“It’s just a clump of cells.”
“It’s my body.”
“Abortion is healthcare.”
These are just a handful of commonly used talking points endlessly regurgitated by the pro-abortion lobby. And in many circumstances, pro-life advocates are unsure how to respond when presented with debate on this hot-button issue.
Such scenarios are all too common, and according to Dr. Marc Newman, author of “Contenders: A Church-Wide Strategy to Unmask Abortion, Defeat Its Advocates, Empower Christians, and Change the World,” many pro-life supporters remain silent, “sidelined by a culture that tells them to keep quiet.” Newman is also president of Speaker for Life, a training firm dedicated to equipping pro-life advocates with public speaking skills to effectively articulate the pro-life message.
With an extensive background in both the pro-life movement and public speaking, Newman’s knowledge on the abortion issue in displayed tenfold in “Contenders.” In 16 chapters, split into three parts, Newman presents and debunks commonly cited pro-choice, or, as he puts it, “abortion-choice” arguments and sheds light on how Christians can, in turn, spread the pro-life message. Supported by both science and Scripture, Newman provides eye-opening insight into the issue of abortion, answering the age-old question at the root of the debate: is abortion murder?
The short answer: yes. And Newman explains how Christians can stop it.
“The morality of abortion relies on the idea that abortion doesn’t kill innocent human beings,” Newman explains in his book. Phrases echoed by abortion-choice organizations like “clump of cells,” and “pregnancy tissue” dehumanize unborn lives and frame abortion as a rite of passage, contrary to what most Christians believe: the inherent value of unborn life.
“Because so many people discuss abortion as if it were just an abstract moral issue, they feel free to focus on ‘words’ or ‘concepts’ and end up ignoring or forgetting its inherent violence,” Newman said in his book. “If pregnant women were told the truth; that the abortionist will rip the limbs from her baby’s body, I believe few would go through with it. Our job must be to help people see the truth, and offer life and hope.”
In several chapters, Newman notes key moments in the decades-long effort put forth by abortion providers and their supporters to construe and normalize a culture of death under the guise of healthcare, bodily autonomy, and feminism. The small steps that led to where we are – a country where hundreds of thousands of babies are denied the right to life every year – are chilling. This is one of many reasons why Christians cannot remain silent on the issue of abortion any longer.
“If we will speak up and rescue, we can protect the church against abortion advocacy, empower Christians to do God’s will toward our unborn neighbors, and change the world,” Newman states in his book.
Throughout, “Contenders” is structured with organized and compelling arguments, occasionally teetering into “information overload.” Some descriptions are gruesome, as Newman illustrates parallels between abortion and Moloch worship – the practice of child sacrifice – mentioned in Old Testament. While it’s certainly disturbing, perhaps it can help Christians understand the abhorrence of abortion when compared side-by-side to another repugnant ritual recorded in history.
“Contenders” left me feeling prepared to use science and my faith to discuss the abortion debate with pro-choice advocates. Furthermore, the book can provide factual evidence to those who are pro-life supporters and, hopefully, develop them into pro-life spokespersons.
“The persuasive power of abortion-the narrative that promises a quick, permanent solution to a temporary problem - can be stopped,” Newman said in his book. “It’s ravaging effects can be reversed. And it must begin with us.”