Customer Reviews

Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments Expanded & Updated

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a non-Christian, non-religious, feminist liberal, I arrived at my pro-life position not by opening up a Bible, but by reading the reproduction chapter in an anatomy and physiology book, and studying the photos. I volunteer this information about myself, because I share a demographic with many of the pro-choice folks who are at the receiving end of Randy Alcorn's answers in this book.

ProLife Answers is impressive: well organized and easy to use, well referenced, easy to read, and is largely based on good science and logic. First I'll tell you why I like the book, and discuss why I deducted a star.

What I liked:
* Well organized and easy to use: The book is divided into sections for each category of argument: (1) life humanity and personhood, (2) rights and fairness, (3) social issues, (4) health and safety, (5) the hard cases, (6) the character of prolifers. Each argument is numbered and has anywhere from 4 to about 11 rebuttals, which are numbered and lettered for easy reference.
* Well referenced: This book contains 789 references. Not all are primary sources, but he does cite peer-reviewed medical journals when discussing scientific matters. Other references include popular media, other books, and personal interviews. Note that in trying to debunk his arguments, some may take issue with some of the personal interviews, because these sources are difficult to verify.
* Easy to read: Alcorn writes in a conversational, first person, non-inflammatory tone, which is refreshing on such a hot button topic. He shows how women who have abortions are often pressured and mislead into doing something they don't realize is horrific. I believe readers of this book will save more babies by taking on Mr. Alcorn's tones of compassion and logic, rather than tones of angry rhetoric.
* Personal testimonials: The story of the young women who, with a group of other young women, had a saline injection abortion was heart wrenching. Combine this with the information Alcorn provides on the pain unborn children feel, and the heartbreaking photo of the perfectly developed unborn child burned and killed by saline, and we have the side of the story not told in "Our Bodies Ourselves". Hopefully, this section alone can save some lives.
* The fact he included some photos: Obviously, I did not like the photos themselves by any means. Some are of aborted or miscarried babies, and of course they're very disturbing to look at. But as Alcorn points out, "What is hideous is not the pictures themselves, but the reality they depict." These pictures demonstrate the horrors that all the words in the world cannot adequately describe.
* Alcorn provides valuable inspiration to pro-life activists by comparing their struggles to anti-slavery activists in Britain and the U.S., who were initially dismissed and ridiculed by those who believed folks should have the choice of whether or not to own slaves. After decades of hard work, the abolitionist position was seen as morally correct by the vast majority, and slavery was outlawed.

Why I deducted 1 star:
Although I agree with the vast majority of Alcorn's arguments and science, there is a handful of questionable arguments not directly related the central abortion = killing a baby issue. Note that in trying to debunk the book, pro choice folks might gravitate disproportionally to these arguments:

*Alcorn argues that abortion significantly increases the risk of breast cancer, but cites a meta analysis not from peer-reviewed medical journals, but an AOL member's website. I did a Medline search on this issue and found several large well-conducted studies in peer-reviewed journals such as the British Journal of Cancer, and respected institutions such as Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research center that convincingly refute the link between abortion and breast cancer. It's possible that in combination with Alcorn's evidence, the jury's still out on the abortion/breast cancer link, but it cannot be stated as a fact, as Alcorn insists.

*Alcorn correctly points out that "even if it were true that prolifers are undesirable and offensive people, this is not a logical argument against their position." He then goes on to defend the character of many prolifers who adopt children and assist needy families. Yet he fails to acknowledge the reason why arguments about prolifers being unsympathetic to already born children are so common in the first place. Many who support the prolife position also consistently vote and speak out against social programs that help feed, and provide economic necessities and opportunity to impoverished children and unwed mothers. Many pregnant unmarried women believe they're in a dilemma of abort or be condemned to a life of poverty.

*Alcorn argues that it is perfectly consistent to have both prolife and pro capital punishment positions. Alcorn's logic would make sense if only guilty criminals were being executed. Unfortunately, as has been shown in the state of Illinois, a significant number of innocent people were on death row for reasons including incompetent attorneys and people being tortured into making phony confessions. Given that the death penalty kills innocent people along with the guilty, it's actually not consistent to hold both these positions.

*Alcorn also argues that over population is not a problem, although he correctly points out that even if it were, abortion would not be an appropriate solution. Many environmentalists, including myself, disagree with his assessment of over population.

*Alcorn argues that we need more babies being born to financially support and take care of the folks who will be elderly when they're in the prime of their life. There are many good reasons to have babies, but taking care of the elderly is not one of them. This is inconsistent with Alcorn's view that it's wrong to have babies to be bone marrow donors for family members.

Note that my problems with the book are peripheral to the central issue of abortion = the morally wrong killing unborn babies, (saving the mother's life excepted). Overall, I highly recommend this book, and believe the diplomatic use of it will help save lives.

The author uses sound reasoning to expose both the illogic in the pro-choice arguments and the lies propogated by the abortion industry. He presents the case so clearly that I now see abortion as synonymous with murder. He includes the testimony of a former abortionist who realized the full weight of his actions when he saw an ultrasound of the procedure. Reading this book has spurred me into activism for human rights. The book also lists help sources (and hope in Christ) for women/men traumatized by a past abortion.

This is a cogent, well-organized and highly readable body ofwork. I have read dozens of publications on the abortion debate, andthis is among the very best. It is second only to Beckwith's "Politically Correct Death" (also available from Amazon.com) in terms of comprehensivity and cogency.

