Some Choices Are Unacceptable

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 child abuse. 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 child abuse, 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 child abuse should be allowed. In this case, we recommend that you drop the abortion topic until you can reach agreement about child abuse.