Asia for Life

Human Trafficking and Abortion: What would you say?

December 17, 2019 09:47 - 9 minutes - 13 MB

In this recording, I share my experience of sitting by a woman and her traffickers, while they were in the process of kidnapping her. I wasn't able to help her, and I couldn't find anyone willing to help. It was one of the most horrifying experiences I could imagine (besides, of course, being in that woman's situation myself). I draw comparisons between human trafficking and abortion, considering both of them as a violation of human rights. Then I use a very personal example to drive the p...

Hong Kong Human Rights Day Protest

December 15, 2019 13:34 - 5 minutes - 4.9 MB

When I recorded this at the end of the protest, the Hong Kong Police were nearby--and there were far more than I realized! They were ready to take action at any moment. I brought eye protection, and had my tear gas mask in my backpack. INCREDIBLY, though, there was no tear gas fired that night! 800,000 people came to protest the anti-democratic policies of the Hong Kong and CCP government, as well as the police's shockingly indiscriminate use of tear gas during the past 6 months. But desp...

Happy(?) Human Rights Day 2019!

December 09, 2019 16:24 - 6 minutes - 10.5 MB

71 years ago the United Nations voted on the Declaration of Human Rights. How far have we come? Do we really believe in the rights of all human beings? And are we actually going to do anything about China's concentration camps? Maybe it's up to you and me. During a hike at Wo Hop Shek (Hong Kong's largest cemetery grounds), I shared some thoughts on what we can do, and why the world must focus on human rights abuses in China now. You can read the depressingly evasive statement from the U...

Remembering why it's wrong to commit gendercide

October 26, 2019 09:51 - 11 minutes - 13.7 MB

In this #asiaforlifepodcast, we discuss "gendercide". Everyone agrees that if we get rid of too many girls, then it will create massive demographic problems in Asia, and will probably lead to serious human rights abuses. ‧ But that's not why it's wrong. ‧ As a background for the discussion, we talk about Sita, the baby girl who was buried alive in India a few weeks ago. Incredibly, she survived, and will be adopted. ‧ Obviously, the people you know are going to say that gendercide is wrong....

NYC 3—Praying at the UN, and Trump vs the Radical Pro-Choice Lobbyists

October 15, 2019 07:11 - 7 minutes - 10.2 MB

"[M]any United Nations projects have attempted to assert a global right to taxpayer-funded abortion on demand, right up until the moment of delivery. Global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life." (U.S. President Donald Trump, United Nations General Assembly, September 24, 2019) In this #asiaforlife podcast, Joe shares about visiting the United Nations Headquarters. (Actually, it was a coffee shop nearby—but it was ...

NYC 2—Abortion in the Bronx, and Pro-Life Ministry

October 12, 2019 06:29 - 7 minutes - 9.94 MB

The state of New York has 62 counties. Bronx County is consistently #62 in the "Quality of Life" ranking. The pro-life movement must be there to serve the community and give people hope that life is worth living. Today's discussion includes: —Pro-life ministry in the Bronx —40 Days for Life and how it's strengthened the global pro-life movement, as well as our public image —The need for churches to respond to the culture of death in their communities Read more: https://www.asiaforlife.co...

NYC 1—"Papa, My Papa"

October 05, 2019 10:34 - 16 minutes - 21.4 MB

In this #asiaforlife podcast, Joe shares about some experiences and insights from a recent trip to New York City. The discussion includes: --A man who jumped in front of a train while holding his daughter --A governor who loudly celebrated the world's most radical abortion law --The incredibly urgent need for fathers in places like New York City Read more: https://www.asiaforlife.com/nyc-1-papa-my-papa-podcast/ #nyc #newyorkcity #bronx #dads #plannedparenthood #reproductivehealthact #gov...

Priscilla and Aquila—On Marriage, Ministry, and the Father School

August 31, 2019 08:00 - 19 minutes - 15.2 MB

This #asiaforlifepodcast is a conversation with the Hong Kong couple Priscilla and Aquila. They met while working together to spread the Gospel to Chinese tourists. After getting married, they have also helped to build the Father School in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Read more: https://www.asiaforlife.com/priscilla-and-aquila-marriage-and-ministry/ For over 10 years, Priscilla and Aquila's ministry has reached out to tourists from China and around the world, who visit Hong Kong and Macau for...

Kevin Lai—Hong Kong Protests, Herbal Tea, Marriage Ministry, and a New Pro-Life Movie

August 24, 2019 06:37 - 31 minutes - 24.1 MB

Welcome to the first interview on the Asia for Life Podcast! ‧ This episode is a casual conversation about pro-life ministry in Hong Kong. Joe Woodard talks with Kevin Lai, from the pro-life NGO Joy of Life. First, they discuss what's on everybody's minds now—the recent events in Hong Kong, and especially the massively popular protests against the extradition legislation. ‧ People take different sides on issues like this, and even little differences of opinion can cause a lot of tension in ...

