#97: Listener Mail: Lightning Round! Part 1 (w/ Monica Snyder)

LIGHTNING!!! (in slow motion). In this podcast, Josh Brahm and Monica Snyder from Secular Pro-Life sort through listener mail from SPL’s mailbag and give quick responses to several questions and requests. Part 1 of 2 (this episode) covers seven main topics, namely, whether the “pro-life movement” should actually be called the “anti-abortion movement”, the availability of abortion pills, discrimination against children with disabilities, how to welcome secular members into a pro-life space, if we should boycott pro-choice media, trying to understand how a pro-choice person thinks, and whether pro-choice activists reject pro-choice moderates.      Cut Article (advises women on abortion pills to say they are having a miscarriage):  https://bit.ly/3IqOM6P Dallas Morning News: Choosing Thomas -- Inside a family's decision to let their son live, if only for a brief time: https://youtu.be/ToNWquoXqJI?si=hN4PkhrV8_GSE2h6 ERI Podcast: When They Bite the Bullet https://youtu.be/4gnjKN3BOH0 Pro-Choice people complaining about abortion and ableism: https://www.protectchoice.org/article.php?id=140 https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2014/10/17/pro-choice-movement-excludes-people-disabilities/ https://www.salon.com/2013/04/28/all_the_ways_you_judge_my_son/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lucky-to-be-alive-zika-co_b_9166762 SPL Blog: Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life Vocabulary https://secularprolife.org/2022/09/pro-choice-vs-pro-life-vocabulary/ SPL Blog: No, Abortion Pills Aren’t Safer Than Tylenol  https://secularprolife.org/2023/08/no-abortion-pills-arent-safer-than-tylenol/ Equal Rights Institute Website:  https://EqualRightsInstitute.com Equal Rights Institute Blog:  https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com Equipped for Life Academy: https://EquippedForLifeAcademy.com Equipped for Life Course:  https://EquippedCourse.com Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:22 Should we change our name to the “anti-abortion movement”? 05:46 The availability of abortion pills for use in self-managed abortions 17:53 Children with disabilities: discrimination in the womb and after birth 34:02 How do we make non-religious people feel welcome? 47:47 Should pro-lifers boycott pro-choice cultural content/celebrities? 58:20 Do pro-choice people actually believe their talking points that have repeatedly been refuted? 1:03:15 Do abortion rights activists reject moderate pro-choice people? Host: Josh Brahm Guest: Monica Snyder Audio/Video Editor: Rachael Urquidez Publisher: Ellen Campbell

We recorded another episode with Secular Pro-Life’s Monica Snyder, our favorite practically co-host, to discuss Secular Pro-Life’s recent survey on the differences between how both sides of the issue define abortion. A critical part of clear communication is making sure you and your dialogue partner are using the key words in the same way. Pro-life and pro-choice people often mean VERY different things when they use the word "abortion," but they don't know that, and miscommunication ensues.  This episode will help you avoid that miscommunication. The ERI team offers several practical dialogue tips stemming from what we can learn from this survey. Related Links: Take SPL’s survey SPL blog post: How pro-lifers and pro-choicers define abortion: results from SPL’s survey Figure 1: Which scenarios are abortions? Figures 4 and 5: Pro-choice and Pro-life perspectives Figure 6: Is it an abortion if it doesn't cause death? Figure 7: Is a miscarriage an abortion? Figure 8: Are there ethical abortions? The journal article that originally gave Monica Snyder the idea for this project: “Technically an abortion”: Understanding perceptions and definitions of abortion in the United States EFL Podcast: Defining the Word “Abortion” Will Change Your Dialogues (with Dank Pro-Life Memes) Charles Camosy: Beyond the Abortion Wars: A Way Forward for a New Generation Chapters: 00:00: Introducing the survey 04:48: Figure 1: Which scenarios are abortions? 25:14: Figures 4 & 5: Pro-choice and pro-life perspectives 27:55: Figure 6: Is it an abortion if it doesn't cause death? 31:34: Figure 7: Is a miscarriage an abortion? 33:07: Is a C-section an abortion? 41:52: Figure 8: Are there ethical abortions? 56:39: Should we define abortion? ERI Links: Equal Rights Institute Website Equal Rights Institute Blog Equipped for Life Academy Equipped for Life Course Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass Hosts: Josh Brahm, Emily Geiger, Rebecca Carlson Guest: Monica Snyder Audio/Video Editors: Joshua Head, Josh Brahm Publisher: Ellen Campbell

