Simplifying The Argument

The Ultra-Conservative Christian's problem in the abortion/stem cell debate is simply this: he generally thinks he's right. Sure, he will say things like, well, the Bible is clear, but, to the rest of the world, and even to a lot of Christians, no, it isn't. The fact of the matter, of course, is that it does not even slightly matter whether or not he is right: that won't save one baby. What matters is whether or not he can convince -- and the "The Bible says so" argument is not convincing anyone but the ones making it.

The pro-choice liberal's problem, on the other hand, is not so much that he thinks he is always right, but rather that he thinks himself always wrong. It would be wrong to tell a woman what to do with her body. It would be wrong to try to legislate morality. And how in good conscience can ANYONE say to a rape victim, "It is terrible and tragic what happened to you. It is unthinkable how your rights were taken away. But what about the rights of the tiny life living inside you?"

1. God hates abortion.

2. A woman has a right to do whatever she wants with her own body.

There is nothing wrong with holding either or both of these beliefs, but they are also distractions. The issue, as has of course been pointed out, though not yet to the degree that we get past these distractions, is "When does life begin?" That is the pertinent question. Because if the baby/fetus/embryo/blastocyst is alive, his or her rights cannot be ignored. He or she is clearly an innocent -- whose only crime is not yet being born. And just as the parents of a born child have a responsibility to that life, the same would go for the parents of an unborn life.

If on the other hand, it is determined that at some stage of prenatal development, what is growing inside is not a life, then the woman who is pregnant should have full authority over the property in her possession.

We need to wade through all the distractions and cut to the issue: When does life begin? I know at one point Obama said this is above his pay grade. But what he may not realize is that the failure to decide here is a decision. If we allow abortions of the unborn, we are either deciding they are not alive, or we are allowing murder. I firmly believe if we would have just looked at this clearly and simply 40 years ago around the time of Roe v Wade, we might have decided then. It is a complex issue, but it is an impossible issue if you don't know what, or who, you're dealing with.