Take Care of Unconscious People

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 assaulting an unconscious adult. 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 assaulting an unconscious adult, 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 it’s okay to assault unconscious adults. In this case, we recommend that you drop the abortion topic until you can reach agreement about adults.