Emotional Appeals
Of those pro-choice arguments which deny Premise 1, the easiest to refute are also among the most often cited arguments in favor of legalized abortion. They are those predominantly emotional appeals that reference any number of personal problems or social issues that abortion is seen as addressing.
These might include:1
- The physical or psychological health of the mother
- The physical health of the fetus
- Overpopulation
- Empowerment of women
- Crime
- And many others…
However, it is a simple matter to show that none of these considerations in fact justify killing persons.
For example, slaughtering millions of paupers in a crowded nation is not an acceptable solution to overpopulation. Why? Because they are persons with a right to life.
Similarly, we all agree it’s wrong to massacre unwanted toddlers living in the slums on the theory that they are a burden to their parents and will grow up to be criminals.2
It follows that, if unborn children are persons, then it would also be wrong to kill them for those same reasons.
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Discussion Tip
Encourage pro-choicers to air the factors that they think would justify abortions even if unborn children are persons. Such factors will probably be identical or similar to the examples in this list. ↩
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Discussion Tip
For more on Born Person Analogies (BPAs), see Discussion Tactics. ↩