Update: Part 1: Clarifying the issue, Part 2: Science and the unborn
Today I'm launching a series of posts entitled "Why pro-life? A case against abortion." My aim is to provide a fairly comprehensive, easy-to-read defense of the pro-life position. I hope the series (1) equips pro-lifers to better articulate and defend the pro-life view in their conversations and interactions with friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, fellow students, etc.; and (2) challenges pro-choice advocates and those who are unsure or apathetic about abortion to honestly assess the arguments presented here.
First, I'll clarify what it is that is at issue -- what abortion is, exactly, and how we ought to go about thinking about the ethics of this practice. Next I'll present a basic pro-life argument, using scientific, moral and legal premises -- all of them defended -- to show that elective abortion unjustly takes the life of an innocent human being. Then I will address the major kinds of pro-choice arguments, demonstrating how each of them is flawed, and respond to a number of important individual objections to the pro-life position.
Finally, I'll summarize the pro-life case and briefly apply the pro-life view to other issues in which the human right to life is at stake, such as euthanasia and embryo-destructive research.
The first post in the series is coming shortly.
