1. Why do some people argue that laws legalizing abortion are neutral? Based on the text, how could you make a case that they are not neutral? (Read also page 63.)
2. Why did Descartes think his two-story dualism would function as a defense of Christianity? (Be sure to read endnote 12.) Why did his defense fail?
3. How does the two-story dualism affect people’s thinking about abortion? (Reread the relevant material from chapter 1 and include it in your answer.) Why is it logically unavoidable to think in dualistic terms if you accept abortion?
4. If personhood is not grounded in being biologically human, what is it grounded in? What are the problems with any proposed criterion?
5. How does the same reasoning used to support abortion also support infanticide? What other practices would it support?
6. Some people argue that laws against abortion would impose a religious belief. Using material in the text, how might you answer?
7. The pro-life movement is based on scientific evidence that life begins at conception. Summarize that evidence based on the text. Do you find it persuasive? Why or why not? Add any additional evidence that you are familiar with.
8. Explain how abortion supporters have started to deny science and to rely instead on a non-scientific, non-empirical, metaphysical concept of personhood. In short, they have moved to the upper story.
9. Restate in your own words the case for saying the arguments for abortion are exclusive, while arguments for life are inclusive.
10. How does evolutionary materialism reduce the concept of human rights to a “Christian myth”? Does any worldview outside of Christianity offer a basis for human rights? Defend your answer.
11. A Christian couple faced the diagnosis of possible birth defects in their unborn child. Doctors urged them to abort the baby. The husband told his wife, “I have an opinion, but it’s your choice.” Do you think men have a right to express an opinion on abortion? Why or why not?
12. There are many misinterpretations of Exodus 21:22–25. Read endnote 56 and explain how the verse is often misunderstood, and how recent biblical scholarship interprets it.
13. Summarize the case that Christianity’s opposition to abortion and infanticide actually express a high view of women. Do you agree? Why or why not?
14. What are some concrete creative ways Christians can live out the biblical teaching on the high value of human life? Give examples from your own experience.
Dialogue
“Mom, Dad, I’m pregnant. I want an abortion.” Imagine this is your daughter, or that the boy involved is your son. Or imagine you are talking with a friend who wants an abortion. Using material from this chapter, practice how you might respond. Explain that abortion logically entails a dualistic view of the human being—one that inevitably devalues the early stages of human life.
Dialogue
You are a college student talking with a professor who says opposition to abortion is based on religion and does not belong in the public square. In a respectful manner, interact with your professor to get him or her to see that, in reality, people who reject abortion rely on science, while those who support abortion reject science and rely on a purely metaphysical concept of personhood.