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

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

Equal Rights Institute Blog

Equipped for Life Academy

Equipped for Life Course

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introducing Monica's forensics credentials and background

00:03:25 Describing the Innocence Project

00:06:25 Monica describes her forensics work

00:09:30 Real forensics vs. TV forensics

00:15:50 Why rape cases are difficult to prosecute

00:21:40 Where forensics touches the abortion debate in a post-Dobbs world

00:24:45 Distinguishing abortion pills and miscarriage?

00:34:16 Concerns with attaching criminal penalties to women who have had abortions

00:41:55 What rights do convicted people have?

00:48:35 What would a dystopian prosecution of all women who had abortions look like?

00:49:50 What is a more realistic interpretation of pro-lifers who want to attach criminal penalties to abortion look like?

00:51:10 Plea deals and public defenders

00:54:40 'Steel-manning' the pro-lifers who want to attach criminal penalties to abortion

00:58:10 Trauma associated with miscarriage

00:59:45 Relevant questions from real cases

01:02:20 WARNING: Morbid description

01:03:45 Conclusions from Monica

01:06:30 Josh's eyewitness testimony story

01:11:16 Monica's eyewitness testimony story

01:13:55 Applying this to a recent case

01:17:25 Wrapping up

Host: Josh Brahm

Guest: Monica Snyder

Audio/Video Editors: Joshua Head, Josh Brahm

Publisher: Ellen Campbell