Life Defenders

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We sit down with author and worship leader Steventhen Holland as he shares how learning he was adopted shaped his identity and how grief later pushed him to search for his birth family. His story leads to a first meeting with his birth mother marked by “Amazing Grace."

• growing up feeling different and learning he was adopted 
• carrying the “why wasn’t I wanted?” question into adulthood 
• walking through two miscarriages and returning to old questions 
• discovering the truth about his birth mother’s trauma and her refusal to abort 
• meeting his mother and realizing she physically saved him 
• honoring her dignity, loving her well, and grieving her death 
• seeing testimony change minds on rape and incest abortion exceptions 
• handling direct pushback from people who still defend abortion 
• witnessing a young woman choose life and place her baby for adoption 
• encouraging people and churches to speak up and share their stories 

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We talk with Sierra McLeod about taking the first abortion pill at nine weeks and three days pregnant, then racing to find help when fear flips into regret. She shares how abortion pill reversal and a supportive care network helped her continue the pregnancy and why she keeps speaking out despite backlash. 

• Sierra’s timeline from clinic visit to taking the first pill 
• What she says she was told about fetal development and what to expect 
• The moment a roadside sign prompts her to call an APR hotline 
• Progesterone as the intervention APR providers use and what Sierra is told about safety 
• The contrast between clinic experience and pregnancy resource center support 
• Social media backlash after her TikTok goes viral and why she calls it inconsistent 
• Why Sierra believes many women would choose reversal if they knew it existed 
• Encouragement for people with abortion-related stories to speak up 
• Sierra’s message to anyone making decisions in fear 

If you have a testimony, everybody listening has some sort of a testimony, share it 

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Something big changed after Dobbs, and it is not the victory lap many people expected. Chemical abortion and mail-order abortion are expanding fast, and the political fights have shifted from court rulings to enforcement, funding, and whether leaders have the courage to stay on offense. We talk this week with Congressman Mark Harris about why he sees abortion as a life-and-death moral issue rather than a partisan tool, and how his early pastoral work shaped his commitment to protecting the unborn. He gets honest about what he is seeing in the halls of Congress and why he believes the “right time” to protect life is always now. 
 
 Mark traces his pro-life convictions back to ministry, not messaging. He tells a story from his early years as a youth minister when a teen couple showed up in crisis, unsure of what to do and afraid of the consequences. That moment led him to a pregnancy resource center and shaped a long-term commitment to combining conviction with practical help for mothers and families. We also talk about what makes people feel safe enough to ask for help and why that trust can be life-changing. 
 
 Then we zoom out to the policy reality: the abortion pill, mail order abortion, and federal agency decisions that rarely make the news. Mark shares what he is working on in Washington, including efforts to restrict mail order abortion and to stop taxpayer support flowing to abortion providers. We also unpack why Planned Parenthood defunding efforts stall, how narrow majorities in the Senate change outcomes, and what it means for pro-life voters heading into crucial elections. 
 
If you care about abortion policy, the abortion pill, Planned Parenthood funding, and real-world pro-life strategy, listen through to the end for practical ways to help change law, change culture, and support mothers. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway so more people can find the conversation.

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Abortion pills are now shipped across state lines with little to no in-person screening, and that single shift may be doing more to shape abortion access than dozens of state laws. We sit down with Gabriella McIntyre, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, to unpack Louisiana v. FDA and the fight over the FDA’s decision to allow mail-order mifepristone under its REMS rules. With a Fifth Circuit hearing ahead, we talk about what a win could change, why this case matters after Dobbs, and how state protections can be undercut when pills arrive through the mail from out-of-state prescribers. 

We also get specific about the medical and regulatory questions people rarely hear explained: why the FDA originally treated mifepristone as a high-risk drug, what safeguards existed, and what it means when those safeguards disappear. The stakes are not abstract. We discuss ectopic pregnancy risk, lack of ultrasounds, adverse events that can send women to the ER, and the public costs that follow. 

