The Default Position on Abortion

Justin Taylor posted this video of Peter Kreeft (professor of philosopher at Boston College and The Kings College) articulating a pro-life argument I had never heard. Though it may be a little hard to follow at first, it's actually quite simple and compelling. In order to make it easier to follow (and share) his argument, I've summarized it below.

Is an unborn human fetus fully human?

There are only four possibilities. Two objective possibilities. Two possibilities in your mind.

Two objective possibilities: That which is aborted is either 1) a human person or 2) it is not. These are the objective options. There is a reality outside of your mind, regardless of what you believe or know, and it is either the reality that the fetus is a human person or the reality that it is not.

Two in-your-mind possibilities: You either 1) know for sure what the fetus is or 2) you do not know for sure. These are the subjective options related to your own knowledge and beliefs.

When you put this together, it looks like this:

What is the fetus?	What do you know?	Action	Result	Analogies
It is a human person.	You know it.	You kill it.	Murder.
It is a human person.	You don’t know it.	You kill it.	Manslaughter.	Equivalent to intentionally driving over a man-shaped overcoat in the road, or shooting at the movement in the bushes when you do not know if it is a deer or a fellow hunter.
It is not a human person.	You don’t know it.	You kill it.	Criminal negligence.	Equivalent to fumigating a room with chemicals that would kill small children. The janitor is asked if there are any small children and he responds, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
It is not a human person.	You know it.	You kill it.	No moral issue.

Conclusion: Even if you are unconvinced of the pro-life position, any lack of certainty should lead you to adopt the pro-life position as the default position. 

The Bible is transparently clear on the evil of abortion. It is murder of a human being made in the image of God. But we will often interact with those who do not embrace the worldview of the Bible.

Kreeft's argument is worth sharing in interactions of that sort, so that, even among those who do not share our faith commitments, the tide of popular opinion on abortion could be turned.

[Updated 9/20/12]

HT: JT