“My body, my choice!”

It’s a slogan you hear all the time from pro-abortion advocates. It’s on bumper stickers, t-shirts, signs, and even mugs! It’s probably the most common pro-abortion slogan you’ve heard. Implicit in this clichéd slogan is, of course, the idea that an unborn baby (or fetus) is merely part of a pregnant mother’s body, and because of that, she should legally be free to do whatever she wants with it.

Setting aside the facts that countless justified laws affect what we do with our bodies (we cannot use our bodies to steal, abuse, murder, etc.), this argument begs an obvious question. Is a fetus just a part of a pregnant mother’s body? Many assert it is.

Pro-choice advocates often argue that a fetus is not a baby but merely a "clump of cells," akin to a tumor or parasite, and therefore not human. They believe this justifies abortion as a healthcare decision rather than the killing of a child. From this perspective, if the fetus is not human, then it would logically follow that a woman has the right to remove it, much like one would remove cancer or treat another medical condition. This framing allows them to view abortion as a simple exercise of autonomy rather than an ethical dilemma involving another human life.

But is that really true?

To determine the validity of this idea, let’s go through some real-life scenarios to see if it makes sense to perceive a fetus as part of a pregnant mother’s body.

Let’s say that a mother is pregnant with a baby boy. Assuming her unborn child is old enough and is developing properly, we can expect this baby to grow a skull, arms, legs, hands, toes, a heart, two lungs, and male genitalia. He might even have a different blood type than his mother. He is, biologically, a separate organism with his own genetic code. But how can this be? Women are only supposed to have one skull, one heart, and one set of lungs! And while intersex women can have male genitals, genetically ordinary women don’t! These are clear markers of a separate biological organism. And what if the baby develops Down syndrome, a unique genetic condition? Does this mean the woman (whose body is allegedly the same as her child’s) also has Down syndrome in this scenario?

Scientifically, we’d be completely flabbergasted if the scenario above occurred! Unless, of course, this unborn baby boy is not part of his mother’s body. Once we realize this is the case, everything suddenly makes sense.

There is only one rational option left: an unborn baby is not part of his or her mother’s body. It does no good for society to use faulty arguments surrounding abortion, so regardless of one’s feelings on abortion, we ought to abandon the false idea that a fetus is merely part of a woman’s body. And if so, the phrase “my body, my choice” loses all meaning as an argument.

Pro-choice advocates might counter this by focusing on the dependency of the fetus on the mother. They argue that because the fetus cannot survive outside the womb in the early stages of pregnancy, it is entirely reliant on the mother's body for survival—blurring the lines between independence and physical integration. Yet, dependence is not unique to unborn children; newborns, too, are entirely dependent on caregivers for survival. Does this dependency diminish their inherent human value?

We must ask ourselves: does a human’s right to life depend on their level of development or ability to survive alone? Pro-lifers argue that the answer is no. Human rights should not depend on size, level of development, or location inside the womb. Human rights are inherent.

Additionally, we need to examine what abortion entails. Abortion is the killing and dismemberment of a living human baby. From the moment of conception, the fetus is a living entity, growing, metabolizing, and responding to its environment. It is not a clump of cells that is removed, it is not a tumor that is killed, it is not a parasite that is eradicated, it is a living, human child. Killing a child in an elective abortion is a violation of the basic human right to life. But don’t take my word for it, you can go to www.abortionprocedures.com to learn about abortion procedures for yourself. If you’re religious, ask God in prayer if this is evil and should be stopped.

Last of all, to any Pro-Choicers reading this article, I would ask that they thoughtfully reconsider whether this suspiciously baby-shaped fetus with its own biological uniqueness, heartbeat, and wonders is just a “clump of cells.” This isn't just a theoretical debate—innocent lives are at stake.

This debate isn’t about abstract philosophy. It concerns real lives and serious moral questions.

Hopefully, this puts the inaccurate, worn-out slogan “my body, my choice” to rest once and for all.