Answering Pro-Choice Arguments: Part 1
If you’ve ever wondered where you would stand on human rights issues of the past if you had lived through them (I.e. American slavery, the Holocaust if you lived in Germany), or whether you would have stood up for what is right in a culture that was morally indifferent on a certain evil, you can get a pretty good idea of where you would land back then by examining where you stand on the mass murder of our day: Abortion.
As you are probably well aware, there is a whole movement dedicated to defending the murder of the unborn called the Pro-Choice movement. In the past few weeks, I have engaged in dialogues with several such people in attempts to get them to think about their own positions more carefully. The most common scenario I encountered was a common pro-choice attack that many pro-lifers don’t know how to handle, which is the focus of this article.
“You people (pro-lifers) are so adamant about ending abortion, but you couldn’t care less about the child after it’s born.”
The underlying logic of this statement is that many abortions are performed due to the inability of the mother (or mother and father) to provide for and/or afford a good life for the child, and that pro-life advocates aren’t willing to lift a finger to help the parents of the child so that an abortion doesn’t seem like the only option to them.
While this may be the case for some pro-lifers out there, The reality is that there are more pro life people and organizations that are more than willing to help a mother in that situation than not. In 2017, crisis pregnancy centers outnumbered abortion clinics in the U.S. two to one. But let’s consider some possible responses to this attack that you may want to remember for your next encounter with a pro-choice person.
The last time I was given this accusation, I pointed out that I was more than willing to help out a pregnant woman who is struggling financially. This helped to diffuse some of the hostility of the conversation, as it showed the person I was talking to how harsh and disingenuous that accusation was. Next, I asked them a simple question:
“You seem to be very passionate about these babies as am I. What foster homes, orphanages, pregnancy centers, or struggling mothers do you donate to or volunteer with?”
I was trying to get them to realize the hypocrisy of their assertion. This opens the doorway to a broader conversation that may serve to expose the nature of their attack. If they honestly cared about reducing abortions that are done for financial reasons by increasing aide options for the mothers, they themselves would do more to help the pregnant mothers who are struggling. The fact is, almost no pro-choicers have this goal in mind. They believe that abortion is a right and should be available to anyone for any reason.
The next response I learned from a pro-life training seminar video I have linked at the end of this article, and to be honest, I think I may like this one better on an intellectual level. Here is the second thing to try in a situation like this:
“You don’t care about the children after they’re born!”
“Actually, I do. However, even if that was true, what does that have to do with the morality of killing an innocent baby?”
This response can be very useful when the pro-choice person uses the accusation as a distraction to deviate from the main point of the conversation; namely, the morality of abortion. In cases like this, it can be counterproductive for you to entertain the distraction and follow them down a rabbit hole of more challenges and attacks. In this situation, try to recognize when you are being distracted, and take back the driver’s seat of the conversation and keep it on the main point. This strategy is one that Greg Koukl writes about in his book Tactics, which I recommend to anyone who wants to engage people on important issues from a Christian worldview.
People throughout history have always tried to justify the moral evils of their time, whether it be slavery, the holocaust, or today’s atrocity that is abortion. There will always be people trying to justify their actions, and they have a real foothold when the culture backs their desires. That is why Christians need to be informed and equipped to speak up for those who don’t have a voice. I urge you to watch the pro-life training video I’ve linked below to begin that process.
Recommended Resources:
Video: Pro-Life Training: The Case Against Abortion and For Human Rights
Book: Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions