TOPIC: PRO-LIFE AND PRO-CHOICE ARGUMENTS

BY CYPRIAN OMURO
Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1

Pro-life arguments .............................................................................................................. 1

Pro-choice arguments ......................................................................................................... 4

Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 5

References .......................................................................................................................... 7
Introduction

We cannot be able to speak about the argument of pro-life and pro-choice without
having the backbone of the matter that led to the two distinct groups with different
thoughts, theories and principles. The argument is all about the nature of the embryo, its
status and the dignity of life. The questions they are asking is that, what or who is this
embryo in respects to its being? When does life begin? This questions leads to the two
groups having different views on abortion. But what is abortion? As per the Oxford
Advanced learners Dictionary, Abortion is defined as "the expulsion or removal from the
womb of a developing embryo or fetus in the period before it is capable of independent
living."1 Abortion is typically thought of as an early pregnancy termination. It may occur
naturally or be brought on. The act of killing a being during the prenatal period of life2 is
what is under emphasis here and most debated topics in the realm of reproduction. In the
society, it brings up significant ethical difficulties. This paper will present the arguments
of pro-life, pro-choice and lastly the conclusion.

Pro-life arguments

This term pro-life came into existence in the abortion wrangles of the 1970s. Since
then it has been growing rapidly. In their arguments, pro-life hold that life is sacred and it
must be respected. Life is a gift from God and nobody is allowed to take it intentionally
and willingly.
According to pro-lifers, abortion should be prohibited under all circumstances.
They also contend that unborn children have a right to life and that killing an innocent
person is unlawful and abortion should be prohibited.3 Any attempt of justify abortion is
considered futile and this is grounded on the scriptures. “…I came so that they might have
life and have it more abundantly.” (Jn 10:10) and that we were created in the image and

1
Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, 8th Ed (2010), 3.
2
Cf. H. Marandu, “The Abortion Debate:” in Faith and Reason in African Context, ed. C. SOOSAI,
JOHN GIBSON-Morogoro: salvatorianum 2014, 177.
3
Trent Horn, Persuasive Pro-life: How to talk about our culture’s toughest issues (USA: Catholic
Answers press, 2014) , 17

1
likeness of God. (Gen2:7. 1:27) These two scripture passage renders abortive action
immoral. The wrongness of abortion stands out strongly in the arguments of the pro-lifers.
It’s never in anyone’s best interests to kill a child. When a child is hurt by his mother it brings harm
not only to the child but to her also. It’s impossible to separate a Woman’s welfare from her child’s.
Precisely because the unborn is a child, the consequences of killing him are severe. It’s the identity
of the first victim, the child that brings harm to the second victim, the mother. That’s why we need
to begin our treatment of abortion with the identity of the unborn. 4

Dr. Alfred M. Bongioanni, believes that “human life begins at the time of
conception... human life is present throughout the entire sequence from conception to
adulthood... any interruption at any point throughout this time constitutes a termination of
human life.”5 The unborn child has in itself the human life. The word "embryo" or "unborn
child" shall refer to all fetus, or human offspring from conception through delivery and at
all stages of biological development.
Their arguments are anti-abortion or anti-death. For them the embryo has a right
to live and it should be protected. In this sense then, the pro-life are helping the expectant
mothers to welcome new one to the face of the earth.
In contrast to popular belief, the terms embryo and fetus refer to developing human
beings. Fetus is a Latin term that can mean "offspring," "young one," or "small child,"
among other things. Saying that a fetus or embryo is not a human being only because it is
in a different developmental stage from an infant is unscientific. It would be like saying a
child isn't a person since he isn't yet an adolescent.6
The pro-lifers having this idea of the unborn child having human life, they go
ahead and argue that this child should be protected and any termination should not be
encouraged. They argue that the Human embryo cannot be the life of a dog, cat or a donkey.
It is a form of a human life from the first instant of its life. The embryo "implants" itself in
her uterus, and she "has" it or "carries" it with her; she feeds it and keeps it safe as it grows,
but the embryo is not a fundamental part of her. On the other hand, the embryo, a magnificent
marvel of organization, has a self-sustaining act of existence. In fact, it is his most intimate
act, and one could argue that he feels greater intimacy toward this act of being than toward

4
Randy Acorn, Why Pro-life Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers, (USA: EPM publisher, 2004) 23.
5
Randy Acorn, Why Pro-life Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers,26
6
Randy Acorn, Why Pro-life Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers, 33.

