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Babies aren’t tapeworms

By Randal Rauser, Op-Ed Contributor Friday, February 21, 2020

There are pro-choice people who take seriously the moral weight of killing a human fetus and nonetheless side with the right of the mother to do so. And then there are pro-choice people who dehumanize and objectify the human fetus, recasting him/her as a “parasite”. This is the same rhetoric used to eradicate populations in genocide, mass killing, and war. It finds its ideological foundation in Judith Jarvis Thomson’s essay “A Defense of Abortion.” And it’s evil.

Yesterday, my daughter sent me this statement she has seen on several pro-choice feminist sites. It mocks the moral significance of the human fetus having a heartbeat and being able to feel pain by comparing said fetus to a parasitic tapeworm:

As I said, this is simply wicked. As a rhetorical rejoinder, it is also mind-numbingly stupid. Spitting on the beauty of motherhood and the incomparable gift of a precious, vulnerable new human life in this manner is not pro-woman. It is misogynistic and contemptible.

Here is an extraordinary presentation from TED of the development of a human fetus. If all you see here is a parasitic tapeworm, then I feel sorry for you. For here is a miracle and gift of unparalleled beauty and the very heart of human love.

Dr. Randal Rauser is Professor of Historical Theology at Taylor Seminary in Edmonton, Alberta, where he has taught since 2003. He blogs at randalrauser.com and lectures widely on issues of theology, Christian worldview, and apologetics. Randal is the author of many books including his latest, What's So Confusing About Grace?