Conversation Starter - "He Forced Me to Get An Abortion"

Featured Conversation Starter:

Featured Conversation Starter: Use the recent post, “He Forced Me to Get an Abortion,” to start a conversation in a natural way. This post features a true story and highlights a great question for common ground (also found in Common Ground Without Compromise, JFA's featured resource for this month): Should boyfriends and parents pressure women to have abortions? Very few people will say yes. So, you can start a conversation by saying, “Whatever we think about the legality of abortion, can’t we agree that we shouldn’t pressure women to have abortions? Can’t we agree that what the boyfriend in this story did was wrong?”

"He Forced Me to Get an Abortion"

The photo and story below were originally posted by Exposures, "a photojournalism initiative created to share the stories we all have about abortion and its impact on our lives."

"I had an abortion about two years ago. I had just found out I was pregnant, so I told my boyfriend. When I told him, he forced me to get an abortion. His dad was a lawyer, and he said he would sue me if I didn't get rid of the baby. I was 19, nervous, and a lawsuit really scared me. "I'm okay now. My mom and sister really helped me through it. "Wow, I've never talked about this before." #tempe #portrait #story #exposuresproject

43 Likes, 2 Comments - Exposures (@exposuresproject) on Instagram: ""I had an abortion about two years ago. I had just found out I was pregnant, so I told my..."

Learn More About Exposures: 
www.exposuresproject.com 
See the Original Exposures Post: 
www.instagram.com/p/0v3B71PWuk 

What Do You Think?

• Is it right for boyfriends and parents to pressure women to have abortions?

• What type of input, if any, should boyfriends and parents offer in the situation of unwanted pregnancy?

A Living Room Conversation

By Grace Fontenot, JFA Training Specialist

PART 1:  MORALITY AND LEGALITY

“Will you talk to me about abortion?  Please just tell me about it!”  This was not what I expected to hear upon returning to my host home on a recent JFA trip.  My hosts were out on a date, and they had informed me that they would have their new babysitter staying with their kids that evening, and that she’d let me into the house.  The kids were already in bed when I knocked on the door, and their babysitter, “Heidi,” answered.  She turned out to be a sweet, friendly young woman, and a student at a local university.

Heidi and I hit it off immediately.  We began chatting, and pretty soon she asked me why I was visiting the area, so I explained to her the work that I do with Justice For All.  I told her that through speaking and mentoring, I help train pro-life advocates to defend their beliefs in a way that balances truth and love in every conversation.  She then enthusiastically said, “Will you talk to me? Will you give me one of your talks?”  I was happily surprised, and we sat down in the cozy living room where I then asked her if she’d share her thoughts on abortion.  Our conversation went something like this:

Heidi:  I believe that little life has a soul, and I don’t think it’s my place to “play God” by ending that life through abortion.  But I don’t think that I can allow my religious beliefs to limit the choices of others who don’t share them when it comes to making public policies.  So I can’t say that I think abortion should be made illegal.

Grace:  I understand your concern for the freedom of others, and not wanting to force people to live by religious standards they don’t hold.  Can I ask you a question, though?  I’ve talked to a lot of people about abortion, and I’ve noticed that people have different reasons for why they hold their views.  Why are you pro-life?

Grace in conversation in front of the Art of Life exhibit during JFA’s outreach at University of Kansas (KU) in March 2018.

Heidi:  I think because I’ve always wanted to be a mom.  My mom has always said I was born to be a mother.  I was raised pro-life, but like I said, I don’t think I can tell others that they can’t get an abortion.

Grace:  Do you believe that there are some things mentioned in the Bible, which we believe as
Christians, that also should be laws?  For example, one of the Ten Commandments is “Thou shalt not kill.”  Do you think we should make murder legal because the law against it may be influenced by a Christian belief?

Heidi:  No, of course not!  You’re right, that law makes sense for everyone even though it’s also a Christian belief.

Grace:  This may sound like a weird question to ask, but what is the definition of murder?

Heidi:  It’s when you kill an innocent person… and if abortion kills a human being, then it must be murder!

Notice how I first built common ground with Heidi.  I tried to identify with her discomfort about forcing others, by law, to comply with a belief system they don’t currently hold.  Because of this, Heidi felt heard and understood.  After I built common ground, though, I raised an example of a law that coincides with our religious beliefs, but which can clearly be legally applied to all citizens regardless of religion.  Heidi quickly recognized that outlawing abortion falls into this category.  If abortion kills an innocent human being, it is not only morally wrong, but must be legally outlawed for everyone.

