Debating Abortion with an atheist

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I was debating abortion with an atheist today.

As expected I was asked my opinions on several situations that abortion supporters typically use.

What about rape? why should she forced to have the child?
I told him that choices must be made that are based on hope and not fear. Hope leads to life and if you support and respect life then you will always chose life. I also told him that it was no excuse for the millions of people killed each year via abortions.

The atheist thought I supported contraception and then asked me why I couldn’t support abortion. I simply told him that I don’t support contraception and that is is equally wrong in my eyes. This worked rather well because he couldn’t argue against me from that angle. I’m very happy that the church is consistent with its wisdom.

He asked me what I thought about abortions that are a risk to the mother. He wanted to know how I would pick who should live and who should die. I told him that it would be up to someone to make a selfless act. The choice must be based on love. I then asked him what he would do if I had a gun and pointed it at him and his wife while saying,“one of you must die” who will it be? He didn’t like that because I thought I wasn’t answering the question.

He couldn’t understand how I could eat meat (animals) and say that I respect life. I tried to explain to him that I’m not wasting them for selfish purposes. They provide me with life.

I found that when you justify your arguments with life, selfless acts, hope, and love you destroy all those based on ignorance, fear, science, selfishness.

At the end of it he lost his argument because he ran off to have a smoke. And when he came back he didn’t have much to say. He needed a break. lol

Anyway I’m sure there will be a round 2. So I wonder if any of you have arguments that will help an atheist understand why contraception is wrong? He respects the three month rule on abortion and he agrees with contraception. He thinks that the sperm and the egg are meaningless. I tried to point out to him that if you respect life then you must also respect the process that creates life. But I guess that only goes so far.
 
My favorite bumper stickers are:

"If it’s not a baby, you’re not pregnant!"
and
"Abortion doesn’t make you ‘un-pregnant’ - it makes you the mother of a dead baby"

I think they get right to the point of the argument. Too many people try to rationalize away the fact that a fetus, zygote, blob - whatever they want to call it - is a HUMAN BEING. It’s not vegetable or mineral. It’s not an inanimate object - and nothing they say - whether it’s rape or incest - can make it the child’s fault or responsibility - therefore the child should not and MUST not be sentenced to death because of it.
Oh - you can also tell this person that the World Health Organization AND the American Medical Association BOTH agree that an abortion is NEVER necessary to save the life of the mother.
 
elvisman said:
My favorite bumper stickers are:

"If it’s not a baby, you’re not pregnant!"
Click to expand...
That is basically what my husband says, and he is an atheist.
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JamesG:
What about rape? why should she forced to have the child?
He asked me what I thought about abortions that are a risk to the mother.
Click to expand...
Because it is a child. Ask him the stats on the number of abortions that are because the woman was raped vs. the number because the mother’s life was at risk vs. the number because a woman just doesn’t want a child. I would love to hear them.
 
It sounds like you did well, and didn’t let him take you off on any tangents.

As for the eating of animals, I wonder if he’d be OK with it if you killed him and brought him home to cook for dinner. Or if not him, some stranger walking down the street. Or perhaps at that point he’d acknowledge there’s a difference between human life and animal life (and plant life - even vegetarians kill to eat).
 
I, of course radically disagree with atheism. The fact that I am a convert from atheism contributes to this means that I am always hesitant to refer people to resources they provide.

However, there are many ahteists and agnostic who are prolife.

If you want to talk to an athesit about abortion, look at what some pro-life atheists have to say.

Here is one article, “Opinion from a Pro-Life Atheist” Note! Do not follow an of the other links on the page!

And here is an organization of pro-life atheists. godlessprolifers.org/home.html

Here is a page containing links to other non-religious, or at least non-Christian pro-life groups. gargaro.com/abortion/alt.html

Please note, many of these sites are blatantly anti-Christian. Please use extreme caution in reviewing them. I hope I am not violating forum rules by posting these links. I am doing it only to help provide an insight into this seemingly self-contradictory line of thought.

As you read some of the reasoning of why non-theist individuals take a pro-life stance, you will be better equipped to discuss this with your atheist acquaintance.
 
JamesG said:
I was debating abortion with an atheist today.

As expected I was asked my opinions on several situations that abortion supporters typically use.

What about rape? why should she forced to have the child?
I told him that choices must be made that are based on hope and not fear. Hope leads to life and if you support and respect life then you will always chose life. I also told him that it was no excuse for the millions of people killed each year via abortions.

The atheist thought I supported contraception and then asked me why I couldn’t support abortion. I simply told him that I don’t support contraception and that is is equally wrong in my eyes. This worked rather well because he couldn’t argue against me from that angle. I’m very happy that the church is consistent with its wisdom.

