Trent Horn Champions Pro-Life Persuasion in Post-Roe America
Notre Dame Right to Life and the St. Thomas More Society of Notre Dame Law School hosted Trent Horn on March 19 for a lecture on pro-life apologetics. Horn’s talk to a crowd of over 200 students focused on strategies and tactics to argue the pro life position and help promote pro-life legislation. Horn is a Catholic journalist, podcaster, lecturer, and the author of numerous books, including The Case for Catholicism, Why We’re Catholic, Answering Atheism, and Persuasive Pro-Life.
Horn last spoke at Notre Dame on a similar topic in 2022. This year, he aimed to clarify challenges pro-life advocates face in abolishing abortion in their states and emphasize the hope within a young and growing pro-life movement.
Horn began his pro-life work in 2002 after his conversion to Catholicism. He earned masters degrees in the fields of theology, philosophy, and bioethics and now serves as a staff apologist for Catholic Answers.
Horn’s lecture outlined the primary objectives and major pitfalls pro-life activism encounters, teaching students how to steer the argument to the question, “What are the unborn?”
Horn’s strategies came in the form of two acronyms for pro-life conversation. The first acronym, the Four A’s—Agree, Apply, Ask, and Ahah!—is his main strategy to bring the primacy of life to the forefront of conversation.
Horn’s first A—agreeing with something the pro-choice advocate voices—helps to break down barriers; Horn quoted Steve Wagner saying, “People will not believe the unborn are human unless they believe you and I are human.” Establishing a personal bond allows you to push further without resistance.
The second A—apply—illustrates pro-life reasoning by posing the argument in terms everyone would agree with, such as protecting a two-year-old child.
Horn’s third A—ask—carefully shifts the conversation towards life. By asking probing questions, such as “Why is it wrong to kill a two-year-old child?” one can move towards the fourth A—Ahah!—What makes a human life and gives it value?
From this point, there are only three stances pro-choice arguments can take: “The human fetus is not human life, the human fetus has no right to be supported, or human life can be overruled.” The rest of Horn’s speech taught the audience to address these claims.
In response, Horn proposed the NET framework—Nutrition, Environment, Time—to dismantle this view and address the core question: “What defines a human being?” NET asserts that if something can grow into a mature member of its species with proper nutrition, a suitable environment, and enough time, it qualifies as an organism, not just a body part. A human fetus fits this criterion, unlike skin cells or sperm, which lack human identity rooted in biological capacity.
This framework offers a cohesive way for steering conversations to the fundamental question and concurrently recognizing the unborn as human, blending biology and ethics to counter abortion arguments effectively.
In the Q&A following Horn’s lecture, questions focused on the difficulty of addressing abortion arguments without becoming overcome by emotions, especially when dealing with close friends and family. The response, “Practice, prudence, and consistency” expressed that as a pro-life advocate, love for the person across cannot be allowed to cloud judgment or reason; the arguments must be met head on. Horn emphasized a calm and prayerful attitude, reminding the students, “The pro-life side of the argument is the side of truth!”
Horn’s speech was well received by the audience. The Rover received dozens of comments praising his lecture, including a Morrissey freshman who highlighted Horn’s “clearcut, easy to replicate, and refined” method for directing pro-life conversations. Students and adults alike voiced their eagerness to employ Horn’s formula for life. Sophomore Gabriel Ortner told the Rover that he is “excited to implement [Horn’s] acronyms in future conversations.”
Following the event, the Rover spoke to Right to Life Executives Kathyrn Bowers and President Jackie Nguyen, who were excited about the event’s turnout and loved the strong family presence at the talk. Bowers, who helped organize the event, expressed her gratitude to the St. Thomas More Society for helping to “bring such a high-profile speaker and promote Catholic causes at Notre Dame.”
The next Notre Dame Right to Life event is You are Loved Week, beginning Monday, March 31.
Luke Woodyard is a freshman studying economics and biology. During his speech, Horn revealed his phobias: screeching blackboards, porous objects, second-hand embarrassment, and more. Unlike Trent, Luke’s only phobias are seed oils and Keynesian economics. Send your phobias to lwoodyar@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Irish Rover
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