PBA100H: The Key Question

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Elective abortion unjustly ends the life of an innocent human being.

1. Intentionally killing an innocent human being is a serious moral wrong;
2. Elective abortion is the intentional killing of an innocent human being;
3. :. Elective abortion is a serious moral wrong

Most people agree with the first premise, so the critical question regarding the second premise becomes: what is a pre-born child?

If a pre-born child is not a human being, no justification for elective abortion is necessary. But if a pre-born child is a human being, no justification for elective abortion is adequate.

: Right to Know booklet on difficult life circumstances, complexity, and killing; should we kill people or kill problems?

Francis Beckwith, modified by CCBR?

• If something is growing, it is alive, isn't it?
• If something has human parents, isn't it human offspring?
• And humans have human rights, don't they?

The circumstances surrounding abortion are often practically, psychologically, emotionally, socially, economically complex, but they are not morally complex. The issue is whether one may kill an innocent human being as a way of dealing with difficult life circumstances.

Why Women Choose Abortion

People will usually bring up difficult life circumstances to justify abortion. There are three steps to bringing a conversation back to the fundamental question of What is the pre-born?

1. Find common ground
2. Use an analogy to trot out the toddler
3. Would we ever kill a born child in that circumstance?

Then, we can address the question of the status of a pre-born child.