The Violinist Argument (argument from bodily autonomy) sets up an analogy for why abortion should be acceptable. Imagine that there is a world famous violinist - a skilled and important member of society. Unfortunately, the violinist falls ill and the only way to save him is for him to be hooked up to your body for nine months. You are his life support. 

We all recognize that if such a thing would be imposed upon you, it would be unjust. A person, no matter how valuable or famous, does not have the right to use your body if you don't want them to. The argument extrapolates from this conclusion that abortion, then, is legitimate, as it is merely the refusal to allow another person to use one's body for their sustenance (see the full argument here). 

Let me begin by acknowledging that I understand the issue of abortion disproportionately affects women. Their bodies are the ones which endure the effects of bearing a child, and all too frequently fathers leave mothers to take care of a child by themselves. I completely understand how one could look at the pro-life Christians through the filter of vocal distortions of Christianity, and decide that Christianity is anti-woman. I can see why one would think that the pro-life case is an attempt to perpetuate patriarchy and subjugate women. However, I want to throw a crazy sounding idea out there. Though the issue certainly looks different for men and women in terms of how consequences are borne, I want to argue that the pro-life case may actually harm men as much as it does women. 

​One valuable thought experiment levied against pro-lifers created by science fiction writer, Patrick S. Tomlinson, asks a very difficult question. If you, a pro-life advocate, were in an IVF clinic and there was a fire, if you had to choose between saving 1,000 human embryos or a toddler, who would you save? It seems the honest response of everyone (myself included) is that they would save the toddler. But if we're pro-life and believe embryos have just as much intrinsic worth, doesn't our choice to save the toddler belie or true belief that the toddler has more intrinsic value? 

One of the most influential Christian apologists in my life, Greg Kokul, has a very insightful way to begin any conversation about abortion. He asks us to imagine that a little child comes up to us and asks us, "Can I kill it?" Of course any responsible parent will need to ask a clarifying question, as the "it" here could mean "spider," but could also mean "my little brother." What is it that we are talking about killing? ​