Last week I looked at three common objections people have raised after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned the Roe v. Wade decision. Since there are too many to discuss in one post, here is part two, looking at 3 more objections to overturning Roe v. Wade. Click here to see the first three about constitutional rights, how most Americans disagree, and that you can only outlaw safe abortions.
Objection 4: Men Should Not Be Making Decisions About Women’s Bodies
The pro-choice movement sees any limitation of abortion as men trying to control women’s bodies. Any attempt to stop abortion is the oppressive men fighting to maintain their power over women. Since men cannot get pregnant, they should not be able to make decisions about women who can, right? That’s setting aside the growing shift towards gender-neutral “pregnant people” rather than women.
I have discussed this more in-depth elsewhere but let me give some quick thoughts. First, we need to stop seeing everything as a powerplay. You cannot have an honest and productive conversation when each side constantly sees the other as power-hungry villains.
Second, arguments do not have genders. Any statement I make opposing abortion has probably been said far better by one of the many female pro-life advocates. Our arguments have nothing to do with personal experience.
Third, looking specifically at the SCOTUS and the Roe v. Wade decision, you cannot have it both ways. It was nine men in 1973 who passed Roe v. Wade in the first place. There are more women in the court today, making this statement all the more absurd.
This statement, once again, assumes the unborn are not human and that the mother’s body is the only consideration. Abortion takes several thousand male and female unborn lives every day, so I think this issue warrants input from both sexes.
Objection 5: Overturning Roe v. Wade is Letting the Church Control the State
Out of every pro-choice response, this is probably the one I find the most aggravating. The idea that people only oppose abortion because of their religion is one of the most successful strawman arguments this world has ever seen. You can make the pro-life case from the Bible. Most of us rarely do that, though. Instead, we rely on science, ethics, and philosophy to demonstrate that the unborn are fully human from conception.
Maybe there is a vocal group of pro-life speakers only using the Bible that I have not seen. What I fear is that people are not listening to the arguments at all. The words of pro-life people are simply not heard. Any opposition to abortion is mentally categorized as religious or gender oppression and therefore not worth respecting. This is essentially the genetic fallacy. Your argument is wrong not because of the evidence or logic but because you are either pro-life or a Christian.
Objection 6: This Gives Special Preference to Christianity
I’ve been seeing something of a variant on the previous objection recently. This is the idea that the government is giving Christians special privilege here. Why should the government listen to the Christian teaching about life when, for example, Jewish people are pro-choice? What about their religious freedom?
First, once again, the pro-life case for the unborn being fully human does not rely on Christian theology. You will find pro-life people along the entire spectrum, from Islam to atheism.
Second, this appeal to religious liberty here is clever but misguided. As much as Christians and conservatives love religious liberty, it does not overcome the fundamental right to life. If abortion takes the life of a human being, religious liberty could not excuse that any more than it could an honor killing.
Third, the current decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has nothing to do with religion. This is an issue of correcting bad policy, not forcing religious dogma by the SCOTUS. If you do not believe me, read the decision for yourself. Just because a number of the justices who made this decision are Catholic does not mean their statements can be rejected as religious dogma. Again, that’s a genetic fallacy.
Lastly, be careful to see if people are appealing to religious teachings or religious people. The number of people in Judaism who hold a belief is not the same thing as a belief of Judaism.
That is 3 more objections to overturning Roe v. Wade. More posts like this one are coming soon. Share your thoughts on our Facebook discussion group Here.
