Politically Correct Death: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights [Paperback]

Francis J. Beckwith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1993

Thorough explanation of sixty-nine ethical and philosophical arguments sometimes given to defend a proDchoice position and persuasive proDlife responses to each.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Baker Book House (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801010500
• ISBN-13: 978-0801010507
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #444,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Women's Studies > Abortion & Birth Control

More About the Author

I am professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor University. During the 2008-2009 I am serving on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame as the Mary Ann Remick Senior Visiting Fellow in the Notre Dame Center for Ethics & Culture.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beckwith Persuades with Logic and Science, February 8, 1999

By 

Scott Klusendorf, Director of Bio-ethics, Sta... (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Politically Correct Death: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights (Paperback)

In "Politically Correct Death" (hereafter, PC Death), Dr. Francis Beckwith argues that the unborn entity is fully human,hence elective abortion is morally unjust.

This is, of course, the standard pro-life pitch for the last 25 years. What makes Beckwith unique is his rigorous logic and argumentation in support of his thesis. You will not find emotionally charged rhetoric or religious sentiment here. In fact, some of Beckwith's critics attack him precisely because he is so logical. Now there's a new twist: careful thinking a sin?

In PC Death, Beckwith demolishes popular abortion rights rhetoric by showing that most pro-choice arguments beg the question. That is to say, they assume the very thing they are trying to prove. Take, for example, the popular coat-hanger argument that states women will die by the thousands if abortion is restricted. But as Beckwith points out, unless you begin with the assumption the unborn are not fully human, this argument is tantamount to saying that because some people will die attempting to kill others, the state should make it safe and legal for them to do so. Should we legalize bank-robbery so that it is safer for felons?

In my opinion, Beckwith is at his best when confronting academic arguments for abortion rights, in particular, his analysis of Professor Judith Jarvis Thomson's famous violinist argument. Thomson is unique in that she bites the bullet: she concedes the humanity of the unborn, but argues that abortion is justified because no woman should be forced to use her bodily organs to sustain the life of another against her will. This is a potentially devastating argument against the pro-life view.

Beckwith, however, presents a nine point rebuttal to Thomson's carefully argued piece, and does so in a fair and even-handed manner. To sum up Beckwith's response, Thomson's arguemt is flawed because it fails to distinguish between our right to withhold support and our duty not to actively kill another person--which is what elective abortion does.

PC Death is truly refreshing for its careful consideration of facts and arguments. I'm surprised, however, at the response from some abortion rights advocates who resort to name calling instead of refuting Dr. Beckwith's arguments. Now it may be the case that PC Death is a poorly reasoned piece. But this must be proven by appealing to evidence, not launching ad-hominem attacks against the author.

If abortion rights advocates are to have any credibility with clear thinking individuals, they will have to do better than that. Dr. Beckwith has presented a carefully reasoned case for the pro-life position. Prove him wrong if you can. But please, dispense with the childish name calling.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pro-life is true. Case closed., October 24, 2001

By 

Bruce H (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Politically Correct Death: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights (Paperback)

This book is probably one of the very best books available on the issue of abortion in America. I will have to join the chorus of reviewers who have applauded this fine book. The author, a Ph. D in philosophy, critiques 68 arguments for abortion rights (i.e. "pro-choice) and systematically refutes them.

Professor J.P. Moreland said this about the book:
For some time now we have needed a book that lays out and responds to the various pro-choice arguments in a detailed, systematic way. [This book] does this admirably... It is unique in combining a through catalog of the issues with a sophisticated response that remains accessible to the general reader.

As a brief side note, do not be put off by the negative reviews. The criticism is vague and often does not cite SPECIFIC pages or SPECIFIC arguments; I find such criticism difficult to believe (there are one or two exceptions to this though).

If you are pro-life, then reading this book is invaluable. If you are pro-choice, then you will find this book difficult, for the pro-choice view is hardly the given truth that it is billed to be. However, the author has requested substantive critiques, and has said (see Editorial Reviews for the author's comments) that he has not received them.

Beckwith evaluates MANY abortion rights arguments:
Why don't pro-lifers adopt the babies they don't want aborted? Argument from 'no one knows when life begins,' Argument from privacy, Argument from the dangers of illegal abortion, argument from rape and incest and many of the others. This will help you in discussing the issue with other people, responding to newspaper article and even knowing how to critique professional philosophers that hold to the abortion rights position.

Beckwith also argues for the full humanity of the unborn. The pro-life position that Beckwith defends is as follows:

1. The unborn entity, from the moment of conception, is fully human.
2. It is prima facie wrong to kill an entity which is fully human.
3. Almost every act of abortion is intended to kill the unborn entity, an entity which is fully human.
4. Therefore, almost every act of abortion is prima facie wrong.
(Page 12)

Note that the position Beckwith defends is very precise and pro-lifers would do well to adopt his formulation of the argument.

The other parts of the book that do not evaluate abortion rights arguments or argue for the pro-life position are:
Chapter 1: The Possibility of Moral Reasoning
Chapter 2: Why Abortion on Demand Is Legal in America

Chapter 1 deals with the idea of reasoning in morality and shows that the idea of moral relativism (that there are no moral absolutes) is false. For more on relativism, see "Relativism: Feet Planted Firmly in Mid-Air," by Francis Beckwith and Gregory Koukl (see my review).

Chapter 2 explains why abortion for any reason at all is currently legal through all nine months of pregnancy in the United States, contrary to those who claim that it is only legal until the first trimester (the first three months of pregnancy).

Also included are two interesting Socratic dialogues in which Socrates arrives to debate 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis and another in which Socrates discusses Operation Rescue and civil disobedience.

The book has a bibliography and there are a total of 431 footnotes where Beckwith documents his facts, quotations and refers to other philosophers and their works.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Utimate Rational and Logical Pro-Life Handbook, January 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Politically Correct Death: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights (Paperback)

Beckwith does a fantastic and thorough examination of the abortion debate. He handles contentious and emotivly charged issues with clear logic and rationale without doing away with compassion. His arguments are clear and easily understood by the lay-person but by no means lack any technical coherence. An absolute must to have to answer pro-choice arguments rationally, logically and non-emotively. The responses of pro-choice advocates really says it all: to see Beckwith's debate with Socrates as a 'contradiction' demonstrates their narrowmindedness and lack of ability to deal with the rationality of the actual argument. Beckwith's book dealt with abortion, not gay rights or rational suicide, it is his abortion arguments that must be answered. Those pro-choice who failed to answer Beckwith's arguments simply give evidence of their inability to doing so by focussing on irrelevant alleged 'contradictions.' If you want to reach everyday people, particularly those who are secular in belief, Beckwith arms you with the necessary arguments and info unlike any other book I have found. In fact every other book I have read on this topic (many I assure you) pale in comparison. Beckwith simply is that good. Read it.