A trait that has always been essential to the core of ERI is being open-minded. But, what does that actually mean? Is there ever a time that we shouldn’t be open-minded? In this episode, Emily Geiger and Dr. Rebecca Carlson do a deep dive into the concept of open-mindedness, talk about what open-mindedness isn’t, and give some practical advice on how to avoid some common pitfalls when it comes to being open-minded.

MP3 Download | 31:20

Chapters:

Related Links:

The Equipped for Life Course

EFL#110 What if I Can’t Express Compassion?

EFL#109 Creative Pro-Life Apologetics Reaching Out Without Burning Out

Equal Rights Institute Website

Equal Rights Institute Blog

Equipped for Life Academy

Equipped for Life Course

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

The post Equipped for Life Podcast Episode #111: When Not To Be Open-Minded appeared first on Equal Rights Institute.

MP3 Download | 1:03:21

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.

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

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

Equipped for Life Course

Equipped for Life Academy

The post Political Activism in a Post-Roe World (w/ Ali Rak) appeared first on Equal Rights Institute.

MP3 Download | 59:41

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

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

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

Equipped for Life Course

Equipped for Life Academy

The post Are Women Being Denied Care? (w/ Secular Pro-Life’s Monica Snyder) appeared first on Equal Rights Institute.

MP3 Download | 1:06:08

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.

Related 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?

“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 Website

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

Equipped for Life Course

Equipped for Life Academy

The post Do You Need Religion to be Pro-Life? (w/ Secular Pro-Life’s Monica Snyder) appeared first on Equal Rights Institute.

MP3 Download | 1:19:04

After much anticipation, Josh Brahm FINALLY gets to interview Monica Snyder from Secular Pro-Life about her background and expertise in Forensics. Monica explains how her work in forensics and DNA analysis affects her view on the abortion issue, particularly when it comes to questions about the justice system and why we shouldn’t prosecute women who have had abortions.

Content warning: Includes discussion of forensic rape kits as well as methods of testing whether a baby was aborted instead of miscarried.

Links:

Testing biological tissue for abortion drugs

“Was the Infant Born Alive?” A Review of Postmortem Techniques Used to Determine Live Birth In Cases of Suspected Neonaticide

National Right to Life – Joint Open Letter: Criminalizing Women Who Have Abortions is Not Pro-Life

ERI Statement: Should Women Be Prosecuted for Illegal Abortions?

Secular Pro-Life

Equal Rights Institute Website

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

Equipped for Life Course

Equipped for Life Academy

The post Forensics and Abortion (w/ Secular Pro-Life’s Monica Snyder) appeared first on Equal Rights Institute.

MP3 Download | 1:16:24

Content warning: This whole episode is about sex. It’s probably not the episode to listen to around your kids.

Secular Pro-Life’s Monica Snyder returns to the Equipped for Life Podcast for another series of episodes, beginning with the topic, “It’s About Babies, Not Your Sex Life.” Stemming from real-life conversations, Monica and Josh identify many of the various factors that contribute to pro-choice perceptions or labeling of pro-life people as being “anti-sex” and then respond accordingly to each factor.

The Dynamic Duo also provides some fun commentary on the symbiotic relationship between Secular Pro-Life and Equal Rights Institute, and how the pro-life movement as a whole can benefit from similar relationships.

Finally, towards the end, Josh and Monica talk about how snark might be a good last-resort effort in a dialogue situation.

Secular Pro-Life: It’s about the babies, not your sex life: 5 examples

Relational Apologetics Tips: How to Cultivate Friendship Amidst Challenging Conversations

Josh Brahm’s speech on relational apologetics

Gallup’s Moral Acceptability poll

Episode 47: Should Pro-Lifers be Snarky? (with Dank Pro-Life Memes)

Episode 49: Defining the Word “Abortion” Will Change Your Dialogues (with Dank Pro-Life Memes)

Episode 100: Celebrating 100 Episodes! (with the Whole Staff!)

Memes to End Abortion (formerly “Dank Pro-Life Memes”)

Pro-choice groups we mentioned worth following:

Center for Reproductive Rights

ANSIRH: Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health

Jessica Velenti

Jen Hamilton

The post It’s About the Babies, Not Your Sex Life (w/ Monica Snyder) appeared first on Equal Rights Institute.

