Show Notes
For argument's sake: where we take a debate, cut out the party politics and try to talk it out
As the NSW Parliament considers whether or not abortion should be legalised, Megan and Michael discuss the broader issues raised by the abortion debate:
- What does it mean to be pro-life or pro-choice? Can you be both at the same time?
- How do you balance the rights of the unborn child with women's agency over their own bodies?
- When does human life start anyway?
- Does legalising abortion automatically equate to an increase in the number of abortions?
- How should Christians respond to this increasingly politicised issue?
And what about the hot-button topics of gender selection and disability. Who determines whether or not a life is valuable?
Megan and Michael draw on the wisdom of a parent of a child with a disability, With All Due Respect listener Alison Preston, in debating this life-and-death issue.
One thing is clear: the law alone is inadequate in addressing a topic that requires a whole community response.
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You did WHAT now? Looking at what the other M has been up to
Michael, always prepared to put himself on the line, has been stepping into the charged abortion debate on social media and in the press in an attempt to change the tone of the conversation.
A descendant of "backyard abortionists", Michael is aware of the "real human cost of an unregulated abortion industry", as well as the moral complexity of the abortion issue.
So how can Christians respond graciously instead of aggressively to this polarising issue? Listen up to how Michael and Megan are doing it.
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Marg and Dave: reviews from two people obsessed by stories, but not always the same ones
Now we're squarely in Megan's domain: discussing Season 3 of the dystopian TV series The Handmaid’s Tale – in particular episodes 8, 9 and 13 (the final).
Why has this show become so connected to the abortion debate (so that just wearing a red cloak signals a pro-choice stance)?
Megan guides Michael, and listeners, through the undercurrents of death-happy Gilead, exploring the nuances of values, conflict, faith and society.
Here's a taste of just one of the profound revelations Megan uncovers: "Looking after children is more than just getting them born; it is about giving them good lives."
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Help internally displaced people in Africa!
Disasters and conflicts have led to a record number of over 75 million internally displaced people, or IDPs, around the world. IDPs are people who have been forced to flee their homes but have not crossed international borders.
Almost half of all IDPs - more than the population of Australia and New Zealand combined - are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Most of the displaced have left everything behind: their homes, belongings, and livelihoods. They urgently need food, shelter, clothing, and trauma counselling. So Anglican Aid has launched a Forced to Flee Emergency Appeal to provide essential aid to IDPs in Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, and beyond. This aid will be distributed by local churches, who are sacrificially providing for the needs of the displaced, and pointing them to the God who is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.