JFA Blog — Justice For All

New here? Our Stories Page is a great place to start!

resource bulletin

Conversation Starter (VIDEO): "She's Not Sure What to Think... How About You?"

We invite you to start a conversation by sharing JFA’s recent video blog post, “She’s Not Sure What to Think... How About You?” (also JFA’s Featured Resource for October). This conversation footage from JFA outreach at CSU touches on biology, human rights, and the question of “imposing” one’s morality on others, all in a short segment. Because the student in the video feels conflicted about the topic of abortion, her conversation with CK provides an ideal platform for you to ask a friend, “Do you have a clear view on abortion, or are you not totally sure what to think? What factors contribute to your certainty or uncertainty?”

Conversation Starter (VIDEO): "Blood Donation and Bodily Rights Arguments"

We think sharing ERI’s video “Blood Donation and Bodily Right’s Arguments” is a great way to start a conversation about abortion with a friend (get more information about the video in this month’s Featured Resource post).

Click above to see Tim’s video and explore all JFA’s Conversation Starters on Twitter.

Click above to see Tim’s video and explore all JFA’s Conversation Starters on Twitter.

Tim is fair to the opposing viewpoint, but his point is also hardhitting. Note that some viewers might object to the use of the word “freakin” in a few places in this video. We suggest you watch it first and judge if it will be a good thing to share with a friend. In addition, since this is an intellectual approach to bodily rights arguments, you might find that sharing JFA’s “It’s Her Body” series would make for a good introduction.

Pray for Hearts to Be Softened so that Intellectual Arguments Can Do Their Work

Even as we train pro-life Christians to engage in dialogue using the best arguments and a habit of good listening, we realize that God changes the heart of a person to incline him to be open to the intellectual arguments we present. Pray for each person who watches ERI’s video, our featured resource for September (share the blog post linked here to start a conversation using the video), and please pray for the heart of each person impacted through our recent and upcoming events:

  • September Events: Trinity University (TX), Benedictine College (KS), University of Kansas (KS), University of Houston (TX), Pittsburg State (KS)

  • Oct. 10-13: Seminars in Colorado

  • Oct. 15, 21: Outreach at George Mason University in Virginia

  • Oct. 27: Workshop in Michigan

  • Oct. 31-Nov. 5: Various events in Oklahoma, including outreach at OU

Pray with JFA - Recent Spring and Summer Events

UCLA Outreach - May 2019

Look at this list of JFA’s spring events (see page 3), as well as JFA’s summer events and upcoming outreach events (listed below). We are in awe of what God has done through your support of JFA and through your prayers. Let’s pray together for each of the people who were challenged at each of these events to actively love unborn children and their parents.

Summer JFA Events

  • Seminar in Pennsylvania (6/25)

  • Workshop in Kansas (6/25)

  • Outreach at Wichita State University (6/26)

  • Seminar for Seminarians in Kansas (7/12-7/13)

  • Seminar in Kansas (7/23)

  • Outreach at Wichita State University (7/24)

  • Michigan Presentations (Multiple Dates)

  • Ohio Seminars (8/9-8/10)

Recent and Upcoming Outreach Events:

  • Trinity University (TX)

  • Benedictine College (KS)

  • University of Kansas (KS)

  • University of Houston (TX)

  • University of Texas at El Paso (TX)

  • Pittsburg State University (KS)

  • University of Oklahoma (OK)

  • George Mason University (VA)

Prepare for Conversations with "The Power of Common Ground"

In his newsletter for September (“The Power of Common Ground”), Jeremy Gorr shares a great model of using common ground in a real conversation. You can use his letter to equip yourself with questions that will help you find common ground with others regarding abortion. He also discusses an approach to finding genuine common ground that avoids compromising one’s beliefs. In a footnote, Jeremy mentions JFA Director Steve Wagner’s book, Common Ground Without Compromise, which you can get for free at www.commongroundbook.com. That book features 25 questions you can use to begin a conversation with agreement instead of hostility.

