The Foundation of the Pro-Life Position

“It is immoral to unjustly take the life of a human”  

When engaging with pro-abortion advocates, it is important that we do so from a strong foundation.  

If we dive headfirst into debates without the proper preparation, we are likely to do more harm than good, especially if said debates are public. Often, we have seen well intentioned pro-lifers take to social media in hopes of changing hearts and minds only to strike out.  

For this reason, here we will provide you with a strong foundation by which to defend life.  

First, let’s establish a definition of abortion: “The use of any drug, device, surgery, procedure or intervention with the purpose of killing an unborn child when doing so is not necessary to save the life of the mother.”  

It is important that we understand exactly what we are talking about when we discuss abortion. For the sake of the debate surrounding human abortions, this definition is essential. Some loose definitions like that from the Oxford dictionary which defines abortion as, “the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy” can muddy the waters of the conversation and cause us to talk past those we are conversing with. 

For example, some pro-abortion debaters have leaned into the Oxford definition by claiming that a cesarean section is an abortion since to terminate is defined as “bring to an end” and technically a cesarean section does that. As bad faith as those semantical arguments are, it is best that we preempt them entirely by clearly defining our terms. 

Now, let’s establish a few important facts. Following fertilization and regardless of its stage of development the unborn baby is: 

1.  Alive. This can be understood as growing, developing, maturing, and replacing their own cells. There is a 96% consensus among biologists that life begins at  fertilization. 
2. Human. This can be observed by the fact that the baby’s DNA belongs to the species Homo Sapiens. 
3. A distinct organism. This means that unlike a skin cell or a gamete, the baby is NOT a part of another organism. The baby is neither the mother nor the father. The baby is complete and self-directed in development. 

When we refer to the unborn baby as a human, we do so understanding that it meets the above criteria, in the same way as when we refer to humans outside of the womb. 

If any of the above conditions are not met, for example if the unborn baby is not alive, it is not an abortion to separate the mother and child. 

Next, we must answer an important question. Do all humans have the right to life, or will we discriminate against certain groups of people?  

Our answer: we reject the idea that the right to life exists on a sliding scale. What you can do, where you are, how developed you are, what gender you are, etc. does not determine whether or not you have the right to life. To deny this is to embrace the most lethal form of discrimination.  

We hold that you have the right to life not because of what you can do, but because of what you are. 

As you will see from our other apologetics articles, standards outside of that often defend the killing of innocent people outside the womb as well as inside the womb. 

Therefore, when a human comes into existence, the right to life begins. This happens at the moment of fertilization. 

Life of the Mother Exception:  

There may arise by medical necessity emergency circumstances in which the child must be separated from his or her mother to save the life of the mother. In such cases both mother and child should be treated as patients, and all reasonable measures should be taken to save both lives.  

If unfortunately, a situation arises where we do not yet have the medical advancements necessary to sustain the life of the child outside of the mother, the child should be provided with all available palliative care. The child’s death upon separation should be considered a medical tragedy, not an abortion as the intention was not to kill the child but to treat both patients. 

As we continue to expand our growing catalog of pro-life answers to pro-abortion arguments, please feel free to submit suggestions at info@lifeissues.org. We will happily refute any arguments that you need help with.