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Person 1: The decision to get an abortion is between a woman and her doctor. Person 2 (our hero): I don’t want to violate anyone’s privacy. Let me ask a question. It may seem irrelevant, but please bear with me. Suppose a doctor starts offering infanticide “services.” How should we respond?

Is Abortion Between a Woman and Her Doctor?

Don’t expect this analogy on its own to change anyone’s mind. Pro-choice people usually feel that there’s an important difference between abortion and infanticide. The point of the analogy is just to bring those differences to the surface. Listen very carefully as they explain what they feel is the crucial difference between abortion and infanticide, and go from there.

They might point to something about the fetus herself. They might think abortion is similar to killing a plant or removing a tumor. On the other hand, they might point to something about the situation the fetus and mother are in. They might think abortion is similar to unplugging a ventilator or defending yourself against an assailant.

Rarely, someone might bite the bullet and say infanticide is okay. In this case, we recommend that you drop the abortion topic until you can reach agreement about infants.

First posted

Suggested:
Person 1: I’m pro-choice because I care about women’s health. Person 2 (our hero): I want people to get the healthcare they need, too. But I think the mother and fetus are both patients who deserve care.Person 1: A woman’s choice to get an abortion is none of your business. Person 2 (our hero): I don’t want to violate anyone’s privacy. Let me ask a question; bear with me. If I overhear parents planning to kill their two-year-old, should I intervene?Person 1: We shouldn’t tell women what to do. Person 2 (our hero): I agree that we should generally avoid restricting people’s freedom, but we should make exceptions to keep people from hurting each other.Person 1: I’m pro-choice because I’m libertarian. Person 2 (our hero): Most libertarians think the government should prevent aggressive violence. Ron Paul and many others think that includes abortion.
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