"Making abortion illegal won't make it stop. Women will just get unsafe back-alley abortions and then the mom will die,” she said. I was talking to “Amy” at Colorado State University. This was the fourth time Amy protested the Justice For All Exhibit by displaying graphic pictures and drawings of women getting illegal abortions.
Amy and I in front of the exhibit she created. Signs included "Pro-Life That's a Lie! You Don't Care if Women Die!" and "Life and Liberty for Women."
I knew it would be a mistake to debate how many women would die if abortion were made illegal. Although it’s difficult to know how many women died from illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade, some did. It’s not unreasonable to think the same thing would happen again. So I said, “I think it’s tragic that some women who are struggling would feel like an illegal abortion is their only option, and it’s sad many women don’t know about resources available to help them .” Then I asked Amy if she thought legal abortion kills an innocent human being or not. Amy said she didn’t care if abortion did, because women shouldn’t be forced into back-alley abortions. Amy despised what we do, and I knew finding additional common ground was going to be difficult, but I gave it a try:
“Amy, I actually agree with you that abortion shouldn’t be made illegal if the unborn isn’t a valuable human being. But if the unborn is a valuable human being, then we can’t make it legal to kill him, even if people will do it anyways in unsafe situations.”
Amy didn’t follow what I was saying, so I explained it like this: “Amy, are you familiar with surgeries known as female genital mutilation in which the surgeon completely removes, or makes a small nick on, the clitoris of a young girl?”
Amy said she was.
I said “Even though female genital mutilation is illegal, deep-set religious and cultural beliefs drive some people in America to have the surgery performed on their daughters anyway. The surgery could be unsafe and cause an infection. The American Academy of Pediatrics actually made it legal for their doctors to perform ritual nicks until an overwhelming publicity backlash forced them to change their policy. Do you think female genital mutilation should be legal since it’s going to happen anyway?”
Amy said,“Of course female genital mutilation shouldn’t be legal, but that’s different. With abortion, real women will die and be harmed because of stupid laws banning a woman’s right to choose.”
The back-alley abortion argument is not a good one. Pro-choice philosopher Mary Anne Warren said in 1973: The fact that restricting access to abortion has tragic side effects does not, in itself, show that the restrictions are unjustified, since murder is wrong regardless of the consequences of forbidding it.
Another problem with the argument is that it assumes women will be forced into back-alleys. But is anyone forcing her? Pro-lifers certainly aren't dragging women into back-alleys; in fact, they're doing the opposite. Most towns have pregnancy resource centers that offer help for pregnant mothers, providing a better, tangible alternative. Heartbeat International (www.heartbeatinternational.org) is an organization which helps men and women find those centers in their community.
Even though Amy was close-minded, all was not lost! Later in the day I spoke to two students who had read Amy’s exhibit, but were much more open-minded than Amy. Because of your financial support, I was able to make a convincing pro-life argument that changed their minds. Thank you!
Blessings,