PART 2:  THE UNBORN - A LIVING, HUMAN ORGANISM

Heidi began to realize that if abortion kills an innocent human being, it must be restricted legally.  This naturally took us into the next part of our conversation, in which we discussed the humanity of the unborn, biologically.  It was such a fun conversation because we were both becoming increasingly excited!  I was curious about her views on the biology of the unborn, so I decided to clarify whether or not we held the same beliefs on that subject.  My hope in asking these questions was to make her more confident in her position against abortion.

Grace:  I remember you mentioning earlier the word “life,” and I’m curious, what does the word “life” mean for you?  You may have noticed I ask for definitions pretty often, and that’s because, over time, I’ve realized that people can have different intended definitions for the same words.

Heidi:  Oh, okay.  Well, actually, I was just studying this!  [Heidi excitedly took out her course notes to reference them.]  When I say “life,” I think I mean development.  I’m in a developmental motor skills class, and I was just reading about how, from the moment that fertilization is completed, development is happening!

Grace:  So if the unborn is developing from the point of fertilization, would you agree that it must be alive?

Heidi:  Yes.

Grace:  Would you further agree with me that, because living things reproduce after their own kind, the unborn must also be human?

Heidi:  Yes.

Grace:  And do you agree that the unborn is a whole organism?

Heidi:  I... think so…

She said this slowly.  I could tell she wasn’t sure what I meant, so I asked a follow-up question to clarify terms and to make sure that Heidi and I were on the same page.

Grace:  What do you mean when you use the word “organism”?

Heidi:  Hmmm.  I don’t know exactly.  What is the definition of the word “organism”?

Grace:  I can’t give you the exact definition off of the top of my head, but an organism is an individual life form.  For example, the leaf of the plant on the table next to you is a part of the whole organism, which is the plant.  In the same way, your thumb is a part of your body; but you, Heidi, are the whole organism.  So in the same way, sperm and egg are functional parts of a man and a woman.  However, when they combine, they cease being parts of another person’s body, and a new whole organism comes into existence, on its own self-directed path of development.  Does that make sense?  (Note: See our Extending Your Learning page to read Maureen Condic's excellent article on this topic, “Life: Defining the Beginning by the End.”)

Heidi:  Yes! So the unborn is the same kind of thing that we are;  it’s just at a different stage of development!

We were then interrupted by one of the kids coming downstairs complaining of a sore throat.  After administering medicine and sending him back up to bed, Heidi and I continued our conversation. 

Notice that instead of simply telling Heidi that she had a misunderstanding about the biology of the unborn, I asked her questions so that I could think through it alongside her.  In Justice For All’s Abortion: from Debate to Dialogue seminar, I help to train participants to dialogue about the biological humanity of the unborn.  One way that we do this is through a tool developed by Steve Wagner.  This tool can be said in ten seconds (below), or broken down more slowly in a conversation, as exemplified in my dialogue with Heidi.

Steve calls this the 10-Second Pro-life Apologist.  Here’s how it goes:

• If the unborn is growing, isn’t it alive?

• And if it has human parents, isn’t it human?

• And living humans, or human beings like you and me, are valuable, aren’t they?

I want to encourage you to have your own conversations about abortion, and remember that it doesn’t take years of study and experience to ask thought-provoking questions, to listen, and to point out areas of agreement.  It is helpful, however, to have a little bit of knowledge of the biological development of the unborn, so that you can refer to it as I did in my conversation with Heidi.  To help you further defend the biological humanity of the unborn, I’ve listed bullet points from the interactive guide participants use in our seminar.

EVIDENCE THAT THE UNBORN IS A LIVING, HUMAN ORGANISM:

1.  The unborn is living.

• Growth through cellular reproduction

• Reacting to stimuli

• Metabolizing food for energy

2.  The unborn is human.

• Has human parents (living things reproduce after their own kind)

• Has a DNA fingerprint unique to the human species

3.  The unborn is a whole organism.

• Integrating its body parts for the good of the whole

• Actively developing itself through the stages of human development

• If adults are organisms, and all that was added to them from fertilization was a proper environment and adequate nutrition, then the unborn at fertilization must have been an organism as well.

