,
9 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
The central tenet of the pro-life movement is that an unborn child — from conception — should have the same protections as a person who has already been born; no more, no less. That is why #EqualityForAll is inconsistent with the notion that #AbortionIsAWomansRight /1
If so, no unborn child should be killed absent a legal justification that would otherwise apply to the killings of persons already born. /2
For example, I would be legally justified to kill another person who is an immediate threat to my life. That would be self-defense. Similarly, a mother who has an ectopic pregnancy, for example, would be justified in aborting her pregnancy since her very life depends upon it. /3
However, in the case of rape or incest, there is no comparable legal justification for #abortion. If a mother cannot kill, let’s say, her six-year-old son simply because his father is a rapist, then why should she be allowed to kill her unborn child for the same reason? /4
The trivial answer is that a rape victim should not be punished by having to bear a child. Admittedly, childbearing is very inconvenient for the mother-no doubt. But does nine-months’ worth of inconvenience justify taking 70- or 80-years’ worth of life from a child? /5
Beyond this, even if the father is a brutal rapist of the worst order, unless he confesses to the crime or cops a quick plea deal, he won’t go on trial for at least nine months in most jurisdictions. So why should the child be killed faster than the rapist is punished? /6
If we allow abortion in cases of rape, we would create a special justification that is not available in other cases of homicide. So by having a rape exception, we validate the subjective notion that the value of unborn human life is in the eye of the beholder. /7
It’s this subjective valuation of human life that cheapens it. So if we want genetically-distinct human life to remain valuable at all stages of existence — we must maintain objective standards at all times and for all reasons. /8
Therefore, innocent human life in the womb should not be killed for any reason except to protect the life of the mother. Any other reason is a subjective devaluation of human life. /end