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his own intimacy. Therefore, the embryo possesses or takes part in an act of being that is
uniquely his own.7
Because the embryo has the ability to maintain itself and direct itself toward
maturity from the beginning thanks to the presence of the genome, we can infer that he or
she is an individual who has the right to be protected and ensured the conditions necessary
to reach the next growing stage in a healthy and welfare state, given its genetic sources
and origin conditions.
In his address to the Italian pro-life movements, Pope Francis applauds them with
gratitude for standing strong in defending life. He says that through them the sacredness
of life has been upheld and the commandment of God, “thou shall not kill” has been put
into practice.
I greet the Presidents of Pro-life Help Centres and those in charge of the various services, especially
“Project Gemma”, which in these 20 years has permitted, through a special form of concrete
solidarity, the birth of many children who otherwise would not have seen the light of day. Thank
you for the testimony you give by promoting and defending human life from the moment of
conception! We know that human life is sacred and inviolable. Every civil right rests on the
recognition of the first and fundamental right, that of life, which is not subordinate to any condition,
be it quantitative, economic or, least of all, ideological. “Just as the commandment ‘Thou shalt not
kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life. 8

Pope Francis invites us to constantly act in a close, approachable manner in order

for every woman to feel valued as a person, heard, accepted, and supported. Every
Christian has a responsibility to live out the gospel by defending life bravely and tenderly
in all of its manifestations.9
Pope Benedict XVI asserts in his Address to the Participants at the 12th General
Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life and Congress on "The Human Embryo in
the Pre-Implantation Phase" that God's love does not distinguish between the newly
conceived infant still in his or her mother's womb and the kid or young person, or the adult

7
Alberto CATURELLI, “Identity and Status of the Human Embryo from the Perspective of
Metaphysics”, in Juan de Dios CORREA VIAL and ElioSGRECCIA (eds.), Identity and Statute of Human
EmbryoProceedings of Third Assembly of The Pontificial Academy For Life,Città del Vaticano:
LibreriaEditriceVaticana, 1997, p. 334.
8
Francis, “Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Italian Pro-life Movement” (Friday, 11
April 2014) Accessed November 04, 2022. Vatican.va
9
________ “Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Italian Pro-life Movement”

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and the old person. God sees an impression of his own image and likeness in each one,
thus he does not distinguish between them (Gn 1:26).10
Pro-lifers not only defend the death of the defenseless embryo but also they defend
the threat that caused towards life in general. For examples, the manufacturing of fire arms
that have because the major cause of death in developed and third world countries. This
kind of mentality and behaviors as per pro-lifers should be condemned and life to be
protect from conception until one dies naturally. In this manner human dignity is upheld
and respected.

Pro-choice arguments

Pro-choice and pro-abortion are used interchangeably so frequently that many

people mistakenly believe they mean the same thing. But they differ significantly. Pro-
choice refers to the idea of allowing women to choose between having an abortion,
continuing their pregnancy, and parenting the child or placing it for adoption. It involves
providing the woman with those three options as equally valid options and appreciating
whichever decision she finally selects. The phrase "pro-abortion" denotes something very
different. It indicates a supporter of abortion who wants to see women choose it over other
options and who celebrates and supports abortion. There isn't a single pro-choice supporter
who satisfies this second definition.11
According to prochoice campaigners, “every woman has the right to decide what
she does with her own body.”12 The argument carries on by others thinking that laws
should be left out of their own bodies. They have the right over their own bodies and
whatever they do with it, it’s their right. Pro-choices advocates for the respect of the
choices that everyone makes. For pro-choicer the embryo is at the mercy of the mother.
She is the one to choose what to do with it. If she chooses to abort, well and good, if she
chooses to deliver and give out for adoption is ok and if she chooses and take care of the

10
Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Participants at the 12th General Assembly of the Pontifical
Academy for Life and Congress on "The Human Embryo in the Pre-Implantation Phase" (February 27,
2006),accessed November 4th 2022. Vatican.va.
11
Bertha Alvarez MAnninen, Pro-life, Pro-choice: Shared Values in the Abortion Debate (USA:
Vanderbilt University press, 2014), 90.
12
Randy Acorn, Why Pro-life Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers, 61.

