Defusing Pro-Choice Bible Proof-Texts

The other day a friend sent me a clip from the TV show “The Young Pope”.  In it, the Pope discusses the morality of abortion with one of his cardinals.  I could critique the clip all day long, but I want to focus on the Scriptural discussion they have.

Sometimes you’ll run across a person who claims the Bible supports a “Pro-Choice” worldview.  Today I want to run through the three passages which are used to support that claim.

Can We Know When Life Begins?

Discussions about the ethics and legality of abortion tend to follow certain patterns.  One of these patterns works like this:

• The defender of abortion legality (called "Pro-Choice") will admit that the debate hinges upon when an individual human life begins.  

• However, he/she will assert that this knowledge is totally obscure, subjective, and unknowable. 

• Thus, he/she concludes abortion should remain legal.

In fact, that is the very logic used in Roe vs Wade when the court decided upon a constitution right to abortion.  Justice Blackmun wrote:

"When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer."

So that's what I want to look at today.  Is this really the case?  Or are folks just trying to deny an inconvenient truth?

Current Events: The Pope, Abortion, and Confession...

Dear Apologist, I heard recently that the Pope declared that priests could not forgive abortions in Confession?   Could they not before?  Was abortion unforgivable?

Here is the first thing to keep in mind;  If you are getting news about the Catholic Church from secular news sources such as the Associated Press or Reuters, you are only going to be misled.  Those people do not understand the Catholic faith and have no idea how to accurately present it to readers.  The sources you want to get Catholic news from are the National Catholic Register and EWTN. 

Onto the matter at hand.

How should a Pro-Life Candidate Respond: Late-term abortion

The topic of abortion – particularly late-term abortion – came up at the final US Presidential debate.  When the question was posed to Hillary Clinton regarding her support for late-term abortion, she appealed to heartbreaking instances of children who won’t survive outside the womb.

Since then I’ve been thinking about how Candidate ACTS Apologist would have replied.  Can we come up with something which responds politically, ethically, and compassionately?  Let’s give it a shot:

Pro-Life Presentation 2: Answering Objections and the Hard Cases

Earlier this year I began posting the Pro-Life lectures I was presenting to the local youth ministry.  Unfortunately, the audio for the second one was not usable.  So I finally sat down and recorded it again.

For a link to the presentations, click [here]

Also:  Lecture 1  and Lecture 3

Five Questions I'd Ask Pro-Choice Catholic Politicians

American politics is full of bizarre things which ought not be.  Foremost among them are people who identify themselves as "Catholics" and yet act against the Church on matters of grave importance. 

It is one thing to debate whether a Catholic should support private school vouchers, increases to the capital gains tax, or what constitutes a fair immigration system.  The Church offers some guiding principles but no specific ruling on those.

However, when it comes to the legality of abortion, the Church could not be any more clear.  In his encyclical letter "Laudato Si", Pope Francis said:

"Concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties?" - Laudato Si, 120

And the Catholic Catechism states:

"The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation.  The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority."  - CCC 2273

However, many Catholic politicians, for reasons I dare not speculate upon, insist on supporting the institution of abortion in America.  Their refrain is always the same:

"I personally oppose abortion, but I think the law should allow a woman the right to choose."

Reporters hear those words and nod piously, never following up with hard questions.

So today I want to look at 5 questions I would pose to Pro-Choice Catholic politicians.

Legal Penalties for Abortion: What Should a Pro-Life Candidate Say?

In the United States, the Republican party is one which generally opposes the legality of abortion.  However, most of the print and broadcast media is staffed by people who defend the abortion industry and see it as normal.

As a result, Republican candidates who claim to be Pro-Life are often asked detailed ethical questions about their stance on abortion.  Democrat candidates are almost never asked these questions.  This is grossly unfair, but the dichotomy is as predictable as the sunrise.  Therefore, it would be smart for any Republican who wants to run as Pro-Life to take the time to learn how to answer these questions.

Unfortunately most Republicans are dumb.  Many would rather destroy their careers than spend a day learning the basics of Pro-Life apologetics.  

Recently Donald Trump joined this prestigious group of morons when he fielded a question about the legal implications of the Pro-Life movement.  Would a victory for the Pro-Life movement mean women would be prosecuted?  

His answer was: "Yes."

Outrage ensued.  Particularly peeved were actual Pro-Life groups, who never asked to be associated with this belligerent madman.

So today I want to show how I would answer the question.  The following was mostly recited off the top of my head into a recording device.  Then I transcribed it.

But... Are They "Persons"?

I once heard this amusing observation about the abortion debate:

The Pro-Life side is usually characterized as being religious.  And religious people – as everyone knows – hate the natural sciences.  “Pro-Choice” people tend to be secular.  And secular people – as everyone knows – love the natural sciences.

Now, the central question to abortion is the status of the thing growing inside the mother’s womb.  If that thing is a little human being, then you cannot do violence against it.  If it is a blob of amorphous tissue, then do whatever you want to it.

In regard to this question, the Pro-Life side is happy to appeal to the findings of the natural sciences.

“Here is an ultrasound,” says the pro-lifer, “Here are some medical journals on gestational development.   Here are some biology textbooks defining terms like ‘human’ and ‘life’ and ‘organism’.  Let me know if you have any questions!”

In the face of this question it is the supporters of abortion legality who suddenly put on a philosopher’s hat, furrows their collective brow, and ask:

“What is a human person anyway?  What does it mean to be a person? Can a child in the womb write poetry?  Can it do mathematics?  Does it feel emotions?”  

This philosophical rumination forms the basis of what I call the Argument for the Legality of Abortion from Personhood (AFLAFP).

Two Short Answers to Pro-file Questions: "Pro-Choice" vs "Pro-Abortion", and The Case of Dangerous Pregnancies

Today I thought I'd cover two questions on the Western world's most debated issue:

How Old Was Jesus On Christmas?

Is abortion a religious issue?  That depends on who you ask.  Ironically, it is often the religious pro-lifers who are more likely to say this isn’t a religious issue.  Take for instance Jimmy Akin, a famous Christian apologist and writer who produced this video.

However, today I wanted to address the issue from the standpoint of the Christian scriptures.  Is there anything the Bible that tells us how God regards babies in the womb?

Answering the Violinist Argument:

I’ve been answering pro-life questions since I arrived at the position in high school.  Most questions boil down to dissecting slogans, resolving tough ethical dilemmas, and identifying red herrings.  Answering an actual argument in favor of the ethicalness of abortion is a very rare thing.

Today I want to talk about one attempt to do that.  It is called the  Violinist Argument.