Abortion: Disposable Lives?
Arguing Against Abortion "Rights" (Part-1)
By David Wood
Abortion. There aren’t
many words that can stir up such political, social, and emotional
turmoil and debate as this eight-letter word. About the only
way to stay out of the debate is to hide yourself away and ignore
the reality of what is taking place and being said. While many
Christians would automatically say that abortion is wrong, many
don’t know how to respond to the arguments used by pro-abortion
groups. I myself didn’t know all the facts until I decided to
research the validity of the arguments.
Every year there are over 1.2 million abortions
performed. The foundational phrases for the pro-abortion group’s
justification for these 1.2 million abortions are “a woman’s
reproductive rights” and the “right to choose.” Notice first
the wording of these phrases. In both phrases is the use of
the word “right.” The phrase “a woman’s reproductive rights”
implies that a woman has the “right” to do anything she wants
if it has to do with her own body, even if this means ending
the child’s life. The phrase “right to choose” also uses two
words to imply liberty and justice...the woman has the right
to choose. It isn’t an accident that the pro-abortion
groups use these two phrases, especially in America. America
is known as a country where humans have “rights” and the ability
to “choose” everything from their politicians to where they
send their children to school. When it comes to choices, isn’t
it strange that the pro-abortion groups never finish the sentence
of a “right to choose.” Right to choose what? Ever wonder why
they just don’t admit that they want the “right to choose” to
end a human life?
The words that pro-abortion groups use to describe
anyone against abortion is meant to paint the “pro-lifer” as
an intolerant anti-American. Because pro-abortion groups have
absolutely no good defense for keeping abortion legal, they
must turn to playing word games. Along with the use of the words
“choice” and “right” in phrases to support the pro-abortion
stance, pro-abortion groups constantly use the word “anti” to
describe any person that doesn’t agree with abortion. Although
the word “anti” does mean “opposed to”, in a subtle way it also
conveys the image of something bad, something evil. Along with
the constant use of the word "anti" is the use of
the word "attacker." As an example, look at some of
the labels that are given to “pro-lifers” that I found on the
National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) website:
Anyone against abortion is really:
Anti-choice
Anti-freedom
Anti-choice extremists
Anti-reproductive rights
Attackers on choice who spread anti-abortion propaganda
Anti-choice people who use terrorists tactics
Attackers on women’s reproductive freedom
Those are a few descriptions of someone that takes
a stand against abortion. The NARAL website also had a few comments
about Crisis Pregnancy Centers. In the words of NARAL, Crisis
Pregnancy Centers are “fake clinics” that “use pregnancy tests
to hold women hostage.” (emphasis mine)
While this can be a touchy subject, my intentions
are to show that the pro-abortion arguments fall apart when
challenged. It is not my intention to judge anyone that has
had an abortion. It is not the unforgivable sin. I know women
that had an abortion before they became Christians, and I also
know that when these women asked God to forgive them for what
they did, God did forgive them. The emotional turmoil that can
live on after an abortion is something that I myself know well.
I paid for a girl to have an abortion before I became a Christian.
I cannot come close to explaining the guilt that I have felt
since I learned the truth about abortion.
Even today there are times when I wonder what
my child would have looked like. He or she would have been 8
years old this year. If you think that abortion is only a woman’s
issue, think again. When I paid for the abortion, I had no idea
this “fetus” was a real live human being. Evolution theory
had taught me that it wasn’t a human life and it certainly wasn‘t
a human baby. I saw it as some type of fish like creature, just
some substance that would eventually have life. Unfortunately,
the teaching of evolution still conveys that image and message.
"Despite many claims to the contrary,
life does not begin at conception: It is an unbroken chain that
stretches back nearly to the origin of the Earth, 4.6 billion
years ago. Nor does human life begin at conception: it is an
unbroken chain dating back to the origin of our species, tens
or hundreds of thousands of years ago. Every human sperm and
egg is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, alive. They are not human
beings of course.” (Carl Sagan, "Is It Possible To
Be Pro-Life and Pro-Choice". Parade Magazine, 22 April
1990, p. 5)
"Each child as he develops is retracing
the whole history of mankind, physically and spiritually, step
by step. A baby starts off in the womb as a single tiny cell,
just the way the first living thing appeared in the ocean. Weeks
later, as he lies in the amniotic fluid of the womb, he has
gills like a fish..." (Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care.
