Rhetorical Smokescreens

Many arguments I see flying around against the stricter abortion laws are nothing but a rhetorical smokescreen. They intend to prick consciences and hurl accusations, and in the ensuing confusion, attempt to move the argument away from first principles.

Smoke face palm.

The two main forms of this tactic stem from the same root, and they are detailed below.

Typically, the argument goes something like this: “I’ve noticed most pro-life people are also against a living wage, welfare, public housing, food stamps, and other support for potential single moms. They just care about babies before they are outside the womb.” And on and on it goes.

Reframing this statement shows the absurdity. “Because you don’t support all of the same progressive policies that I support, you don’t get to say that murder is wrong.”

Another restatement could be “Because some Republicans are hypocrites, based on my own definition of ‘compassion’ and ‘pro-life,’ the legality of chopping babies up and sucking the remains out with an industrial vacuum cleaner should remain an ongoing question.”

Christians are susceptible to this tactic because we generally want to be seen as nice, compassionate people, but in this case, we need to be as wise as serpents. A con is being played on us.

Do Not Grant Their Premise

These arguments are not being made in good faith. If you said “OK, I agree. We should implement the entire progressive agenda.” Will they then join you, after everything they want is implemented, in making abortion illegal?

Of course not. The goal posts will be moved. Now, you’re not really “pro-life” unless you also accept these other arbitrary standards they just came up with. And you will be like Charlie Brown, always trusting Lucy to hold the football for you.

It should always be brought back to first principles. Is abortion the taking of a human life? Is it murder? If we don’t agree on that foundational principle, there is really no use arguing over the other issues. They pale in comparison. It’s foolish to argue over window dressings while the foundation crumbles.

Do Not Let Them Distract You

And do not seek their approval.

What does pro-life look like after the baby is born? It means being against murder, the exact same thing it means before the baby is born.

And guess what? You can be against murder without personally taking responsibility for all of the potential victims for the rest of their lives. Some things are just evil, and calling it evil is the only real place to start.

You can't oppose killing puppies unless you adopt all puppies

Are there hypocrites? Sure. But don’t let them define hypocrisy with a standard that, at its core, holds abortion to be a positive good. You want nothing to do with that damnable standard.

And anyway, the failure to live by a standard does not nullify that standard. The only way to never be a hypocrite is to never have any standards at all.

Subscribe to the Blog
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Get new posts sent straight to your inbox. This goes out about twice per month.
I hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.