{"id":23939,"date":"2015-01-17T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-01-17T19:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/?p=23939"},"modified":"2015-01-23T09:46:36","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T16:46:36","slug":"staying-fetus-focused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/2015\/01\/17\/staying-fetus-focused\/","title":{"rendered":"Staying Fetus-Focused"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continuing the\u00a0series of posts on the subject of abortion<\/a>, I would like to discuss a\u00a0strategy which you might consider adopting when talking about abortion with those who are pro-choice.<\/p>\n

Types of Objection<\/h2>\n

I would suggest that, when we’re talking about abortion, the\u00a0discussion really needs to focus on the unborn themselves<\/strong>. What actually are they? In the process of having an abortion, what exactly is being killed?<\/p>\n

\"Embryo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You see, when pro-choice advocates object to the pro-life position, their objections fall into one of two categories:<\/p>\n

1. On-topic Objections<\/strong>
\nThese objections\u00a0are fetus-focussed. For example, if someone says\u00a0“It’s just a clump of cells”,<\/em> their objection is on-topic and allows us to discuss\u00a0the central issue: the unborn child.<\/p>\n

2. Off-topic Objections<\/strong>
\nThese objections relate to some peripheral issue and don’t concern\u00a0the unborn themselves. For example, these\u00a0following arguments are sometimes given in favour of abortion:<\/p>\n

(a) “The world is overpopulated”<\/em><\/p>\n

(b) “Raising a child is extremely expensive”<\/em><\/p>\n

(c) “Not all children will have a stable home life”<\/em><\/p>\n

(d) …<\/p>\n

All of these objections are off-topic.<\/p>\n

With regards to the off-topic objections, pro-lifers and pro-choicers will, by and large, agree that the problem being raised does need\u00a0to be addressed by society. For example, both groups want to see poverty eradicated, vulnerable women protected, children born into\u00a0stable, nurturing homes. However, the difference is those who are pro-life don’t think that the problem raised is sufficient justification<\/a> for the killing of a defenseless, innocent life.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From off-topic to on-topic<\/h2>\n

The problem is that\u00a0when off-topic objections are raised, they can quickly derail the debate\u00a0and take the discussion away from the central issue. So, when these\u00a0objections are raised, we need a strategy to deal effectively with the side issue which has been brought up, and then guide\u00a0the conversation back to the subject of the\u00a0unborn themselves. I would suggest that following three steps will achieve this:<\/p>\n

1. Agree (that the issue raised is a problem)<\/strong>
\nCommunicate that you recognize that the issue raised would make bringing a child into the world more complicated and that it is a something\u00a0which society does need to address.<\/p>\n

2. Apply (the argument to a toddler)<\/strong>
\nRepresent the objection once more, but this time replace\u00a0the unborn child with a toddler.<\/p>\n

3. Ask (a dumb question)<\/strong>
\nHopefully the pro-choice advocate will dislike the fact that his\u00a0argument has now been used\u00a0as justification\u00a0for infanticide, so ask him\u00a0why he baulks at it.\u00a0In responding to this question, your friend will most likely\u00a0describe the difference he sees between\u00a0the born and the unborn. In doing so, you have got the conversation back on-topic, as well as having addressed the side issue.<\/p>\n

This might seem a little abstract, so next let’s look at a couple of examples.<\/p>\n

Example #1: “Some people are too poor to raise a child”<\/h3>\n

Poverty is an argument often used in favour of abortion. Here’s how you might respond:<\/p>\n

1. Agree (that the issue raised is a problem)<\/strong>
\n“I agree with you that lack of finances can make having a child stressful\u00a0and that some women have few resources available to them…”<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Apply (the argument to a toddler)<\/strong>
\n“… However, let’s apply that argument a little more generally. For example, should\u00a0a woman kill a toddler if she couldn’t afford it? No, right?”<\/em><\/p>\n

3. Ask (a dumb question)<\/strong>
\n“… In that case, please excuse the dumb question, but why do you think she should be allowed to kill her unborn child, but not the two-year old?”<\/em><\/p>\n

In response to step 3, the person might say “Well, it’s because the unborn aren’t really human…”<\/em>. Congratulations, we’re now back on-topic, talking about the unborn, rather than some peripheral issue.<\/p>\n

Example #2: “There are too many people in the world”<\/h3>\n

Now, let’s do the same thing again with another off-topic objection\u00a0concerning world population. Although the assertion itself could be disputed, you might simply concede it for sake of argument to\u00a0bring the discussion back on-topic:<\/p>\n

1. Agree (that the issue raised is a problem)<\/strong>
\n“I agree that managing the earth’s resources is important, so let’s just say for the sake of argument that the world is<\/span> overpopulated…”<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Apply (the argument to a toddler)<\/strong>
\n“… But if\u00a0the world is over-populated, should we be able to kill some toddlers to bring the numbers down? No, right?”<\/em><\/p>\n

3. Ask (a dumb question)<\/strong>
\n“… In that case, please excuse the dumb question, but why we can we kill the unborn in the womb and not kill toddlers?”<\/em><\/p>\n

Again, in response to the final step the objector will most likely\u00a0respond with an objection which is on-topic, such as “We don’t value the unborn as much as we value toddlers”<\/em>. This hasn’t resolved the dispute but it has, at least, got the discussion back on topic.<\/p>\n

More posts on abortion apologetics tomorrow!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continuing the\u00a0series of posts on the subject of abortion, I would like to discuss a\u00a0strategy which you might consider adopting when talking about abortion with those who are pro-choice. Types of Objection I would suggest that, when we’re talking about abortion, the\u00a0discussion really needs to focus on the unborn themselves. What actually are they? In the process of having an<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[232,2969,2486,2985,1728,1601],"class_list":["post-23939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apologetics","tag-abortion","tag-featured","tag-march-for-life-2014","tag-march-for-life-2015","tag-pro-choice","tag-pro-life"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/FeaturedFetusFocussed.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23939"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53893,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23939\/revisions\/53893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}