
This is the second part of a speech delivered by Michael Knowles at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.
Having examined and refuted the historical, legal, constitutional, and anthropological arguments for abortion — having cleared away all the muck that obscures the abortion debate — the final question remains: Is it moral? Is it moral to commit murder? Is it moral to kill an innocent little baby in the womb for any reason?
The first question to answer is whether it’s ever ok to kill at all. Is it ok to kill an animal? Is it ok to kill a plant? Plants are living things. Liberals sometimes hug trees. I, for one, think it’s perfectly fine to kill a plant, just as I think it’s perfectly fine to kill an animal. Our bodies are made to eat animals. And if you want to eat an animal, you’ve usually got to kill it. Unless you’re one of those Korean ladies on TikTok who eat live octopuses and squids and things, generally you’ve got to kill the animal first. Which is fine. Ani …