s main focus.

By training individual advocates and connecting personally with those who disagree, Justice For All has been focused on planting tens of thousands of seeds throughout our nation. We fully trust that God will continue to nourish and grow those seeds into something beautiful. Thank you for standing with us in this important movement and for your part in making this work possible.

Sincerely,

The Justice For All Staff

Resources for Women, Men, and Their Families

RESOURCES

If you or someone you know is pregnant and needs support during and after pregnancy, here are resources for locating a center near you that can help. If you or someone you know is considering abortion or has had an abortion in the past, there are resources below that may help.  Or, call the JFA office (316-683-6426) and ask to speak with one of our trainers who can help you find resources in your area.

"Proud to Stand with Them"

“What JFA teaches and stands for is unlike anything I've seen in other pro-life groups. The humility, empathy, patience, and kindness they exhibit to the students they converse with is how we all should strive to treat one another. The crime of abortion stems from the devaluation of human life as a whole and if we want to save the unborn from the injustices they face every minute, we ought to first treat one another better. This is exactly what I saw from JFA, and I was proud to stand with them in love even in the face of criticism, resentments, and hate.”

- Cole, JFA Volunteer, Nov. 2021