"Are YOU ready for action?

Too often we are content to sit back comfortably while the world crumbles to pie
ces around us. Even though we have hopes and plans and the desire to really get
out there and do something, we feel the task is just too big, or we are just too
small. Sometimes we allow convenience or laziness or the demands of our busy li
festyle to stop us putting our plans into action.
What is the result? Nothing changes - not even us.
This is especially true when it comes to pro-life action. Many pro-lifers feel h
elpless in the face of the overwhelming Culture of Death which pervades our medi
a, our schools, even our own homes. This is a natural feeling. Any ordinary civi
lian would be lost and afraid if suddenly landed in the midst of a war-zone. But
a fully trained soldier would have a much better chance, wouldn't he? We have t
o be trained if we are to be successful in any field of endeavour.
You can begin your training as an effective pro-life activist right now...
This Pro-life Weekly Planner, specially prepared for goodwilled souls like yours
elf, is a step-by-step Basic Training Guide that will give you week-by-week info
rmation on how to be an effective instrument in building a Culture of Life!"
"Thrown in at the deep end...
Did you know that 80 to 90% of pro-life activists burn out in the first year? Th
at's simply because they didn't receive the basic training they needed to help t
hem endure.
There are several benefits of training. Training helps new activists take advant
age of the eperience of others;
Increases the new activist's efficiency
Increases their endurance for the long battle ahead
Confers a 'battle mentality'
and stresses universal concepts that are transferable to other areas of activism
.
There are Four Foundation Stones of Christian Activism. The aim of this Pro-life
Weekly Planner is to explain all four.
-Firstly, it aims to Recruit new activists to the field (Uncle Sam needs YOU!)
-Secondly, it will Train you to become a more effective pro-life activist.
-Thirdly, it will give you Information you need to engage and overcome the anti-
life enemy.
-And fourthly, it will show you the essential part Prayer has to play and how it
is crucial to establishing a
Culture of Life in Australia."
"A little help from your friends - The role of recruiting Pro-lifers must keep r
ecruiting in mind at all times because recruiting increases the size and power o
f the pro-life movement. Recruiting also brings in new talent and ideas and keep
s the pro-life movement 'fresh' and energetic. It has the added benefit of heigh
tening church and public awareness of the abortion issue and all its aspects.
The old saying holds that there are generally three kinds of people...
Those who make things happen - The Activists (5% of the total population)
Those who watch things happen - The Uninvolved (15% of people)
And those who wonder what happened - The Uncaring (80%)
The uncaring are not involved in any type of activism. They accept slogans quick
ly and easily and their primary motivations are comform and conflict avoidance.
The uninvolved are busy individuals who care but think they don't have time to g
et involved. They usually have one or two specific reasons why they aren't invol
ved but are generally willing to discuss and think about the issues. Activists,
on the other hand, are the backbone of the pro-life movement. They don't mind be
ing publicly identified as pro-lifers and eventually become expert in one or two
areas.
'I'd rather stay in bed!' - Why are more Chrisitians Not involved in pro-life ac
tivism?
Some of us fear the unknown; Others dislike the stress and strain that inevitabl
y comes with being involved in anything; More still are caught up or assimilated
by the world; A few fall for the false steryotypes perpetrated by the media and
anti-lifers; And others again fail to see abortion's relevancy to them and thei
r families - this ultimately means that they fail to see the twofold (direct and
indirect) threat to the Faith which the anti-life movement poses.
The answers to many of these objections is a renewed, or reinvigorated, trust in
God's promise to look after his faithful followers.
'The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me,
my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall.
Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.' - Psalm 27:1-3"
"Every person has something unique to offer.
Each person is unique and should be approached differently for maximum recruitin
g success. We are gifted in many areas but we are usually strongest in one.
There are 5 categories of personal skills:
1) Organisational - Such a person is a good planner, and natural facilitator; id
entifies and outlines goals and problems quickly and correctly; has good attenti
on to detail; would do well directing a project, writing or editing a newsletter
, or taking part in political, investigative or research work.
2) Inspirational - A person with inspirational skills explains ideas well and is
a good motivator. He is a good decision maker and leader under pressure, and wo
uld make a natural footpath or telephone counsellor or protest leader.
3) Spiritual - Those with spiritual skills have a good sense of the eternal and
temporal contexts. They are faithful and patient, which makes them good listener
s. Spiritual skills make a person a natural healer thus they would be good as cr
isis pregnancy centre counsellors, natural family planning teachers or pastoral
recruiters.
Personal skills continued...
It is good to be aware of where your God-given talents lie and how you can best
use these to serve Him and those around you.
The final two categories of personal skills are:
4) Technical - Such a person can put equipment such as computers, camcorders and
recorders to work; can grasp and analyse complex problems immediately, and woul
d make a good researcher, writer, political adviser, or debater.
5) Creative / Imaginative - This is the person whose skills are the most often n
eglected or overlooked. They can express complicated ideas in appealing ways, an
d add colour and creativity to events. They also provide a unique and prophetic
vision for the pro-life movement of the future and would be an outstanding media
spokesman or graphics and design layout artist.
Whatever their skills, each new pro-life activist brings unique qualities to the
movement - life experience, personality, motivations, levels of commitment, ski
lls and talents, strengths and weaknesses."

"Back to school - The role of information

Information is crucial to the pro-life movement. It allows a pro-life activist t
o answer objections to the pro-life philosophy, rebut pro-abortion slogans, outl
ine and understand the pro-life mission, and know the pronciples of the Church's
teaching on all life issues.
Sources of pro-life information include pro-life periodicals (like HLI's excelle
nt newsletters LifeLines and Jonah), weekly internet news services, pro-life boo
ks and pamphlets, pro-life conferences and events, and interacting with other pr
o-lifers.
It is also important to gather information on the activities and motivations of
anti-life groups on both a local and international level. This allows pro-lifers
to counter anti-life initiatives, and expose their weaknesses and hidden agenda
s.
`I have studied the enemy all my life. I read the memoirs of his generals and hi
s leaders. I have even read his philosophers and listened to his music... I kno
w exactly how he will react under any given set of circumstances. And he hasn't
the slightest idea of when I'm going to whip the hell out of him.` - General Ge
orge S. Patton
Learn your ABC's - A is for apple, P is for Pro-life
To be successful pro-life activists we first of all need to have information on
what it means to be pro-life - 'know thyself' as the scriptures say. Everything
else will follow.
So who is pro-life?
Every human being is created in the spiritual image and likeness of God, which m
eans we are all of inestimable worth. It also means we are all equal in the eyes
of God. Therefore a true pro-lifer believes in and works for the life of every
person, from conception to natural death - no exceptions, no compromise!
But human life does not exist in a vacuum. Human beings are naturally social cre
atures so we are inherently dependant on families, institutions and society in g
eneral. Pro-lifers therefore, must work to defend and rebuild social structures,
like the family, if we are to defend human life at all stages.
What's more, we have to realistically observe and evaluate the society in which
we live in order to understand how best to defend life. We have to see not only
the temporal context, but more importantly, the eternal context which affects us
.
The temporal and eternal contexts:
There must be something beyond this world. If there were not, human life and hum
an action would be meaningless.
The fact that we yearn for abstract goods - like justice, mercy, and love - and
the fact that we can reason and choose, shows that we are spiritual as well as p
hysical creatures.
As we saw earlier, this is the fundamental reason why human life is precious and
why it must be defended - because we are made in the image and likeness of God.
Seeing our lives, our activities and our society with the 'eyes of the soul' (Go
d's eyes) is the only way to make any sense of what is happening and is the key
to endurance in the pro-life movement. It also teaches us to work for both tempo
ral and eternal goals - that is, to educate as well as to evangelise.
Education is the successful transfer of information. Values may be implied but a
re not explicitly stated, eg "This is how an unborn baby develops.'
Evangelisation is the successful transfer of a complete philosophy (set of value
s) and usually requires a radical change in lifestyle."
"The most important thing to remember-
If pro-lifers were successful at educating people on a national scale we would s
ee a reduction in the number of abortions. If we were successful in evangelising
our nation we would see an end to almost all abortion and other unchristian beh
aviour. This is obviously what we dream of and work towards.
But the most important point to remember as pro-life activists, seeing things in
both their temporal and eternal contexts, is that we are called to be faithful,
not victorious!
As a materialistic, consumer society, we have been conditioned to win (`Nobody r
emembers who finished second`). So when the results of our efforts are not immed
iately evident we tend to lose interest and give up. Realistically, we must reco
gnise that victory is in God's hands, not ours. Trusting in Him will make us mor
e durable and focused.
'Never give in then, my dear brothers, never admit defeat;keep on working at the
Lord's work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain.
' - 1 Corinthians 15:58
A Balanced Life-
Keeping in mind the temporal and eternal context of our own lives will help us t
o acheive balance and discipline. These things are essential if we are to be eff
ective pro-life activists.
Christian activism can be difficult and stressful if we do not maintain a balanc
ed personal life. This means we are looking after all aspects of our bodies and
souls. We should try to keep our minds alert through regular reading or study; o
ur bodies healthy through exercise; our souls refreshed and joyful through daily
prayer; and our hearts open to family, friends and all those to whom we give or
receive love.
It is also important to keep our pro-life mission compatible with our other miss
ions. Pro-life work should never come before our faith or our family. But just a
s too much activism (if not properly balanced) can hurt those we love, too litt
le may also affect them.
Did you know that 80% of children whose parents integrate faith with action stay
in the Church? only 20% of children whose parents pray, but do not act, remain
true to the practice of their faith.
'Faith without works is as a body without breath.' - James 2:17