4
baby is ok. In this they don’t give a clear indication on how they view life. For them,
the woman has the liberty to do whatever she wants as longer as no one is interfering with
her choices. Some pro-choice activists assert that abortions is only carried out when the
woman's life is in danger or the unborn child would not survive.
For instance, the case of a mother who has been raped and by bad luck she
conceives, the pro-choicer will argue that the mother is at liberty to choose the choice that
befits her and that will give her comfort and happiness. The utilitarian principle works
very well here, in that whatever gives majority happiness and joy should be embraced and
upheld all the time. Whatever gives sadness should be rejected and avoided. One has a
right to choose that which gives a lot of happiness. For example the fetus that are mentally
challenged or even disabled should be aborted to avoid burdening the parents with a lot
expenses of taking care of disabled or mentally challenged child hence freeing them from
the sorrow of taking care of the disabled child.
Some pro-choicer reject the claim that emergency pills are abortifacient, they have
a view that pregnancy begins when the embryo has attached itself to the lining of the
uterus.13 If a drug is taken before this attachment, it acts before pregnancy began. And this
is exactly what happens with the emergency contraceptives. They prevent pregnancy
before attaching itself to the uterus rendering it not being abortion.

Conclusion

Many arguments have been raised on the status of the embryo and its dignity. For
the pro-lifers they see that the embryo has a dignity and a right to live. They argue that
life is a precious gift from God which should be taken care of. They also argue no one is
having a right to take an innocent life. Life should be protected from conception until
natural death. On the other hand, pro choicer feel that everyone has a right to choose what
is best for them. Nobody should be compelled by either law or anything else on what to
do with her body. Laws should be put far away from one’s body. One has a right to choose
what gives her more happiness.

13
Trent Horn, Persuasive pro-life: How to Talk About our Culture’s Toughest Issues, 22.

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 In this two arguments the sacredness of life stands out clearly. That life should be
protected from conception until natural death. No one who has a right to take away the
innocent life. Life is a gift from God and being a gift, it should be appreciated and
protected at all times without fears or favor. The sacredness of life should be seen on how
we treat the embryo in the mother’s womb. In this argument therefore, induced abortion
is immoral and it should be as rejected as an act of evil done to the defenseless embryo.

6
References

Church documents
Francis, “Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Italian Pro-life Movement” (Friday,
11 April 2014) Accessed November 04, 2022. Vatican.va
Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Participants at the 12th General Assembly of the
Pontifical Academy for Life and Congress on "The Human Embryo in the Pre-
Implantation Phase" (February 27, 2006),accessed November 4th 2022.
Vatican.va.
Books
Acorn, Randy, Why Pro-life Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers, USA: EPM
publisher, 2004.
Horn, Trent, Persuasive Pro-life: How to talk about our culture’s toughest issue, USA:
Catholic Answers press, 2014.
MAnninen, Bertha Alvarez Pro-life, Pro-choice: Shared Values in the Abortion Debate,
USA: Vanderbilt University press, 2014.
Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, 8th Ed (2010)
Articles
CATURELLI, Alberto, “Identity and Status of the Human Embryo from the Perspective
of Metaphysics”, in Juan de Dios CORREA VIAL and ElioSGRECCIA (eds.),
Identity and Statute of Human EmbryoProceedings of Third Assembly of The
Pontifical Academy For Life, Città del Vaticano: LibreriaEditriceVaticana, 1997
Marandu, H., “The Abortion Debate:” in Faith and Reason in African Context, ed. C.
SOOSAI, JOHN GIBSON-Morogoro: salvatorianum 2014