Start a Conversation Using This T-Shirt Design

This month, we invite you to start a conversation with common ground by sharing the recent JFA Blog post, “Is Every Child a Work of Art?” The post refers to an Abort73.com shirt design. We think the optimism the shirt communicates about already-born human beings can help us find common ground with friends and neighbors to get a conversation about abortion started on the right foot. We don’t know for sure, but we think many people would respond, “Yes, I agree that every child is a work of art.” If human beings we can see are works of art, then, even if they are poor, disabled, or have some other characteristic people generally think of in a negative light, what should that teach us about human beings that may be too small to see? And if the unborn are also works of art, how should we treat them?

Start Conversations with this New EHD Video!

Share this new EHD video (our featured resource for July 2019) with a friend.

One helpful thing about EHD is that it’s aimed at better education for pregnant moms. This is a priority that has broad support among most people. You don’t even have to bring up abortion in order to tell a friend that you think this video is worth checking out! We suggest sharing it and asking your friend, “What was most interesting to you in this video?” You can also move the conversation directly to the topic of abortion by asking, “With all of the references to abortion today in the news, how do you think it would change the discussion if people watched this video and kept it in mind?” Or, you might ask, “How does this video affect your view of abortion, if at all?”

Use this Video for our Elementary Lesson Plan

For the first time that I’m aware of, EHD has recently made a 6-minute version of their rare embryoscopy footage available for download. And, it’s free.

We’re excited about this because it’s a beautiful window on the womb, but it also will fill very nicely the video component of our lesson plan, “The Baby’s Heart Beats Like Mine.” Note, the video is also available in multiple languages!

2019-06-29 (1).png


12 Minutes on Bodily Rights

Five years ago, JFA released a working paper to respond to the strongest versions of bodily rights arguments for abortion. Equal Rights Institute (ERI) recently released a video featuring one of the contributors to that paper, Timothy Brahm (former staff member of both JFA and ERI), in which he takes a different approach than our paper, one that we think is an even more helpful response to bodily rights. It’s called, “Blood Donation and Bodily Rights Arguments.” Some of our staff think it’s even better than our paper. In 12 minutes, Tim deftly responds to the most common challenges and gives you a framework that you can apply to the most common and most difficult bodily rights arguments. (Indeed, he also shares some reasons why our original paper may not be the most persuasive — helpful critique that we welcome!) JFA’s “It’s Her Body” series last year set the appropriate context for any discussion of bodily rights. Pairing ERI’s video with “It’s Her Body”, will give you a great primer on bodily rights, as well as a great conversation starter.

Pray with JFA (June) - Current Projects

Pray for More Advocates and More Conversations Through All of JFA’s Projects:

Here are a few of our projects and needs for which you can pray specifically this month:

  • JFA Trainers Raising Support: All of JFA’s trainers are working to raise additional support during the summer. Pray that we can successfully connect with many people.

Kaitlyn Donihue (left) recently accepted a position to work for JFA in Michigan.

Kaitlyn Donihue (left) recently accepted a position to work for JFA in Michigan.

Susanna Buckley (middle) recently accepted a position to work for JFA in Washington D.C.

Susanna Buckley (middle) recently accepted a position to work for JFA in Washington D.C.

Teach Kids with Our New K-4 Lesson Plan

**Yes, this is the same resource we’ve been proud to highlight for the past two months! It’s that important!**

Click above to access, download, teach, and share the K-4 lesson plan.

Click above to access, download, teach, and share the K-4 lesson plan.

Whether you teach kids at home, in a church Sunday School, or in a traditional school environment, be one of the first to download and teach “The Baby’s Heart Beats Like Mine” lesson plan to students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Then give us feedback. During the lesson, K-4 students identify with unborn babies through a series of experiences, including feeling their own heartbeats, seeing the unborn baby in the womb, naming similarities they share with unborn babies, making a bracelet that reminds them of when the heart begins to beat, and narrating what they learned to their parents. (“Sign Up” to access this “Member Only” content. That’s free!)

