At Palomar College in December, I talked to a young woman named “Emma” who told me abortion should be legal up until 12 weeks of pregnancy. I asked her questions to gather more information about her view, and we started talking about whether the unborn are human beings. I shared some evidence from the field of biology with her and explained why I believe the unborn are human beings from fertilization. I then explained that we have to be incredibly careful when we draw a line as to when human beings begin to get their rights. If we draw that line incorrectly, we end up excluding certain human beings from being equally protected from violence.
Rebekah (far right) in conversation at Palomar College in San Marcos, CA, December 2022
I presented the Equal Rights Argument to her, which is a helpful tool we teach in our seminars and our online Love3 workshops. I began this way: If we believe in equal treatment, there has to be something the same about all of us to ground our equal rights. So what is the same about all of us that gives us an equal right to be protected from violence?
During my conversation with Emma, I made the case that our human nature is the thing that is the same about all of us that is the foundation for our equal rights. Since that’s the case, we need to include the unborn in the equal rights community because they have a human nature. If we pick some other foundation like rationality or the ability to feel pain, we’ll end up including animals in the equal rights community or excluding infants.
After I explained my view in this way and showed her some images of abortion in the first trimester, she said, “You changed my mind in a way.”
I was really encouraged to hear Emma acknowledge some change in her view. Usually people need time to process the conversation and re-evaluate their perspective and that can take days, months, or maybe even years. Even when I don’t see change or know the immediate impact of my conversations, I’m thankful I can depend on the Lord who calls all of us to trust in him and continue to do good. (Psalm 37:3)