Rug up to face the cold hard facts-

Once we've seen the reality of abortion we know we simply must act to stop more
babies dying and more women and families hurting! But to be truly effective pro-
lifers we also have to acknowledge certain other realities regarding our society
and how it works. There are six elements that govern our society. They are:
1) God
2) The Church*
3) Culture*
4) The Pro-life Movement*
5) Individuals*
6) The Anti-life Movement*

Each of these elements influeneces each of the others marked with an asterisk. O
ne of the keys to effective activism is understanding how they affect one anothe
r. Another key is to recognise several rules which govern our temporal society.
These include...
- Pro-lifers have been spoiled by Western Culture just as much as eveyone else
- All evils are inextricably linked to other evils, eg. birth control leads to a
bortion
- Christians must reconvert the teachers of morality - family, Church, schools e
tc
- The term 'Christian' has been diluted to the point of meaninglessness
- Prayer and action are both required to convert the world (Matthew 25:34-40)"
"The source & nature of the anti-life mentality-
If those who work to defend human life are pro-life, then those who disregard it
might justifiably be called anti-life.
`I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me ... But he
that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul; all them that hate me love death
.` - Proverbs 8:17, 36.
Satan is the original anti-lifer, therefore, because he hates all things that co
me from God, especially human life.
`The devil is a liar and a murderer from the beginning.` (John 8:44) and `Theref
ore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers o
f righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.` (2 Corinthians 11
:15)
The anti-life philosophy sees human life as less than sacred and inviolate becau
se it ignores or neglects the spiritual aspect of the human being. So anti-lifer
s rank people according to physical characteristics, which leads to the belief t
hat some groups of human beings may be exploited for the benefit or convenience
of other humans. This mentality is human-centred, not God-centred - it is truly
`Humanistic`.
Life & Love get trashed!
The devil cannot create anything; he can only twist and pervert God's creation,
so he tries to pervert Love for God into blasphemy, sacrilege, indifference, agn
osticism and atheism. He perverts Love of Life into genocide, murder, euthanasia
, suicide, chemical and surgical abortion, and artificial birth control. Love of
Self he turns to overindulgence, addictions to drugs, alcohol, money, food, pow
er, pornography and sex. And Love of Neighbour becomes racism, theft, cheating,
slander and lies.
Finally, he perverts natural Sexual Love into a rainbow of aberrations including
homosexuality, pedophilia, bestiality, rape, incest, adultery and fornication.
In this way the devil accomplishes his ultimate aim of destroying, corrupting an
d preventing human life and human love.
There are many people who have been taken in by the devil's plans. These include
pro-abortionists, radical 'gay' activists, radical feminists, euthanasiasts, po
pulation controllers, pornographers, animal rights activists who believe animals
and humans are morally equivalent, and radical environmentalists who believe hu
mans have 'infected' the planet.
The anti-life agenda is to destroy the family & religion-
The anti-life mentality is revolutionary. It ultimately seeks to undermine any i
nstitution that prevents it reaching its goals. Two of its biggest obstacles are
the Church and the family because these institutions exist to defend and protec
t human life.
`We have to abolish the institution of marriage ... By the year 2000 we will, I
hope, raise our children to believe in human potential, not God ... We must unde
rstand that what we are attempting is a revolution, not a public relations movem
ent ... it is humanism that is the goal.` - Gloria Steinem (feminist author)
`I would like to see religion abolished as an institution ... Atheists have kept
saying that they want 'separation of state and church.' That broadly defined an
d interpreted slogan has been a cover for what we really want, which is to see r
eligion wither and die on the vine.` - Jon G. Murray, former president of Americ
an
Atheists, 'The Goals of Atheism'.
Anti-lifers believe that if they do away with religion and the family, they will
have complete freedom of action to live as they choose. Silencing those who dis
agree with their views will thus free them from the guilt associated with immora
l behaviour."

"The 12 characteristics of the anti-life mentality-

Knowing the characteristsics of the anti-life mentality helps pro-lifers underst
and the psychology of their opposition, and recognise anti-life ideas (even when
they are disguised as the truth). As Christians, it also helps us to see the wa
rning signs in our own souls.
The 12 characteristics are-
1) Humanistic - The anti-life mentality is inherently humanistic. It sees mankin
d as the ultimate judge of morality. Eg. `We affirm that moral values derive the
ir source from human experience.` The Humanist Manifesto II (1973)
2) Embraces Situational Ethics - Anti-lifers argue that thruth depends upon the
circumstances of the current moment. They deny all objective truth, claiming tha
t `we have to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong`. Decisions made on t
his subjective basis are often illogical, arbitrary and unjust.
3) Confuses genuine & counterfeit freedoms - Anti-life groups claim the 'freedom
' to do many evil and dangerous things, Eg. the 'freedom to choose' abortion. Ye
t the Catechism of the Catholic Church warns us that `There is no true freedom e
xcept in the service of what is good and just. The choice to do evil is an abuse
of freedom and leads to 'the slavery of sin' [Romans 6:17].` CCC #1731
4) Motivated by Guilt - God is always calling us to Himself so sin causes inesca
pable guilt. Anti-lifers try to overcome the guilt of their immoral lifestyles b
y demanding 'tolerance'. Ultimately, what they want, however, is not tolerance o
f their behaviour (which implies that the behaviour is itself undesirable or at
least inferior) but society's wholehearted approval. They demand their sins be r
ecognised as legal rights and social blessings.
5) Short-sighted - The anti-life mentality places emphasis on short-term 'soluti
ons' that don't work rather than harder long-term solutions that do work, Eg. Ne
edle exchange programs that lead to more AIDS and more drug addiction; or explic
it sex education which leads to more teen fornication, diseases and abortion; or
population control which leads to human rights abuses and demographic imbalance
s.
6) Selfish - Anti-lifers fight only for their own rights, regardless of who else
gets hurt and the impact on society. This mentality is uncompromising because s
elf-interest is a powerful motivator.
7) Coercive - Anti-lifers must use coercion because they are demanding illicit '
freedoms'. Often they acheive these 'freedoms' by bypassing legitimate authority
and the will of the people. Anyone who resists is ridiculed and suppressed, Eg.
forced abortion and population control in 35 countries, mandatory abortion fund
ing.
8) The Anti-life Mentality is Paranoid - Paranoia is defined as a `mental disord
er characterised by systematised delusions and the projection of personal confli
cts that are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others.` Anti-lifers use para
noia to reinforce their status as 'victims' and justify outrageous propaganda an
d violence against those who disagree with them, Eg. Radical homosexuals who lab
el all opposition against them as 'hate crimes'; Pro-abortionists who claim mill
ions of women died in backyard abortions; Population controllers who use global
warming and animal extinction as scare tactics.
9) Pessimistic - Anti-lifers believe they are always under attack. Because they
see themselves as eternal victims they are always trying to remake the world. Th
ey do not know how to deal with trials and suffering so they can never be truly
content in this life.
10) Pathologically Dependent - Guilt and paranoia force anti-lifers to band toge
ther. They know they are doing wrong and need others to confirm them in their si
n, and because they see themselves as victims, they need constant sympathy and s
upport. For this reason, anti-life movements are very efficient 'enablers' for t
hose who do not want to reform their lives.
11) The Anti-life Mentality cannot Reason - Anti-life literature and slogans foc
us on emotions, feelings and 'rights' rather than logic, reason and common sense
. It uses various techniques to prevent authentic thought, Eg. Mystagoguery - th
e deliberate overcomplicating of the debate to hide the central issue; Newspeak
- euphemisms to understate evil; Slogans - substituting nice words for thinking.
12) The Anti-life Mentality cannot stand Opposition - Anti-lifers cover up their
sins and are enraged when they are opposed and exposed. They will always try to
divert attention away from the central issues to tangential topics to camouflag
e the evil of their views and lifestyles. As Mahatma Gandhi said: `Man easily ca
pitulates when sin is presented in the garb of beauty.`
How the 12 Characteristics are Related-
-Man's fallen natue leads to a turning away from God to Humanism
-God's perfect laws are rejected in favor of situational ethics, which is short
sighted and selfish by its very nature
-The blindness of situational ethics leads to confusion about the nature of free
dom and guilt caused by sin
-Anti-lifers must rely on coercion to eliminate the opposition that naturally ar
ises
-This opposition makes the anti-lifer paranoid and pessimistic because he sees h
imself as an eternal victim
-Because his lifestyle is illogical, the anti-lifer loses the ability to defend
it rationally.
Never Compromise with Evil-
Knowing these characteristics should tell us that if pro-lifers accept even `a l
ittle bit of evil` we have lost the war. To the anti-lifer, 'compromise' is just
a refined form of waiting. So they demand the full loaf, accept half of it righ
t away and then always come back for the second half. Remember, it is infinitely
harder to 'contain' evil or take it back than it is to let it loose in the firs
t place."

