Answering Abortion’s Advocates

By Rob Schwarzwalder Published on July 7, 2018

It is hard to talk about abortion.

The procedure is so gruesome, the victims so very many, the industry behind it so predatory. And we’ve been fighting the battle for so very long.

There have been many small and mid-size victories, but the great prize — correcting Roe v. Wade and ending abortion-on-demand – has remained elusive. Until now.

The prospect of a truly pro-life majority on the nation’s highest court is within our grasp. This is why the opposition to anyone the President nominates is so intense.

It’s also why the oft-repeated arguments in favor of so-called “abortion rights” are being heard so frequently and with such near-hysteria.

So, as a refresher course, let’s deal with some of the main ones once again.

“My Body, My Right”

It’s my body and no one has the right to tell me how to care for it. In our country, people have near complete freedom to treat their ailments, minor and major, as they see fit. No one interferes with a person’s choice to get or not get physical therapy, a specific kind of cancer treatment, or a particular surgery.

But abortion is about more than a woman’s body. It’s about two persons’ bodies, each of whom has value independent of one another. The fact that one small, developing person lives within another does not give the latter the moral right to destroy the little one. This is a form of oppression, of cruelty, even if the woman having the abortion does not think in these terms. Neither actual ignorance or conscious denial change the reality of what occurs.

“Some Women Need It”

Some women need abortions, and we shouldn’t deny that option to them. This was a rhetorical device of the last president: We need to reduce “the need for abortion.”

There is no medical need for abortion.

There is no medical need for abortion. Advances in medical science have been such that such instances where the life of the mother is in physical jeopardy are essentially non-existent.

Pregnancies can be difficult, inconvenient and painful. No one disputes this. But do they threaten the lives of women? Virtually never.

“If Roe Goes, Women Will Die”

Women will have abortions as sure as the sun rises in the east. That’s why we need Roe to ensure the safety of the procedure. If Roe goes, women will die.

This is a fake, fear-mongering argument. Even the most strident proponents of elective abortion acknowledge that abortion is a simple medical procedure that can be taught easily. “I like to say that a D and C (dilation and curettage, the standard abortion procedure) is bread and butter gynecology,” according to “a senior doctor at one Texas clinic who is also a medical school professor.” As reported on National Public Radio, the doctor said, “It’s not difficult to teach the procedure.”

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Put simply, there will be many trained doctors and physician assistants available to destroy unborn children, whether in states that maintain abortion-on-demand laws or elsewhere.

And contrary to the standard line hear in the media, abortion can have severe consequences for women’s health. Careful studies show that abortion is not like getting one’s tonsils out. It is a potentially dangerous procedure with potentially devastating consequences. Which I’m sure you’ve heard about in the mainstream press, right?

“Unloved Babies”

If a woman’s right to choose an abortion is found to be unconstitutional, women will be forced to carry to term babies they do not want. It’s wrong to bring a baby into the world who won’t be loved.

It’s less wrong than killing the baby and crippling your own soul.

Sound tough? I think it’s much less tough than the brutality the little one in the womb experiences when dismembered and then suctioned-out like gunk in a gutter. Given the many families so desperately wanting to adopt and given the disincentive for illicit sex correcting Roe would provide, making abortion-on-demand difficult could well have some very beneficial effects — on society at large and on thousands of unborn children allowed to see the light of day.

Can we speak the truth graciously as well as bravely?

The upcoming appointment to the Court will surely be someone who values the lives of women and the children they carry. That’s why it’s truly a referendum on our national character.

Christian friends, let’s examine ourselves. Can we speak the truth graciously as well as bravely? Can we defend unborn life and uphold the text of the Constitution with firmness but without antagonism? Can we advocate and oppose without being strident or harsh?

Let’s win this one, both aspects of it: A Supreme Court justice who believes in the Constitution and an approach to our adversaries that mirrors the grace and truth of our living Savior.

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