Hypothetical question

[Sojourner]

[quote name='JeffCR07' date='Jan 10 2005, 11:08 AM'] Phazzan, its a good question, and I actually use a very similar situation when I begin any discussion about the issue of abortion.

I have found that most discussions tend to devolve into the pro-choice person giving more and more drastic cases, and asking "what then" so my technique is to head them off at the pass, right from the start. So I go like this:

Random Person: What, you're pro-life?! How can you be pro-life?!

Me: Ok, we can talk about abortion. First, I'll explain my belief, and then you can ask me any questions you want. I believe that a child is a human person from the moment of conception, and, therefore, abortion is [i]murder[/i] because the child has done nothing to merit death. So let's imagine the worst possible scenario....

An impoverished 11 year old girl is raped and beaten by her father and becomes pregnant. The family is already near starving, isn't an abortion ok in this extreme case? No. Regardless of the conditions, the child is, and always will be, innocent, and the deliberate killing of an innocent is the definition of murder. Thus, even in this most extreme of cases, to have an abortion is [i]still[/i] to murder a child, which is never permissible. So, what questions do you have?




That kind of tactic seems to work for me, and I hope in explaining it, I also helped to answer your question

- Your Brother In Christ, Jeff [/quote]
Jeff,
I love this approach. I've noticed the same thing, that discussions about aborition usually devolve into a "worst case scenario" and skirt the real issues. No one wants to talk about the baby's humanity -- they want to talk about the horrible situation the mother is in.

My favorite argument, though, is the whole "Well, if abortion was outlawed, they'd still happen, but just in back alleys and women wouldn't have access to good medical care."

I say, "Come on -- we've outlawed car theft, and yet people [i]still steal cars[/i]. And sometimes when they steal cars, they get in high-speed chases and are killed. Maybe we should just make car theft legal."

[rufiokicks]

Half the time in abortion debates the issue of rape/incest/medical problems is brought up. Only 1% of reported abortions occur because of these reasons though. Over 70% occur because the mother doesn't want to deal with a life changing event. In the hypothetical situation, I think the child should live. Whether or not they are given up for adoption, they should only learn about their father when they are mature enough to deal with it. If you're old enough, not only will you handle the news better, but you'll appreciate that your mother saved your life despite her difficult situation.

[homeschoolmom]

bumpity...

[God the Father]

[quote name='Phazzan' date='Jan 10 2005, 07:33 AM']but then again I probably wouldn't want to live either, not like that...
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[/quote]

Like what? Without a proper father? Heck, I'm sure millions of kids are handling it. I'm sure given the choice between living in a strange way and not living at all any unborn child would give it a go, even if it's just to experiment.

[uruviel]

I wouldn't say abortion ever. If the child is going to die, don't murder it. Let it die in a natural way. I like Karins' example, hey we're all gonna die in the end, lets blow up the world now it doesn't matter. Don't you think the world is worth living and experiencing? Don't you want to live? Don't you want to have a chance at life? Doesnt your child? Abortion is a soft word for murder. Adoption is acceptable however.

[prose]

For myself, I would rather live, no matter how I was conceived, than never have gotten the chance. But that is just me.

Another example: Should we kill a 2 year old because her father molested her? What an awful history! What if she grows up knowing she was molested. It would be easier just to kill her now.

That is how absurd I think the other scenario sounds.