The following is a guest post by\u00a0Andr\u00e9 Schutten<\/em><\/p>\n Sometimes I know what I believe about a moral issue, but I find my position difficult to explain or defend. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t have convictions, but that I have difficulty explaining those convictions. I would imagine you sometimes struggle in the same way, maybe as it applies to abortion. How can Christians convince others that abortion is wrong?<\/p>\n Arguments against abortion that are based on the Bible are important and simple to make, but ultimately require assent to the authority of God through his Word. Because most people deny such authority, we will leave aside the Biblical arguments and show how you can convince others through science, logic, history and human rights.<\/p>\n Those in favour of abortion inevitably use the slogan \u201cWomen should have the right to choose.\u201d For the grammar geeks out there, they will note that this phrase is actually an incomplete sentence because the verb \u201cto choose\u201d is a transitive verb requiring a direct object. In other words, the statement begs the question, \u201cChoose what<\/em>?\u201d This is the crux of the matter \u2013 before we can decide whether something is right or wrong, we need to know what exactly it is we are talking about.<\/p>\n LOGIC:<\/strong><\/p>\n In his superb booklet, Pro-Life 101<\/a>, Scott Klusendorf summarizes the pro-life argument this way:<\/p>\n \u201cElective abortion unjustly takes the life of a defenseless human being. The rationale for that argument is clear and to the point:<\/p>\n The issue is not nearly as complex as you might think. All it requires is proving the second premise. If the pre-born child is an innocent human being (premise #2), then elective abortion is always a moral wrong. The only issue to resolve in the abortion debate is: What is the pre-born?<\/strong> To quote Gregory Koukl, \u201cIf the unborn are not human, no justification for elective abortion is necessary. But if the unborn are human, no justification for elective abortion is adequate.\u201d Always bring the discussion back to this question: What is the pre-born?<\/p>\n SCIENCE:<\/strong><\/p>\n What does science say about the pre-born entity? (As an aside, some Christians say we should just rely on the Bible to tell others that abortion is wrong. They fail to see science for what it is: the law and revelation of God. The laws of gravity are God\u2019s<\/em> laws of gravity.)<\/p>\n Science tells us conclusively that there are four characteristics common to all pre-born children. (These are worth memorizing!)<\/p>\n Science tells us unequivocally that the preborn child is a complete and a unique living human being.<\/strong><\/p>\n BACK TO LOGIC:<\/strong><\/p>\n So, you\u2019ve looked to science and made the case for the humanity of the pre-born child. But your opponent says, \u201cBut the pre-born are different than the rest of us and so they don\u2019t deserve the same protections that you or I do.\u201d While the pre-born are, indeed, different, none of the differences are morally relevant.<\/p>\n Klusendorf has helpfully crafted a mnemonic to remember the differences between born humans and pre-born humans: SLED<\/strong>.<\/p>\n S<\/strong><\/span>ize<\/em> \u2013 the pre-born are smaller than born humans, but size doesn\u2019t determine our humanity. Infants are smaller than toddlers, and toddlers smaller than teenagers, but all are human and all are deserving of the law\u2019s protection.<\/p>\n L<\/strong><\/span>evel of Development<\/em> \u2013 the pre-born are less developed than born humans, but our level of development doesn\u2019t determine our humanity. Toddlers are less developed than adults, but both are human and both deserve protection in law. Once we have demonstrated that the pre-born child is morally no different from born humans, we see that any alleged justification to kill a pre-born could only be right if the justification also works for killing a toddler. If you ever get stuck with a tough scenario (say, questions about poverty, privacy, or even conception through rape), then \u201ctrot out the toddler<\/strong>\u201d. That is, apply whatever justification your opponent has for abortion to the termination of a toddler. If it isn\u2019t justified for the toddler, it shouldn\u2019t be justified for the pre-born child. You can read more about this toddler tactic here<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s recap: You\u2019ve demonstrated to your opponent that the pre-born child is a complete and unique living human being, despite four differences from born children that are morally irrelevant. But what happens if your opponent then says, \u201cYeah, maybe the pre-born child is a \u2018human\u2019, but it isn\u2019t a person.\u201d What then?<\/p>\n HISTORY:<\/strong><\/p>\n If someone ever suggests to you that some human beings are not \u201cpersons\u201d, you must challenge them immediately. History is your ally here, because history repeatedly demonstrates that the law will only separate personhood from humanity for nefarious ends. Consider these historical examples:<\/p>\n In every case, with the slave, the Indian, the woman, the Jew and the pre-born child, science and common sense tell us that they are human. Only the law had the chilling audacity to strip these groups of personhood. If someone is a living human being, then they are a person. A separation between these two can only ever lead to evil.<\/p>\n HUMAN RIGHTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n Quite simply, if you and your opponent believe in human rights, then you must believe that human rights belong to all<\/em> humans. And for human rights to have any meaning at all, those rights should begin when the human begins: at fertilization.<\/p>\n The law in Canada (and in certain American states) offers absolutely no protections for the pre-born child. From conception to birth (and sometimes even immediately after birth), a pre-born child can be killed for any reason or for no reason at all. This is a gross violation of human rights. Because Christians recognize pre-born children as our neighbours, made in the image of God, Christians must be at the forefront of defending their lives. God calls us to nothing less. As Bonhoeffer once said, \u201cSilence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The following is a guest post by\u00a0Andr\u00e9 Schutten Sometimes I know what I believe about a moral issue, but I find my position difficult to explain or defend. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t have convictions, but that I have difficulty explaining those convictions. I would imagine you sometimes struggle in the same way, maybe as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3014,"featured_media":1101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[281,277,280],"tags":[79,501,219,303,246,335,388],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3014"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5296,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656\/revisions\/5296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nE<\/strong><\/span>nvironment<\/em> \u2013 the pre-born are certainly in a different place than born humans, but where we are doesn\u2019t determine who we are. If we are human, we deserve the law\u2019s protection, no matter where we are.
\nD<\/strong><\/span>egree of Dependency<\/em> \u2013 the pre-born are more dependent on their mothers than most born humans, but infants are just as dependent. Our dependency doesn\u2019t determine our humanity.<\/p>\n\n