Task 2

In general, it is not helpful to attempt Task 2 until you have accomplished Task 1. If you do so successfully, however, you’ll typically get to the point where the pro-choicer will say, “All right fine, but it doesn’t matter because obviously a fetus isn’t a person.” Then it’s time for Task 2—discussing when personhood ought to begin. Do you remember Premises 2a and 2b?¹

It is important to probe this distinction at the outset so you know where the real disagreement lies. If you’re talking with someone who hasn’t thought about it very deeply, and you have an opportunity to frame the discussion, we like to take for granted that a fetus is an organism (with an appeal to the authority of biologists if questioned) and focus the argument over how to define person. This is not because the pro-life case for Premise 2b is any weaker than for Premise 2a but because an exhaustive demonstration of Premise 2b can get awfully high-brow.