Students for Life at FIU
Pro-Life Apologetics
Apologetics is the practice of debating a topic based on reasoning. This page will cover commonly posed pro-choice arguments and their pro-life responses.
“It’s just a clump of cells”
Pro-choice Argument: Abortion is okay because it’s not even a person yet. It is just an embryo, fetus, or a clump of cells. It doesn’t have any value yet.
Pro-Life Response: There is a scientific consensus that life begins at conception. In a survey of over 5,000 biologists from universities across the country, 95% affirmed that human life begins at the moment of fertilization (Charlotte Lozier Institute). The sperm meets the egg, and at that moment, a new, unique human is formed (Princeton University). Therefore, the preborn are human beings. So, if all human beings deserve rights, then preborn humans also deserve rights. Most importantly, they deserve the right to life.
“My Body, My Choice”
Pro-Choice Argument: The fetus is a part of the woman’s body. A woman should be able to control her body without anyone telling her what to do and forcing her to carry a fetus.
Pro-Life Response: Yes, women should be able to control their own bodies. However, in the case of abortion, there are two bodies involved: the mother’s body and the body of the baby inside. While we have the right to make decisions regarding our own bodies, we don’t have the right to make a decision that will harm, even kill, someone else. This is what happens in an abortion. It is important to protect the child within the mother because everyone has the right to life.
“The child will grow up in poverty”
Pro-Choice Argument: Most of the women who get an abortion do so because they can’t afford to take care of a baby. If you force them to give birth, the child will have a difficult life of poverty.
Pro-Life Response: This is a very real issue. Many mothers do not have the resources to care for their child. About 73% of women who seek abortions do so because they feel they are not able to financially support a child (Guttmacher Institute).
But poverty is never a reason to kill someone. Just like we would not kill a homeless person so they don’t have to live in poverty, we cannot kill preborn children to prevent possible future hardships. In this case, the answer to the issue is to solve the issue of poverty, not kill the child.
Additionally, there are many pregnancy resource centers across the country ready to help mothers in need. Pregnancy resource centers offer free services to parents, both before and after birth. This includes ultrasounds, STD testing, parenting classes, counseling services, etc. They also give material items such as diapers, baby clothes, blankets, etc. These free resource centers far outnumber the number of abortion clinics in the United States and can be found across the country (Wharton). No woman stands alone, and all women who choose life will be supported by these clinics every step of the way.
“What if the woman was raped?”
Pro-Choice Argument: If a woman was raped, then she should not be forced to carry her pregnancy to term. She should not have to take care of her rapist’s baby when she didn’t consent to having sex.
Pro-Life Response: Rape is a tragic situation that no woman should have to face. These women deserve love and healing from this traumatic experience, and the rapist should be punished to the full extent of the law.
However, abortion is not a good solution for a pregnancy conceived in rape. If the woman is pregnant, there is already a new, unique human being inside of her. Getting an abortion would end the life of this innocent human being. No matter how the child was conceived, the child is deserving of life.
Additionally, abortion will not help the woman heal, but can actually make the situation worse. Studies show that women are more likely to become depressed and anxious, and even attempt suicide, after having an abortion (Terzo). If a woman is raped, and also has an abortion, she experiences two traumatic events. This can lead to devastating, and even deadly, long-term effects on the mother.
References
Finer, Lawrence B., et al. “Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives.” Guttmacher Institute, Sept. 2005, https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/2005/reasons-us-women-have-abortions-quantitative-and-qualitative-perspectives.
“Life Begins at Fertilization with the Embryo's Conception.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, https://www.princeton.edu/~prolife/articles/embryoquotes2.html.
“Science to Kentucky Judge Mitch Perry: Human Life Begins at Fertilization.” Charlotte Lozier Institute, 26 July 2022, https://lozierinstitute.org/science-to-kentucky-judge-mitch-perry-human-life-begins-at-fertilization/.
Terzo October 11, Sarah. “Abortion and Suicide: The Grim Statistics.” Live Action, 11 Oct. 2013, https://www.liveaction.org/news/abortion-suicide-grim-statistics-2/.
Wharton, Caroline. “Pregnancy Resource Centers Outnumber Planned Parenthood 14-to-1.” Students For Life of America, 27 July 2022, https://studentsforlife.org/2022/07/27/pregnancy-resource-centers-outnumber-planned-parenthood-14-to-1/.