Yes, abortion pills are harmful to women and unborn children. We're pro-life. But when you take an honest look at the evidence, there is no evidence that abortion pills are poisoning our wastewater.   This episode includes a visual slideshow, and can be viewed at our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/i5pSzvfwE5U   Content warning: If you have experienced pregnancy loss, this may not be the episode for you. There’s an inherent graphic nature to the kinds of claims we’re offering factual and philosophical arguments against. While we kept the conversation as tame as possible, we know this is a very difficult subject for people who have lost one or more children, so please take care and pay attention to your body if you choose to listen to this episode.   Secular Pro-Life’s Monica Snyder joins Josh, Emily, and Rebecca to discuss the relatively recent argument from certain pro-life organizations that abortion pills and/or embryonic remains are poisoning our wastewater. We consider and respond to the strongest arguments for this claim and address the real harm this can have on people who have experienced miscarriage.   Related Links:   Secular Pro-Life: Are abortion pills harming the environment? https://secularprolife.org/2025/07/are-abortion-pills-harming-the-environment   Secular Pro-Life’s proposed miscarriage remains protocol: https://secularprolife.org/disposition-protocol   FDA letter calculating risk of mifepristone: https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/wyomingnews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/fa/1fa0ca64-daa9-11ef-b904-c373297d6ab4/67941f1aa495e.pdf.pdf   The fish study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166445X19305004?via%3Dihub   Chapters: 0:00: Welcome Monica Snyder from Secular Pro-Life 1:08: Introducing today's topic: abortion pills, the environment, and our wastewater 3:57: The strongest arguments that abortion pills are harmful to the environment 23:50: Responding to embryonic/fetal remains going into our wastewater 35:18: Responding to Mifepristone going into our wastewater 43:12: The FDA/EPA's letter 49:11: How does this conversation affect people who have experienced miscarriage?   Hosts: Josh Brahm, Emily Geiger, Rebecca Carlson Guest: Monica Snyder Audio/Video Editors: Josh Brahm, Joshua Head Publisher: Ellen Campbell

Trent Horn forwarded us a great question, so Josh brought ERI Club Coach/Video Editor Joshua Head onto the show, as Joshua is also a professional musician. Joshua went above and beyond, creating a list of tips for musicians in college as well as post-college. This is a pretty niche topic, and admittedly, it sometimes turned into two musicians nerding out with each other. But it was a great question, and we wanted to be able to point people somewhere to get tips on this. Enjoy the conversation. Trent and Laura Horn’s announcement and a prayer seeking the intercession of Venerable Aloysius Schwartz for Laura’s healing: https://youtu.be/Ilj3CDGGkQg Chapters: 00:00 Quick note about Trent and Laura Horn 01:58 Introducing Joshua and his pro-life experiences at St. Olaf and Johns Hopkins University 9:04 Listener question on how to be a pro-life activist without tanking your music career. 16:15 Advice for musicians in college 38:58 Advice for musicians out of college Related Links: Equal Rights Institute Website:  https://EqualRightsInstitute.com Equal Rights Institute Blog:  https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com Equipped for Life Academy: https://EquippedForLifeAcademy.com Equipped for Life Course:  https://EquippedCourse.com Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com Host: Josh Brahm Guest: Joshua Head Audio/Video Editor: Josh Brahm Publisher: Ellen Campbell & Josh Brahm