Start Conversations with Our New K-4 Lesson Plan

**Yes, this is the same resource we’ve been proud to highlight for the past two months! It’s that important!**

JFA developed our new K-4 Lesson Plan (click here to read a brief description) partly to “drive interest” in discussions about unborn children within churches and other communities. Here’s how we envision that working: You download the lesson plan and teach any group of K-4 kids (or you can teach just one!). During the lesson, students practice sharing what they’ve learned with their parents, and then take home a bracelet and a “Student and Parent Handout” to facilitate those conversations about the unborn child. We anticipate this will not only create conversations among parents and students but also among parents and teachers and others in the community! Help us test this idea to see if it will work.


Pray with JFA (May)

UCLA - May 21, 2019
See more photos from last week’s JFA events at UCLA, below.

Pray for Changed Hearts and Saved Lives:

I was in the plane last week traveling to our recent events in Los Angeles. The man sitting next to me, on his own without any provocation from me, brought up the recent Alabama law that banned abortion outright. He saw it as unconscionably “extreme.” This law in Alabama and similar laws in Georgia and other states are getting the conversation about abortion and unborn children started all around us. Let’s pray for JFA’s training events as we prepare Christians to be ready for these opportunities. Let’s pray God will use our outreach events to strengthen courage in all of us to speak up. - Steve Wagner, Executive Director

  • Mar. 17-19 (Durango, CO): Seminar & Outreach Events with Master Plan Ministries

  • Mar. 23-26 (Albuquerque, NM): Seminars & Outreach Events near/at University of New Mexico (UNM)

  • Mar. 31-April 2 (Lawrence, KS): Seminar & Outreach Events at/near University of Kansas (KU)

  • April 15, 24 (Fairfax, VA): Outreach Events at George Mason University (GMU)

  • April 23-25 (OK and TX): Outreach Events at Oklahoma State University (OSU) & University of North Texas (UNT)

  • May 18-22 (Los Angeles Area, CA): Seminars & Outreach Events near/at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

UCLA - May 2019
(Pictured - right: Kaitlyn Donihue, JFA Intern)

UCLA - May 2019
(Pictured - middle: Steve Wagner, Executive Director)

UCLA - May 2019 (Pictured - right: Tammy Cook, JFA Trainer)

UCLA - May 2019
(Pictured - right: Tammy Cook, JFA Trainer)

UCLA - May 2019
(Pictured - left: Rebekah Dyer, JFA Fellow)

Pray for Rylei and Students Like Her

Pray with JFA (April):

This month, when Jeremy Gorr showed up in Phoenix to teach a seminar, he was met with a surprise: Rylei, a high school student he helped train in 2017 and 2018 in Colorado, was now a student at Arizona State University and eager to become active changing hearts and minds at ASU. Jeremy’s letter, “Growing Up with Justice For All” tells Rylei’s story. Please pray for Rylei’s conversations at ASU, and pray that God would continue to help Rylei, JFA alumni like her, and JFA’s training team, as all of us speak up this month for forgotten women and children.

We’ve recently conducted outreach events at Univ. of Kansas (4/1-2), Univ. of Northern Colorado (4/8-9), George Mason Univ. in Fairfax, VA (4/15, 4/24), Oklahoma State Univ. (4/23) and Univ. of North Texas (4/24-25). We’re looking forward to seminar and outreach events at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA on May 19-22. Please join us or pray for us!

Outreach with Cowboys for Life at Oklahoma State University - April 23, 2019

Teach Kids with Our New K-4 Lesson Plan

HeartBeatsLikeMine.png

JFA just released a lesson plan for K-4 elementary school students called, “The Baby’s Heart Beats Like Mine.” Whether you teach kids at home, in a church Sunday School, or in a traditional school environment, be one of the first to try this lesson and give us feedback. During the lesson, K-4 students identify with unborn babies through a series of experiences, including feeling their own heartbeat, seeing the unborn baby in the womb, naming similarities they share with unborn babies, making a bracelet that reminds them of when the heart begins to beat, and narrating what they learned to their parents.

(You’re required to “Sign Up” to access this “Member Only” content. That’s free!)

(Note: This resource was our “Featured Resource” for April 2019 and May 2019.)