PART 3:  HUMAN EQUALITY AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS

When I last wrote, I paused the story when one of the kids whom Heidi was babysitting complained of a sore throat.  After helping him and sending him back to bed, Heidi and I continued our conversation:

Heidi:  One of my main concerns is that I live in a city that is very liberal, and being pro-life is not popular.  I don’t want to be considered…

Grace:  Anti-woman?

Heidi:  Yeah! 

Her eyes widened.  It seemed to be a comfort that I understood why she felt torn.  I then asked her if she would like for me to explain to her the reasons I can call myself a feminist and a pro-life advocate.  “I would love it if you would,” she replied with a big smile stretching across her face. 

I then shared with Heidi the Equal Rights Argument*, a series of questions that can help someone to understand that equal rights can only be based on something that we all share equally, and the thing we share equally that best explains our equal rights is our common humanity.

Grace:  Let’s take a step away from the topic of abortion for a moment.  Do you agree that all born human beings deserve equal treatment?  If you agree that we deserve to be treated equally, then there must be something equal or the same about us, right?  So what is the same about us that demands our equal treatment?

Heidi:  It’s that we’re human!  I think I know where you’re going with this!

Grace discusses equal rights with a pro-choice student next to the art table at JFA’s outreach to the University of Kansas in March 2018.

Grace:  Yes, you’re right!  See, the reason that racism and sexism are wrong is because we all deserve to be treated equally based on our common humanity; so, if the unborn are also human like we are, they have to be included in the group of beings that have equal rights. 

Now let’s turn to feminism.  If I claim that I deserve equal rights as a woman because I am equally human to men, but then I turn around and say that I also deserve the right to end the life of someone else who is equally human to me through abortion, then I would be betraying the foundation of my feminist beliefs.  So it actually makes more sense to be a pro-life feminist than it does to be a pro-choice one!

Heidi:  That’s so helpful!  Feminism is such a big deal right now, and I’m a woman!  I don’t want to be accused of being anti-woman, but I also don’t want to have to sacrifice my pro-life beliefs.  Thank you so much for discussing this with me.

Before heading upstairs to my room for the evening, I decided to ask Heidi if the conversation had impacted her views on abortion in any way.   In the same fashion as she had handled the entire conversation, Heidi took time to think carefully before replying.  She paused and then shared an incredibly encouraging answer:

Heidi:  I grew up in a very conservative town.  I remember ignoring any conversation about politics because my dad and my friends’ dads would talk about politics constantly.  But now, I feel as though I need to be more informed about politics so that I can start voting and form my own opinions on different political subjects.  I feel so excited because, since talking to you, I feel like I know the reasons why I believe what I believe about abortion.  I feel confident now that I can share them, and I can participate in conversations about the topic because the reasons backing up my position are sound.

Heidi and I had a fantastic conversation, covering almost every topic in JFA’s Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue seminars.  I’m so thankful that we were able to talk that evening because now Heidi feels equipped to share her views with those within her sphere of influence.  She told me at the end of our conversation that she leads a Bible study on her campus for freshman girls, and that she hopes to have a conversation with them about unplanned pregnancy and abortion in the future. 

You never know how far one conversation can go, and you never know how many people it can impact. This is a perfect example of starting conversations about abortion in everyday life. For multiple conversation starter ideas, see the JFA blog. Here’s one example: You could start a conversation with a friend by sharing JFA’s social media post titled, “Can She Embrace Both?”  The idea of starting a conversation may seem intimidating, but if we are truly serious about protecting mothers, fathers, and babies from abortion, then a little bit of awkwardness is a small sacrifice to pay.

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*EQUAL RIGHTS ARGUMENT

• Do you agree that we all deserve equal treatment, at least regarding the basic right to life?

• If we deserve to be treated equally, doesn’t that mean there has to be something the same about us?

• What is the same about us?

Click here for more examples of the Equal Rights Argument in action.

Featured Resources - Deformity and Abortion

Featured Resource for Equipping Yourself:

Click on the image above (from JFA's Original Exhibit Brochure) to link to all resources listed in this blog post.

In “We Don’t Deserve This” (JFA’s Jan. 2018 Impact Report), Susanna shared a story of a conversation about spina bifida.  See these resources to prepare for conversations about deformity and abortion:

• JFA’s Original Exhibit Brochure (Page 4, pictured right) refers to Samuel Armas, a boy with spina bifida who received a surgery in utero. Review the story and download the image.
• Read dialogue tips. (Pages 160-162 of JFA’s Interactive Guide)
• How many babies diagnosed in utero with spina bifida and Down syndrome are aborted? Two articles discuss this.

