by Ray Comfort
Did you know that over 50 million people were killed in the Second World War? Think of it— 50 million people—in one war! It was started by the leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler. For some reason, Hitler hated Jewish people, and when he rose to high political power he made it legal to kill them. He then systematically had six million Jews—men, women, and children—murdered in the cruelest of ways. There is a reason that I would like you to know what happened to the Jewish people. I want you to see that there is a parallel between what happened in Germany during those years and what is happening now. The following are common pro-abortion arguments (in italics) taken directly from prochoice websites:
Pro-choice (abortions) refer to the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete right over her fertility and that she should have the freedom to decide whether she wants to continue or terminate her pregnancy. The pro-choice movement entails to guarantee a woman her reproductive rights.
Hitler’s rise to power came about because he seemed to care about the German people. The nation was in economic chaos after the First World War, and he promised to restore its glory and bring in full employment. When he rose to a place of supreme political power and instigated laws so that he could kill Jewish people, he did it saying that it was for the good of Germany. Consequently, Hitler gave the German people the freedom to decide whether to continue or to terminate the life of a Jew. That right was guaranteed.
Control over her body and the freedom to decide the course of her life is critical to a woman’s civil rights. When a woman is pregnant it is her body that goes through all the stress of pregnancy. If she decides not to have a pregnancy she should be able to do so. Denying her the right to her body is violating her most basic freedom.
The law that allowed the killing of Jews was critical to the benefit and happiness of all Germans. Hitler painted Jews as the scum of the earth, blaming them for the economic plight of the German people. The existence of Jews violated German civil rights and caused economic stress. Denying the German people the right to enjoy life violated their most basic freedom.
One of the most pertinent questions regarding abortion is when does life begin? A fetus may be alive but so are sperms and eggs. It’s true that life in every form should be respected. However, should the right of a fetus be greater than that of a woman who in a majority of the cases would bear the responsibility of the unplanned child?
One of the most basic pertinent questions regarding the killing of Jews was their humanity.
Were they human beings or were they something else? Hitler said that they weren’t human. In a speech in 1923, he declared, “The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but not human. They cannot be human in the sense of being an image of God, the Eternal. The Jews are the image of the Devil.” Jews were a life form, but so were dogs and cats. Every form of life should be respected; however, should the right of a Jew be greater than that of a German, who, in the majority of cases, had to bear the responsibility of those who weren’t human?
One of the important abortion facts is that most of the abortions take place in the first trimester when the fetus cannot live independent of the mother. It depends on the mother through the placenta and the umbilical cord for nutrition and health and hence should not be considered a separate entity.
The way Hitler began the killing of millions of Jews was to isolate them. They were put into “ghettos” and starved of food. They were completely dependent on the German people for survival and thus became an economic drain. So, killing them off became the final and most sensible solution.
A lot of care and precautions are taken while carrying out an abortion. Most of the abortions are done during the first trimester when abortions are most safe. As a result, abortions pose only 0.5% risk for the woman to develop serious complications. This certainly does not affect women’s health gravely or their ability to conceive in future.
A lot of care and precaution were taken when killing Jews. They were systematically and very efficiently herded into box cars that were normally used to transport animals. When they were removed from the trains, the killing-machine ran with precision and safety. Older people, weaker men, women, and children were separated from those who could work. They were quickly stripped of clothing, their hair was removed, and they were told that they needed to be showered. They were then quickly herded into “showers” and gassed to death. Gold was removed from their teeth and the bodies were burned. No Germans were put at risk during this procedure, nor did the killing of Jews affect their health.
Unwanted teenage pregnancy can have serious complications if the pregnancy is continued. An adolescent is neither mentally nor physically ready to continue a pregnancy. Besides health related complications, a minor mother isn’t psychologically ready to handle the responsibilities of a child. With a life to support, many such girls drop out of school and start working in order to fend for the child. This certainly spells a bleak future for such girls.
Allowing Jews to live could have had serious complications for the German people. It meant that millions would have to be educated and then they would compete for jobs. Allowing them to live would affect the quality of German education. This certainly spelled a bleak future for Germans.
While some believe that life begins at conception, there are others that do not believe in this. There are different theories regarding when life begins. Unless everyone can be made to agree to the one point when life begins, laws prohibiting abortion would be forcing one theory on all.
Germans would have killed Jews anyway—if it wasn’t legal for them to kill them. If they went ahead and murdered them themselves, it could have posed a threat to their life and health. It was far better to legalize their killing and have it done properly.
