Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon - Should Abortion Remain Legal So Women Don’t Pursue Back-Alley Abortions?

Episode Date: July 11, 2023

Alan offers three steps to respond to the rhetorically powerful, yet flawed argument that women might get injured or killed through dangerous, back-alley abortions if abortion is made illegal.

One of the most rhetorically powerful arguments for abortion is the claim that women will pursue dangerous back alley abortions if abortion is made illegal. Well, I'd like to talk about that argument and offer a suggested response in the latest episode of my podcast, Thinking Out Loud with Alan Schliemann. The overturning of Roe v. Wade shocked everyone. In fact, pro-lifers were obviously pleasantly surprised that the 50-year-old Supreme Court ruling was now over. Abortion choice advocates, by contrast, were dismayed that the abortion law was upended. And so now that abortion choice advocates sense abortion rights are slipping away, there is a sort of growing fear that women who can't obtain abortions will resort to desperate measures to end their pregnancies. And so as a result of that fear, we're seeing an uptick in classic pro-choice rhetoric, specifically the challenge that women will pursue dangerous back alley abortions. So here's how the argument goes. Abortion must remain legal. If it were made

illegal, women would still get abortionsions but instead of having them in the safe and sanitary conditions of a hospital or a medical clinic they will be forced to procure abortions from unqualified back alley butchers who would either harm or kill them now this challenge has always been rhetorically powerful i mean mean, after all, I mean, nobody wants to force women to face a life-threatening procedure in a back alley. So the question then becomes, okay, well, so how should a pro-lifer respond? Well, I want to suggest three steps to address this challenge. The first is to demonstrate virtuous character. You see, abortion is a very sensitive topic that requires, I think, thoughtful and gracious engagement. And so when you add the concern of women getting dangerous back alley abortions, well, it seems like the need to tread carefully when you respond is magnified.

And gracious interactions should be routine for Amb ambassadors for Christ, since after all, we're called to exhibit virtuous character. Sadly, though, we don't always exude compassion and care. And oftentimes when the challenge of back alley abortions is brought up, it's not a test to see if the pro-lifer has a logical response. Oftentimes it's a test to see if the pro-lifer has a heart. logical response oftentimes is to test to see if the pro-lifer has a heart. And we pro-lifers often fail that test because we immediately jump to a logical response, but fail to show an ounce of care or concern that a woman might injure herself or die at

the hands of an unskilled abortionist. So that's why I think the first step should always be to demonstrate that we also care about born women who might risk injury or death by getting a back alley abortion. And so at the very least, we can agree that we never want a woman to get a back alley abortion and that it would be tragic if a woman were injured or killed because of one. And so unless you're really able to navigate this challenge with the kindness and the grace of Jesus of Nazareth, I caution you not to step into this conversation for fear that a cold and callous attitude would undermine your effectiveness discussing abortion and witnessing to the truth. Second, we need to demonstrate there's a hidden and a false premise in this challenge. You see, the biggest problem with the back alley abortion challenge is that it presumes that only one person is at risk.

It presumes that the unborn is not a human being. And this is where you must focus your sort of rational response. your sort of rational response. Because if you ignore this hidden premise, you'll be at a strategic disadvantage for the remainder of the conversation and in any further discussion on abortion. After all, if the unborn is not a human being, well, why make abortion illegal? And why pressure women to procure a dangerous back-alley abortion? But if the unborn is a human being, just like you and me, then we shouldn't make it legal to kill an innocent unborn human being, right? I mean, we don't make an immoral action legal just so it's safer for people to engage in it, right? I mean, bank robbery, for example, it's dangerous, right? You might get shot trying to

steal money from a vault. And even though such a behavior is risky, we don't make bank robbery legal so it's safer for robbers. In fact, philosopher and abortion rights activist Marianne Warren, she completely agrees with this reasoning. She writes, quote, the, then we shouldn't make abortion legal just so a woman is not injured while attempting to kill her child, right? The law should not be faulted for making it more risky to kill another innocent human being. And then third, in terms of the third step, we need to demonstrate that no woman is forced into a back alley abortion, right? Think about

it for a moment. Every woman has the freedom to choose after all. A woman who is denied a legal abortion is no more forced into a back alley than a poor person who is denied welfare is forced to rob a bank. Both have their choices. A woman can choose adoption or parenthood or any course of action that doesn't involve killing an innocent human being. Women then faced with this choice will be more likely to refuse abortion if they are provided the love, the care, and the practical support they need. And thankfully, the pro-life community has tirelessly sought out to serve the needs of pregnant women and their unborn children through thousands of pregnancy resource centers across the country. And so we need to continue to make that kind of care available and to an even greater degree to women facing a crisis pregnancy.

And so getting that kind of uncompromising love and support drastically reduces the likelihood a woman will still choose abortion. Well, that's all I have for you today. If you enjoyed these short podcast episodes where I talk about apologetics and theology or sometimes some cultural issues, well, be sure to rate or review my podcast on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And thanks for listening. I look forward to thinking out loud with you next time.