Objection: "Would you call an acorn an oak tree?" (May newsletter)
(To see the HTML version of the newsletter, click here .) "Sir, would you call an acorn an oak tree?" the student asked. I looked out over the mixed crowd of abortion opponents and supporters. "No," I responded. "Thank you for illustrating my point, actually. An acorn is not an oak tree--but, it is part of the oak family. Just as an acorn is a very young member of the oak family, a fetus is a very young member of the human family." He tried again: "So, if I asked for an oak tree, you'd bring me an acorn?" "No," I said, "just like if you asked me for an infant, I wouldn't bring you a thirty-year-old woman." Laughter erupted from atheists and Christians alike packed into the Ohio State (OSU) classroom. The event had been co-sponsored by Ratio Christi (a Christian apologetics group) and Students for Freethought (an atheistic club). I began with a basic presentation against abortion, then responded to objections fr