SLED and Abortion

Though the abortion rate in the US has been declining recently, the Guttmacher Institute (GI) still reports over 860,000 abortions in the US in 2017. GI also reported that in 2014 “17% of abortion patients identified as mainline Protestant, 13% as evangelical Protestant and 24% as Catholic…” Also according to GI one-third of all women in the US will have had at least one abortion by age 45. What are the reasons given for having an abortion?  According to GI, 74% say “having a baby will dramatically change my life.” And 73% also say “I can’t afford a baby right now.”  However, these reasons do not justify a parent killing a 2-month old baby (at least not currently), so why do they seemingly justify abortions?  What is different about a pre-born human being and a born human being such as an infant, or toddler, teenager, etc.?

Let’s consider the four main differences most often raised by pro-choice advocates.  A good way to remember them is using the acronym SLED (What To Say and How To Say It by Brandon Vogt.)  Picture an infant riding a sled.  S is for Size.  L is for Level of development. E is for Environment. D is for Dependency.  In the next articles, we will see how these differences are arbitrary and rather than reasons are merely rationale for discrimination against the unborn that do not withstand scrutiny.

In Christ, Ken.