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This Man Asked A Simple Question Online That Shut Down The Whole Anti-Abortion Argument
One of the core arguments used by ‘pro-lifers’ in the fierce, contentious abortion debate is one we’ve all heard before – ‘life begins at conception.’ While scientists and lawmakers are still at odds over how exactly the ‘beginning of life‘ is determined, the biggest issue at hand remains that people feel entitled to tell others what to do with their bodies, without having much interest in dealing with the aftermath. Seriously, when we see pro-lifers adopting some of the disadvantaged children they so desperately wanted to be born, then we’ll talk about hearing out their side.
This idea of people claiming to be ‘pro-life,’ but actually only being pro-childbirth and pro-dominance-over-female-bodies, is central to a Twitter argument from The Ark Trilogy author Patrick S. Tomlinson that is currently going viral. In a thread of just 9 tweets, Tomlinson proposes a simple question that will leave any pro-lifer scrambling to assemble a coherent answer.
Scroll down to find out what he wrote, and let us know if you agree with his point of view in the comments.
More info: Twitter
RELATED:
This is Patrick S. Tomlinson, an author (The Ark Trilogy) who just shattered a key anti-abortion argument
In a thread of just 9 genius tweets, Tomlinson asks one simple question:
Of course, he was challenged, resulting in a few intense rebuttals
Others, however, completely supported his message
Do you think his argument was spot-on, or did it miss the mark? Tell us below!
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What do you think ?
Mikleo 8 years ago
Using birth control to prevent pregnancies in the first place, is better than abortions. It's cheaper, safer, and no one calls using a condom murder. If she somehow still got pregnant, an abortion is still better than a child dying, because its mother is not willing or not able to care for it.
anarkzie 8 years ago
That's true in the same way that not smoking that cigarette that accidentally burns your house down is better than calling the fire brigade to put out your burning house. No one uses abortions as a casual form of birth control, I think in hindsight everyone who has had to have an abortion would have used protection or not messed up in the using of said protection.
Load More Replies...
MagicalUnicorn 8 years ago
the woman who said she wouldn't even notice embryos makes most sense, i would grab kid without thinking about my views as well
Deborah Denley 8 years ago
She was correct in that a petridish full of embryos are not viable unless implanted in a uterus. This is also a naturally occurrence when trying to conceive the embryo fails to implant and the woman never knew she was almost pregnant to begin with. You save the living child. Neurological developments begin at 7 weeks gestation. Technically theses embryos are potential human life. No different than donor sperm or donor eggs.
Load More Replies...
Anna Mcaffee 8 years ago
I'm again abortion, but I also think that everyone should have a choice of what they want to do, we are all different, nobody should force they're beliefs on others, they should live they're own life and not somebody's else.
Mark Frazer 8 years ago
we write laws all the time preventing one from infringing upon the right of others. we just have a problem determining to what extent an "other" deserves rights. you argument completely ignores the debate of, in this case, "how do we define the unborn. is it an other or something pre other. if its a human it has rights. if its just a mass of cells it doesnt.
Load More Replies...
Hayley Lightcap 8 years ago
I'm pro abortion because it really doesn't matter if it illegal. If a woman doesn't want to have a baby they will usually go to great lengths to see that they don't. So might as well give them a safe secure environment to do it rather than kill 2 people.
Laurie D. 8 years ago
I understand pro choice. I don't understand pro abortion.
Load More Replies...
Paul Schuh 8 years ago
Like many of the headlines here, this one is nonsense. He hasn't "shut down" anything. He's just wasted your time with a false dilemma fallacy.
Laurie D. 8 years ago
I totally agree. He didn't shut down anything and the whole scenario is stupid.
Load More Replies...
Shannon McLane 8 years ago
First of all, the claim that Pro-Lifers only care about pro-child birth and pro-dominance over female bodies is not only insulting but devastatingly uninformed. I am insanely for the life of an unborn child being protected while at the same time implanting policies and procedures for medical care, education assistance, housing and food allowances for those who qualify. I believe very strongly that abortion is wrong but I'm smart enough to do the research and see why it was made legal in the first place. Single mothers need protection and if the $500 million dollars that PP was given every year was put into a program that actually helped their whole beings, through the most difficult time in their lives, and their children, that would be something I could champion. Also, I am leading an organization in my town that mentors teen parents. So please don't think that all pro-lifers are heartless. That is a blatant lie. I care deeply about the mom, the dad & the child.
