Does the Unborn Become a Human in the Third Trimester?

“When a woman has an abortion early in pregnancy she's not killing a human being; a potential human being is being killed. Imagine I have all the ingredients to make a cake but I haven't mixed them or baked it. I only have a cake when I've baked it, just like how you only have a human being when they're complete, or born.”

- Student at a Justice For All training seminar sharing a pro-choice argument that stumped her.

After my colleague David Lee gave a pro-life presentation in a small church, “Hanley” wanted to privately share his story. Hanley’s friend, "Amelia," was going to have an abortion. Hanley told Amelia why abortion was wrong and tried to convince her not to have one. Amelia listened, but made Hanley promise that he wouldn't tell anyone. He didn’t. After Amelia had the abortion, Hanley felt like he had done everything he could. David asked Hanley to imagine Amelia contemplating killing her two-year-old brother. Would he still keep her decision a secret? Even though Hanley would call himself pro-life, he realized he was treating unborn children and born children differently.

This got me thinking. Amelia was in the first trimester of her pregnancy. I wonder if Hanley would have kept Amelia’s decision a secret if she had been in the third trimester.

Richard Stith at Valparaiso University wrote an article titled Arguing with Pro-Choicers in First Things that really helped me understand why so many people don't consistently act pro-life, especially regarding first trimester abortions like Amelia’s. Many people, pro-life and pro-choice, believe that the unborn child is like a cake being baked or a car on an assembly line. With a car, you start out with a frame, add an engine, then seats, then a bumper, and you keep adding parts until you have a completed car.

Imagine a Corvette was being built on an assembly line and only the wheels and axle were in place. The pro-choice advocate sees the killing of an unborn child as similar to destroying these basic parts of the Corvette. It's unfortunate, but no one can get upset and scream that you destroyed a Corvette. It’s just an axle and some wheels.

Similarly, many pro-choice activists think people shouldn't be upset that the "basic parts" of a human being were destroyed through abortion. This helps explain why 84% of Americans are opposed to third trimester abortions, because for them the majority of the human being is constructed by that point in time. In the third trimester, it would be like destroying a Corvette that is only missing a windshield. This makes sense...if the unborn child is constructed like a car on an assembly line. But is it?

The unborn child, or any organism for that matter, is not like a car. While it may seem like a heart is being "added" to the unborn child, then a brain, then lungs, and so on, the organs aren’t added. The human being before and after birth goes through a different process altogether. The process is more like that of a Polaroid photo. Once you take a picture with a Polaroid camera, the camera spits out a black square. While all the contents of the picture are on that black square, we can't see them yet. The Polaroid photo needs time to develop. Similarly, unborn children (as well as born children) just need time, adequate nutrition, and a safe environment in order to develop.

Imagine you captured a breathtaking view of Niagara Falls with your Polaroid camera, and your friend, standing next to you, sees the undeveloped photo. He then says "That's just an ugly black smear!" and tears it up. You would justifiably be outraged because he destroyed your picture. Let’s return to the Corvette assembly line where only the wheels and axle have been constructed. Imagine your friend grabs a sledgehammer and destroys the wheels and bends the axle. You would not be correct in telling him that he just destroyed a Corvette. He only destroyed parts that would have been used in the construction of a Corvette.

What's the difference? Objects that are constructed, like Corvettes, are no more than the sum of their parts. If you take a part away, or forget to add it, you may not have the object. That’s why during the construction process it’s hard to determine when a Corvette exists. Is it when you have a running motor or when you have all the seats installed?

Organisms, however, are a different sort of object because they are not constructed. They retain their identity throughout their existence despite changes. Unlike a car or cake, it’s easy to identify when an organism comes into existence. With human organisms, we come into existence at conception. Nothing essential is added after this point. It would be very odd to say someone else or something else existed in your mother’s womb, and you later came into existence when you were born. The ability to retain one’s identity despite changes continues after birth. If Peter loses his arm and is given a prosthetic arm, he is still Peter, even though his body underwent a major change.

The good news is that every JFA training event teaches students the difference between developing organisms and constructed objects. With our tools, students can reject the idea that human beings are constructed like cakes or cars and start caring for the unborn from conception. After learning this key difference, I’m confident they won’t make the same mistake Hanley did.

Your support enables me to teach students this material and then mentor them as they practice it with real college students at exhibit outreaches. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Matt McKinley

I was interviewed on the radio!

You can listen to the hour long radio interview with me and the fine gentlemen at Casting Nets online.

Click here and look for the link "Roe Vs. Wade with 'Justice For All'"

Right click on the link and save as then open it with any media player.

Thanks for listening!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

“The only difference between pro-lifers and the Taliban is 8,000 miles!” I shouted at Maureen, as an Arizona audience listened.* What could possibly motivate me to shout at my wife, especially in front of a crowd?

Maureen and I were training a group of 25 people and were modeling three types of conversations for the group: good, bad, and ugly. I was playing the pro-choice position, and while my statement was harsh, Maureen, who was playing the pro-life position, was equally annoying.

It’s easy to spot an ugly conversation. Maureen and I interrupted each other, we traded insults, and the “conversation” turned into a shouting match. Many conversations are not as obviously ugly, but they're still bad...and they're much more common.

