A NON-RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT AGAINST ABORTION

A NON-RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT AGAINST ABORTION

Is it ever okay to intentionally kill an innocent human being?  The answer has to be a resounding “no.”  It is a self-evident fact.  There are no circumstances in which it would be morally permissible to intentionally kill an innocent person.   For example, the indiscriminate bombing and targeting of a civilian population for the purposes of war, which is what the Axis did during the Blitz when the Luftwaffe indiscriminately bombed English cities, and later in the war when they aimed V-1 and V-2 rockets at populations.  The Allies were equally guilty of this crime when they carpet bombed German and Japanese cities, intentionally destroying the homes of civilians and using incendiary bombs to burn out city blocks.  Getting revenge, ending the war more quickly, or any other reason for doing it could never make those acts morally acceptable. 

The same reasoning needs to be applied to the abortion debate.  Abortion must not be permitted because no one has the right to kill a developing human life.  Whatever the circumstances, no matter how difficult they may be, the circumstances can never make it acceptable to directly (i.e. intentionally, willfully) kill a developing baby.  This is a matter of reason which should be apparent to every thinking person regardless of their religious beliefs.  To reject this is to subjectively assign different values to different human beings.  This is not a firm foundation for a just society, but rather for chaos, where the powerful dominate.   

Sometimes innocents are killed in war as a side-effect of military action.  Depending on the circumstances, which must be carefully considered, it may be morally acceptable to take military actions in the pursuit of a just war which foresee the possibility of collateral damage and the loss of innocent human life.  To use another World War II example, the fact that the generals knew when they planned the invasion of Normandy that more than a few noncombatants would die in the process does not mean that the intention to invade the beaches was immoral.  The planners did not intend to win by killing French civilians.

The collateral damage from abortion is on those who caused it and, I argue, on society in general since it is an attack on human dignity.  Its legal status has had a very detrimental effect on its moral valuation in our population.  Unlike the invasion scenario presented above, all the damage from abortion is the result of an evil act.  This is why it can never be permitted.  I met someone who was conceived by rape.  She expressed her gratitude that her mother brought her to term.  The mother was also pleased with her decision in a time of crisis.  Just like every life, her daughter’s life was worthwhile from the moment of conception. 

What I write here does not rely on revelation but on reason.  It is important that pro-lifers are able to make their case based on natural reason so that they can advocate in politics and in the secular milieu.  My argument presented here does, however, have a bedrock first principle.  It claims what most people naturally believe, that human life is special, and that it is inviolable.  Every innocent human being has a right not to be intentionally killed by another human being.  The fact that they are black or white, legal or undocumented, conservative or progressive, unborn or born, has no bearing on their natural rights.  One’s ability to live and grow should not be dependent on age, the circumstances of one’s conception, or anything else.  The United States fought a horrendous civil war because the principle of equal dignity was not upheld in the laws of our country.  The rights of personhood must be extended from the moment of conception; to choose a particular age or condition for the recognition of rights is arbitrary and invariably favors the powerful.  In my opinion we should not allow the pro-life cause to be framed only as a religious movement.  Whether or not one acknowledges God, the result of every abortion is the same – the death of a human life – and it should offend everyone, and be prohibited in the laws of our land.