He asked me what I thought about abortions that are a risk to the mother. He wanted to know how I would pick who should live and who should die. I told him that it would be up to someone to make a selfless act. The choice must be based on love. I then asked him what he would do if I had a gun and pointed it at him and his wife while saying,“one of you must die” who will it be? He didn’t like that because I thought I wasn’t answering the question.

He couldn’t understand how I could eat meat (animals) and say that I respect life. I tried to explain to him that I’m not wasting them for selfish purposes. They provide me with life.

I found that when you justify your arguments with life, selfless acts, hope, and love you destroy all those based on ignorance, fear, science, selfishness.

At the end of it he lost his argument because he ran off to have a smoke. And when he came back he didn’t have much to say. He needed a break. lol

Anyway I’m sure there will be a round 2. So I wonder if any of you have arguments that will help an atheist understand why contraception is wrong? He respects the three month rule on abortion and he agrees with contraception. He thinks that the sperm and the egg are meaningless. I tried to point out to him that if you respect life then you must also respect the process that creates life. But I guess that only goes so far.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you did very well. Another arguement you can use is from nature. In nature, self-preservation and procreation of the species is natural for the species to continue. This is natural in all animals. This is the drive to sustain life which without the species would naturally die out. However, humans with their “superior” intellect, have now chosen to kill their young, which is against nature, or as Thomas Aquinas would say, against natural law. Natural law can be used as a good arguement against abortion.

mdcpensive1
 
Try asking him what the point of an abortion is. Atheists don’t believe in heaven, they believe that everyone just dies, you know…poof we’re gone. If this is true, and he agrees, why is it fair that millions of people everyday are robbed of the chance to live? Ask him how diseases are to be cured, poverty and world hunger ended when fresh new minds who might have the solutions, are being killed before they can even encounter a problem that needs to be solved? Does it make sense to eliminate a human being simply because they cost time or money? Do athiests not treat sick people and old people with respect? I mean, what about handicapped people? If a person is going to argue that a child should be an optional burnden that can be eliminated if it comes up, then they should also have the logic that any sick, handicapped or incapacitated person should be eliminated as well for the same reason. Give him that to chew on and see what he says!
 
JamesG said:
I was debating abortion with an atheist today.

As expected I was asked my opinions on several situations that abortion supporters typically use.

What about rape? why should she forced to have the child?
I told him that choices must be made that are based on hope and not fear. Hope leads to life and if you support and respect life then you will always chose life. I also told him that it was no excuse for the millions of people killed each year via abortions.

The atheist thought I supported contraception and then asked me why I couldn’t support abortion. I simply told him that I don’t support contraception and that is is equally wrong in my eyes. This worked rather well because he couldn’t argue against me from that angle. I’m very happy that the church is consistent with its wisdom.

He asked me what I thought about abortions that are a risk to the mother. He wanted to know how I would pick who should live and who should die. I told him that it would be up to someone to make a selfless act. The choice must be based on love. I then asked him what he would do if I had a gun and pointed it at him and his wife while saying,“one of you must die” who will it be? He didn’t like that because I thought I wasn’t answering the question.

He couldn’t understand how I could eat meat (animals) and say that I respect life. I tried to explain to him that I’m not wasting them for selfish purposes. They provide me with life.

I found that when you justify your arguments with life, selfless acts, hope, and love you destroy all those based on ignorance, fear, science, selfishness.

At the end of it he lost his argument because he ran off to have a smoke. And when he came back he didn’t have much to say. He needed a break. lol

Anyway I’m sure there will be a round 2. So I wonder if any of you have arguments that will help an atheist understand why contraception is wrong? He respects the three month rule on abortion and he agrees with contraception. He thinks that the sperm and the egg are meaningless. I tried to point out to him that if you respect life then you must also respect the process that creates life. But I guess that only goes so far.
Click to expand...
Such wonderful Arguments! I will need some of these. Ill be taking them if you dont mind. 😉
 
Valke2 said:
What does that have to do with contraception?
Click to expand...
because…some forms of contraception (birth control pills) destory the embryo. if you support that then you can’t possibly say that you are against abortion.
 
mdcpensive1 said:
It sounds like you did very well. Another arguement you can use is from nature. In nature, self-preservation and procreation of the species is natural for the species to continue. This is natural in all animals. This is the drive to sustain life which without the species would naturally die out. However, humans with their “superior” intellect, have now chosen to kill their young, which is against nature, or as Thomas Aquinas would say, against natural law. Natural law can be used as a good arguement against abortion.

mdcpensive1
Click to expand...
actually I used that argument. but thanks anyway.
 
JamesG said:
because…some forms of contraception (birth control pills) destory the embryo. if you support that then you can’t possibly say that you are against abortion.
Click to expand...
please. In any event, the OP was asking for arguments against contraception, not abortion.
 
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