Conversation Starter - “Eliminating Disabilities or the People Who Have Them?”

Click on the image above to read “Eliminating Disabilities or the People Who Have Them?”

Featured Conversation Starter:

Share Joanna Bai’s recent post, “Eliminating Disabilities or the People Who Have Them?” to start a conversation in a natural way about unborn children diagnosed with disabilities in the womb. The post features a video news story on Iceland’s treatment of unborn children with Down syndrome, gives links to helpful commentary, and asks a question to start the conversation.

Resources for Your Local Church

Sanctity of Life Sunday - 2018

(Scroll down for full resource list)

When Kim told her friend Amanda that she was pregnant and planning to get an abortion, Amanda didn’t know what to do – except pray.  The very next day, when Amanda saw Justice For All volunteers holding an outreach on her campus, she wondered if it might be the answer to her prayers.  So when one of her classes that day was canceled, she spent most of that class hour receiving a crash-course in learning how to talk about abortion from Catherine Wurts (JFA Trainer from 2009-2017).  Then she again prayed. 

Later that same afternoon Amanda shared the JFA Exhibit Brochure (which contains photos of unborn children before and after abortion) with her friend Kim.  After talking with Amanda and seeing abortion in the JFA Exhibit Brochure, Kim said,  

“I realized that getting an abortion would be worse for my baby than the bad situation I’m in with my boyfriend.”  

(Click here to read the full story, and see Kim’s baby, “Lucy.”)

So many people like Kim are all around us.  As Christ-followers, how can we be the hands and feet of Christ to our vulnerable neighbors, those facing unwanted pregnancy (or who will face this in their future) and those in danger in the womb?

Justice For All is committed to coming alongside churches in their discipleship work, specifically preparing Christians to respond to unwanted pregnancy.  JFA is here to help you turn the abortion debate into a dialogue in your everyday life, in a way that can change hearts and minds.  You can pray for, prepare for, and create heart-changing conversations like the one I mentioned above. Here are just a few resources to help you and your local church get started:

Learn at Home Program

JFA’s "Learn at Home" program gives busy moms, dads, and professionals something they can do in just one hour (four 15-minute exercises) to learn to dialogue about abortion in a way that changes hearts and minds.

Guide for Students and Clubs

JFA’s guide for pro-life students and clubs (“Conversations Change Campuses”) is full of free resources and helps students to prioritize pro-life activities that actually make a difference. It also includes step-by-step instructions for creating a small outreach event with a big impact.

Resource Bulletin

JFA’s monthly resource bulletins provide practical ways for you to pray for conversations about abortion and prepare for conversations of your own.  A blog post written with pro-choice people in mind is included each month to help you start conversations in a more natural, less-awkward way.

Explore All Resources

Explore JFA's online educational resources, including statistics, explanations from scientists and philosophers, dialogue examples, video, and much more.

Links to Help During and After Dialogue

This page provides quick links on topics ranging from abortion-related statistics, to locating a local pregnancy resource center, to finding post-abortion care.  Don't miss the See Baby Pregnancy Guide app (under "EHD Apps"), which includes video of the unborn in the womb, week-by-week, on your smartphone for free.

Training Events & Mission Trips

At JFA’s core is a mentor-led training program called “Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue” which includes a seminar (Seat Work) and an outreach event (Feet Work) at a college campus. This complete training experience is the best JFA has to offer when it comes to preparing Christians to change hearts and minds in their communities. 

We Don't Deserve This

Impact Report, January 2018

My experiences at our outreach events over the past 15 years have taught me again and again a lesson we now emphasize to every person we train: you can’t judge whether or not you’re successful in a conversation by looking at the results.  Sure, if you get a bad result, it might be a clue that you are doing a bad job of articulating the truth or loving the person with whom you’re speaking.  It might be a clue you need to work on some aspect of being an ambassador for Christ.  There may be other reasons, though, that the results you saw were either bad or nil.  For example, the person may think things through privately when you are long gone.

When we share stories where we do see some specific good result or moment of impact, we try to keep this reality in mind.  Even still, we enjoy sharing stories where God seems to be making his presence clearer or when people seem to be especially open to our work of kindling affection for the smallest humans on earth and women in distress.  As we share these stories from JFA staff members Susanna Buckley, Jeremy Gorr, and Rebecca Haschke, we’re mindful that we don’t deserve to see what God is doing.  Stories like these are simply a special grace from our loving Father, partly shared with us and you for our encouragement.  Let’s enjoy his work! 

