Had a dangerous thought the other day. I'd like some thoughts.
@Lead or other mods, feel free to take it down if you see fit
Suppose there is a clinic in your neighborhood that people bring their newborns and toddlers to. Inside, the staff euthanize the otherwise healthy children and dispose the bodies, and the parents walk out free to carry on their day. This happens hundreds of times per week. You call the cops and beg them to do something, but they tell you that the clinic is perfectly legal. You call your local representatives, but they blow you off. If that was what you truly believed was happening, then committing a terrorist act to blow up the clinic or kill the staff, or anyone else that enables it *could* be a rational and moral response.
So why don't attacks on abortion clinics happen more often? I try to say this without trying to diminish the danger clinicians and politicians and activists truly face, but if it was really as dire and gruesome as the pro-life side claimed, you would expect the response to be proportionally as bad. I can only think of a few reasons: First, and most probable imo, is because equating fetuses with living babies is a rhetorical tactic and the people use disingenuously; they know if they break kayfabe, it will crack the pillar of their argument. A second reason is that some people are true believers but they lack the conviction to do what they believe is right.
So here's the dangerous part: If you point out the contradiction, there is a small chance that someone would come to the conclusion that they are cowardly and they need to do something to resolve that dissonance. So is it better to not point out the contradiction in the first place?
Note: the argument doesn't just apply to abortion. It could be any issue that is framed as a matter of imminent large scale life and death, like gun control, the climate change, immigration, etc. The only conclusion I can come up with is to personally avoid framing your positions in extreme absolutes, both for preventing yourself from getting trapped in a logic corner and to keep from inciting others.