Then we go deep on the legal mechanics that decide whether any of this is even reviewable. We break down the standing battle that can keep courts from reaching the merits, the debate over agency deference, and the role of the Comstock Act in restricting the mailing of abortion drugs. We also touch on abortion shield laws and why enforcement gets complicated when states refuse to cooperate with each other. 

If you care about chemical abortion, mail-order abortion pills, mifepristone, FDA REMS policy, and what post-Dobbs abortion law looks like in real life, this conversation will clarify the map. Subscribe, share this episode with someone who follows the issue, and leave a review. What question do you want answered next about abortion pills by mail?

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This week we talk with Abby Johnson about why “equal protection” is splitting the pro-life movement and why she believes the law has to treat abortion like the crime we say it is. If you’ve ever wondered why some pro-lifers whisper about “equal protection,” this conversation brings it into the open. Victor and Abby talk through the debate that’s dividing the movement: should the law treat abortion as a true equal-protection crime against an unborn child, and if so, who is accountable when it happens?
 
 She explains why she now supports equal protection, even after years inside Planned Parenthood and years of hearing the familiar script that “women are the victims.” We get specific about what changed in the real world: the rise of abortion pills, the growth of self-managed abortions, and why the old strategy of targeting only doctors no longer matches the facts. If abortion is called murder, we ask, what does consistency require when the “provider” is increasingly the person taking the pills?
 
 We also talk strategy after Roe v. Wade, and Abby doesn’t hold back about the problems with a state-by-state approach. We explore federal protection arguments, the 14th Amendment, the optics fears that shape pro-life politics, and the cracks that show up when leaders won’t say publicly what they admit privately. Abby shares concerns about “band aid” laws like enforcing Comstock without addressing the deeper issue, plus why education and even a sunset period could be part of a serious path forward.
 
 If you care about abortion law, equal protection, the abortion pill era, and where the pro-life movement goes next, listen all the way through. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review with your take: what does justice require here?

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A prenatal diagnosis can hit like a tidal wave, and the next sentence too often comes fast: “You can terminate.” We slow everything down and talk about a different path, one rooted in medicine, ethics, and love. Dr. Robin Pierucci, a board-certified pediatrician and neonatologist with a master’s in bioethics, joins us to explain what perinatal hospice and perinatal palliative care actually are, who they’re for, and why the goal is never to “give up,” but to care well when a child may face a life-limiting condition.
 
 Dr. Pierucci challenges the “lethal diagnosis” mindset and reminds us that diagnosis is not equal to prognosis. She shares what parents can say to slow things down and give themselves room to breathe before making a decision. We discuss how “comfort care” can sometimes become a euphemism for neglect, why clinicians can be overly cynical about “quality of life,” and why no diagnosis ever cancels the first and most important fact: it’s a baby. We look at two specific diagnoses trisomy 13 and trisomy 18. Dr. Pierucci shares how individualized care and ethically grounded decision-making protect families from being pushed toward outcomes that were never inevitable.
 
 You’ll hear why a thoughtful birth plan matters, how trauma-informed care helps parents think clearly, and the concrete steps families can take, from setting boundaries with providers to asking smarter questions about prenatal testing. If you or someone you love is navigating a prenatal diagnosis, see the resource links below. Subscribe, share this conversation with someone who needs steadier ground, and leave a review to help more families find it.

Program Resources:

www.fetalconcerns.com

www.prenataldiagnosis.org

www.benotafraid.net

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A $200,000 wrongful death settlement tied to an abortion case is not a headline you hear every day. This week on Life Defenders our guest, Mike Seibel, a plaintiff-side malpractice attorney, walks us through how informed consent failures can become the fulcrum for civil litigation against abortion providers, clinics, and even the wider abortion pill pipeline. 

Mike defines what “informed consent” is supposed to look like when abortion is treated as healthcare: clear disclosure of risks, proper screening for ectopic pregnancy, ultrasound dating, and communication of black box warnings. He then shares with us the real-world consequences when those standards of care are ignored, including a case involving consent while intoxicated on methamphetamine and another involving a late-term abortion process that ended in sepsis. Then we discuss how personhood arguments can surface in state tort law, why viability and state statutes matter, and what it could mean if more jurisdictions recognize wrongful death claims connected to lack of informed consent.
 