Jen Nichol 8 years ago
How many unwanted children have you adopted? I believe all forced births should have to be raised by people that voted prolife.
Load More Replies...
TeddyTheHuman 8 years ago
My policy on any ethical subject has always been if it doesn't affect me in any way, shape, or form i have no right to judge. Everyone is quick to support pro-life, but I rarely see any of them saying pro-government aid to hell those children and their parents. In my opinion, and i know this may get a bit of backlash, but abortion (during first few weeks) and condoms are the same thing. They are both potential energy. In both scenarios potential energy is prevented from becoming kinetic energy. The only difference between the two is the way certain people in society have manipulated their agenda to reflect their insane ideology.
Nia Loves Art 8 years ago
Abortion should be safe and legal until viability. It is, however inaccurate and disingenuous to claim that it is no different morally than condom use. Abortion is sometimes justified, but it is a difficult thing. In a perfect world no woman would need an abortion.
Load More Replies...
CelSlade 8 years ago
All these arguments against abortion - never really think to ask the unwanted children what they would have preferred. The assumption is that they would be grateful for any life they got. That, once the mother ignores all her very valid reasons and goes ahead with the pregnancy, everything will turn out alright. This at best naive, at worse disingenuous. My mother had 3 children under 6, an alcoholic husband and cervical cancer when she accidentally fell pregnant with me. The doctors strongly advised an abortion. She refused and carried me to term - she gave birth to me in the intensive care ward as she was terminal by the time I was born. Before you get a tear in your eye at the Lifetime Movie strength-of-a-mother's-love sweetness of it, you might want to hear what happened next. She didn't die. But she never let me forget that I nearly 'killed her', or how much more difficult I made their lives. She should have aborted me as a childhood of abuse and neglect wasn't an improvement.
Barbara Whitfield 8 years ago
I definitely would grab the 5 year old child for one reason only....... He / she is the one I hear crying out to me to be saved.
Maureen Robertson 8 years ago
Exactly. This proves that you are human and compassionate. Nothing else.
Load More Replies...
FABULOUS1 8 years ago
I have never had an abortion and I dont believe I ever would even if I could still have children. But at the same time it is really none of my business what other women decide to do with their bodies. So many people take in orphaned children just to get an additional income and that child is sometimes left without the love and care they deserve, as soon as they turn 18 they are thrown out to deal with the world on their own and no family to turn to. Then you have women who use it as a form of birth control thinking it is easier to abort the unwanted pregnancy instead of taking preventative measures to get pregnant. But at the end of the day it is still none of my damn business what some one else does with their body.
Mikleo 8 years ago
Using birth control to prevent pregnancies in the first place, is better than abortions. It's cheaper, safer, and no one calls using a condom murder. If she somehow still got pregnant, an abortion is still better than a child dying, because its mother is not willing or not able to care for it.
anarkzie 8 years ago
That's true in the same way that not smoking that cigarette that accidentally burns your house down is better than calling the fire brigade to put out your burning house. No one uses abortions as a casual form of birth control, I think in hindsight everyone who has had to have an abortion would have used protection or not messed up in the using of said protection.
Load More Replies... MagicalUnicorn 8 years ago
the woman who said she wouldn't even notice embryos makes most sense, i would grab kid without thinking about my views as well
Deborah Denley 8 years ago
She was correct in that a petridish full of embryos are not viable unless implanted in a uterus. This is also a naturally occurrence when trying to conceive the embryo fails to implant and the woman never knew she was almost pregnant to begin with. You save the living child. Neurological developments begin at 7 weeks gestation. Technically theses embryos are potential human life. No different than donor sperm or donor eggs.
Load More Replies... Anna Mcaffee 8 years ago
I'm again abortion, but I also think that everyone should have a choice of what they want to do, we are all different, nobody should force they're beliefs on others, they should live they're own life and not somebody's else.