While this book has many strengths, it should be supplemented with more woman-centered books about abortion. People often make ridiculous arguments that pro-lifers are "anti-woman" or "anti-feminist." Nothing could be further from the truth. The overwhelming majority of women experience abortion not as liberation, but as capitulation to social and economic pressures. That's anything BUT empowering!

To supplement this book, I recommend:

*Prolife Feminism Yesterday and Today (edited by Mary Krane Derr), which presents feminist pro-life arguments from both "first wave" suffragists (Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Victoria Woodhull, etc.) and "second wave" pro-life feminists.

*Pro-Life Feminism: Different Voices (edited by Gail Grenier-Sweet) focuses on modern feminist arguments against abortion.

*Swimming Against the Tide: Feminist Dissent on the Issue of Abortion (edited by Angela Kennedy) takes the reader across the "pond" to hear the concerns of more modern pro-life feminists in Britain and Ireland.

*Real Choices: Listening to Women, Looking for Alternatives to Abortion (by Frederica Mathewes-Green)-- endorsed by both pro-lifers and pro-choicers-- first asks "Why do women have abortions?" (Pro-lifers and pro-choicers will be surprised by the answers!) and follows with "Can we use women's actual responses to work to provide them better alternatives from which to choose?" (So women won't feel like "trapped animals.") It's a briliiant book for anyone who cares about real women.

All of these books are available through Amazon.com.

Prolife Answers to Prochoice Arguments answers every prochoice argument for abortion I've ever heard -- including "Men can't get pregnant, so they have no right to take a position on abortion." (See answers 34d and e.) The answers to each of the 39 common prochoice arguments are thoroughly researched and presented logically and scientifically, with up-to-date sources referenced. All prolife advocates should consider purchasing this great resource, both to reinforce their position on the issue and to use in arguments and debates with prochoice advocates. I'm certain that prochoice advocates will not like this book, because it tears away at every argument they have, but I hope some will read it with an open mind and reconsider their position on abortion.

This book is laid out in proposition/response format. When faced with an argument like, "The woman has the rights over her own body," you can turn to that very assertion, then read reasons why that statement misses the point, where the mis-understanding lies, etc. The book can equally well be used as a reference or for reading. If you are clear on why abortion is wrong, this book will help you to understand the issue with more clarity. If you support the availability of abortion after reading this book, then you will give up your ability to say that your stance is reasonable. I highly recommend this book.

If you're at all interested in the debate between the culture of life and the culture of death, this is the book for you. It systematically outlines all the arguments that anti-life advocates raise in their rationalization for the murder of over one million children every year. It offers not just one pat answer to each objection, but several well thought, logical answers to each objection. Even if you consider yourself "pro-choice," you will at least benefit by understanding what the pro-life position really is, instead of swallowing caricatures of that position as painted by the larger social culture in general, and sadly informed individuals in particular, like two of the reviewers below.

Read PRO LIFE ANSWERS TO PRO CHOICE ARGUMENTS. It's a badly needed explication of the pro-life stance on abortion in this fallen world.

Utterly brilliant. Absolutely destroys every prochoice argument I have ever heard, including the hard ones, like rape and handicapped children. I notice some prochoice reviewers tried to deflect attention away from the main argument by saying the author is male, but obviously haven't read the book properly, since that minor point is also discussed. (just one point he makes here is that more women than men oppose abortion - and he makes 6 other points on this argument alone) I don't see how it is possible to read this book with an honest open mind and be prochoice - Randy Alcorn has done his homework and there is nowhere for prochoicers to run. Buy it - and be appalled at how an ongoing crime to humanity worse than the Holocaust and linked to the exploitation of women, continues to be protected by legislation. This book is destined to become a classic - the ultimate textbook for any clear thinker on this issue. Footnote - Congratulations to Alcorn for the way the book is setup. Any aspiring writers on a controversial issue should copy the format of this book, because it is so helpful to finding answers to questions quickly - most people don't have time to read a book this length in one sitting.

This book is an absolute Bible for pro-lifers. The pro-choice arguments written here are all clearly and completely refuted. The "Hard Cases" even have a whole section devoted to it. The main point of the book is that the unborn is human so abortion can never be justified. (The premise starts from the anti-utilitarian point of view that murder is always wrong. That's what I thought everyone believed until I read about Peter Singer in this book.) Every pro-death argument is rebutted with no ifs, ands, or buts.

The reviewer from New Kensington thinks that pro-life advocates stand refuted because "I might have m conscious, aware toddler sitting beside of me in need of a blood transfusion to survive, but the law could never force me to give my child one drop of blood." It's true, of course, that in America (as opposed to the West European nations) there is no legal duty to help in such a situation. It's also true that, if you were to reach across the table and strangle your toddler you would spend the rest of your days inside a jail-cell. The problem for the reviewer from New Kensington, though, is that abortion is much more like the second case than the first. A mother cannot just "cut off" an unborn baby's supply of blood, food, and other nutrients - if she doesn't want to be pregnant she is going to have to take active steps to kill her child, or at least hire someone to do it for her. Hence, the abortionist.

The reviewer from New Kensington also makes the bizarre statement that she shouldn't have to carry a child to term "just because a fetus decides to attatch (sic) itself to me like a parasite." For the record, a fetus doesn't "decide" to come into being; it is brought into being by the actions of others totally outside of its control. The fact that pro-abortion advocates often make statements like this (or others that are equally absurd) is a significant signal of the confused thinking of the pro-choice side.

If you want a mouthwash for the stupid soundbites and muddled thinking of pro-choice arguments, this book is a good place to start.