IF ROE GOES
Preparing for June’s court decision about the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade
In 2019, we hosted a Basecamp event equipping you to make a case for life and defend a Christian pro-life view. This year, we are in a unique cultural position in our political climate.
In December of 2021, The Supreme Court was presented with Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Dobbs is perhaps the most significant abortion case in the Supreme Court since Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey in 1992 (source).
This Summit Basecamp event will equip you to engage in intelligent conversations with the rising generation. In three hours, our speakers will cut through the noise of mainstream media and clear up the confusion about the court cases. You will leave with a clear vision of what the Christian worldview says about our role in society when it comes to making a pro-life defense that will build relationships and speak truth into the issue.
Help Summit continue to provide free resources!
Simulcast Recording
Session Handouts
Scott Klusendorf: “Pro-Life Advocacy in a Post-Roe World”
Scott Klusendorf: “We Are All Apologists Now: Making the Case for Life on (Really) Hostile Turf“
Discussion/Reflection Questions
The questions below are designed to help you get the most out of this event. If you are watching with a few people, discuss the questions together. If you are watching alone, reflect and think about the questions. Or gather some friends or co-workers and watch this event as a group.
Dr. Frank Beckwith
- How did the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade address the question of the unborn’s humanity?
- In what way did Casey v. Planned Parenthood change the right to abortion?
- How does the challenge of the recent Mississippi law on abortion force the Supreme Court to either uphold or overturn Roe and Casey?
- Why is there no middle ground?
- How did the Roe Court “discover” the right to abortion?
- If Roe goes, what is my game plan for engaging the abortion issue with my sphere of influence?
Final Event Discussion/Reflection Question
- Can you recall a conversation you have had about this topic? If so, how might have you done it differently based on the information you’ve learned from this event.
- What are your 3 biggest takeaways from this event? How are you going to implement those in your life and with your students?
Suggested Resources
Books
The Ethics of Abortion: Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice (Christopher Kaczor)
Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality (Nancy R. Pearcey)
Bio-ethics: A Primer for Christians (Gilbert Meilaender)
Why the Church Needs Bioethics: A Guide to Wise Engagement with Life’s Challenges (John F. Kilner)
Stand for Life: Answering the Call, Making the Case, Saving Lives (Scott Klusendorf and John Ensor)
Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments (Randy Alcorn)
Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (Francis J. Beckwith)
Unplanned Grace: A Compassionate Conversation on Life and Choice (Brittany Smith and Natasha Smith)
Media & Videos
Standing Strong Under Fire: Popular Abortion Arguments and Why They Fail
Here I Stand: Making the Case for Life
The Biblical Worldview of Abortion with Scott Klusendorf
The Abortion Debate – Dr. Willie Parker vs Dr. Mike Adams
How can Christians discuss abortion?
Does the scientific community agree that life begins at conception?
Why should we be encouraged in the pro-life movement? – Summit Ministries
What is the biggest challenge for the pro-life movement?
How can Christians champion the pro-life movement?
How Can We Identify Faults in Popular Responses to the Pro-Life Argument? – Summit Ministries
Can we discuss the right to life without using the Bible? – Summit Ministries
Articles
You Can Hate Abortion and Love Women (Scott Klusendorf)
All we did was survive (Scott Klusendorf)
The Question Abortion Advocates Won’t Answer: Five Ways They Avoid the Unborn (Scott Klusendorf)
The SLED Test for Personhood – Summit Ministries
Persons and Human Beings – Summit Ministries
Summit Basecamp Sessions
The Link to Everything Else – Megan Almon (15 minutes)
Francis Schaeffer wrote years ago, “Of all the subjects related to the erosion of human life abortion is the keystone.” In her introductory session, Megan will zero in on the current cultural climate surrounding abortion, and describe why understanding this issue is the link to understanding all of the issues regarding human dignity that we face today. She will offer a glimpse at the ideas beneath the issue that significantly touch each of our lives and that ultimately connect directly to the Gospel.
From Roe to Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Created a Right to Abortion and Where They Went Wrong – Dr. Frank Beckwith (20 minutes)
Everyone has an opinion about Roe v. Wade, but very few people have an informed one. The story is rarely told how the Supreme Court found an abortion right in the Constitution and why its case is so weak. In this session we will tell that story and critically examine Roe and the 1992 case that upheld it, Casey v. Planned Parenthood. We will also discuss the latest challenges to Roe and Casey coming out of Mississippi and Texas.
Q&A – Dr. Frank Beckwith & Megan Almon (10 minutes)
The speaker will be taking questions submitted through registration and live questions.
Break – 5 minutes
Pro-Life Advocacy in a Post-Roe World – Scott Klusendorf (20 minutes)
If you think overturning Roe ends the abortion debate, you are living in a dream world. The worldview assumptions that make abortion plausible to millions of our fellow citizens are deeply entrenched in American culture and they won’t go away without a fight. In fact, in many ways, overturning Roe is just the beginning of the fight to save unborn lives. In this session, we’ll look at six things pro-lifers must do to thrive in a post-Roe world.
Q&A – Scott Klusendorf & Megan Almon (10 minutes)
The speaker will be taking questions submitted through registration and live questions.
Break – 5 minutes
Panel Discussion – Dr. Frank Beckwith, Scott Klusendorf, & Megan Almon (40 minutes)
The speakers will be taking questions submitted through registration and live questions.
Break – 5 minutes
We Are All Apologists Now: Making the Case for Life on (Really) Hostile Turf – Scott Klusendorf (18 minutes)
If Roe is scrapped, the abortion debate will heat up in a heartbeat in your state. Amidst a sea of media misinformation, it’s vital that pro-life advocates keep the main thing the main thing. We’ll cover three essential steps for making your case persuasively.
Wrap up – Megan Almon (4 minutes)
Speakers
Megan Almon
Life Training Institute
Scott Klusendorf
President of Life Training Institute
Scott Klusendorf is President of Life Training Institute where he equips pro-life advocates to make a persuasive case for life. He has taught pro-life apologetics at the graduate level at Biola University and Trinity Law School, and lectured at over 80 colleges and universities including Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Johns Hopkins, MIT, and the U.S. Air Force Academy — to name a few. Scott’s debate opponents have included Nadine Strossen (former President of the ACLU), attorney Edward Tabash (of the Council for Secular Humanism), attorney Kathryn Kolbert (who argued for abortion rights at the Supreme Court), and Katherine Kneer (President of Planned Parenthood California).
Frank Beckwith
Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies at Baylor University
Francis J. Beckwith is a philosopher who teaches, publishes, and speaks on a variety of topics and issues in ethics, law, politics, and religion. He is currently Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies at Baylor University, where he also serves as Affiliate Professor of Political Science, Resident Scholar in the Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR), and Associate Director of the Graduate Program in Philosophy.