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Monday, September 30, 2013

Who Bullies the Bullies?

Okay, so not quite as meaningful a title as the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode I patterned the title after, but I wanted to draw attention to a horrible pro-choice site. They have a list of pro-life people (most, or probably all, of whom are peaceful advocates), calling them bullies and giving their actual addresses and phone numbers. The site is VOChoice. It never ceases to amaze me how inconsistent pro-choice people can be in their own ideology (giving out peoples' private information against their will), as well as how uninformed pro-choice people can actually be (under the guise of being the informers). One of my friends was on their "bully list" (which are really just people who protest peacefully in front of abortion clinics, such as for the 40 Days for Life campaign which is currently in full swing), but after complaints he was apparently taken off their list. This is just truly a low thing for anyone to do, on any side of the issue.

Friday, September 27, 2013

A Critique of Mary Anne Warren's On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion, Part V

I have spent four parts in this series responding to Warren's argument that the unborn cannot be considered persons. Warren wrote her essay in 1973 in a publication called The Monist, but in 1982 she re-published the essay with an added postscript. One of the objections she was receiving to her paper is that it would also justify infanticide as well as abortion. She sought to reply to this claim in her postscript.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Who Robs Whom of Their Humanity?

I was asked to give my analysis of the views of Ann Furedi, a pro-choice advocate in England for an upcoming debate she's going to have with pro-life advocate Gregg Cunningham. I'd like to talk about one article in particular that she wrote, in which she argues that not allowing women the right to have an abortion is essentially robbing her of her humanity.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Is Pregnancy Like Getting Into a Car Accident?

I would like to respond to a claim that I hear somewhat frequently. A fellow blogger wrote an article posing this analogy, that a woman finding herself pregnant is like someone getting into a car accident. I'll quote the relevant portion from her article: "The fact that pregnancy MAY happen doesn't mean you should willingly suffer it. Just like you may be injured if you drive recklessly, but that doesn't mean you should punish yourself by not getting medical treatment."

Monday, September 16, 2013

Why I Hate (Most) Memes

You've likely seen them, pictures going around Facebook with a phrase that's supposed to ridicule someone who disagrees with you. The word "meme" actually originates from Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene (1976), as a concept for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. But now the term has taken on a life of its own on the internet, being used as images meant to ridicule the other side or to try to give a brief argument for your position.

Friday, September 13, 2013

New Digital Pro-Life Magazine Hits the Interwebz

If you're not aware yet, a new pro-life publication has hit the internet. It's called Pro-Life Magazine, and the editor is Brett Attebery. This first issue contains interviews with my pro-life mentor, Josh Brahm, as well as the president Secular Pro-Life, Kelsey Hazzard. In addition, there are interviews from embryologist Dr. Maurine Condic and pro-life philosopher Christopher Kaczor, both of which have had huge influences on me as a pro-life philosopher. The magazine is also available on iTunes, but if you don't use Apple you can find it for free on-line at the link provided in the second sentence.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

A Critique of Mary Anne Warren's On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion, Part IV

In part one, I examined Warren's claim about humanity, in part two I examined Warren's qualifications for personhood and showed why the unborn qualify, and in part three I examined Warren's two questions about personhood and showed that her position fails to disqualify the unborn from personhood. In this article, I will examine her argument about potentiality.

Monday, September 9, 2013

A Critique of Paul D. Simmons' Biblical Case for Abortion, Part I

I'd like to now turn my attention to an essay written by Paul D. Simmons, called Personhood, the Bible, and the Abortion Debate. Nothing saddens me more than when a self-professed Christian calls him- or herself pro-choice and actually defends the abominable practice of abortion. I'm not actually sure whether or not Dr. Simmons considers himself a Christian. I couldn't find a decent biography of him on-line. But an honest perusal of the Scriptures will show that God loves children, and would consider abortion nothing less than child sacrifice. Simmons' article is rather lengthy, so I'll be splitting it up into parts.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Ten Books Every Pro-Life Advocate Should Read (And Own)

As a little bit of a lighter post for today, I'd like to present the ten books that I believe every pro-life advocate should read and own. These are all books that I have read and studied, and if you take the time to do the same you will be prepared to address just about any argument that a pro-choice person would present you with.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

PZ Myers on Scott Klusendorf on PZ Myers

Internet atheist celebrity and biologist PZ Myers has recently gone on a podcast called Issues, Etc. to talk about abortion. Pro-life philosopher and advocate Scott Klusendorf later appeared on that same podcast to talk about Myers' arguments and give a response to them. I haven't heard much from Myers on abortion, except when he spoke up during a Q&A section during a debate between my friend Kristine Kruzelnicki and another internet atheist celebrity, Matt Dillahunty, in which he chided Kristine for her argument that embryologists are in agreement that human life begins at fertilization (at about 1:07:00 in the linked video). The problem is Myers is wrong and Kristine is correct. Embryologists are in agreement. Myers is just one in a long line of scientists who conflate scientific claims and philosophical claims, and don't seem to realize there is a difference between the two. The experts agree on when human life begins biologically. Where they disagree is at what point does the unborn human being become one that possesses inherent rights and value. In other words, basic rights like a right to life.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Stretton Debunked: A Response to Dean Stretton on Frank Beckwith

In part one of this series, I responded to an article by Dean Stretton responding to an article by Peter Kreeft. In this article, I'll be responding to Dean Stretton's response to a series by Frank Beckwith, called Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights. Again, it would be best to read Beckwith's articles, then Stretton's article, then my article for the full discussion. You do not have to read all of Beckwith's articles. Stretton does not use the fallacious arguments that Beckwith outlines in the first two parts, so you can skip ahead to the third part (though the first two parts are definitely worth reading).