Exodus 21:21-25 “If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM) and the author of more than 60 books, including Heaven and If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil. More than 12 million copies of his books have been sold and have been translated into 70 languages.

In his 2010 article “39 Major Pro-choice Arguments and Their Refutations”, Randy puts forth 4 categories of Pro-Abortion arguments, which contain 39 total arguments. In this second of 4 articles, we look at refutations of the 8 arguments in Part 2, which he titles “Arguments concerning human rights and fairness.”

Pro-Abortion Argument #1 = “Even if the unborn are human beings, they have fewer rights than the woman. No one should be expected to donate her body as a life support system for someone else.”

Refutation #1: Once we grant that the unborn are human beings, it should settle the question of their right to live.

Refutation #2: The right to live does not increase with age and size, otherwise toddlers and adolescents have less right to live than adults.

Refutation #3: The comparison between baby’s rights and mother’s rights is unequal. What is at stake in abortion is the mother’s lifestyle, as opposed to the baby’s life.

Refutation #4: It is reasonable for society to expect an adult to live temporarily with an inconvenience if the only alternative is killing a child.

Pro-Abortion Argument #2 = “Every person has the right to choose. It would be unfair to restrict a woman’s choice by prohibiting abortion.”

Refutation #1: Any civilized society restricts the individual’s freedom to choose whenever that choice would harm an innocent person.

Refutation #2: “Freedom to choose” is too vague for meaningful discussion; we must always ask, “Freedom to choose what?”

Refutation #3: People who are prochoice about abortion are often not prochoice about other issues with less at stake.

Refutation #4: The one-time choice of abortion robs someone else of a lifetime of choices and prevents him from ever exercising his rights.

Refutation #5: Everyone is prochoice when it comes to the choices prior to pregnancy and after birth.

Refutation #6: Nearly all violations of human rights have been defended on the grounds of the right to choose.

Pro-Abortion Argument #3 = “Every woman should have control over her own body. Reproductive freedom is a basic right.”

Refutation #1: Abortion assures that 650,000 females each year do not have control over their bodies.

Refutation #2: Not all things done with a person’s body are right, nor should they all be legally protected.

Refutation #3: Prolifers consistently affirm true reproductive rights.

Refutation #4: Even prochoicers must acknowledge that the “right to control one’s body” argument has no validity if the unborn is a human being.

Refutation #5: Too often “the right to control my life” becomes the right to hurt and oppress others for my own advantage.

Refutation #6: Control over the body can be exercised to prevent pregnancy in the first place.

Refutation #7: It is demeaning to a woman’s body and self-esteem to regard pregnancy as an unnatural, negative, and “out of control” condition.

Pro-Abortion Argument #4 = “Abortion is a decision between a woman and her doctor. It is no one else’s business. Everyone has a constitutional right to privacy.”

Refutation #1: The Constitution does not contain a right to privacy.

Refutation #2: Privacy is never an absolute right but is always governed by other rights.

Refutation #3: The encouragement or assistance of a doctor does not change the nature, consequences, or morality of abortion.

Refutation #4: The father of the child is also responsible for the child and should have a part in this decision.

Refutation #5: The father will often face serious grief and guilt as a result of abortion. Since his life will be significantly affected, shouldn’t he have something to say about it?

Pro-Abortion Argument #5 = “It’s unfair for an unmarried woman to have to face the embarrassment of pregnancy or the pain of giving up a child for adoption.”

Refutation #1: Pregnancy is not a sin. Society should not condemn and pressure an unmarried mother into abortion but should help and support her.

Refutation #2: The poor choice of premarital sex is never compensated for by the far worse choice of killing an innocent human being.

Refutation #3: One person’s unfair or embarrassing circumstances do not justify violating the rights of another person.

Refutation #4: Adoption is a fine alternative that avoids the burden of child raising, while saving a life and making a family happy; it is tragic that adoption is so infrequently chosen as an alternative to abortion.

Refutation #5: The reason that adoption may be painful is the same reason that abortion is wrong–a human life is involved.

Pro-Abortion Argument #6 = “The circumstances of many women leave them no choice but to have an abortion.”

Refutation #1: Saying they have no choice is not being prochoice, but pro-abortion.

Refutation #2: Those who are truly prochoice must present a woman with a number of possible choices, rather than just selling the choice of abortion.

Refutation #3: “Abortion or misery” is a false portrayal of the options; it keeps women from pursuing–and society from providing–positive alternatives.

Pro-Abortion Argument #7 = “Abortion rights are fundamental for the advancement of women. They are essential to having equal rights with men.”

Refutation #1: Early feminists were prolife, not prochoice.

Refutation #2: Some active feminists still vigorously oppose abortion.

Refutation #3: Women’s rights are not inherently linked to the right to abortion.

Refutation #4: The basic premises of the abortion-rights movement are demeaning to women.

Refutation #5: Many of the assumptions that connect women’s welfare with abortion, the Pill and free sex have proven faulty.

Refutation #6: Some of the abortion-rights strategies assume female incompetence and subject women to ignorance and exploitation.

Refutation #7: Abortion has become the most effective means of sexism ever devised, ridding the world of multitudes of unwanted females.

Pro-Abortion Argument #8 = “I am personally against abortion, but I am still prochoice. It is a legal alternative and we do not have the right to keep it from anyone. Everyone is free to believe what they want, but we should not try to impose it on others.”

Refutation #1: To be prochoice about abortion is to be proabortion.

Refutation #2: The only good reason for being personally against abortion is a reason that demands we be against other people choosing to have abortions.

Refutation #3: What is legal is not always right.

Refutation #4: How can we tell people they are perfectly free to believe abortion is the killing of children, but they are not free to act as if what they believe is really true?

As this week’s verse explains, the unborn baby has rights. If a woman’s pregnancy is interrupted due to harm imposed on the mother that causes the baby to be prematurely born, if that baby is born with no harm done to he or she, the one who caused the harm will make restitution as agreed between them.

But, if the unborn baby in the womb is harmed, the law requires the same level of harm be imposed on the offender, up to “life for life,” which means if the baby dies then the offender is to be put to death.

These 8 refutations against the Pro-Abortion arguments against the rights of the baby in the womb agree with the Bible’s position – the fetus in the womb – that unborn baby – is a human child with human rights.

“The Evidence of Faith’s Substance” _ Article #627