Mark Frazer 8 years ago
we write laws all the time preventing one from infringing upon the right of others. we just have a problem determining to what extent an "other" deserves rights. you argument completely ignores the debate of, in this case, "how do we define the unborn. is it an other or something pre other. if its a human it has rights. if its just a mass of cells it doesnt.
Load More Replies... Hayley Lightcap 8 years ago
I'm pro abortion because it really doesn't matter if it illegal. If a woman doesn't want to have a baby they will usually go to great lengths to see that they don't. So might as well give them a safe secure environment to do it rather than kill 2 people.
Laurie D. 8 years ago
I understand pro choice. I don't understand pro abortion.
Load More Replies... Paul Schuh 8 years ago
Like many of the headlines here, this one is nonsense. He hasn't "shut down" anything. He's just wasted your time with a false dilemma fallacy.
Laurie D. 8 years ago
I totally agree. He didn't shut down anything and the whole scenario is stupid.
Load More Replies... Shannon McLane 8 years ago
First of all, the claim that Pro-Lifers only care about pro-child birth and pro-dominance over female bodies is not only insulting but devastatingly uninformed. I am insanely for the life of an unborn child being protected while at the same time implanting policies and procedures for medical care, education assistance, housing and food allowances for those who qualify. I believe very strongly that abortion is wrong but I'm smart enough to do the research and see why it was made legal in the first place. Single mothers need protection and if the $500 million dollars that PP was given every year was put into a program that actually helped their whole beings, through the most difficult time in their lives, and their children, that would be something I could champion. Also, I am leading an organization in my town that mentors teen parents. So please don't think that all pro-lifers are heartless. That is a blatant lie. I care deeply about the mom, the dad & the child.
Jen Nichol 8 years ago
How many unwanted children have you adopted? I believe all forced births should have to be raised by people that voted prolife.
Load More Replies... TeddyTheHuman 8 years ago
My policy on any ethical subject has always been if it doesn't affect me in any way, shape, or form i have no right to judge. Everyone is quick to support pro-life, but I rarely see any of them saying pro-government aid to hell those children and their parents. In my opinion, and i know this may get a bit of backlash, but abortion (during first few weeks) and condoms are the same thing. They are both potential energy. In both scenarios potential energy is prevented from becoming kinetic energy. The only difference between the two is the way certain people in society have manipulated their agenda to reflect their insane ideology.
Nia Loves Art 8 years ago
Abortion should be safe and legal until viability. It is, however inaccurate and disingenuous to claim that it is no different morally than condom use. Abortion is sometimes justified, but it is a difficult thing. In a perfect world no woman would need an abortion.
Load More Replies... CelSlade 8 years ago
All these arguments against abortion - never really think to ask the unwanted children what they would have preferred. The assumption is that they would be grateful for any life they got. That, once the mother ignores all her very valid reasons and goes ahead with the pregnancy, everything will turn out alright. This at best naive, at worse disingenuous. My mother had 3 children under 6, an alcoholic husband and cervical cancer when she accidentally fell pregnant with me. The doctors strongly advised an abortion. She refused and carried me to term - she gave birth to me in the intensive care ward as she was terminal by the time I was born. Before you get a tear in your eye at the Lifetime Movie strength-of-a-mother's-love sweetness of it, you might want to hear what happened next. She didn't die. But she never let me forget that I nearly 'killed her', or how much more difficult I made their lives. She should have aborted me as a childhood of abuse and neglect wasn't an improvement.
Barbara Whitfield 8 years ago
I definitely would grab the 5 year old child for one reason only....... He / she is the one I hear crying out to me to be saved.
Maureen Robertson 8 years ago
Exactly. This proves that you are human and compassionate. Nothing else.
Load More Replies... FABULOUS1 8 years ago
I have never had an abortion and I dont believe I ever would even if I could still have children. But at the same time it is really none of my business what other women decide to do with their bodies. So many people take in orphaned children just to get an additional income and that child is sometimes left without the love and care they deserve, as soon as they turn 18 they are thrown out to deal with the world on their own and no family to turn to. Then you have women who use it as a form of birth control thinking it is easier to abort the unwanted pregnancy instead of taking preventative measures to get pregnant. But at the end of the day it is still none of my damn business what some one else does with their body.
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