First of all, to consider a pre-born baby a malicious intruder will raise more than one eyebrow in the debate. Beyond our initial gut reaction to this wrong view of the pre-born baby, this argument can also be taken apart logically.

Rights do not depend only on what those in power say. If they did, that would be a frightening world to live in. Further, we are not asking mothers to go above and beyond a standard of reasonable care for their child. Food and shelter are considered basic necessities, and parents in Canada can be found criminally negligent if they deliberately deprive their children of these. Parenthood, for both mothers and fathers, comes with some basic responsibilities, and there are many years in the lives of born children when they are completely dependent on their parents for the necessities of life. This inconvenience is not enough to justify their death.

Simply because it is easier, and legal, to kill babies before they are born, rather than after, does not make it any more right.  For a thorough debunking of the “bodily autonomy” argument, read Calvin Freiburger’s article here.