Josh Brahm and Monica Snyder return to discuss the question: “Do You Need Religion to be Pro-Life?” The conversation touches on practical and philosophical points, including discussion about objective and subjective morality and its relationship with deism, as well as Monica’s experiences responding to both pro-life and pro-choice people who raise a scrutinizing eyebrow when they realize that they are talking with a pro-life atheist.
I’ve never been very good at a traditional ERI-style outreach or active sidewalk counseling. I’ve always struggled to strike up a conversation with a random stranger. No matter how many times I rehearse an opening line, when the moment comes, my voice chokes off before I can get a word out. I literally feel my throat and diaphragm physically seize. I’ve not completely given up on trying to clear this hurdle, but I’ve had to accept that my social anxiety is a real barrier to certain types of pro-life advocacy.
A couple weeks ago, we asked our awesome subscribers to email us and tell us how they’re feeling about the current state of the pro-life movement, and we were blown away by your responses. 77 of you replied, and it was so encouraging for our team to hear from you and connect with you. A bunch of you shared that you felt:
Excited that we have more access to great pro-life arguments
Frustrated because good dialogue—the courage to speak up at all, and the calm to stay kind when you do—is really hard
Excited because Dobbs gave us the ability to pass state laws against abortion
Frustrated because the pro-choice side has a much bigger microphone and budget
Excited by the dedication, passion, and commitment they see in the pro-life movement, no matter the obstacles, no matter how laws change over time
Frustrated because some pro-life leaders talk in a way that makes it easy for pro-choicers to paint the whole pro-life movement as the pro-everything-Trump-does movement