Pt. 2- Four Dishonest Ways to Argue about Abortion

Last week, we began a series taken from Stand to Reason's "Pro-Life Defense Quick Reference God", answering 4 common arguments offered by abortion-choice advocates and why they fail.

This week, we share why it is dishonest for the abortion-choice advocate to, "Attack the person rather than refute her argument." STR responds:

"Instead of defending the act of abortion itself, all too often we hear personal attacks leveled at individual pro-life advocates.  This is intellectually lazy and a bad way to argue, because even if the personal attack is true, it in no way addresses the claim that abortion takes the life of an innocent, defenseless human being.  This attack is irrelevant to the argument.  For example:

'You're a man!  What right do you have to speak on abortion?"

Aside from being a sexist remark, this is a seriously flawed claim.  Arguments do not have gender; people do.  Since many pro-life women make the same arguments that men do, it would be more productive to refute their claim instead of attacking them personally.  Imagine saying to a psychiatrist: 'You have no right to help people with psychological difficulties unless you yourself have experienced those difficulties."1

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Footnote:
1. Pro-Life Defense Quick Reference Guide by Stand to Reason

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Arguments for the Pro-Life Position

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