- Steve Wagner, Executive Director

Georgia, October 2017

While in Georgia, I had an amazing conversation with a young man who approached the exhibit.  We agreed that abortion should not be legal in the last two trimesters and should not be done for just any reason.  He said that a good reason to have an abortion would be if the unborn was diagnosed with a disability.  With permission, I shared with him the story of a baby with spina bifida who had received surgery in utero to fix part of the baby’s spine.  In the corner of my eye, I saw a lady in a wheelchair coming down the sidewalk in our direction.  I kid you not ― as we were talking, this woman approached us and interrupted our conversation. She passionately shared that she had spina bifida and was afraid for unborn babies with that diagnosis.  Many of them are aborted.  She said, “Never let disability be the reason you have an abortion.  Never.  We can have good lives too.”  The young man listened in awe as the woman told her story.  He left an hour later saying he had a lot to think about.

- JFA Intern Susanna Buckley

Oklahoma, November 2017

I met Sharon at the University of Oklahoma (OU).  She thought there should be no legal restrictions on abortion even though she personally believes the unborn are human and abortion is wrong.  She said it is situational, and even she may end up in a situation later in life where she would choose abortion, so she doesn’t want to take away the right from others who may be in tough situations.

I proceeded to “trot out the toddler” and tried to convince her that there are no situations that justify killing innocent human beings.  We talked about this for a while, and at the end of the conversation she said:

“This is a very eye-opening conversation.  I like this.  I see people on our campus all the time with signs I disagree with, and I pre-judge them and don’t speak with them.  And then I don’t have the opportunity to have conversations like this, where it really makes you question things and think about your own moral judgements.”

- JFA Trainer Jeremy Gorr

“Zoey” shared that she would never choose to have an abortion but that abortion should be legal because women need to be given the right to choose.  As I asked questions about what she believed, I discovered she didn’t have confidence that the unborn was biologically human at conception.  Throughout the conversation she asked me a lot of questions about the things that didn't seem convincing to her.  After that part of the conversation she agreed that the unborn was biologically human from conception.

Indiana, September 2017

We then discussed whether or not those human beings deserved equal treatment.  I used the Equal Rights Argument just as we teach it in the JFA seminar.  After that discussion, she agreed that abortion should not be legal for any reason throughout the entire pregnancy.  Of course, it was a joy to witness the fruits of our conversation, but it was the end of the conversation that surprised me:

Zoey:  Wow, I’m excited to finally have the same opinion as my family!

Becca:  I’m excited for you too. Are a lot of your family members pro-life?

Zoey:  Yes, they are all pro-life, and I’ve been the one who has the “different” ideas.  My aunt and my grandma have tried to talk to me about this but it never goes well.  You and I had differing opinions but I felt safe asking you the questions that I had because you didn’t get mad at me.  This conversation was different because you helped me process through the information to help me understand your position.

What a surprise it was to find that Zoey actually wanted to have the same opinion as her family and that it was a relief to her that she could now honestly hold the same view her family held.  This conversation was a reminder that I can’t conclude that someone is close-minded just because she holds a view that is different from mine.

- JFA Trainer Rebecca Haschke

Eliminating Disabilities or the People Who Have Them?

In this portion of the CBS feature on Down syndrome in Iceland, the reporter looks at footprints of an aborted child imprinted next to a prayer as she speaks with a hospital worker who counsels women through their abortion decisions. The counselor states, "We don't look at abortion as murder..."

On August 14th, CBS News released an article entitled "What kind of society do you want to live in? Inside the country where Down syndrome is disappearing," along with a 10-minute feature video on the topic.  For pregnant women in Iceland who find out their children have Down syndrome, the abortion rate appears to be incredibly high - nearly 100%.  

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JFA's "Stop and Think" Exhibit features this panel, prompting discussion about what our attitudes should be towards those, like Dylan (shown above), with Down syndrome.

Many criticized the CBS article for being too celebratory, making the distinction that Iceland is eliminating those with a disability rather than the disability itself.  (Note: The CBS video did go into more detail than the article that accompanied it, making it somewhat more representative of a broader set of views.)  BreakPoint was one news outlet that responded.  You can read or listen to its response at the following link: "Iceland 'Close to Eradicating Down Syndrome Births': They're Killing, Not Curing."

What do you think?  