MP3 Download | 1:30:52

We brought the entire staff on for our 100th episode! The team planned the outline without Josh, and the result was a fun, retrospective celebration of the podcast.

Ellen’s first blog post:
“Is It Okay to Find Edge Cases Challenging?”

Ellen’s most recent blog post:
“What Should We Call Them?”

Joshua’s episode on the podcast:
Listener Mail: Can You Be a Professional Musician AND Pro-Life?

Rebecca’s talking head video:
How to Dialogue with Crazy Extremists: Three Lessons I Learned from Teaching Philosophy

Our first podcast with Rebecca co-hosting:
Genuine or Performed? Acting Skills in Honest Dialogue

Josh’s article the atheist responded to:
Why I Hope Gosnell Doesn’t Go to Hell

Ellen’s favorite episode:
Response to Pro-Choice Propaganda

Rebecca’s favorite episode:
The whole Equipped for Life Course

Joshua’s favorite episode :
Responding to “Back-Alley” Abortion Arguments

Emily’s favorite episodes:
An Analysis of HBO’s “Unpregnant” Film

Become an Effective Lobbyist Using These Practical Tips (with Ali Rak)

Josh’s favorite episodes:
Humor in Dialogue

A Comedian Shares Tips for Using Humor in Dialogue

Defining the Word “Abortion” Will Change Your Dialogues (with Dank Pro-Life Memes)

Why Do They Always Ask About Rape?

Tim Hull’s favorite episode:
Survey Review: How Pro-Life & Pro-Choice People Define Abortion

Equal Rights Institute Website

Equipped for Life Academy

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

The post Celebrating 100 Episodes (with the Whole Staff!) appeared first on Equal Rights Institute Blog - Clear Pro-Life Thinking.

MP3 Download | 1:22:27

It’s October, and 40 Days for Life campaigns are in full swing! Josh, Emily, and Rebecca share and react to short video tips sent in from pro-life activists from around the country on how to effectively participate in your local 40 Days for Life campaign. (SPOILER ALERT: it’s not as hard as you think!)

40 Days for Life website

A Sidewalk Counselor’s Run-Ins with Police and an Overzealous Security Guard – Part 1

A Sidewalk Counselor’s Run-Ins with Police and an Overzealous Security Guard – Part 2

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

Anonymous Sidewalk Counselor Blog Article

Equal Rights Institute Website

Equipped for Life Academy

Equipped for Life Course

The post Practical Tips for 40 Days for Life Volunteers appeared first on Equal Rights Institute Blog - Clear Pro-Life Thinking.

MP3 Download | 1:06:31

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 2 of 2 addresses eight main topics, to include the biological case for the unborn, how to combat viral misinformation, the concept of abortion as healthcare, why women advocate for abortion, the medical necessity of third trimester abortions, what to do if the pro-choice person jumps topics, if brain activity should define personhood, and counseling resources for nonreligious, post-abortive women.

Part 1, in case you missed it

ERI Blog: Is Abortion 14 Times Safer Than Childbirth?

ERI Podcast: The Pregnant 10-Year-Old: Thinking Well About This Tragic Story (with Robin Atkins)

ERI Quick Response: The Embryo isn’t Human:

Little Souls at Rest

SPL: Fixed That Meme For You

SPL: Guardian article “What a pregnancy actually looks like” erases embryos

The Guardian: What a pregnancy actually looks like before 10 weeks, in pictures

Support After Abortion

Equal Rights Institute Website

Equipped for Life Academy

Equipped for Life Course

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

The post Listener Mail: Lightning Round! Part 2 (w/ Monica Snyder) appeared first on Equal Rights Institute Blog - Clear Pro-Life Thinking.

MP3 Download | 1:11:57

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 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.

The Cut Article (advises women on abortion pills to say they are having a miscarriage)

Dallas Morning News: Choosing Thomas — Inside a family’s decision to let their son live, if only for a brief time

ERI Podcast: When They Bite the Bullet

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

SPL Blog: No, Abortion Pills Aren’t Safer Than Tylenol

Equal Rights Institute Website

Equipped for Life Academy

Equipped for Life Course

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

The post Listener Mail: Lightning Round! Part 1 (w/ Monica Snyder) appeared first on Equal Rights Institute Blog - Clear Pro-Life Thinking.