Expressing Pro-Life Views in a Winsome Way

I could have been aborted.

I was born in the ’60s prior to Roe v. Wade, but even then many people felt my mother would have been justified to abort me. She was the perfect candidate. She was 42 and in a high-risk pregnancy. My dad was an alcoholic, and I was the fifth child of a marriage that was already struggling to stay together. I was born into a household in turmoil.

I could have been aborted.

But every time I look into my wife’s eyes or hug my two wonderful teenage boys, I’m thankful my mom chose differently.

The topic of abortion is close to my heart and all of us here at Focus on the Family. Defending the value of human life in all of its forms is one of our ministry pillars (click here for the others). We believe Christians have biblical, medical, and scientific grounds for opposing abortion. We believe in rigorous but thoughtful discussion with people who oppose the pro-life viewpoint.

For that to happen, we have to defend and promote the pro-life view effectively. Here to equip us to do that is Scott Klusendorf, the founder and president of Life Training Institute. He’s spent years training thousands of people to engage in conversation about the value of life and about abortion. He’s also author of the book, The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture, available through our online bookstore.

We don’t have to let the controversial nature of abortion stop us from communicating biblical truth. We don’t have to choose between offending people or avoiding the subject entirely. There’s a third option: grace and truth.

Scott uses the acronym SLED to help people remember four crucial elements to the abortion debate: