Slide 31 of 49

Proponents of abortion say that a woman should have the right to control her own body. This sounds reasonable. However, the fetus is not actually part of a woman's body. The fetus is a separate individual, which has its own circulatory system and is composed of a unique DNA sequence compared to the mother. Regarding the claim that the fetus is part of the mother, Professor Peter Kreeft made the rather comical observation, "But in that case, every pregnant woman has four eyes and four feet, and half of all pregnant women have penises! Clearly, the absurd conclusion came from the false premise that the fetus is only part of the mother."

Even so, people do not automatically have the legal right to do anything they want with their own bodies. We cannot use our bodies to assault others. We can't even take illegal drugs, even though it "only affects us." The irony is that there are laws in many states that prevent a mother from using drugs or alcohol during pregnancy, although the same mother can kill the fetus at any time.

References

1. Kreeft, P. 1995. HUMAN PERSONHOOD BEGINS AT CONCEPTION