If "right to life" is simply a crusader slogan and what is really meant is the "right to be born," then our religious traditions speak to this issue. In my own religious understanding, being born was never seen as anything but a gift—a miraculous, marvelous surprise present—a gift of God. To speak of being born as a "right" jars the sensibilities. We are born (hopefully) of a woman's free will and human intention, at the cost of real physical pain and nourishing care, and that birth ought never be forced, compelled or mandated by another person or the state itself. Rights begin with birth—they are a birthday present—hence "birthright."
But Chuck Colson exposes the deceptive logic:
To speak of life as a gift sounds perfectly reasonable on its face, because, of course, life is a gift from God. The problem with Moody's argument that I have just given you is that life begins not with birth, but at conception. Thus, the person in the womb is entitled to the same civil rights you and I enjoy.
Read the whole thing.