Do you agree with Breakpoint that Iceland is not really removing a disability, but rather removing disabled humans?

Or,

Do you think the unborn are not human beings, and therefore find Breakpoint's criticisms to be unfair?

Face to Face

Christmas 2017

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Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633 (see Mark 4:35-41). Image of the work used here for educational purposes courtesy of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston under CC 4.0. To read the fascinating story of this work's whereabouts, see the Gardner Museum's page dedicated to the unsolved mystery of the 1990 heist in which the painting disappeared.

Dear Friend,

Look at the face of Jesus in Rembrandt’s masterful Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee. It’s clear from his expression and the placement of his hand that he’s just waking up. The disciples are in utter despair at the mercy of a great storm, but they are about to see another convincing proof of “his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Jesus is the Son of God, about to support that truth with evidence. Yet it’s striking that Jesus is face to face with this motley crew, physically present in the boat with them, dazed as he wakes from sleep just as they would be dazed in waking. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” (John 1:14)

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Detail from Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633 (see image above)

In becoming flesh, Jesus dwelt among the disciples in all of their mess. He was face to face with their fear and their lack of faith, present with them so that they could relate to his glory in a way particularly necessary for them.

Jesus related to people face to face. We aspire to imitate our Savior in this simple motion every time we step onto a college campus to try to help some of those who are far from Christ’s perspective come closer to the truth and closer to Christ. We aspire to imitate Christ every time we step into a workshop or seminar to lead a group of Christ’s followers in interactive exercises, preparing them to create conversations.

I invite you to look at the art, pictured nearby, again. Reflect on the very special miracle of Christ’s face to face relationship with his disciples which reveals a unique dimension of His love for them (and for each of us).

I invite you also to spend some time looking at the pictures from our recent events, reflecting on the striking image you’ll see repeated over and over in those photos, too: we are simply followers of Christ, humbly seeking to relate face to face with people in desperate need, hoping to save very small children and very desperate mothers from the tragedy and horror of abortion. Thank you for partnering with us to train Christians to make these face to face encounters common. Merry Christmas!

That all may behold His glory,

Steve Wagner

Executive Director

PS: You can still give a special year-end gift in 2017 using this link.

Pray with JFA - December 2017

Click the image to read the year-end report.

Pray with JFA for “One Person at a Time”: 

Click the image to see photos of recent conversations.

Last month, we published our year-end report, “2,017+ Conversations in 2017,”  featuring names of hundreds of people with whom we interacted in 2017. This month, we suggest using Steve Wagner’s Christmas letter and the JFA photos page as additional aids for reflection and prayer. Pray slowly through each name and picture, asking God to cause the seeds planted in the heart to bear fruit. Pray for each person to love unborn children and their parents in action. Pray for each person to grow in the love of God through Jesus Christ.

Continue to Pray for God’s Provision During the Year-End Giving Period: 

We continue to trust God to provide for JFA. You can help by praying with us and considering a special year-end gift.

Featured Resource - "See Baby Pregnancy Guide" App

Last month, we encouraged our readers to download the “See Baby Pregnancy Guide” app by the Endowment for Human Development (EHD). We’d like to feature the app again, but this time, let’s focus on the heartbeat counter built into the app. Consider Jesus as a 7-week embryo. How many times had his heart beaten by this point? We’re not going to tell you. Find the answer by downloading the app and scrolling to 7 weeks. In addition to the heartbeat count, the app features stunning video of unborn children throughout development. Please use the app and consider giving a gift to EHD to make sure the app continues to be available as a valuable resource for conversations.

Conversation Starter - "See What Baby Jesus Looked Like at 7 Weeks."

Last month, we shared a post to encourage curiosity and conversation about both the unborn child and the incarnation of Jesus (“See What Baby Jesus Looked Like at 4 Weeks”). We thought that for this month the theme is worth emphasizing again, but this time asking the question, “What Did Baby Jesus Look Like at 7 Weeks?” Share the post using the links below. If Christmas has passed when you read this, don’t worry. You can still share the post as a celebration of the “Twelve Days of Christmas”! 

What Did Baby Jesus Look Like at 7 Weeks?

Click the image or this link to view high-resolution video of the embryo at 7 weeks.

Many people are curious to know what Jesus looked like.  Though it may be difficult to know what Jesus looked like when he walked the earth, it may be easier to see something of what his appearance must have been like when he was a seven-week-old baby in Mary's womb.  And what better time for this than the season of Advent?  Click on the image nearby to reveal video at EHD of a baby at seven weeks and four days from fertilization.

