Josh Brahm and Emily Geiger welcome Ali Rak back to the Equipped for Life Podcast to discuss pro-life political activism, now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. Much has changed since 2020 when Ali was last on the podcast, and the main focus of this episode includes an analysis of why the pro-life movement was caught so flat-footed after Dobbs, including the poor performance on state initiatives, the abortion lobby's gained momentum, and the generally lackluster support from pro-life politicians.

The second half of the episode includes more practical advice from Ali on how pro-life people can effectively talk to their elected representatives, with different advice for whether their representative is in the majority or minority opinion, and how to communicate with representatives and their staff in a way that will be heard, respected, and even appreciated.

Finally, Ali implores all pro-life advocates (including you!) to reengage their activism with renewed vigor, as she reveals the grim truth that the pro-life movement needs support now more than ever.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Reintroducing Ali Rak

00:04:30 What is going on in the legislature post-Dobbs?

00:5:40 How did the abortion lobby prepare for Roe's overturn?

00:07:13 Why is the pro-life side doing so poorly on state initiatives?

00:12:10 Why were pro-lifers caught flat-footed after Dobbs?

00:18:20 What could have been better if things had gone differently?

00:22:55 Pro-life politicians struggle to articulate the pro-life position well

00:25:05 What to do if you're in a red state

00:26:48 What to do if you're in a blue state

00:32:20 What is the pro-choice lobby after once they win?

00:35:50 "My guy is in power, so I don't have to work as hard."

00:42:07 Should citizens pick one issue at a time when talking to their representatives?

00:46:35 Finding common ground with your representative

00:50:13 If your representative is in the majority but not doing enough for life

00:54:15 What are potential traps that people should avoid when talking with representatives?

00:56:21 What can make your call worthwhile to your legislator?

Related Links:

EFL #56: Become an Effective Lobbyist Using These Practical Tips (with Ali Rak)

Ali's Twitter/X:
@alirak8710

WSJ News: Trump Tells Christians 'You Won't Have to Vote Anymore' if He's Elected

Equal Rights Institute Website

Equal Rights Institute Blog

Equipped for Life Academy

Equipped for Life Course

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

Hosts: Josh Brahm, Emily Geiger
Guest: Ali Rak
Audio/Video Editors: Joshua Head; Josh Brahm
Publisher: Ellen Campbell

Josh Brahm and Monica Snyder wrap up their series of recent discussions by addressing denial-of-care stories. In this episode, Monica and Josh define what a denial-of-care story is, explain why abortion bans are often blamed for causing pregnancy-related deaths, identify the actual problems behind the most sensationalized stories, empathize with tragic outcomes and legitimate pro-choice concerns, and propose courses of action that pro-life people can take to help prevent similar tragic stories from happening in the future.

Related Links:

California's progress with decreasing maternal mortality

Secular Pro-Life's entire blog category of debunking content:
https://secularprolife.org/category/debunking/

Adriana Smith and laws about pregnant patients on life support

Does Texas require doctors to wait until there's no heartbeat to intervene in emergencies? (Josseli Barnica)

Kaitlyn Kash

Yeni Alvarez - New Yorker article

ProPublica can't see malpractice, only abortion bans (Neveah Crain)

ProPublica identifies their medical experts a little too subtly

Are OBGYNs fleeing Idaho because of abortion laws?

ERI Blog Post on Adriana Smith's case: Is It Okay to Find Edge Cases Challenging?

Equipped for Life Podcast #96: Survey Review: How Pro-Life & Pro-Choice People Define Abortion (with Monica Snyder)

Equal Rights Institute Website

Equal Rights Institute Blog

Equipped for Life Academy

Equipped for Life Course

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:09 Defining "denial of care" stories

00:05:49 Theory posited by many media outlets

00:07:26 How to go about testing this theory

00:12:32 Adriana Smith

00:22:28 Josseli Barnica

00:25:51 Categorizing the cases

00:37:10 What is the most charitable interpretation of pro-choice reactions to these stories?

00:39:01 Malpractice and the in-between cases

00:41:43 Idaho case

00:44:28 Nevaeh Crain

00:49:54 What can pro-lifers do about this?

Host: Josh Brahm

Guest: Monica Snyder

Audio/Video Editors: Joshua Head, Josh Brahm

Publisher: Ellen Campbell

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.

Links:

Secular Pro-Life

Secular Pro-Life: "Is belief in God necessary for the pro-life cause to succeed?"

Secular Pro-Life: "Where do atheists think human rights come from?"

A couple of examples of pro-choice religious-ish-ness:

• "'Where does life begin?' is a spiritual question"
• "We invited the child's spirit to revisit Earth another time."

Human Life Review: SYMPOSIUM: What's God Got to Do with It?

Secular Pro Life's blog of sources about moral realism from non-theistic perspectives

"Is God Necessary for Morality?" Debate between Shelly Kagan and William Lane Craig

Pew Research Center study on religiously unaffiliated people (specifically the "Beliefs & practices" tab)

EFL Podcast on Stanford persuasion study

Retten Til Liv (Denmark Right to Life)

Equal Rights Institute

Equal Rights Institute Blog

Equipped for Life Academy

Equipped for Life Course

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:46 How both sides react to pro-life atheists

00:03:29 How do you respond to the pro-choice people?

00:13:15 Responding to pro-lifers

00:20:10 Examining demographic trends, statistics, and labels

00:27:27 Widening the tent to welcome atheists and other alt pro-lifers

00:35:50 How do you respond to the nihilist as an atheist?

00:42:52 Will the Pro-Life Movement survive increasing secularity?

00:47:57 Do you need religion to be pro-choice?

00:52:57 Can pro-life Christians evangelize without being off-putting?

01:04:18 Wrap-up

Host: Josh Brahm

Guest: Monica Snyder

Audio/Video Editors: Joshua Head, Josh Brahm

Publisher: Ellen Campbell