Author’s Note: The sole outside source for the following column is the work of Scott Klusendorf (www.prolifetraining.com). Scott, a Summit Ministries faculty member, is, in my opinion, the world’s greatest pro-life advocate. Summit Ministries graduate Lila Rose is a close second. Both Scott and Lila are graduates of UCLA.
Dear Keith:
Thanks for writing to share your concerns about your “pro-choice” sociology professor. Taking a sociology class is always tough – especially when the professor claims to be your moral superior while simultaneously advocating abortion. I would recommend that you temper your remarks in class whenever you feel you are on the verge of losing your composure. In fact, you should not make any remarks or statements at all. Instead, you should just ask questions. Here are some good ones I wish I had asked while in college:
1. Morally speaking, is having an abortion really just like picking a scab?
2. If abortion is not murder because the fetus is not a person then why make it “safe, legal, and rare”?
3. Do you have a similar desire to make scab-picking “safe, legal, and rare”?
4. If a woman were raped and got pregnant, which one would you kill a) The baby, b) the rapist, or c) both?
5. Are you comfortable with the fact that “a” is the only answer you may choose according to (the present interpretation of) the Constitution?
6. Abortion advocates frequently focus on the size of the fetus. Why is that relevant?
7. Do tall people have more rights than short people?
8. Do men have superior rights relative to women given that men are, on average, larger than women?
9. Is fetal lack of self-awareness a justification for abortion?
10. Is murder permissible when the victim is sleeping and hence unaware of the surrounding environment?
11. Does the fact that there are many miscarriages really lend credence to the argument that abortion is justified?
12. Does the high infant mortality rate in Third World nations justify infanticide in Third World nations?
13. Does the spontaneous termination of life by nature justify the intentional termination of life by man?
14. Are human beings inherently more valuable than other animals such as dogs?
15. What gives human beings more value than dogs?
16. Should a woman abort a baby because it may be expensive and time-consuming to raise a child to adulthood?
17. Should a woman be able to kill a puppy because it may be expensive and time consuming to feed and care for a dog?
18. A person can be held criminally responsible for killing a dog. Should a dog be held criminally responsible for killing a cat?
19. Why do we expect better behavior from humans than from dogs?
20. Is it morally permissible for a woman to have an abortion if she has pets? In other words, is it wrong to decline to care for her baby while providing care for animals?
21. Which one of these is not like the others?: a) Adult, b) toddler, c) unborn baby, d) dog.
22. Does secular humanism assume that humans are inherently different from other life forms? If not, why is it called humanism?
23. Is secular humanism a form of species-ism?
24. Can a thoroughly materialistic (or Darwinist or secular humanist) worldview explain how or why anything has value or a right to life?
25. During the 2008 election cycle, pro-choice candidate John Edwards said that everyone has a right to a college education. When does the right to a college education begin?
26. Is the right to an education necessary for the development of one’s full human potential?
27. Does not the right to full development only extend to those not yet fully developed?
28. What is the difference between a natural right and a legal right?
29. Should religious leaders interject their religiously-based opposition to the death penalty in debates over public policy?
30. Should religious leaders interject their religiously-based opposition to abortion in debates over public policy? If you answered “no” to this question and “yes” to the previous question please explain your inconsistency.
31. Does the “right to choose” come from man or from God?
32. If man grants rights can he also take them away?
33. It has been said (by three Supreme Court Justices) that “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” Does that mean a woman can define a baby’s rights out of existence because a woman is more powerful than a baby?
34. Or does that mean a man can define a woman’s rights out of existence because, in a patriarchal society, a man is more powerful than a woman?
35. Rights often confer power. Should power also confer rights?
Keith, just run off this list of questions and take them with you to your sociology class. Anytime your professor starts preaching about abortion just raise your hand and start asking questions. Let me know when you run out and I’ll send more.
To be continued …