"Dress for success!

Once we learn to recognise the anti-life characteristics, we gain new insight in
to the world and culture we live in. At times, however, the anti-life forces aro
und us (in the media, movies, schools, etc) can seem overwhelming. We have to be
well prepared if we are to mount a successful opposition.
Learning to refute the most common anti-life slogans is a terrific way to prepar
e yourself for pro-life activism. Even if you never participate in a formal deba
te, refutation is a key skill for recruiting since it allows you to answer any o
bjections people may have to the pro-life position. Studying the topic will also
greatly increase your self-confidence and allow you greater flexibility in acti
vism.
That's why we've dedicated the second half of this Pro-life Weekly Planner to he
lping you understand and refute the 25 most common pro-abortion slogans. It may
be a good idea to study one slogan each week until you can easily and confidentl
y clarify and refute the anti-life sentiments it contains. [Tony's note - I'll b
e sending more than one slogan a week but you can learn each one in whatever way
you feel comfortable. Remember, I am
archiving these notes, so you can email me if you want to get an earlier lesson.
I also plan to put these notes on the net one day.]
It may also be useful to get your hands on extra pro-life research materials lik
e HLI's brilliant Pro-life Library CD, or Brian Clowes' authoritative guide to l
ife and family issues, The Facts of Life (both available from Human Life Interna
tional).
The Anti-life Bumper Sticker mentality -
Over the years, experienced pro-lifers have identified a fatal and recurring Ach
illes heel in pro-abortion debating tactics. No matter what their job or level o
f experience, pro-abortionists invariably base 95 percent of their argumentation
upon a very few sloganistic points, each one of which is fundamentally flawed.
Through the years, anti-lifers have distilled their ideas into catchy slogans. E
very pro-lifer has heard the standard chants, including `Woman's body, woman's c
hoice` and `Keep your laws off my body!` These phrases represent a prepackaged i
dea or set of ideas. The purpose of a slogan is to allow a person to summarise o
r 'buy into' a particular position without thinking about it.
People unthinkingly accept slogans for two reasons:
(1) because they do not want to think about the issue they are supporting or
(2) because they do not want to be seen as backward or reactionary by questionin
g the slogans, even if they do not fully understand them.
People also use slogans for two reasons:
(1) to conceal their ignorance of the topic being discussed or
(2) to divert attention away from the topic because they know their ethical and
moral position is weak.
The abortion debate is unique -
On one side of the debate is the pro-life movement, which has all the facts that
the public doesn't want to hear - not because the facts are false, but because
accepting them would mean a difficult moral self-examination. On the other side
is the pro-abortion movement, which has few facts, but soothing words that the p
ublic does want to hear.
This means that the pro-life side has one great advantage and one great disadvan
tage. The advantage, of course, is that it has the truth. The disadvantage is th
at it must work hard to present this truth in a manner that will convert people.
Patience, calmness and kindness are essential when refuting a person's objection
s to the pro-life position. We must always remember to be charitable when deali
ng with other people."
"It is also important to understand the four basic ways to respond to pro-aborti
on allegations. These are:
(1) refutation
(2) clarification
(3) parallelism and
(4) extrapolation.
It may be necessary to use a combination of these methods.
Refutation & Clarification-
Refutation: To refute an argument means to expose it as a lie in the most direct
manner possible. Be careful not to call someone a 'liar' unless you can prove t
hat he or she has been caught in this same lie several times before. You may say
, however, `that statement is a lie`, or tell someone that he has obviously been
lied to or deceived by friends.
An example of refutation: `We will never go back to the days when thousands of w
omen were slaughtered every year by backalley quacks` - The claim that thousands
of women once died of backyard abortions is an outright lie. In 1972, the year
before abortion was legalised in the USA, the Center for Disease Control documen
ted only 90 deaths caused by 'illegal' abortions. The following year there were
57 deaths due to 'legal' abortion!
Clarification: In some instances, a pro-abortionist will make a statement that l
iterally cannot be answered because it is so broad in scope. Your job is to get
him to clarify his statement so that you can make an effective reply. This may i
nvolve saying `What do you mean by that?` or `How do you know that (where's your
proof)?`
An example of clarification: `You anti-choice people are all just violent fanati
cs!` - What do you mean by that? Are you specifically accusing me or my organisa
tion of doing something violent?
Parallelism & Extrapolation-
Parallelism: This is the most common tactic used by pro-lifers to expose the bas
ically illogical nature of pro-abortion allegations. Only the reasoning of a goo
d argument will stand the test of being properly applied to a wide variety of si
tuations. Parallelism consists of simply applying the pro-abortionist's reasonin
g to a similar situation in a different context, and showing how illogical his r
easoning really is.
An example of parallelism: `Woman's body, woman's choice! Keep your laws off my
body!` - If the unborn child is part of the woman's body because it is inside he
r, does being inside this room make us part of the room?
Extrapolation: Pro-abortionists inevitably focus on the 'hard cases' which seem
to be most favourable to the pro-abortion side. When you extrapolate, you are me
rely extending their argument to include the current or impending situation. The
basic idea is to force the pro-abortionist into 'drawing the line'.
An example of extrapolation: `Abortion should be legal in the case of rape, ince
st, deformities etc` - Abortions for rape and incest account for less that one p
ercent of all abortions in this country. What about the others? Do you support a
bortion if the woman is too young? Too old? Has too many kids? What if her birth
control failed? Or if the baby is the wrong sex? Does this mean you really supp
ort abortion for any reason, no matter how frivolous? (If the pro-abortionist dr
aws the line somewhere, ask him what makes these unborn children different from
those he would kill).
Don't let them confuse you...
`Ours is an age of substitutes: Instead of language we have jargon; instead of p
rinciples, slogans; and instead of genuine ideas, bright ideas.` -American write
r Eric Bentley
The primary moral issues facing the world today - contraception, surgical and ch
emical abortion, euthanasia, population control, 'gay rights', pornography, clon
ing, IVF and others - are each extremely broad in scope. They all encompass vast
areas in the fields of moral, scientific, and social theory, and each issue has
many sub-issues and is attached in many ways to all of the other moral issues.
The sheer dimensions of the vast galaxy of moral problems are staggering, but th
is does not mean that the questions the issues pose are proportionately complica
ted. Anti-lifers depend very heavily on making even the simplest moral questions
appear so complicated that there can never be any `truly right or wrong answer`
 regarding its morality (this tactic is called 'mystagoguery'). However, any pro
perly trained pro-life activist can boil each question down into a minimum of si
mple yes-or-no core questions, as the following weeks will show."

"Pro-abortion slogan #1: We demand the freedom to choose! Freedom of choice!

Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Clarification: We must distinguish between licit and illicit freedoms.
(2) Parallelism: Unlimited 'freedom to choose' means simple anarchy.
(3) Extrapolation: No freedom is absolute.
The 'freedom to choose' slogan is short, catchy, and appeals to the patriot in a
ll of us. Freedom is the basis upon which Western democracy was founded, and rem
ains one of our fundamental guiding principles. Who could be against it? But whi
le appealing to the freedom-lover in all of us, pro-abortionists simultaneously
imply that pro-life activists are somehow anti-freedom and anti-democratic by ca
lling us 'anti-choice'. However, this slogan promotes anarchy, not 'choice'. If
our nation took the slogan 'Freedom of Choice' at face value, the 'freedom to ch
oose' would supersede all other freedoms. Rapists could claim the 'freedom to ch
oose' rape. Those who dislike homosexuals could claim the 'freedom to choose' be
ating them up.
If you use these examples, a few pro-abortionists will be sharp enough to point
out that rape and assault involve a victim. This will give you a fine opportunit
y to stress that abortion also involves a victim - the most helpless and innocen
t victim of all.
The point here is that no freedom is abosolute. All freedoms have limits on them
, and for good reason. Unlimited personal freedom eventually leads to slavery. I
n Australia, we have thousands of laws, orders, and local ordinances of every ty
pe governing or curtailing activities from murder to double-parking, and each on
e of these restrictions limits our 'freedom of choice' to some extent.
Pro-abortion slogan #2: Abortion is perfectly legal!
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Clarification: Just because something is legal does not make it right or mor
al.
(2) Parallelism: You would have been a good slave owner. After all, slavery was
perfectly legal in the United States before the Civil War.
(3) Parallelism: Do you support all activities that are legal - say, femal genit
al mutilation (FGM) in some African countries?
This slogan should send chills up and down the spine of anyone who possesses a s
ense of history. For centuries, killers have hid behind the law to perpetrate th
eir atrocities, eg. Adolf Hitler 'legally' exterminating Gypsies and the handica
pped. A pro-lifer can expose the weaknesses of this argument by pointing out tha
t, many times in the past, man's laws have just not been good enough. They have
been used to implement genocide, prejudice and numerous atrocities.
Aside from this, abortion is NOT perfectly legal in many states of Australia. Ne
w South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland all have strict penal codes PROHIBITING
any form of abortion. Furthermore, laws in Western Australia, the ACT, and South
Australia only allow abortion under strict conditions (which commonly go unenfo
rced or ignored by abortionists).
If pro-abortions are so concerned with following what is 'perfectly legal' then
they should enforce these laws instead of constantly trying to overturn them. It
seems that they only agree with laws which suit their agenda!
Pro-abortion slogan #3: You can't legislate morality!
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Parallelism: Of course you can legislate morality! Name one law that does no
t legislate morality in some way?
(2) Parallelism: Do you believe that taxpayers should pay for abortions for poor
women? You do? Why are you forcing your morality on me by trying to force me to
pay for abortions?
(3) Parallelism: Isn't it 'legislating morality' to say that the law of the land
is that human life begins at birth? Does this not impose a particular religious
standard on when human life begins?
Any person who uses this slogan is extremely naive about the realities of living
in a society. Of course people can legislate morality! We do it all the time! L
egislating morality is the primary intent of every one of our hundreds of thousa
nds of existing or proposed laws. The extensive legislating of morality is absol
utely essential to the survival of any society.
Most of our country's important laws are based on or derived from the Ten Comman
dments and Judeo-Christian tradition, and many of these directly legislate moral
ity for the good of the individual and society. Nearly every criminal law on the
books can be traced to some religious principle, eg. `Thou Shalt Not Kill`: law
s against murder, manslaughter, mutilation, possession of unregistered firearms
, drink driving, and the sale of illegal drugs. eg. `Thou Shalt Not Steal`: law
s against robbery, fraud, shoplifting, theft, insider trading and embezzlement."

"Pro-abortion slogan #4: Don't foist your morality off on me!

Summary of the Pro-Life Response
(1) Clarification: Of course I'm trying to foist my morality off on you! Isn't t
hat the purpose of all debate - to convince others of the validity of one's view
s?
(2) Parallelism: Aren't you trying to do the same thing, right here, right now,
by defending the 'pro-choice' position?
(3) Clarification: What do you mean by that? Don't you really object to my mere
presence here, defending the pro-life position?
Pro-lifers should not be offended by this slogan. Is this not the purpose of all
activism, debate and public discourse - to convince others of the morality and
correctness of one's views? If a pro-lifer is trying to foist his morality off o
n others, his pro-abortion debating opponent is equally guilty of thrying to foi
st his [im]morality off on the pro-lifer!
This slogan is a scaled down variant of slogan #3 ('You can't legislate morality
!'). The difference is that the pro-abortionist is addressing an individual pro-
lifer personally here, instead of criticising pro-lifers or Christians in genera
l.
Of course, a pro-abortionist who uses this slogan is not really objecting to pro
-lifers trying to 'foist ther morality' off on him, because that would imply som
e sort of coercion on the part of pro-lifers or cooperation on the part of the p
ro-abort, neither of which is likely to happen. What the pro-abortionist is real
ly saying is that he objects to the pro-lifer's mere presence and his audacity i
n taking a stand for life. Nothing would please pro-abortionists more than to ha
ve to pro-life viewpoint outlawed entirely. When a pro-abortionist uses this slo
gan, he is basically telling pro-lifers to 'shut up!' As William Barclay has sai
d, `There is nothing that the world would like so much as a silent Church.`
If a pro-abortionist uses this 'last resort' slogan, the pro-lifer can be assure
d that he is winning the debate.
Pro-abortion slogan #5: Who will decide - you or the State? These people have no
right to tell you what you do in your bedrooms!
Summary of the Pro-Life Response
(1) Parallelism: Gee, maybe we should all demand that the State 'butt out' of ot
her private moral issues - say, rape and wife-beating.
(2) Refutation: Sorry, but last time I checked, abortions don't take place in be
drooms - unless you're one of these scary feminists who like 'do-it-yourself' ba
by-killing.
'Who decides' is an absolutely classic slogan. It is subtle and persuasive to th
e uninformed person, because it makes the listener think along lines totally unr
elated to abortion. Pro-abortionists often should a related slogan outside abort
ion mills: `Not the church, not the state, women must decide their fate!` This i
s mere mindless chant, not intended to be answered.
The pro-abortionist who uses the 'Who decides?' slogan is trying to paint a pict
ure in his listener's minds:
A picture of an oppressive government and Big Brother supervising all bedroom ac
tivities - in other words, a blatant and widespread invasion of privacy.
The pro-lifer must use the principle of parallelism to debunk this slogan. He ma
y begin by stating that the government has a legitimate interest in some activit
ies. Spousal abuse is one example. A wife batterers' union could use the slogan
'Who decides?' just as logically as the pro-aborts. In fact, organised pedophile
organisations like the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) use pre
cisely the same slogan as they
lobby to have the age of consent for sexual activities lowered to four years!
The Central Issue: Murder! Every government that has ever existed has had an int
erest in protecting its citizens - even its unborn citizens. Therefore, governme
nts must intercede to legislate against murder. This is not an unwarranted invas
ion of the murderer's privacy - it is simple good sense."

"Pro-abortion slogan #6: Abortion should be a decision between a woman and her d
octor
Summary of the Pro-Life Response
(1) Clarification: Abortion is not health care. It is killing, pure and simple.
(2) Clarification: There is almost never any degree of consultation between the
abortionist and the woman before the assembly line-type procedure.
(3) Clarification: Abortion mills are in it for the money, not because they care
.
Pro-abortionists using this slogan know that it implies that pro-lifers who oppo
se abortion are meddling in one of the most sacrosanct professional relationship
s: That of the doctor and his patient. In reality, more than 99 percent of all a
bortions are performed for non-medical reasons, despite the phony name 'therapeu
tic.'
Stand Aside, There's Money To Be Made! When a woman visits an abortion mill, the
usual procedure is for a 'counselor' to talk with her in an attempt to steer he
r towards abortion, and then send her to the nurses who will prep her for the ki
ll. As several former abortionists have described, the first time she sees the d
octor is when she is lying on her back, half-naked, with her feet in the stirru
ps.
In truth, the abortionist has no reason to see the woman who has hired him to ki
ll her child until he walks into the room. Mega-abortionist Edward Allred has bo
asted about his 'assembly line' abortion mills and has said that `We try to use
the physician for his technical skill and reduce the one-to-one relationship wit
h the patient. We usually see the patient for the first time on the operation ta
ble and then not again. More contact is just not efficient.`
What this multimillionaire abortionist means, of course, is that `More contact w
ill lose me money.` Dr. Beverly McMillan, another reformed abortionist, speaks f
rom experience when she describes how abortion mills are nothing more than money
-makers for unscrupulous businessmen who cut every possible corner, including th
ose in the area of patient safety.

