Salon Tries, Fails to Teach Pro-Choicers How to Effectively Argue With Pro-Life Relatives

By Carole Novielli
National Right to Life

Ten suggestions on how to argue abortion with your pro-life relatives, published by Salon, gives some indication that abortion supporters are having to be much more creative to defend the indefensible.

In the article, entitled, “How to argue with your relatives about abortion: A few arguments that don’t work with pro-lifers and some that might,” Shawna Kay Rodenberg gives some interesting insight into the mindset of those who claim to want to sway solidly pro-life beliefs.

Some of Rodenberg’s recommendations are in bold below, along with my thoughts:

“First, acknowledge that abortion isn’t only a conservative Christian concern.”

Showing respect for pro-life beliefs is something you do not always hear from those who advocate for the taking of life in the womb. But, interestingly, Rodenberg admits that many religions believe abortion is morally wrong, writing:

Even the Dalai Lama has said that abortion is an act of killing but “it should be approved or disapproved according to each woman’s circumstance.” Fetus-protecting politics are not exclusive to Christian traditions, so when you’re sitting across from your Aunt Cheryl at the holiday table, pretend she’s a Buddhist so you’ll be more patient with her.

Then

“Don’t argue semantics like using “anti-abortion” versus “pro-life. 

“Remember that her news feed does not resemble yours.”

These are good pieces of advice for everyone. However, Rodenberg’s next few suggestions caught my eye because they actually acknowledge the humanity of the baby while in their mother’s womb…

“Never say that a fetus is not a baby or argue that it is not alive.”

Wait… isn’t that one of the main points abortion advocates make when discussing the legality of abortion? The ‘fetus’ is nearly always dehumanized as a ‘blob of tissue,’ a ‘product of conception/POC,’ a ‘non-sentient’ form of life, or even a ‘parasite’ attached to the unwilling ‘carrier’ (the pregnant woman). And yet, amazingly, Rodenberg tells readers to “concede the human-ness of the fetus:”

National Right to Life article continues

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