I did it - Part I

Well, I did it. I coerced my friend/debate partner at work to verbalize a logical contradiction. I'd like to think that means that I win, since by contradicting yourself in the same sentence you are deemed "babbling" (eg "I hate potato chips, but I love potatoes that are sliced really thinly and then fried, flavored, bagged and sold in grocery stores."). The topic was abortion, and she was using many of the "old standards," which we'll look at one by one in a series of posts over the next few weeks. Today's argument will be the ever-popular, "I'm not for abortion, but I'm for the right of a woman to choose what she wants to do with her own body."


What a grand idea - a woman being able to do as she pleases with her own body (and, by default, life)? Well, that's fine, if you're evaluating that statement verbatim. I fully believe that a woman should have the right to be in control of her own life and even her body, and make choices for herself as she sees fit, right? Choose a Volvo over a Hyundai (although I really like the Sonatas)? Absolutely. Pursue a career as a mortgage broker vs. a district manager for a retail outlet? Definitely. Eat a whole container of lard over crackers and ruin her heart/arteries? If she wants to. Smoke pot until her brain doesn't function properly anymore? I guess so (although there are consequences for actions, and there should be no complaining when they set in). But when you're talking about abortion, that sentence can no longer read as it was dictated, because you're actually supporting the right of a woman to choose what she wants to do with her own body, AS WELL AS the body growing inside of hers (which could be a woman's, by the way). So it should be reworded to say "I'm not for abortion, but I'm for the right of a woman to choose what she wants to do with her own body and life, as well as her unborn baby's body and life."


Now, let's look at her statement for just a moment. "I'm not for abortion..." Why would she say that, given her position on the argument? She's pro-abortion, or "pro-choice" (of course, the "choice" being given is the choice to kill your child if you want to, so that should be worded "pro-death". I'd stick with the "pro-abortion" if I were her. I digress...). Why would she start with "I'm not for abortion...?" The answer to that would be because she thinks (knows) that it is wrong, morally reprehensible, selfish, and murder to condone a person killing their own child. However, she is conveniently able to separate the actual event from the idea by thinking of it as "terminating the pregnancy." That sounds much nicer and cleaner than vaccuuming the baby apart or dissolving it in a saline solution (much like pouring salt on a slug), or birthing the baby in breech position all the way to the base of the head, cutting open the back of the skull, and then sucking the brains out with a vaccuum. WAY better to just "terminate the pregnancy."

Anyways, on the way out the door, she went back to this sentence and said, "I'm just for the woman's right to choose." To which I replied, "Right to choose what?" "An abortion." "Which does what to a baby? Helps it grow? Or ends its life - kills it?" And she said, "Kills it." "So while you're not for killing babies, you are for the woman's right to choose to kill her baby." And she said Yes. My goodness...game over.

One final mention - this post (and the following posts on the subject) are discussing abortion as a topic, and not condemning women who have had abortions. You can't go back and undo something like that, and I'm sure the scars remain, even if they're not visible from the surface. Jesus Christ offers forgiveness for anything you've ever done, no matter how wrong it may be, and He offers it to everyone. Women who have had abortions need prayer and love, the same as woman who are thinking about having one.

In the following posts, I'm going to dissect the other points from our conversation and offer my take on them. Thanks for reading.