 Lastly we zoom out to the playbook: how other attorneys might replicate this approach, what legislative tools could make these cases less risky for plaintiffs, and why public awareness campaigns like billboards can shift culture by treating abortion harms like any other product or medical injury claim. We also talk candidly about professional backlash and the personal cost of fighting for life and why faith and perseverance keep the work moving.
 
 If you find this conversation valuable, subscribe, share it with someone who cares about patient safety and informed consent, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

RESOURCES

Mike's website is: https://abortioninjury.com/

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“Late-term abortion isn’t even a thing.” That claim gets repeated so often it can start to sound like settled fact, but we don’t think the public can afford comforting myths. This week we sit down with Dr. Kathi Altman, a retired board-certified OBGYN and associate scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, to sort out what people mean by “late-term,” what the data suggests about abortions later in pregnancy, and why “rare” can still mean thousands of lives every year.
 
 Dr. Altman also tells her personal story, including performing abortions earlier in her career, what she saw in clinical practice, and the moments that forced her to re-examine the humanity of the unborn. We discuss how language can sanitize violence, why viability keeps shifting with medical technology, and why the same medications used for labor induction, including mifepristone and misoprostol, raise hard questions when the goal changes from delivery and care to ending a life.
 
 We also dig into the legal and cultural side: laws that allow abortion up to birth, the debate around born-alive protections, and why silence in churches can leave people with their moral compass set by politics and pop culture. If you want an unfiltered conversation about late-term abortion, fetal development, women’s health, and what a pro-family culture could look like, this one is for you.
 
 Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with someone who avoids the topic, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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How do we speak truth with real compassion without losing the goal of protecting babies? This week on Life Defenders we discuss this and other tough questions with Breanne a post-abortive Christian and pregnancy help leader. Breanne shares her story with clarity and humility, from choosing abortion as a teenager to finding healing, faith, and a calling to help women on the brink of the same decision.

Breanne shares her thoughts as a post-abortive woman on the debate shaping pro-life strategy right now: should abortion be treated like any other homicide, or is exempting the mother necessary for compassion and effective outreach?

We talk about why “criminalizing women” is a loaded phrase borrowed from the abortion industry, why law acts as a teacher that reshapes culture, and why consistency matters if we expect anyone outside our movement to believe what we say.

Then we get practical about the current landscape: chemical abortions, pills shipped through the mail, women going through painful and risky processes alone, and where abortion pill reversal (APR) fits into a bigger plan to save lives. Breanne explains why she doesn’t believe equal protection would destroy pregnancy resource centers, and why truth-telling and love have to stay together if we’re serious about protecting both mom and baby.

If you care about ending abortion, not just managing it, this conversation will challenge you to think harder and act clearer. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find Life Defenders. 

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Two high school students, Josie Bushman and Clara Gates are doing what a lot of adults only talk about: building community, taking heat for it, and still showing up with calm conviction. This week Josie and Clara share how young pro-life leaders learn to speak about abortion without losing their humanity or their friends, even when the lunch table gets tense and the comments turn sharp. Get honest information about pushback, fear, and the awkward moments that come with taking a public stand.
 
 What actually grows a pro-life club on a Catholic high school campus? Posters that spark curiosity, meetings that cover more than one life issue, and steady participation in events like the March for Life. They explain the reality of school limitations, why some students stay quiet even when they agree, and how simple visibility can “plant seeds” without turning every conversation into a debate. You will learn practical ways to build a pro-life club, navigate tough conversations, and use your own sphere of influence with courage and restraint. If you have ever wondered how to start a student club, find a trusted adult ally, or get involved locally when you feel alone, you will leave with a practical path.
 
 We discuss about a wider shift many people are noticing in Gen Z: renewed interest in faith, youth groups, and traditional values, plus the role social media plays in making courage feel contagious. Finally, we address the most common pro-abortion arguments they hear day to day and what resources help students respond with clarity. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs courage, and leave a review with the moment that challenged you most.

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