New Mexico

Distracting From The Discussion

Often in a discussion of abortion one side will try to distract the other by not focusing on the topic at hand, but defending their position by repeating the mantras of their side. For example, when a pro-life view of the nature of the unborn is given, the pro-choicer’s rebuttal sometimes is, “It’s the woman’s right to choose” or “It’s her body” or any number of arguments. The goal is to distract the pro-lifer from their view because the pro-choicer is very uncomfortable about talking about what the unborn is. Then the pro-lifer should state “Let’s first discuss what the unborn is before we move on to one of your assertions.” If they agree, then you can take each claim one at a time. If they continually distract you before you’re done with the original discussion then there is no need to pursue the conversation any further. A helpful way to get the pro-choicer focused is to say “Let’s talk through my claim first, and you will have an opportunity to show me that I possibly could be wrong. I want to listen to what you have to say about my assertions on the issue.”

The reverse is also true. If the pro-choicer first makes a claim, then the pro-lifer shouldn’t automatically dismiss it. They also shouldn’t start with their own mantras, such as “Abortion is murder,” or “Aren’t you glad your mother didn’t abort you?” It’s the pro-lifers responsibility to work through the pro-choice arguments, one at a time, and attempt to show the fallacy of them.

In both cases there needs to constantly be a focus on one particular area of the debate. It must be done in a logical fashion or emotions often will take over on either side and little progress will be made.