Pro-abortion slogan #7: Pro-family, pro-child, pro-choice

Summary of the Pro-Life Response
(1) Refutation: If you are so 'pro-child', why do you support aborting them?
(2) Parallelism: This is like saying `Pro-Jew, pro-Holocaust!`
'Pro-Child?' The 'pro-family/child/choice' slogan is so shaky that even uninform
ed members of the general public don't usually accept it. How can the 'pro-choic
e' philosophy also be 'pro-child'? - Especially when 'pro-choice' means the exte
rmination of at least 100,000 unborn children in Australia per year by surgical
abortion alone?
`Pro-choice, pro-child' is analogous to the Nazi party proclaiming itself to be
'Pro-Juden', or the Ku Klux Klan claiming that it is 'pro-Black!' If a pro-lifer
makes these comparisons during a debate, they will probably provoke outraged sh
rieks of protest from knee-jerkers, but they certainly will make the point. Pro-
abortionists absolutely hate parallels with the Holocaust, because they are acut
ely aware of how accurate the comparison
is. Don't back down, even in the face of a storm of faked pro-abortion 'indignat
ion'.
'Pro-Family?' Give us a Break! The allegation that abortion is somehow healthy f
or the family is absurd. What does a husband feel when he wants a baby and knows
that his wife is 'pro-choice' and can get an abortion without his consent or ev
en his knowledge? According to a national poll in the USA, more than half of all
fathers - including married men - are not even told that their child has been a
borted. What does a child think when
he knows that he exists in a 'pro-choice' family only because he was wanted by o
thers - not because he had any intrinsic value at all? What do both parents thin
k when they know that an abortionist can kill their grandchildren?
Pro-abortion slogan #8: You are to naive to see that the world is overpopulated
Summary of the Pro-Life Response
(1) Clarification: Why do you think the world is overpopulated?
(2) Refutation: The world population will never again double. It will peak at ab
out eight billion and then begin to decline.
(3) Clarification: Imagine for a moment that the world population was one billio
n instead of six billion. Would you support the 'right' to abortion then?
Clarify first. Whenever a pro-abortionist makes the sweeping claim that that wor
ld is overpopulated, you must first get him to clarify what he means or ask him
why he thinks the world is overpopulated. Don't settle for the tired old claim t
hat 'everyone knows'. You must make him produce a theory or statistic to back up
his claim.
The general principle to remember is this: Whenever pro-population control peopl
e or organizations use statistics to justify their claims regarding world overpo
pulation, their numbers are either exaggerations or outright lies.
A common allegation anti-lifers make is that `The population of the world double
s every 37 years.` By using this number, the anti-lifer hopes to frighten the au
dience into thinking that the current world population of 6 billion will double
to 12 billion by about the year 2040, double again to 24 billion by about the ye
ar 2075, and so on. According to all Census Bureau and United Nations median and
'most probable' projections, the population of the world will never again doubl
e! This is an extremely critical point for you to make at every possible opportu
nity.
According to the latest United Nations projections, the maximum world population
is expected to be about 9.4 billion, a number to be reached in the year 2050. A
more likely figure is about 7.7 billion."
"Pro-abortion slogan #9: Right to life, that's a lie! You don't care if women di
e!
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Refutation: The statement that `thousands of women died from 'backyard abort
ions'` is a bare-faced lie.
(2) Refutation: If pro-lifers don't care about women, why do we run most of the
crisis pregnancy centres?
(3) Parallelism: [To the audience] Let's see who cares about women more. call up
a pro-life crisis pregnancy centre and tell them you are unmarried, pregnant, a
nd that your parents have thrown you out of the house. Ask for help with rent mo
ney, groceries and utilities. Tell them you need someone to talk to. Then call u
p an abortion clinic and ask them the same questions. You will see who really ca
res about women and who is
just in it for the money.
Pro-abortionists who insist that thousands of women died annually of 'backyard'
abortions have absolutely no statistical backup for their claims. Consider the
following quote by Dr. Bernard Nathanson, one of the original founders of the Na
tional Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, and the operator of the bigg
est abortion clinic in the USA for years; `How many deaths were we talking about
when abortion was illegal?
In NARAL, we always said '5000 to 10000 deaths a year.' I confess that I knew th
e figures were totally false, and I suppose the others did too if they stopped t
o think of it. But in the 'morality' of our revolution, it was a useful figure,
widely accepted, so why go out of our way to correct it with honest statistics?`
The actual USA Centers for Disease Control (CDC) statistics on deaths caused by
abortions, both legal and illegal, for those years immediately before and after
Roe v. Wade in the USA are as follows:
1970: 90 deaths
1971: 83 deaths
1972: 90 deaths
1973: 57 deaths
1974: 54 deaths
1975: 49 deaths

Despite these statistics, pro-abortionists still insist upon using these apocal
yptic numbers because they depend more on feelings that rationality. In many ca
ses, your pro-abortion debating opponent will insist on painting gory word pict
ures of bloody butchers in the back alley. One way to refute this tactic and eff
ectively show audiences how most abortions really took place is to read a quote
by an actual illegal abortionist or by a woman who had a 'tourism abortion.'
Ruth Barnett, who had no medical training whatsoever and yet performed over 4000
0 illegal abortions in Portland, Oregon without a single fatality, said that `In
the movies, they always depict the fallen woman sneaking up a dirty, rickety st
airway to a dismal room - or making her way, furtively, into a dark alley that l
eads to a decrepit shack where
some alcoholic doctor or untutored butcher performs the abortion. A clinic such
as mine was not that way at all. It was a bright, cheerful place where women's p
roblems were handled quickly, efficiently and with dignity, no matter what the c
ircumstances of the patient.`
One Zero Population Growth (ZPG) writer describes a report from a young woman wh
o she referred to an abortionist in Mexico City:`Things were really good down in
Mexico City. Everything happens so fast there is almost an aura of fantasy. The
clinic (more like a mansion really) is very nice and comfortable. There were ab
out seventeen women there in the morning I had the D&C done, plus some in the af
ternoon. They get you up right after and feed you fruit and drink and cookies ri
ght away - helps take your mind off the cramping. Some of us went sight-seeing t
hat afternoon. Mexico City is nice, and I had no trouble at all with any facet o
f the journey or my stay there. You know, in a way it was almost fun.`"
"Pro-abortion slogan #10: Abortion is safer than childbirth
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Clarification: The chances of dying of childbirth are miniscule. You say tha
t the chances of dying of an abortion are also tiny. We can rarely tell who will
die of either cause, so why base important life decisions on these statistics?
(2) Extrapolation: If abortion really is safer than childbirth, doesn't this mea
n that every pregnant woman should get an abortion? If not, why not?
(3) Parallelism: The risks of a woman dying from swimming, skiing, bicycling or
travelling by car or airplane are much greater than those associated with either
abortion or childbirth. Does this mean women should never do anything!?
So what?! The pro-lifer must ask his opponent to clarify his statement. Why is h
e asserting that abortion is safer than childbirth? This pro-abortion 'childbirt
h vs abortion' argument is nothing more than a verbal feint, and is analogous to
saying that every woman should have both breasts removed due to an increased ch
ance of dying from breast cancer! In reality, the death rate for childbirth is 5
.4 per 100,000 pregnancies, and the death rate for abortions is 33% higher at 7.
2 per 100,000 pregnancies. This is due to two reasons. First, the figure usually
quoted by pro-abortionists for abortion mortality is about 3.0 per 100,000. How
ever, this number does not include women who die of abortion related complicatio
ns after they leave the abortuary. If these deaths are factored in, the actual a
bortion mortality ratio is about 7.2 per 100,000. Secondly, the standard pro-abo
rtion figure for childbirth mortality is about 10.0 per 100,000. However, this f
igure includes deaths from miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies (which are not re
levant), and deaths from abortions! For detailed information on abortion and mat
ernal mortality, see the article 'Maternal Deaths' in the 'RST' Directory on the
Pro-life Library Compact Disc.

Pro-abortion slogan #11: What about....? [rape, incest, deformities, economics,

etc]
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Parallelism on rape: Do you favor the death penalty for rape? No? Why, then,
do you favor the death penalty for the innocent child?
(2) Clarification on incest: Abortion just helps cover up the crime so that the
perpetrator can continue his molestation of the victim.
(3) Extrapolation on birth defects: Do you support the elimination of handicappe
d adults and children? No? Then why do you support the killing of handicapped un
born babies?
The most effective way of refuting the 'what about?' slogan is by parallelism. T
his consists of simply applying the pro-abort's logic to human beings, eg. We do
n't kill the guilty rapist, so why should we kill the innocent child resulting f
rom the rape? We don't kill teenaged Down's Syndrome children - why should we ki
ll them when they're unborn? You say you can't afford another child? Why don't y
ou just kill the children you have now? That would really improve your financial
situation!
Whatever the excuse, when one group of people decides that another group of peop
le is somehow inferior or not worthy of life, they are falling into the trap of
eugenicist thinking. Once we begin to loftily judge which children are fit to li
ve and which are not, we have no way in the world of stopping the slaughter. It
is a short step from here to ending the lives of 'defectives' that are already b
orn. This is already occuring in western countries. More than 2,000 'defective'
newborns are being quietly put to death in the United States every year. Some 'd
octors' have referred to this as 'A second chance at abortion' or 'fourth-trimes
ter abortion'.
Pro-abortionists uses the 'hard cases' of rape and incest to drive the wedge tha
t eventually opens the door wide to unlimited abortion. They inevitably push for
more and more exceptions to this rule until they achieve abortion on demand. Th
is is the basis of the anti-life strategy of gradualism or incrementalism."

