PRO-LIFE VIEW’S 3 KEY POINTS

If someone asks what you think about abortion, or why you’re pro-life, what do you say? How do you get supporters of abortion to rethink the issue – or even change their minds? We can put forward our case clearly, concisely, and in a way that appeals to those who aren’t pro-life. Here are three key points to make when presenting your view.                                                                                                            Science – The first point is a scientific one. The unborn child is a living member of the species Homo sapiens, This isn’t just something pro-lifers claim. It’s a scientific fact that the science of embryology demonstrates. The unborn child is alive (because she’s growing), human (because she has human DNA) and an organism – not a mere part of someone else, but a whole individual developing herself through the various stages of life. Each of us was once an embryo and fetus, just as we were once infants, toddlers and teenagers.                                                                                                          Human Rights – The second key point is a principle of justice. All human beings have human rights. Everyone has value. Everyone counts. It’s true that human beings in the womb are different from other humans in many ways, but those differences don’t determine our rights. Unborn humans look different from older humans, for example, but appearance has nothing to do with value. Unborn humans are less physically and mentally developed, but toddlers are less developed than teenagers, and we don’t think they count any less. Unborn humans are highly dependent on someone else, but so are people who are elderly or sick. Think about it. We have mental functions in varying degrees. Some of us have more of them and some of us have less of them. If those characteristics determine our rights, then some of us have greater rights than others. The pro-life view casts a different vision. It says that we matter simply because we are human beings – not because of what we can do, or what we look like, or what others think or feel about us, but rather because of what we are. This is why everyone counts and why everyone counts equally. If the unborn child is a human being (a fact of science), and if all human beings have human rights (a principle of justice), then that unborn child has human rights too. She deserves our protection.                                                                                                               Love – But pregnancy isn’t just about the baby. That’s why this third point is so important. Both the unborn child and her mother deserve our love and support. Too often, pregnant women face difficult and unfair circumstances. And too often, the life of a child is thought to come at the expense of the mother’s personal autonomy and flourishing. But this either/or framework gets it all wrong. Mother and child aren’t competitors in a zero-sum game. They’re mother and child and they can flourish together. We can help make it happen. Pro-life advocates operate thousands of pregnancy resource centers and other programs across the country. These places provide women and their families with the practical help and hope that they need amid whatever challenges they encounter. Let’s love them both – mother and child.   

Taken from an article by Paul Stark – Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Website