Life Report

I don’t often respond to YouTube commenters anymore, because it rarely results in anything fruitful. (I do often engage in private email exchanges with pro-choice people, which tend to be much more valuable.) But I made an exception this week when a pro-choice person from the United Kingdom commented under our Life Report show about a British woman who had four abortions in three years. We went back and forth a few times, and I’m posting the dialogue here, in the hope that it gives you something you can use the next time a pro-choice person says the same thing to you. Comment below to add what YOU would have said!

		Am I the only person that doesn’t have a problem with abortion? I didn’t realise there was so much fuss about it, well I knew people argued, but I didn’t think there was youtube channels based on it. I mean, at the end of the? day, if sombody has an abortion, is that any of your business?
		If the unborn aren’t human beings, than you’re right, no justification for abortion is necessary. But if the unborn are human beings like you and me, than no justification for abortion is adequate. It would be my business in the same way it would be your business if you overheard your neighbor beating his wife and kids and then shooting them.
		I understand what you mean, but I’ve just never seen it as comparable? to a sentient, pain feeling, developed human. I’ve always thought it should be a private decision to be honest, but then people say to me it’s because I’m an atheist, but why should I adhere to something I don’t believe in? I’m sure you understand
		Yeah, my pro-life argument is not based in any religious teaching. Plenty of atheists agree with my philosophical argument that the unborn are equally valuable as more developed humans that are sentient. Google Secular Pro-Life to see some good stuff on that. I’d be open to having a more lengthy debate the issue, but that would be much easier through private messages, since Youtube comments have the word limit. Warmly, Josh
		My whole philosophy on the subject is based on nobody needing to agree with each other, because in the end, if somebody else? has an abortion, it won’t affect your life so agree to disagree
		What if I said, nobody has to agree on the issue of rape, because if somebody else gets raped, it won’t affect your life, so agree to disagree? That would be insane because I’m guessing that, like me, you don’t just dislike rape, you think rape is a moral crime regardless of peoples feelings about it.
		My arguement is that nobody is affected, as I don’t see an zygote as a person. Rape directly affects a person against their will, I don’t believe a zygote has a will. For a developed fetus I’m afraid I can’t argue, and would have to agree with you, but since most abortions are of undeveloped embryos I just don’t have a problem with it.
		I understand what you’re saying. Imagine a girl is born in a coma, that doctors confirm will end in 3 years. When the girl turns 3, she will awake from the coma, mentally still at the stage of a newborn. She’s unaware, thus does not have a “will,” at least in the sense that you’re talking about. May we kill her, just because she hasn’t developed a will yet?By the way, I think it could be argued that most people have the desire to live, even before they can understand that. My 3-month old son probably hasn’t formed the will to live yet, but we assume he would want to live if his brain was developed enough to process those thoughts. The same can be said of embryos. (Unless you want to argue there are a bunch of suicidal embryos that are grateful to be aborted.)
		Embyos aren’t grateful to be aborted, and they don’t have a will to live either. They don’t anything, thats why I’m not concerned by abortion.
		Could you respond to the argument I gave above about the girl in the coma? Would you support an 8th trimester abortion done on her before she awakes from her coma?

It appears he reread my coma analogy, and gave up. What would you have said? Comment below!