(Cardinal Giant Addition, 1957, p. 223.) Quoted by Walter J.
Bock, "Evolution by Orderly Law", Science, Vol. 164,
9 May 1969, pp. 684, 685)
Before we begin, I want to point out the correct way to argue
against abortion. In logic and philosophy there is what is called
arguing “ad hominem”. Ad hominem means “against the person”,
something that you will see many times in the abortion debate.
Many people will argue against the person instead of
attacking the argument itself. This happens when emotions
are stirred up, it happens when there are no reasonable response
to what someone says, and it also happens when someone doesn’t
know how to attack the argument instead of attacking the person.
Speaking for myself, I have a difficult time not arguing ad
hominen in the abortion debate. This has been even truer after
I researched the arguments and reasoning used by the “pro-choice”
groups. What I found is groups such as Planned Parenthood, the
ACLU, the People For the American Way, etc., care nothing about
the pre-born babies that are being killed. They also care nothing
for the women involved. On top of this the evidence is growing
that one of the main reasons for wanting abortion legal is to
destroy babies and sell body parts for research. When I learned
everything that is going on I was so upset that the last thing
I wanted to do was argue against their reasons for abortion.
I would read something like this from the founder of Planned
Parenthood, Margaret Sanger....The most merciful thing
a large family can do for one of its infants is to kill it.
(Woman and the New Race, 1920) Or when I read something
like this from Dr. Mary Calderone from the Sex Information and
Education Council of the United States...”We have yet to
beat our drums for birth control in the way we beat them for
the polio vaccine, we are still unable to put babies in the
class of dangerous epidemics, even though this is the exact
truth.”
Maybe it’s because this issue is so personal to
me because of what I did 8 years ago, but I have really had
to struggle to not argue ad hominem. But for people to learn
the truth about abortion we must tear apart the arguments and
reasoning that is used to defend abortion. To destroy something,
you take apart its foundation. Once the foundation is gone everything
else will crumble. Violence won’t do it and hate won’t do it,
but if it can be shown that the “pro-choice” arguments are totally
baseless and without reason, then we can stand on our firm foundation
while watching theirs crumble.
When Does Life Begin
I want to start with this aspect of the issue
because when you see all the arguments for abortion, you will
notice that many of them are based on the opinion that
life hasn’t begun yet. It’s very simple. The view of the pro-abortion
groups is that abortion isn’t murder because a real human life
isn’t being ended. It used to be that “pro-choice” groups would
declare that abortion wasn’t murder because there wasn’t evidence
that life began at conception.
As science has progressed, the matter of when
life begins has come clearer into focus. As I will point out,
it can now be shown that life does begin at conception. The
“pro-choice” groups have recognized this and have now changed
the wording they use in respect to life. Instead of saying that
life doesn’t begin at conception, they will now say that personhood
doesn’t begin at conception or full humanness doesn’t
begin at conception. A simple play on words in attempt to justify
abortion.
Biologically, it is proven that life begins at
conception. One argument used by the “pro-choice” groups is
that this unborn “entity” isn’t life because it is only male
sperm and a female egg. The term “fertilized ovum” is most often
used. But their argument falls flat on its face because at conception
it is no longer a separate male sperm and a separate female
egg, and it isn’t a fertilized ovum, it is a zygote.
This zygote forms when the egg and sperm join at conception
and this zygote has four things which classifies it as biological
life...cell reproduction, development, metabolism, and
the ability to react to stimuli. Furthermore,
this biological life is of the human species right at the moment
of conception and will remain human throughout all stages of
life. This human life has a completely separate genetic makeup
all it’s own, completely distinct from the mother and father.
This biological life is not part of the mother, but is
attached to the mother. If this tiny life were actually
part of the mother, the mother and zygote would have
the exact same genetic makeup. Also if this biological life
were part of the mother, this would mean that in a short time
the mother would have 4 eyes, 2 noses, etc.
At the moment of conception each one of us were
of the human species. All of our genetic information existed
in the zygote and even if we live to be 100 years old, there
is no new genetic information needed beyond what is included
in the zygote, the very zygote that is created at the moment
of conception. All of us were a zygote at one time, but we didn’t
come from a zygote. All humans go through different stages
of development but none of these stages give us our humanity.
A baby develops into a 5-year-old child, the child develops
into a teenager, the teenager develops into an adult, but none
of these stages gives us our humanity. We once were a baby,
but we didn’t come from a baby. We once were a 5-year-old
child, but we didn’t come from a 5-year-old child. Our
complete human nature and complete unique genetic
makeup was created at the moment the zygote was formed at conception.