Pro-abortion slogan #12: Every child a wanted child!

Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Clarification: This slogan means that children do not have any intrinsic val
ue.
(2) Extrapolation: When unborn children are treated as property, this attitude n
aturally transfers to born children. Have you noticed the tremendous increase in
the numbers of newborns being beaten to death or dumped by their mothers? This
kind of murder is a direct result of thinking that only wanted children should liv
e.
(3) Refutation: The pro-choice movement promised us that abortion would eliminate
child abuse. What else did the pro-choice movement lie about?
Is there a more pathetic term in the world than unwanted child ? What kind of cold
hearted, soulless human being would even think that an unwanted child could exist?
What brings greater joy and innocence to the world than a sweet little baby?
This slogan assigns worth to a human life based purely on the whim of another pe
rson. This logic could just as easily be applied to born children. The pro-abort
ionist who uses this slogan is therefore indirectly advocating the disposal of u
nwanted born children. They might talk about battered children as being unwanted . To
this, the pro-lifer might reply that there are no such things as unwanted child
ren; there are only unwilling parents.
In its 1974 A Speaker s and Debater s Guide , the National Abortion Rights Action Leagu
e (now NARRAL) stated that `Legal abortion will decrease the number of unwanted
children, battered children, child abuse cases, and possibly subsequent delinque
ncy, drug addiction, and a host of social ills believed to be associated with n
eglectful parenthood` because unwanted children would be eliminated.
The Reality. Every pro-life knows just how much abortion has allegedly decreased c
hild abuse and drug addiction. Australia suffers greater levels of these evils n
ow than it ever has in its history. The rate of child abuse in the United States
is now three times higher than it was in 1973, when abortion was legalized.

Pro-abortion slogan #13: Outlawing abortion will create a new class of criminals
!
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Parallelism: According to this logic , we should legalise any behavior that happ
ens anyway , such as murder, rape and child molestation.
(2) Refutation: Women were never prosecuted for obtaining abortions. This is ano
ther pro-abortion myth.
(3) Parallelism: A woman who hires a hit man to whack her husband is not a victi
m, and neither is the woman who hires a hit man to slaughter her unborn baby.
The general idea behind this slogan is that women will always get abortions, so
if abortion is criminalised, pro-lifers will force them to get illegal back-alle
y abortions. In other words, the pro-abortionists are saying that if a law is co
mmonly flouted, the law should be discarded. Some pro-abortionists even claim th
at legalization would promote respect for the law . How ridiculous! If people know
they can ignore the law and it will be changed as a result, how does this promot
e respect for the law ?!
If people willfully break a law and injure themselves, their injuries are due to
their own illegal and irresponsible behavior. If a motorcyclist ignores a helme
t law and scrambles his brains in a crash, his injuries are due to his own negli
gence. If a junkie shoots up and dies of an overdose, he is solely responsible f
or his own fate.
If a woman is truly innocent of knowledge about the nature of her unborn child a
nd dies because of an illegal abortion, the double death is heartbreaking but th
ose who are ignorant of the dangers of driving without a seatbelt or hiking near
cliffs while drunk or using illegal drugs sometimes pay with their lives as wel
l.
The pro-abortionists commonly paint a vivid picture of prisons crammed with suff
ering women who have had illegal abortions. This is a scenario that has never ha
ppened, and it never will happen. No woman has ever been prosecuted for having a
n abortion in Australia or the USA. Punishment is invariably aimed at the aborti
onist, not the patient.

"Pro-life slogan #14: Banning abortion discriminates against poor & ethnic women
.
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Clarification: Abortion is not a 'good' that will improve the lives of women
.
(2) Clarification: Pro-abortionists deliberately target minority women!
(3) Clarification: Abortion itself is a racist institution.
Pro-abortionists continually allege that, if abortion in criminalised, only rich
women will be able to kill their unborn children. So what? Wealth and power hav
e always made breaking the law easier. The rich will always be able to afford co
caine and other illegal drugs, even if it costs a thousand dollars per ounce. Sh
ould we then subsidise dangerous drugs for the poor? Does the inability to purch
ase the very finest crack cocaine make the poor a class of victims? Of course no
t! Abortion is not a 'Good Thing'. With this 'poor folks' argument, the pro-abor
tionists are once again begging the question by making a basic false assumption,
ie., Abortion s a Good Thing. They are trying to paint the poor as 'victims' wh
o would be deprived of a 'basic human right'.
Abortion Itself is a Racist Institution. Black women in the USA obtain abortions
at more than twice the rate of White women. And their fatality rate from 'safe
and legal' abortion is four times that of White women, as shown in Chapter 13 of
The Facts of Life. What pro-abortionists really want in many cases is not only
'safe and legal' abortion, but also a reduction in the number of poor and non-Wh
ite people in this country. In fact, Australia's own Family Planning Associatio
n (now FPA Health) was originally known as the Racial Hygiene Association - a hi
story they proudly acknowledge! This is entirely in keeping with the philosophy
of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, who desired 'A race of th
roroughbreds'.
For more than a thousand lengthy pro-eugenics and other quotes by Margaret Sange
r and other authors from The Birth Control Review, see the Pro-Life Library Comp
act Disc. The Library CD also contains many racist quotes by modern-day pro-abor
tionists in 'anti-life quotes' in the 'RST' directory.
Pro-abortion slogan #15: Woman's body, woman's choice! Keep your laws off my bod
y! Keep your rosaries off my ovaries!
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Clarification: The pregnant woman has already reproduced, participating in t
he creation of an entirely separate being.

(2) Parallelism: If an unborn child is a part of the mother because it is inside

her, does being inside a room make us part of the room?
(3) Clarification: How can a male child be a part of a female mother?
Whose Body? Pro-lifers agree that a woman indeed has the right to control her ow
n body. However, the right to privacy and control over one's body in no way impl
ies the right to destroy another person's body. And a woman has already procreat
ed when she has concieved. The only question that remains is whether or not she
will kill. It is true, of course, that the baby is inside the mother's body, but
this no more makes it a part of her body then being inside a car makes one a pa
rt of the car. Most pro-abortionists will then arge that the baby is totally dep
endent upon the mother. They imply that this allows the mother the 'right' to di
spose of her baby.
Use parallelism to demonstrate that the pro-abortionist is saying that people ha
ve the right to dispose of those who are dependent upon them - such as newborn b
abies, the ill and elderly.
An analogous situation involves astronauts in space who are totally dependent up
on their vessel for everything - air, water, food, etc. If they left the vehicle
unprotected, they would be nonviable and die in seconds. Yet no thinking person
would argue that astronauts are a part of their space vehicle, and as such, are
disposable! If the baby were part of the woman's body, it should bear the same
characteristics as the mother.
Yet cnsider these undeniable facts: All mothers are obviously female yet half th
eir children are male; The mother and baby frequently have different blood types
; Every cell in the mother's body has a set of chromosomal characteristics that
is entirely distinct from every cell in the baby's body."