ERI's Affiliate Groups have been busy working with their coaches on practical dialogue tips for talking about IVF, now that it's in the news more often.  First, Emily and Rebecca present to Josh for the first time what our groups have been working on. Afterward, they had a more personal discussion comparing and contrasting their intuitions about IVF. It turned into a really cool discussion between two open-minded Protestants and one open-minded Catholic having an ego-free discussion about where their views seem to differ. Related Links: ERI Blog: Get Ready. IVF Confusion is Coming: https://blog.equalrightsinstitute.com/get-ready-ivf-confusion-is-coming ERI Affiliate Group Program: https://equalrightsinstitute.com/groups ERI Statement: Should Women Be Prosecuted for Illegal Abortions? https://blog.equalrightsinstitute.com/eri-statement-should-women-be-prosecuted-for-illegal-abortions Equal Rights Institute Website:  https://EqualRightsInstitute.com Equal Rights Institute Blog:  https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com Equipped for Life Course:  https://EquippedCourse.com Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com Chapters: 00:00 Intro 03:04 Explaining ERI Affiliate Groups 05:40 The epic IVF brainstorm session 15:27 Our concerns about IVF as it's usually practiced 31:03 Discussion 1:01:50 Practical tips for talking about IVF Hosts: Josh Brahm, Emily Geiger, Rebecca Carlson Audio/Video Editors: Josh Brahm  Publisher: Ellen Campbell

The Equipped for Life Podcast is back! After a long hiatus due to the production of Equipped for Life Academy, we’ve begun recording new episodes. We also have some old episodes in the archives we’ll be publishing as well. We loved this episode as our first episode back though. After introducing Rebecca Carlson and welcoming her to be a second co-host on the podcast, Josh and Emily discuss their common backgrounds in music and musical theater, and how that affects our dialogue. This leads to a listener mail question on how Emily is able to come across as spontaneous as she does even when saying memorized responses.  This leads to a FASCINATING discussion on, in the situation that we’re talking to a pro-choice person, whether it’s inherently deceptive to add fake thinking pauses, among other things, that actors commonly do when performing. ERI Blog: The Best Way to Expose Logical Fallacies: Don’t Call Them by Name: https://blog.equalrightsinstitute.com/best-way-expose-logical-fallacies ERI Instagram: If Glinda and Elphaba were pro-life advocates: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DExLM1eKaiP ERI Podcast Clip: Can a musical background improve your dialogues? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wuPFkvv1ds Dallas Morning News: Choosing Thomas -- Inside a family's decision to let their son live, if only for a brief time: https://youtu.be/ToNWquoXqJI?si=hN4PkhrV8_GSE2h6 The Place We Find Ourselves Podcast: https://adamyoungcounseling.com/podcast Equal Rights Institute Website:  https://EqualRightsInstitute.com Equal Rights Institute Blog:  https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com Equipped for Life Academy: https://EquippedForLifeAcademy.com Equipped for Life Course:  https://EquippedCourse.com Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com Chapters: 00:00: Re-introducing podcast and Rebecca 20:34: Commonalities in music and/or musical theater 30:49: Listener mail question Hosts: Josh Brahm, Emily Geiger, Rebecca Carlson Audio/Video Editor: Josh Brahm Publisher: Ellen Campbell

Josh's favorite Christian apologist, Dr. Randal Rauser, joins the show. Randal describes himself as "progressively Evangelical and generously Orthodox." Josh asks him about open-mindedness, his observations about the pro-life movement, when it's appropriate to call leaders out publicly, and the difference between an "agitation apologetics model" and an "agreement apologetics model." While Josh doesn't agree with everything Rauser believes, that's not the point, and this isn't a debate episode. Josh found this to be a good opportunity to listen to the views of a very careful thinker in spite of the fact that they don't agree on everything within the abortion debate. Related Links: Randal Rauser's website: https://RandalRauser.com Randal's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Randal_Rauser Randal interviews Josh about the state of the abortion debate: https://youtu.be/zRQuuTh8YxI Randal debates Trent Horn on abortion: https://youtu.be/TCK_Pu4lf8A Randal's book, "Jesus Loves Canaanites" https://randalrauser.com/book/jesus-loves-canaanites ERI Blog: "Abortion Images: A Case for Disagreement without Division" http://bit.ly/2uJWRcI Equal Rights Institute Website:  https://EqualRightsInstitute.com Equal Rights Institute Blog:  https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com Equipped for Life Course:  https://EquippedCourse.com Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com Chapters: 00:00: Introduction and thoughts on intellectual honesty 07:33: On trying to convince people to be open-minded 11:20: Defining what it means to be a “Progressive Evangelical” 15:05: What would he say to more conservative Christians who are concerned about Progressive Evangelicals?  17:30: How would Randall describe his views on abortion? 23:20: What are his observations about the pro-life movement from outside of it? 27:26: What advice would he give to pro-life leaders? 29:45: A discussion on when it’s appropriate to call other leaders out in public for poor behavior 40:35: What practical things can people do if they want to transition from agitative apologetics to more of an agreement apologetics model? 42:52: Final thoughts on deception and transparency Host: Josh Brahm Guest: Dr. Randal Rauser Audio/Video Editors: Josh Brahm Publisher: Ellen Campbell

