A Thought About Back-Alley Abortion
I recommend reading all of Steve Wagner’s article on back-alley abortion, but I wanted to note this section towards the end:
Deal with the More Sophisticated Version
Much of the time, the back-alley concern masks the fact that an abortion advocate is assuming the unborn is not a human being. In other words, she is saying, “It’s wrong to make a surgery more dangerous if it is innocuous.” We can agree in principle, then show that the unborn is a human being and the surgery is not innocuous at all.
Once we’ve made our case, the abortion advocate will likely shift to a more sophisticated argument:
“Even if abortion kills a human being, isn’t it better for fewer people to die (at least we can save the mother)? It is better that at least the mother live, than that she and her fetus should die in the back alley. Isn’t it worse for two to die than one?”
This argument assumes that the mother has no other choice but to kill the child. But, of course, she does have alternatives. As I like to say, she has a third option. It’s not, “Either she kills the child by legal abortion or she kills herself and her child by illegal abortion.” The third option is that she can refrain from killing anyone!
Creating Better Conversations in Everyday Life
I’m speaking to a group gathered by SFLA via video conference tonight. I’m talking about creating better conversations in everyday life. Here are some links that can help.
Here are some practical conversation starters you can share on social media:
Here’s an example of the beginning of a conversation using a JFA Instagram post:
Here are some suggested evergreen posts that can build a bridge:
Here are some suggested recent topics that can lead to a productive conversation:
Confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett: What do you think of the debate that went on in the Senate Judiciary committee related to whether Barrett would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade? Do you care about that issue?
Geneva Consensus Declaration: Do you think abortion should be seen as a global human right or do you agree with this Geneva Consensus Declaration that it is not?
Election: Should abortion be an issue in the presidential election? (Ask this and other clarification questions to gather information about a person’s view.) Or, if you’re talking to a Christian, you might share my October 2016 letter:
Here are some suggestions for further reading and training: