A Little Bit About Me

I am the Director of Scholarship at Equal Rights Institute. Currently, I am a PhD student and teaching assistant in philosophy at the University of Southern California. My dissertation is in metaethics; other areas of research include philosophy of law, epistemology, and philosophy of religion. I expect to receive my PhD in May 2025.

My favorite part of my work at USC is teaching my students how to cultivate mutual, respectful dialogues with people they disagree with, about which I have spoken for both academic and popular audiences. This work has led me to the strong conviction that if we can teach one side of an issue how to approach dialogues well, people on the other side will very often follow suit. The result: we really can radically transform the state of public discourse on abortion just by helping the pro-life side to have a better approach. We can create a culture where people on both sides value each other more and perceive the truth more clearly, and ultimately we can change more minds and save more lives.

“You can’t fix a dialogue single-handedly—it takes two good-faith interlocutors to make a good-faith dialogue. But what you can do is make the first move. You can clearly communicate and demonstrate your care for the other person, your genuine desire to understand where they’re coming from, and your openness to considering their point of view, even while they’re not doing the same for you. It takes a little bit of work and a lot of charity, but if you do that, far more often than not the other person will meet you halfway—even people you think of as crazy extremists.” ~ Rebecca Carlson

What You Can Expect

Here’s what you can expect from me.

1. Prompt, professional replies to your phone calls and email messages.
2. A personal phone consultation with me prior to your event, so I can better understand how I can best serve you and your audience.
3. An announcement about your event on my social media channels. (This assumes that your event is open to the public and you want additional visibility for it.)
4. A professionally prepared, dynamically delivered presentation focused on achieving the outcomes you want with your audience.

The Next Step

Thanks again for considering me for your event. You can take the next step by checking my availability. Just click on the orange button below. For booking, call Ellen Campbell at 704-584-9525 or email Booking@EqualRightsInstitute.com 

Speeches

I speak on topics related to helping pro-life people have better conversations with pro-choice people. I will customize my presentation to meet your organization’s specific needs. My goal is to facilitate the outcome you want to create. My most requested speeches are listed below.

A Woman’s View on Bodily Autonomy and Abortion

Aside from arguments about fetal personhood, the strongest arguments in favor of abortion rights are centered on the bodily autonomy of women. However, few people on either side of the abortion issue fully understand the logical implications of different views of bodily autonomy, nor can they explain what exactly “my body, my choice” means, even though it’s the most common pro-choice slogan.

In this talk, Rebecca will move beyond slogans to help you base your position on abortion in facts and strong philosophical arguments and will share her own conclusions. You will leave with a better understanding of the strengths and failings of many pro-life and pro-choice arguments about bodily autonomy, and there will be an opportunity to ask specific questions in an open and inclusive Q&A.  

Six Practical Dialogue Tips: What We’ve Learned from Talking with 5,000 Pro-Choice People

In this lecture, Rebecca will share ERI’s best tips for creating a conversational environment in which people are most likely to change their viewpoint. Some of these are tips ERI has developed and used since its inception, while others are more fresh, the product of continual engagement with pro-choice people. This is one of Rebecca’s most fun and engaging speeches, filled with great stories of real conversations to illustrate these important points.  

The Most Persuasive Pro-Life Argument

In 2013, a group of advocates from multiple pro-life organizations started heavily experimenting with different ways of arguing for the personhood of the unborn. The results were astonishing and proved to be more effective at changing the minds of pro-choice people than any other argument advocates have used in the past. It’s called the Equal Rights Argument. This argument masterfully takes premises that most pro-choice people already strongly agree with, and demonstrates that the only reasonable conclusion is that the unborn is a person with a right to live.  

Eight Faulty Pro-Life Arguments and Tactics

Want to be the most effective pro-life ambassador possible? This presentation will certainly help you do that! While surprising to some audiences, pro-lifers occasionally make arguments that are easily refutable. They also sometimes use tactics during abortion debates that are counter-productive. Rebecca carefully analyzes eight examples in this presentation.

Considering Abortion in a Post-Roe America

2022 changed everything about the abortion conversation in the United States. The Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, but few people on either side of the abortion issue fully understand the logical implications and real-world results of different views of abortion, which are now being enshrined in law in states throughout the US. In this talk, Rebecca will move beyond slogans to help you base your position on abortion in facts and strong philosophical arguments and will share her own conclusions. You will leave with a better understanding of the strengths and failings of many pro-life and pro-choice arguments, and there will be an opportunity to ask specific questions in an open and inclusive Q&A.

Understanding and Responding to “My Body, My Choice”

The strongest pro-choice argument is one that grants the entire pro-life case that the unborn is a full human being (like an adult). But it goes on to claim that abortion should still be legal because women have a right to control their own bodies. Pro-life advocates shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss these “bodily rights” arguments, but they also don’t need to be afraid of them. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or new to sharing the pro-life message, Rebecca will give listeners a road map for making a powerful case against these arguments. The audience will leave ready to engage any pro-choice advocate who defends abortion with “bodily rights” arguments. 

Timing:
In regards to timing, all of these speeches are able to be adjusted for your desired length of time. Most commonly, they are an hour and a half in length, including a Q&A session. (1 hour and 10 minutes talking, 20 minutes Q&A)