My "discussion" with Dr. Leana Wen

August 23, 2019 04:02 - 19 minutes - 16.3 MB

In this #asiaforlifepodcast, get an inside look into why the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) fired Dr. Leana Wen. Joe Woodard dissects a New York Times op-ed, written by Dr. Wen about her firing, and also some info from Planned Parenthood's email list. Read more: https://www.asiaforlife.com/leana-wen-discussion/ Dr. Wen tried to strengthen the reputation of the Planned Parenthood, by offering more comprehensive healthcare services. But PPFA is America's largest abortion co...

Dr. Leana Wen—An Intro

August 16, 2019 13:52 - 4 minutes - 9.84 MB

This is an introduction to discussing Dr. Leana Wen, who's been in the news this past year because of her hiring as the young new director of Planned Parenthood, and her firing 8 months later. Leana Wen's family moved to America soon after China's Tiananmen Square Incident. She says she was deeply influenced by the way Planned Parenthood helped her mom, her sister, and herself, and that this played a role in her own desire to take on the role as the national director of America's largest a...

Xinjiang—How Uyghurs are Persecuted in Concentration Camps, and Everywhere Else Too

August 10, 2019 12:00 - 18 minutes - 17.8 MB

This week's #asiaforlifepodcast is covering stories from the Xinjiang province of China. Many of the hundreds of thousands of Uyghur men and women in China's "vocational education and training centers" are detained involuntarily. But can these detention centers really be called "concentration camps"? ‧ This episode is about the ways that people are persecuted, whether they are in detention or not. We also discuss why it doesn't make sense to compare their situation to anything happening to ...

Xinjiang—Prayer and Fasting, Lives Saved, Identifying with Persecuted Uyghurs

August 07, 2019 06:47 - 9 minutes - 4.85 MB

今天的廣播是以英文及廣東話進行。 This week's #asiaforlifepodcast is covering stories from the Xinjiang province of China, where hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs are being detained for "re-education". And ten million more Uyghurs are persecuted in a variety of ways each day, simply because of their ethnicity. I share two testimonies about prayer and fasting for a mitigation of violence, and for lives to be spared in Xinjiang. At the end of this episode, I share about a time I visited Shenzhen, just a few...

Xinjiang—Doctor Imprisoned for Treating a Bullet Wound

August 06, 2019 06:58 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MB

This week's #asiaforlifepodcast is covering stories from the Xinjiang province of China. It's not a standard "pro-life" topic, but we will look more generally at issues of life and death. No demographic on earth gets arrested at such a high rate as the Uyghurs. In 2017, it was roughly 30 times China's national average. (I made an error in the podcast on this point, and so it's not very clear, because I had to edit the sentence.) At the end of this episode, I share a story of a doctor who ...

Japan March for Life—Will Non-Catholics Join?

August 03, 2019 08:57 - 13 minutes - 12 MB

This week's #asiaforlifepodcast is covering stories from the 2019 Japan March for Life. In this closing episode, I discuss one of the ways that Cathoilcs and Protestants are different, and how that affects pro-life efforts. The pro-life movement has made efforts around the world to be inclusive, while also holding strong principles about defending all human life. What can people do when they agree on pro-life issues, but disagree on religion? I don't know. But let's keep talking, and do o...

Japan March for Life—The Light is Not Shining...Yet

August 01, 2019 08:45 - 9 minutes - 8.76 MB

This week's #asiaforlifepodcast is covering stories from the 2019 Japan March for Life. Jesus said “you are the light of the world”—and so Christians have a special responsibility to shine light on the life-and-death issues facing society. During this recording, the sun broke through the clouds, ending Tokyo’s longest recorded season of “sunlessness”. Maybe this was just a coincidence—but when we speak the truth, the light will shine! Listen or read the transcript at: asiaforlife.com/jap...

Japan March for Life—Depression, Cutting, and Suicide

July 31, 2019 10:51 - 2 minutes - 2.26 MB

This week's #asiaforlife podcast is covering stories from the 2019 Japan March for Life. The main issue discussed at the March for Life is abortion. But there are other attacks on human life—including suicide. This episode is a raw testimony from right after the March for Life, about trying to say something to two girls who were talking about depression, cutting, and possibly suicide. They were English speakers living in Japan, but the problem they're discussing is universal—and it's very ...