Josh Brahm and Monica Snyder have an open conversation about biology, philosophy, and how they interact with persuasion in the abortion debate. Monica has a STEM background so she and Josh compare notes on how STEM professionals and philosophers feel about each other, and why many of them are arrogant.  They also discuss: - How arrogance, confidence, and impostor syndrome often interact with each other;  - The pros and cons of using big words;  - Whether biology vs. philosophy are more likely to change minds on abortion; - “Should we prioritize our arguments more based on whether they are influential, emotionally compelling, logically sound, or other factors?”  - Steps anyone can take to become more rational. Related Links: Secular Pro-Life: https://SecularProLife.org SPL posts about changing from PC to PL: https://secularprolife.com/becomingprolife SPL's “No. embryos aren't parasites” video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=5461153773924066 ERI's article "Abortion Images: A Case for Disagreement without Division" http://bit.ly/2uJWRcI Equal Rights Institute Website:  https://EqualRightsInstitute.com Equal Rights Institute Blog:  https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com Equipped for Life Course:  https://EquippedCourse.com Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com Host: Josh Brahm Guest: Monica Snyder Audio/Video Editor: Josh Brahm  Publisher: Ellen Campbell

Monica Snyder shares a very emotional story about going undercover in a late-term abortion facility in Washington DC while being 28-weeks pregnant. She talks about what was harder than she expected and the perspective she gained about the employees at the clinic. She also helps Josh understand some things he had never heard about some post-abortive women, and responds to the most frequently asked questions and challenges from both sides of the abortion debate regarding this video.  Editor’s note: As you may remember from a previous editor’s note, we had technical problems on this recording day that went undiagnosed until later because I didn’t think we needed to wear the headphones this time. I did the best I could to fix it, but it’s way below my standards. Thank you for your patience.  Related Links:  Watch the video Live Action released from this day: https://youtu.be/_6bqFOnUsfg Learn more about Justice for the Five here:  https://paaunow.org/justiceforthefive  Watch Josh's emotional interview with Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising's Terrisa Bukovinac and Lauren Handy: https://www.youtube.com/live/_8uDzYhrvXY?feature=share Read Monica Snyder's piece for the Washington Times about this story: https://bit.ly/3HxXwEv Read a similar piece Monica wrote for the Secular Pro-Life blog: https://bit.ly/3NASyuA Read this Secular Pro-Life Interview: How Gabriela became a sidewalk counselor outside the clinic where she had her abortion: https://bit.ly/3VCA1A7 Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com Equal Rights Institute Website:  https://EqualRightsInstitute.com Equal Rights Institute Blog:  https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com Equipped for Life Course:  https://EquippedCourse.com Host: Josh Brahm Guest: Monica Snyder Audio/Video Editor: Josh Brahm  Publisher: Ellen Campbell

Josh Brahm gives an update on what we've been working on at ERI, including recent speaking trips in Europe, progress on Equipped for Life Academy, and hiring our new administrator. Chapters: 00:00 Why Josh is in Paris 03:16 Cool story from England conference 06:08 Emily update from Denmark 09:13 Equipped for Life Academy update & a question for you 13:57 Replacing Jen 20:11 Equipped for Life Academy update continued Related Links: Equal Rights Institute Website:  https://EqualRightsInstitute.com Equal Rights Institute Blog:  https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com Equipped for Life Course:  https://EquippedCourse.com Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com Performers: Josh Brahm & Emily Albrecht Audio/Video Editor: Josh Brahm Publisher: Ellen Campbell