To see this imagery on your smart phone, we suggest downloading the stellar "See Baby Pregnancy Guide" app.  In the app, you can find interesting facts about the embryo at different stages of development, including a heartbeat count.  How many times had Jesus's heart beaten by 7 weeks?  Find out in the app (or learn more here).  You can also use EHD's heartbeat calculator to compare your heartbeat count.

(HT: JFA staff member Bubba Garrett.  We featured a similar post about four-week embryos last month.)

2,017+ Conversations in 2017

2017 Report

Note: This Impact Report is a bit different than others we’ve written. Rather than reporting a story of the impact that God brought about in someone’s life through JFA, we are sharing a sort of “big picture” view of JFA’s impact through names of people with whom we interacted. Each of the names, and each of the conversations associated with them, points to the “one person at a time” we’re so passionate about training Christians to reach. We love the person in front of us for the same reason we love the unborn child and her parents: each of these human beings has intrinsic, enduring value as someone made in the image of God. Thank you for supporting JFA financially and for praying along with us for each individual story represented by the names in this report. - Steve Wagner, Executive Director

This year we wanted to see how many conversations the JFA community could create, so we counted. We’re excited to report that we logged more than 2,017 conversations in 2017. More important than the number of conversations, though, is what’s at the center of each one: a person.

I just read through the reflections of one of our dedicated volunteers who participated in JFA events in Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma this year. His name is Mark. Some of the 120 people with whom Mark spoke changed their minds and decided unborn children should be protected from abortion. Others seemed unmoved from their pro-choice positions. Yet Mark is not discouraged. He made a list of names and intends to continue to pray for each person with whom he spoke, believing that although good reasons and dialogue are important to helping people change, God is the one who moves in the heart of the person and causes the seeds Mark planted to take root.

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Click the image above to read the names.  Click here for the printable version which you can post on your refrigerator as a prayer reminder.

Our staff and volunteers (including Mark) worked together to compile the names of many of these people with whom we were privileged to interact this year. Some were pro-choice. Some were pro-life. Some were undecided or confused or searching prior to the conversation.

Please place your trust in God along with us, asking Him to grow in each of these people a strong and active love for those who are often forgotten—for the smallest humans on earth (unborn children), for women and men in distress (related to unplanned pregnancy or sexual assault), and for those whose appearance or worldview makes them difficult to love (such as pro-choice advocates). Pray that each person we talked to this year will take a next step to love the forgotten in the coming months.

Make Your Own Impact with a Year-End Gift

As you consider your year-end giving, please consider giving generously to JFA to help us train more Christians to create more conversations in 2018. You can give online or send your gift using the instructions at our Donate page. Your gift will help JFA plan more events, hire more staff, and reach more people. Here are just two examples: David Rodriguez and Susanna Buckley served as interns during the fall of 2017, and they have both committed to serve as interns during the spring of 2018. Your gift to the Training Program Fund will pay for their travel to and from outreach events, and it will help us continue to provide a place in the Wichita office where they can grow as dialogue artists and mentors of others. Your gift to the Intern Scholarship Fund will fund paychecks for them or other interns like them. Your gift to the Staff Support Fund or to support a specific staff missionary will fund the salaries of those who mentor these interns. Last month, we shared one beautiful story in which this mentoring made a difference ("Three Miracles in One Conversation"). Our “Invest in JFA” page gives you more detailed information on these and other ways you can make an impact with your gift to JFA. Feel free to use our Contact page to contact me directly to discuss JFA’s vision, strategy, and needs for 2018. Thanks for partnering with JFA!

What I Said on Giving Tuesday Might Surprise You

In case you missed it, please read my Giving Tuesday message to all of JFA's readers who serve behind the scenes by praying, supporting financially, providing homes and meals for our traveling team, volunteering during outreach events, creating conversations in everyday life, and supporting JFA in other ways.  This message provides important context to my request for year-end gifts above.

Helping the Skeptic

The article linked below was written by our friend Timothy Brahm, the Director of Training at Equal Rights Institute.  (Previously, Timothy served as a Training Specialist at JFA.)  He shares an interesting strategy for avoiding common, but unhelpful tangents in conversations about abortion.  It's a short read that explains this main point: Surprisingly, it's sometimes more helpful to the skeptic to not answer his or her hypothetical questions, but rather to ask what he or she actually believes.