Japan March for Life—The Cloudiest Summer

July 30, 2019 08:14 - 7 minutes - 6.5 MB

This week's #asiaforlife podcast is covering stories from the 2019 Japan March for Life. It was the largest march they've had since they started in 2014, but still far short of their goals. Sadly, this year's march attracted fewer Protestants than ever, even though it was originally started by a Protestant. Coincidentally, the March for Life happened at exactly the same time as a strange weather phenomenon--a record-breaking stretch of days without sunshine in the region around Tokyo. Jesu...

Japan March for Life—Respect Your Elders

July 29, 2019 04:46 - 6 minutes - 5.27 MB

During the largest ever March for Life event in Japan, we literally lost the founder. Read the transcript at: asiaforlife.com/japan-march-for-life-respect-your-elders-podcast/

July Update—Why the Asia for Life Podcast?

July 11, 2019 09:04 - 7 minutes - 13.9 MB

My July update: 1. testimony from a local pro-life ministry in Hong Kong 2. why I'm doing the Asia for Life Podcast 3. news about finances 4. time finally set for Mercy's funeral Read the update at: https://www.asiaforlife.com/july-update-why-the-asia-for-life-podcast/

The Pro-Life "Movement" in Japan

July 04, 2019 10:33 - 8 minutes - 1.92 MB

I share some introductory story on Pro-Life Japan, and their involvement in promoting adoption. And we also examine Japan's utilitarian view of children.

Quadruplets in China!

July 03, 2019 10:19 - 6 minutes - 1.39 MB

Last year, a Muslim family welcomed quadruplets. This was technically legal, but their doctor strongly encouraged them to abort some of the babies. Today's episode discusses attitudes in Chinese society that make multiple pregnancies so hard, and my guess about why quadruplets are so rare in China. *After recording this episode, I found several more references to quadruplets in China. While quadruplets seem to be rarer in China than elsewhere, they do exist. (Stock photo: Girl quadruplets...

Another Hong Kong Protest Suicide

July 02, 2019 04:06 - 5 minutes - 1.27 MB

If you've been following the Hong Kong protests the past few weeks, you've probably seen news about the suicides, where people threw themselves from tall buildings in protest of Hong Kong's Extradition Bill, and more generally in protest of China's policies. It's tragic. But it's also dangerous. I explain why I'm more worried about these suicides than about anything the government is doing in Hong Kong. Joe Woodard asiaforlife.com/blog

Discussing the CCTV videos of drivers hitting pedestrians by accident, and then murdering them

July 01, 2019 13:40 - 7 minutes - 1.61 MB

You might have seen the videos of Chinese drivers accidentally hitting pedestrians--and then making sure that they're dead. I saw a post on the Chinese blogosphere, about how if humans don't actually have human dignity, then what these drivers are doing is actually a reasonable use of human freedom. He's right. If we don't have inherent dignity, then it's harder to argue why it doesn't sense to murder someone before they can sue you for millions of dollars and ruin the rest of your life.

Uighur Poet Dies In Chinese Custody

March 14, 2019 14:23 - 1 minute - 395 KB

Abdurrehim Heyit was an Uighur poet who died in custody. According to the Chinese government, it happened the day after he recorded a video saying he was in good health, and had never been abused.

Japanese Government Forbids Companies From Forcing Foreign Employees To Abort

March 14, 2019 14:20 - 1 minute - 427 KB

For foreign women working in Japan, there's a possibility of getting pregnant. But if they're pregnant, there's not much possibility of keeping their jobs. This is the worst kind of sexism, and the government is finally realizing it. Story and photo: japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/03/14/national/social-issues/japan-warns-firms-not-fire-pregnant-foreign-trainees-interns-fear-impact-work-status/

Laughing About Abortion

March 13, 2019 06:27 - 1 minute - 342 KB

A woman from Guangdong died after her ninth abortion--all nine of them were girls. I talk about a guy I met who heard the story, and laughed. News story: https://www.spuc.org.uk/news/news-stories/2016/march/woman-dies-during-ninth-forced-abortion Photo: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3472581/Tragedy-pregnant-woman-dies-NINTH-abortion-leaving-three-orphaned-daughters-mother-law-desperate-grandson.html

South Korea Upcoming Abortion Law Decision

March 12, 2019 09:17 - 4 minutes - 1.07 MB

South Korean women have a lot of injustices to deal with, and the feminist movement is convinced that abortion is the answer. The High Court might change the law next month.

Japan's New Law Lets More Kids Be Adopted

March 12, 2019 08:47 - 2 minutes - 617 KB

"The revision is aimed at helping children lacking proper care due to abuse, poverty and other reasons, according to informed sources. It will be the first time for the special adoption system to be revised since its introduction in 1988." https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/01/28/language/lets-discuss-adoption-system/

Episodes