Hair color, eye color, skin color, everything in the genetic
code is in the zygote established at the moment of conception.
One argument used against life at conception is
the fact that many conceptions die before reaching implantation.
Implantation takes places within one week of conception when
the conceptus is implanted in the womb of the mother.
This argument is not valid because even if death occurs before
implantation, this doesn’t mean that the zygote made at conception
doesn’t have a full human nature and a unique one of a kind
genetic makeup.
Another argument against life at conception concerns
twins. Twinning happens when a single conceptus splits
and becomes two. Some scientists theorize that when a single
conceptus occurs at conception, the original single conceptus
dies and give life to two new human beings. Other scientists
have different theories, but in any event, none of this negates
the fact that the original zygote created at conception is a
completely new and unique “entity” with a full human nature,
it’s own genetic code, and biological life.
Many people in the “pro-choice” movement note
that a true human being is not created at conception because
many women do not grieve at the loss of a “baby” at 4 weeks.
First, most women aren’t aware they are pregnant during the
first 4 weeks, so if the conceptus dies before the woman even
knows she is pregnant, she isn’t going to grieve about something
she knew nothing about. But what about if the women is 4 months
into her pregnancy and the baby dies? “Pro-choice” groups will
say that because many women won’t grieve over this, this proves
that this “baby” isn’t a real live human being. This is a terrible
argument used by the “pro-abortion” groups because they are
trying to prove this baby isn’t a real human life based on women’s
feelings. You cannot prove that something isn’t human based
on a “feeling.” Many women will grieve for the loss of a 2-year-old
child but not grieve over the death of an adult they have never
met. But does this mean that the adult that died wasn’t human?
To try to equate the issue of grieving with what is and is not
human is a seriously flawed argument.
Another argument used to say that a human life
is not created at conception has to do with the issue of development.
The “pro-choice” argument says that the conceptus isn’t a real
human being because it hasn’t developed into a human
being yet. Now I will admit that this conceptus is developing,
but it is a fallacy to use the issue of development to disprove
full humanity. Four things are needed for the conceptus to grow
and develop: shelter, water, food, and oxygen. Now look what
is needed for a 5-year-old to grow and develop into a teenager:
shelter, water, food, and oxygen. Does this mean the
5-year-old isn’t fully human? Because the 5-year-old needs these
4 things to develop and grow, does this mean the 5-year-old
is developing into a human being? Of course not. The zygote
formed at conception will develop and grow but will never become
a human being because it is already a human being, with
a full human nature, and complete lifelong genetic code.
In Part 2 I will address other arguments against
abortion. This will include issues such as tolerance, rape,
the unwanted child, and a woman’s “right” to use her own body
as she wishes.
One thing I want to mention is that most of what
I have talked about so far happens within the first week or
so after conception. This is during a time when most women aren’t
even aware they are pregnant. In fact, most women find out they
are pregnant at least 4 weeks after conception. Although women
can legally have an abortion at any time during the nine
months of pregnancy, and with partial birth abortion can
even have the baby killed during a live delivery, many
abortions are performed during the first trimester (first 3
months) of pregnancy. Just to give you an idea of what this
tiny human looks like, look at what has developed within
only the first 4 weeks after conception.
Starting at about the eighteenth day after
conception, the formation of the brain and nervous system starts.
At thirty days the brain can be seen. At about three
weeks, the liver and digestive tract begin to form and a
basic heart muscle begins to pulsate. By the twenty-eighth
day tiny arms and legs begin to form. And within this first
4 weeks after conception, this little human has developing ears,
eyes, mouth, head, and body. He or she is half the size of
a pea.
Note: I have talked with “pro-choicers”
that have disagreed with my statement of over 1.2 million abortions
performed each year. Hence, here are the numbers of reported
legal abortions for selected years from 1980 thru 1996 according
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Abortion
Surveillance Report:
Years of:
1980: 1,297,606
1985: 1,328,570
1987: 1,353,671
1989: 1,393,658
1990: 1,429,577
1991: 1,388,937
1992: 1,359,145
1993: 1,330,414
1994: 1,267,415
1995: 1,210,883
1996: 1,221,585
Just from 1990 to 1996, there were nine million
two hundred seven thousand nine hundred fifty six babies killed.