In our “bad conversation,” Maureen and I weren’t raising our voices or interrupting each other, but something was very wrong. Maureen didn’t find any common ground with me, even though she had an easy opportunity. There are women in our country who are really poor. Also, while it’s true that there are many parents willing to adopt, we shouldn’t assume that it’s easy for a mother to place her child in an adoptive home, even though that child will probably receive lots of love if they are adopted. Worst of all, Maureen wasn’t really listening to me. Even though Maureen made two valid points in her last paragraph, her manner made it nearly impossible for me to take them seriously. That’s why we made sure to also model what a good conversation looks like:

What a difference! Maureen listened to my concerns, asked questions instead of making statements, and built common ground first before moving to points of disagreement. When we disagreed, we did so respectfully.

Seeing pro-life advocates have good conversations about abortion is my passion, and your support has helped me train hundreds of pro-life advocates this year. Thank you for your support!

Blessings,

Matt McKinley

*This is an actual quote from Dr. Hern, an abortion doctor, during an interview on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC in June 2009.

A Team Effort Saves Three Lives

On a cold and dreary November night last year, I got a phone call from my friend "John." "My sister ‘Alice’ is pregnant... and is considering an abortion." We discussed how he could talk to his sister and convince her that abortion is unthinkable. John was in the army and deployed in Iraq so I didn't hear anything for months. Then I got a phone call from John.

Alice didn't get an abortion, but recently she had been diagnosed with a dangerous high-risk pregnancy. Alice had triplets, but one of them was underdeveloped and leeching nutrients from the other two. Alice's doctor advised that she either abort the smallest child or undergo a risky surgery that could save all three kids. More likely though, all three would die. Doing nothing could leave all three kids dead, too.

John needed some advice. I didn't know of a doctor to whom I could refer Alice, but I knew getting a second opinion was wise. I’ve heard that many doctors recommend abortion in high-risk pregnancies to avoid lawsuits. Steve Wagner, JFA's Director of Training, gave me the names and numbers of some excellent pro-life physicians. I gave them to John.

I received a call from John in Iraq a month later. The youngest child's blood flow began to reverse and an emergency C-section was performed on Alice. Unbelievably, all three kids lived! The youngest, Caleb, was only 13 ounces. All three boys needed oxygen and other special treatment but there was a good chance that they were going to pull through. Caleb had more severe problems: His skin was underdeveloped and too fragile to hold his blood so he needed constant transfusions. Several of you answered my plea and donated blood. Caleb also had two broken arms, a broken leg, and broken ribs because of a deficiency in calcium, but he was a fighter and pulled through.

Months later, my sister saw a blog post by Bryan Lopez linked on her friend’s Facebook wall. No one in our family had ever met the Lopez family before. Bryan's family had adopted three little boys who were all premature. I read the story and knew that these were the same boys. I contacted Bryan and he gave me permission to share the rest of the story.

Bryan and his wife Sherry were already trying to adopt from Ethiopia. One day Sherry called Bryan and told him of three little boys who were being given up for adoption. After hearing the story, they felt an instant tug for the boys but worried that they wouldn’t be able to adopt them. Bryan wrote: “…we thought for sure the adoption agency would tell us ‘no’ because of the fact that we have three little ones at home already. But alas after much time of prayer and conversation we decided to call the agency and tell them that we were interested…”

Bryan got a call back that night. The agent said “I have been thinking all day about a family that could handle this, a mom who would give these boys the love and attention that they need, and I kept thinking about you guys.”

It took some work and sacrifice, but Bryan and Sherry were able to adopt all three boys. To date, only one of the boys can live without oxygen treatment, but they’re all mostly healthy and doing well. I'll even be able to meet the boys in December!

These three boys are now in a loving home, blessing their new family. Why are the boys doing so well? Because of a team effort from people who cared enough to help save three lives. If you pray for me or financially support me, you’ve partnered with me. Thank you. If you donated blood for Caleb or asked friends to do so, thank you. And if you, like the Lopez's, have sacrificed your time and money to adopt a child into your family, THANK YOU.

Blessings,

Matt McKinley

What About Back-Alley Abortions?

"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 example I gave of female genital mutilation illustrates that even though people will do things that are illegal, we shouldn’t make them legal if they harm another human being. Amy didn’t agree, so I eventually shook her hand and left. How is it possible that I gave good responses to her arguments but I didn’t make progress? The problem was that Amy didn’t think unborn children are valuable human beings, and she was completely close-minded on that idea, so it makes sense that to her illegal abortions are different. For Amy, back-alley abortions only harm the mother and not the child.

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,

Video Report from Oklahoma University

There is a lot of focus on the protesters that almost everyone agreed were just annoying, but as I mentioned earlier we were able to talk to thousands of students. Bailey is just one of the hundreds of people that we trained to compassionately talk to students on campus, and then in their lives after we leave.


Still, the irony of the kazoo wielding pro-choice student's statement is baffling.

I'm pro-life jacket... wait, what?

Our outreach at Oklahoma University Nov 1 and 2 was very successful. We trained hundreds of people and many of them came on campus with us, applying what they learned in our pro-life seminar with real people on campus.

There were protesters who mainly just made a bunch of noise without contributing anything to the debate. One of the protesters made half a dozen signs, including the sign I'm holding in the picture below, along with the other visible sign.

When asked what it meant, she just said it was a funny pun. There was no argument behind it, she just thought it was clever. I'm glad she let me hold it :)

This was another awesome sign: