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Teaching kids biology is the future of the Pro-Life movement · The Daily Article

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  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the Thursday July the seventeenth twenty twenty five edition of Denison forums daily article podcast.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Chris Elkins, new rating today's daily article authored by our senior editor for Theology Dr. Ryan Denison.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Last month, Iowa passed a new law that requires public schools to teach prenatal development classes as part of their standard curriculum.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Students in grades five through twelve will now learn about the process of fertilization, how and when organs develop, and the overall growth of the embryo.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: They'll also watch ultra-sounds or computer-generated videos to see how babies develop in the womb.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: If all of that sounds like something that should already be taught in basic biology class, you're not wrong.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Sadly, it seldom is.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: While other states may offer electives that do much the same, Iowa is only the sixth state to make it a requirement.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: As the bill's authors describe, the hope is that these materials will help to demonstrate the humanity of the unborn child by showing prenatal development starting at fertilization.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And that emphasis on the humanity of the baby from the moment of fertilization is crucial if we're to change the narrative around the pro-life movement.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: While much of the discussion and debate about abortion treats the concept as a binary choice between the pro-life and pro-choice positions, the reality is that most people see the subject with a far greater degree of nuance.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: For example, the latest polling shows that fifty-five percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal under certain circumstances.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, thirty percent believe it should be legal in all circumstances.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: However, when researchers ask the same question, but with the added context of where the baby is in its development, they found that while sixty-nine percent of Americans think abortion should be legal during the first trimester, only thirty-seven percent support it during the second trimester.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And that number falls
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  [SPEAKER_00]: further to twenty-two percent during the last three months of pregnancy.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Clearly, most Americans have different views on the humanity, or at least the value of the unborn child based on how far it has developed.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: But would that change if people believe that life begins at fertilization?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: A study of more than five thousand five hundred biologists from over a thousand academic institutions around the world found that ninety-six percent of them affirmed the view that life begins at fertilization.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: However, a mere thirty-eight percent of the general population shared that belief.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Teaching kids that life begins at conception shouldn't be that controversial.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: That said, it's also not likely to be enough.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Eighty-five percent of those who responded to the study still identified as pro-choice, which demonstrates that there's more to this discussion than simply when life starts.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Still, it is an important piece to the puzzle, and when combined with the rest of the proposed curriculum, it could make an enormous difference in the number of people who choose life.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Roughly, forty-three percent of the women who get an abortion are twenty-four years old or younger, so helping them to see the humanity and value in unborn children from a mother's early age is precisely when the understanding is needed most.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: As Henry Olsen notes, educating kids on the facts of human development in the womb, quote, may not change opinions about abortion.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: People have a great capacity to rationalize what is in their interest, but knowing more facts about human development makes it harder to do.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Ultimately, making it easier for people to make the right choice by raising awareness about the wrong one is often the best we can do.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: The federal government is not going to pass laws banning abortion
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And even when state governments do, the proliferation of abortion drugs means that most women who want to end their pregnancies can.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: The best way to save unborn lives is to help their parents, and particularly their mothers, see that they are lives worth saving.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Programs like I was prenatal development classes are a great step in that direction, and education, whether in the classroom or at home,
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  [SPEAKER_00]: represents one of the best paths forward for the pro-life movement.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: To that end, our ministry offers a variety of materials on this subject, and they can help you become both more informed on the truth about abortion and more confident at the pro-life position really does enjoy both biblical and biological support.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Those materials on the Dinnison Forum website include an archive of our abortion-related articles and resources.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: What does the Bible say about abortion on the pro-life movement and politics when abortion goes from tragic to barbaric?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And why America's primary abortion pill is far more dangerous than advertised?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Links to all of these resources can be found in today's episode notes.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: However, being informed means relatively little unless you're willing to let that information change the way you live.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: So, what steps could you consider taking down that path today?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Will you contact your local school board to see if they are willing to start the discussion of offering similar classes in your city?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Will you contact state level representatives to ask for the same?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: And what steps can you take in your own life to stand up for the humanity of unborn children?
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  [SPEAKER_00]: As you consider your answers to those questions, please take a moment to be sure God is included in the conversation.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: He has given each of us a unique set of gifts and opportunities to help if we're willing to do our part.
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  [SPEAKER_00]: Are you?