I have recently read Why Pro-Life? by Randy Alcorn. It is a very well-written book explaining clearly and logically that unborn babies – from conception to birth – are human beings who must be protected, nurtured and respected. And, therefore, abortion and even taking the ‘morning after pill’ is wrong. In one of the chapters, Randy Alcorn quotes pro-lifer Scott Klusendorf who points out that there are only four differences between a pre-born and a newborn. These differences may easily be remembered using the acronym SLED:
Size: Are big people more human than small people?
Level of Development: Are 25-year-olds more human than 8-year-olds, since they are cleverer and stronger?
Environment: Does being inside a house make you more human than being outside it? Does being located inside your mother’s womb make you less human than being outside it?
Degree of Dependency: Are people dependent on kidney dialysis or pacemakers less human than those who have no need of such dependence? If people are less human because they are dependent, does that make it okay to kill them?