This week Bill Nye took to YouTube channel Big Think to make a statistical argument in favor of unrestricted abortion. His line of reasoning, comprising the first minute of the video, boils down to the idea that because a large percentage of human beings die within a week of being conceived, it is folly to value human life at any time before birth. Nye spends the remaining three and a half minutes condescending to pro-life caricatures, citing unidentified ancient texts, and admonishing us to dedicate ourselves to issues more important than the wanton dismemberment of innocent children.
For those keeping score, the biological argument in favor of unrestricted abortion, advanced by ethicist Peter Singer and predicated on the idea of autonomy, led to the barbaric conclusion that infanticide is ethical, and sometimes even desirable. Nye’s argument from statistics sets an arbitrary timeline for what constitutes a worthwhile lifespan, leading to the conclusion that human existence has no value because we are all going to die anyway.
Pro-lifers should be encouraged by the short video because it reveals a decided lack of scientific evidence in favor or abortion and underscores the crux of the abortion debate: Either all human life is precious, or no human life is precious.
The video is embedded below along with a list of Nye’s talking points.
Bill Nye’s arguments for opposing legislation that would restrict abortion:
-A large number of humans in the blastocyst stage of development fail to implant in the uterus and subsequently die.
-If we respect the dignity of blastocyst humans, it follows that we need to imprison men and women whose babies fail to implant.
-The typical pro-life advocate is a man of European descent trying to tell women what to do.
-Pro-life laws are based on an interpretation of a book written 5000 years ago.
-Pro-life advocates believe that every act of sexual intercourse should result in a baby. Legislation to restrict abortion is based on this unscientific belief.
-You can’t tell someone else what to do.
-Abortion is needed because a woman might not like the man who impregnated her and might not want anything to do with his genes, especially if she has been raped.
-There are more important issues than abortion.
-Science has taught us a lot about life before birth. Pro-life advocates are not scientists and do not know what happens after an egg is fertilized.
-Teaching abstinence is ineffective. Closing abortion clinics and not giving women access to birth control will not lead to a healthy society.
-I understand that you have deeply religious beliefs that give you respect for what you perceive as unborn people, but look at the facts and don’t tell women what to do.
-Pro-life laws are in nobody’s best interest.
-We have other problems to solve.
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