Pro-abortion slogan #16: We don t know when life begins. The fetus is just potentia
l life.
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Extrapolation/Clarification: So when does life begin, in your opinion? And h
ow can you prove your assertion?
(2) Clarification: The burden of proof should be on those who want to kill unbor
n babies, not those who want to defend them.
(3) Refutation of the potential life slogan in a three-step process (see below).
This is a truly contemptible slogan. What this slogan really means is, `I don t ca
re when life begins!` After all, if a person is uncertain whether or not an acti
on will take human life, he will refrain from taking that action. Our society do
es not allow behavior that may take life, even if the risks are small. We are no
t allowed to shoot a rifle in the direction of a freeway just because human life
might not be taken. And we have many local laws that forbid smoking in crowded
areas, because second-hand smoke may be injurious to others! In matters of publi
c safety, we always err on the side of life!
Pro-lifers will often encounter pro-abortionists who assert that `We don t know wh
en life begins` and then, when pressed, will say that `Life begins at birth`. As
k him or her how the two are compatible: How do they know that life begins at bi
rth if they don t know when life begins?
Refute the potential life slogan in a simple three-step process:
(1) establish that potential life represents a class of entities that simply do no
t exist
(2) show that the fetus is not dead
(3) conclude, by elimination, that it must therefore be alive.
Every entity on the face of the earth, animate or inanimate, is either alive or not
alive ( not alive means that an entity was either previously alive or never alive).
 Bacteria, cattle, and people are alive. Clouds, rocks, and corpses are not aliv
e. There is no in-between term, because either an entity possesses the spark of li
fe or it does not. If the unborn baby were dead, it would not be growing, and th
e natural miscarriage process would occur. Therefore, abortion would not be nec
essary!
Pro-abortion slogan #17: The fetus isn t really human.
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Parallelism: This degrading slogan is the basis of all oppression of women,
ethnic minorities etc. You have to dehumanize a class of human beings before you
can exploit or kill them. This is exactly what you are doing with this slogan.
(2) Clarification: Prove that the unborn child is not human. Once again, the onu
s is upon the person who wants to kill unborn children to prove this.
(3) Parallelism: The Nazis applied exactly this same fatal logic to the Jews. How
is this any different?
Geneticists and biologists define a human being as a member of the genus Homo Sapi
ens by the most fundamental and reliable measurement imaginable his or her chrom
osomal characteristics. Take any cell from and unborn baby and any microbiologis
t can tell you that it is human by examining its chromosomes. Perhaps the pro-ab
ortionist who uses this slogan is a National Enquirer enthusiast you know, `Wom
an Raped by Aliens, Gives Birth to 26 Monsters` - but, in reality, no human woma
n has ever actually given birth to anything other than a human being.
A pro-abortionist might assert that humanity is a progressive acquisition instead
of a fixed biological quality, i.e. one becomes human gradually as one is accept
ed into the human family . In other words, at some undefined point in time, an unbo
rn child crosses the line and becomes human. The purpose of this nonsense is obvio
us: As long as unborn children are anything less than 100 percent human, they ar
e equal to something that is not human in the least, and can easily be disposed
of.
This argument has no foundation in biology or in logic. If one begins with a hum
an sperm and a human egg, what else can the product be except human? Nobody foll
ows this line of reasoning when they talk about any other living creature. Nobody
speaks of the progressive chimpanzification of a chimpanzee, because nobody has
a vested interest in pushing a social agenda involving the slaughter of chimpanz
ees.

"Pro-abortion slogan #18: The fetus isn't a person.

Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Parallelism: This slogan is the basis of all oppression. You have to dehuman
ise or take away the 'personhood' of a class of human beings before you can expl
oit or kill them. This is exactly what you are doing with this slogan.
(2) Clarification: Prove that the unborn child is not a person. Once again, the
onus is upon the person who wants to kill unborn children to prove this.
Some anti-life groups and individuals acknowledge that unborn children are alive
and are human, but still deny that they are persons. This is a desperately dang
erous attitude. When we acknowledge that we are killing human beings - for whate
ver reason - but deny them personhood, literally no one is safe! The Nazis fell
into this trap. They acknowledged only that they were destroying 'human weeds' a
nd 'life not worth living', and officially classified their victims as 'non-pers
ons'.
The slavers also fell into this trap. They acknowledged the obvious life in thei
r slaves (after all, dead slaves can't work), and their obvious humanity (other
species weren't intelligent enough to follow orders), but drew the line at their
personhood. Slaves were, according to the United States Sumpreme Court's 1857 D
red Scott v. Sanford decision, officially 'non-persons'.
It is easy to predict where this line of reasoning inevitably leads. To grant li
fe and humanity to an individual, but then withhold his personhood, is the most
powerful tool of opression and genocide. Inconvenient and (almost) invisible unb
orns are the easiest to dispose of, so they are the first to be eliminated. The
killing ground has now expanded from the uterus to private hospital rooms and ou
t-of-the-way nursing homes.
Finally, entire classes of 'imperfect' human beings will lose their personhood b
ecause they don't measure up to the standards of the decision-makers. Don't chuc
kle at these predictions. This process has happened before and if we are not vig
ilant and fearless in battle, it will inevitably happen again!

Pro-abortion slogan #19: We're not 'pro-abortion'. We're 'pro-choice'.

Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Parallelism: You can only be 'pro-choice' if the choices are all ethical. Yo
u can never support an immoral or unethical choice.
(2) Refutation: If you're so 'pro-choice', then why do all major 'pro-choice' gr
oups support, either actively or with their silence, the forced abortion program
in China?
(3) Clarification: If you're so 'pro-choice', then why do you support forcing pr
o-lifers to pay for abortions? Do you help women carry pregnancies to term like
we do, or are you committed to only one choice - abortion?
Pro-abortionists prefer the term 'pro-choice' because they know that the word 'A
BORTION' conjures up vivid pictures of a bloody, cowardly act of outright slaugh
ter, and so they desparately dodge the much more accurate term 'pro-abortion'. T
he major pro-abortion groups have an ideal self image that they would like to pr
oject for the public: That of benevolent, neutral observers passively monitoring
abortion from the political sidelines, bereft of any relevant ideology or inter
ests. If this is true, why are they all pushing abortion so hard?
Pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and the Family Planning Association
(now FPA Health) insist that others, even those who object to abortion, pay for
them with their tax dollars. Is this 'pro-choice'?
Furthermore, not one so-called 'pro-choice' group has ever condemned China's pol
icy of forced abortions, forced sterilisation and mandatory birth control. The m
ost certain way to refute the 'pro-choice' slogan is to ask the pro-abortionist
what he does to help mothers carry their babies to term. After all, 'pro-choice'
implies support for all of the choices the mother might make. If the pro-aborti
onist is an activist whose efforts are entirely dedicated towards making sure ab
ortion is 'safe and legal', then her actions are not consistent with her words."

"Pro-abortion slogan #20: Abortion should be safe, legal and rare. I'm personall
y opposed to abortion. Sometimes, pro-abortionists will use the 'safe, legal and
 rare' slogan popularised by the Abortion President, Bill Clinton.
Whenever a pro-abortionist insists upon using this slogan, we should ask him: If
abortion is such a good thing, why should it be rare? If it has no physical or
psychological ill effects, why should it be rare? And if it is supposed to be ra
re, what have you done to make it rare?
A pro-lifer may have the great good fortune to encounter a pro-abortion politici
an who trots out the tired old self-excuse, `I'm personally opposed to abortion,
but I don't want to impose my morality on other people.` This is a variant on t
he `abortion should be safe, legal and rare` slogan. The pro-lifer can quickly p
ut him in an impossible jam by asking the simple and direct question `Why do you
personally oppose abortion?` This slogan makes no sense because it disconnects
actions from attitudes.
Why should someone who is opposed to abortion vote for it or support it in any w
ay? If someone uses this slogan, ask him what other activities he 'personally op
poses' while simultaneously supporting, and you will quickly expose the illogic
of this position.
Does he 'personally oppose' racism while refusing to speak out about it?
Does he 'personally oppose' the beating up of homosexuals, yet says or does noth
ing about it? Of course he is going to speak out against racism, and 'gay-bashin
g'! If he 'personally opposes' abortion, why does he not speak out against abort
ion?
With the 'personally opposed' slogan, pro-abortion people hope to do two things:
(1) To portray themselves as principled while straddling the fence, and
(2) To influence the more timid people with pro-life leanings to stay uninvolved
by setting an example of 'tolerance' and 'nonjudgmentalism'.

Pro-abortion slogan #21: If you're against abortion, don't have one!

Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Parallelism: What about this: If you're against war, don't go to war!
If you're against child molestation, don't molest kids!
(2) Clarification: What you're trying to say is that, if a person is against a p
ractice he believes is criminal or sinful or harmful, he has no right to oppose
it. His only option is to stand aside and watch it happen. Do you follow this ph
ilosophy in your personal life? If you do, then you are an irresponsible coward
and a rotten citizen, without a shred of altruism.
As with many other thoughtless pro-abortion slogans, you can use the powerful we
apon of parallelism to destroy this one. All you ahve to do is apply the pro-abo
rtionist's logic to any liberal cuase in order to demonstrate how profoundly stu
pid, illogical and unjust it really is. For example: If you're against war, don'
t be a soldier. You have no right to oppose war in any other way; If you're agai
nst fur coats, don't wear one. You have no right to oppose fur coats in any othe
r way; If you're against racism, don't be a racist; If you're against captial pu
nishment, then don't be an executioner.
It is the God-given right of every human being to stand up against what he perce
ives to be evil or immoral. Do not let the anti-lifers hoodwink you into giving
up this right. What kind of person would be against an activity he deemed evil a
nd yet did nothing to stop it? A coward! And that's exactly what the pro-abortio
nists want us to be - cowards!"
"Pro-abortion slogan #22: Birth control would prevent abortion, but you're again
st it!
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Clarification: Many leading pro-abortionists have acknowledged that contrace
ption leads to more abortions. If contraception is so efficient at preventing pr
egnancy, why does the abortion rate keep going up?
(2) Clarification: Abortion is being used as back-up birth control by many women
.
(3) Clarification: Most so-called 'contraceptives', including all birth control
pills, Depo-Provera, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and Norplant, are abortifacient
s.
Contraception inevitably leads to abortion. Why does this happen? At first glanc
e, it would seem that women would experience fewer pregnancies if they were on c
ontraception. However, the opposite is true, anpro-abortion groups even admit it
. Women who use contraception are much more likely to get abortions since contra
ceptive methods are nowhere near as reliable as their manufacturers claim. In fa
ct, 48% of all women who currently obtain abortions were using contraception whe
n they conceived! The abortionists themselves admit this.
Dr. Malcolm Potts, former Medical Director of the International Planned Parentho
od Federation, said that `As people turn to contraception, there will be a rise,
not a fall, in the abortion rate.`
Many pro-lifers also oppose the use of the oral contraceptives (OCs), intrauteri
ne devices (IUDs), Norplant, Depo-Provera, and the so-called 'emergency contrace
ptive' or 'morning-after pill' (MAP), because they are abortifacients (ie. they
cause early chemical abortion); and because thousands of women have died due to
the side effects of artificial contraception.
For background information on the many intimate connections between contraceptio
n and abortion, see Chapter 2 of 'The Facts of Life'.
Pro-abortion slogan #23: Anti-choice fanatics hate their own sexuality. They are
members of an extreme anti-sexual movement.
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Clarification: What do you mean by that?
(2) Refutation: The person who strives to destroy an integral part of their sexu
ality (fertility) is the one who really hates his/her sexuality.
(3) Refutation: Pro-lifers have an average of 3 or 4 chldren, and pro-abortionis
ts only have one or two, if any, Who hates their sexuality?
Excuse Me? This is a particularly comical statement, originating as it does from
people who do everything imaginable to destroy their own sexuality. They desper
ately fight to pervert and crush the natural product of their own sexuality - fe
rtility. They pop pills, insert wires into their uteri, use 'rubber goods', jams
and jellies - and when all of this junk fails, they kill the child they are car
rying.
This slogan is a classic example of pro-abortion psychological projection, and i
s easy to expose. To begin with, the pro-lifer should ask his opponent to clarif
y exactly what he means by this vague statement. This will encourage the pro-abo
rtionist to make even more extreme statements. It is interesting to note that a
comprehensive survey by sociologists at the University of Missouri showed that c
ouples who consider themselves'pro-life' have an average of 3.4 children, while
those who consider themselves 'pro-choice' have an average of just 1.3 child re
n. If, despite their best efforts, pro-lifers do not win the abortion battle in
the courts or legislatures, all they will have to do is work and wait - in a cou
ple of generations, they will simply outnumber the anti-lifers by a huge margin.
In a demographic battle between the DINKS (Double Income, No Kids) and the SIL
KS (Single Income, Lots of Kids), there can only be one winner. Pro-abortionists
get very nervous indeed when you point this fact out to them."

"Pro-abortion slogan #24: Pro-lifers are violent fanatics. Look at all the clini
c bombings!
There have been about 150 incidents of abortion clinic bombing and vandalism in
the United States since 1980.
Some of these buildings have been totally destroyed, and others merely defaced.
But almost all the attacks were aimed at the buildings, not at people - and ever
y bombing but two has taken place when the buildings were unoccupied. In Austral
ia, there has never been a clinic bombing.
Furthermore in the USA, half of all abortion clinic bombings and most bomb threa
ts have never been solved, and authorities consider many to be 'inside jobs'. Fo
r example, pro-abortion activist Frank Mandiola of Los Angeles was caught phonin
g in bomb threats to his own abortion mill and even to his own home.
When so-called 'pro-lifers' are convicted of violence against abortionists, they
are commonly found to have no connection to established pro-life groups whom th
ey consider to be weak, impotent or not serious minded. This was true of the Aus
tralian man recently convicted of killing a Melbourne abortion security guard.
On the Other Hand: Pro-Abortion Violence. More than 550 women have died from so-
called 'safe and legal' abortion in the USA since 1973. In many cases, the abort
ionists simply walked away from women who were obviously dying of botched aborti
ons. There are also more than 500 documented instances of pro-abortionists physi
cally assaulting pro-lifers. They have run pro-lifers down with their cars; bea
ten them with baseball bats; threatened them with guns; punched, kicked, hosed a
nd spat on them! More than a thousand incidents of extreme pro-abortion violence
are shown on the map and listed in a detailed document in the RST Directory on
the Pro-life Library Compact Disc.
Finally, however, pro-lifers must relentlessly bring the focus back to the real
violence that is taking place inside the abortion clinics every day - abortions
using prostaglandin, salt-poisoning, or D&E abortion, which burn, decapitate, an
d dismember babies and seriously endanger women.
Pro-abortion slogan #25: You're a man! You have absolutely no right to speak out
against abortion because you can't get pregnant.
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) Clarification: You're making the sexist allegation that truth depends on gen
der?
(2) Parallelism: Are you capable of having children? [If the pro-abort is an old
er woman, or one who has been neutered, what gives her the right to speak?]
(3) Parallelism: Are you saying that people not involved in an issue are not all
owed to speak out on it?
Pro-abortion women use this handy, all-purpose slogan in their feeble attempts t
o intimidate men. They use the same logic to try to muzzle pro-life churches, sa
ying they cannot speak out against abortion because that would violate the so-ca
lled 'separation of church and state'. We must insist that the validity and trut
h of an argument has nothing whatsoever to do with a person's gender, age, race,
or any other variable. If a statement is true, then it is true - no matter who
is saying it! There are plenty of men speaking out for abortion. They can't get
pregnant either, so why aren't the pro-abortionists telling them to mind their o
wn business? If the pro-abortionists want to be consistent, only those persons
of either sex who are fertile and not on any kind of birth control should be abl
e to speak out either for or against abortion. But it is generally futile to exp
ect pro-abortionists to be consistent.
Using pro-abortion logic, only ethnic people can speak out against racism becaus
e only they are adversely affected by it. Only people on death row, and their im
mediate relatives, can speak about capital punishment, because only they are dir
ectly affected by the death penalty.
Pro-lifers might quote Mike Royko, who in his classic style said `True, a man do
esn't know what it is like to bear a child. On the other hand, I don't know of a
ny woman who knows what it feels like to have a hole poked in the base of her sk
ull and her brains sucked out, although some talk as if they may have experience
d it.`"

"Human Life International is the world's largest pro-life/pro-family organisatio

n. It was founded in 1981 by Fr Paul Marx OSB, PhD.
Its mission: to bring the pro-life/pro-family message to countries throughout th
e world.
One doesn't have to look far to see that the world we live in today is a dramati
cally different place than it was only 35 years ago. We are faced everyday with
a multitude of devastating problems including skyrocketing divorce rates, an epi
demic of veneral disease, children killing children, 50 million surgical abortio
ns worldwide annually, together with an untold number of chemical abortions, the
elderly at risk through euthanasia, governmental interference with parental ri
ghts, rampant crime, and gross materialism.
At HLI we maintain that the root cause of these problems is a culture of death t
hat has permeated society at large - a world where Godlessness prevails and with
it, the loss of respect for both the sanctity of life and the dignity of the fa
mily.
As a missionary apostolate, HLI works to promote the Culture of Life through ind
ependent chapters and branches throughout the world. HLI has also established pr
ogrammes throughout the world to provide direct assistance to people in need. We
support all peaceful means aimed at restoring the culture of life.
HLI is a non-profit organisation devoted to educating people about the evils of
abortion, sterilisation, euthanasia, contraception and other modern threats to l
ife and family."
That's all the general info which you probably already know. We'll get into the
more detailed bits of the diary soon.
They also had some information for making donations. I think most people on this
 list are at school or uni anyway, but if anyone wants to make a donation the de
tails are below. Also below is their contact information.
"We rely 100% on the generosity of friends to continue this work of defending Li
fe, Faith and Family in Australia. Please help this important baby saving work w
ith your donation today."