I attempt to reason with an anti-choice person on Twitter

Him: Abortion...not just a 'religious issue' -it's a civil rights issue. Even atheists should be against the murder of innocent kids
As with most twitter discussions, I'm drawn in by someone who's not atheist, talking about atheists.

Me: I'm against the subjugation of women's bodies and the denial of their bodily autonomy. Abortion is cessation, not murder.

Him: And what about the child?

Me: If it can act autonomously then it should be allowed to, which is why we have viability limits on abortion.

Him: Science says the child is a life, the two are not the same entity and don't have the same DNA...are you a denier of science?
Notice how how he jumped to the fetus being a life, as if I'd expressed the idea that it's not.

Me: I never said a fetus wasn't a life. It's a human. But no human has the right to live off another human.
I think it's important to humanize the fetus, since that's not really the issue.

Him: That's an absolutely ridiculous way of looking at it...sorry, that fails on a multitude of levels.
Apparently his subjective opinion of my argument fails because he doesn't like it.

Me: Umbilical cord says otherwise. Would love to know how you think I got that wrong.

Him: If that is your argument, a baby cannot survive on its own for a few years after birth. It is sustained by another human.

Me: Actually, probably a lot less, but it is not directly dependent on someone's bodily fluids and functions, just care.

Him: Cessation is just a crafty way of saying murder so it doesn't feel so bad.

Me: Murder has motive & is undeniably personal to the person killing - due to a personality trait of the victim. Does not apply.
Also, murder has a very specific legal definition that escapes me, but it clearly doesn't apply here.

Him: Would you also agree to killing those 1 year olds whose lives are sustained by the mother that breastfeeds?
I don't think he's getting it.

Me: When all you can see is murder, it's no surprise that your reasoning goes to this place.

Him: When you can't see it's murder...you have a heart problem...and a science problem.
Does this mean he has a legal definitions problem?

Him: What would you say to all those children that are killed before having liberty and pursuit of happiness?
Assuming they understand English? Or should I speak in Fetusese? He seems to have a hard time seeing the difference between parasitic fetuses and autonomous children.

Me: (Insert tongue in cheek) Well, if what you believe is true, I would say, "Do you think being in Heaven before the people down here makes them jealous?"
He didn't respond to that at all, maybe I gave him something to think about.

Me: If someone is using your body without your permission, do you have the right to stop them, even if it means killing them?
Prepare to watch the man dance.

Him: What kind of comparison is that...what tapa mean like a leech...you think a human child is a leech?
Please don't attempt to dance and type, yikes, what a mess.

Me: I'm saying, put yourself in the pregnant person's shoes. The analogy is directly translatable. Can you answer for it?

Him: Here's one even better for ya...I'll put myself in my mom's shoes about 30+ years ago when she chose to let me live...

Me: Answer mine, if you can. I know it's easier to avoid the question.

Him: First you have to have a legitimate question....when you think a child is a leech, that's not a legitimate question.
Is a legitimate question like legitimate rape? How are we to legitimatize these things?

Dance, cowboy, dance! 

Me: I never said leech, you did. I said another person.

Him: And second...I already answered your question...my mom was headed to the abortion clinic, but chose to let me live.
Right, that answers my question. In hindsight, I wish I'd pointed out that he is essentially saying that his mother is okay with murder, but decided not to commit to it in his case.

Me: Hey, I'm pro-choice, I celebrate her choice, but you haven't answered my question, not even remotely.

Him: Put yourself in my shoes...which would be empty if I was killed...maybe that's what you like...dunno.
Put yourself in my shoes, I can't answer your question without my head exploding.

Me: You just can't do it, can you? Its a simple yes or no question, and you don't like the answer.

Him: Sorry, I've looked at your question a few more times and it's just illogical...there's no situation that describes that.
I guess I should have figured that analogous and hypothetical situations would be lost on him.

Me: My question is an analogy, all you have to do is imagine someone using your body without your permission.

Him: And to view a mother having the life sucked from her because of a baby is just a perverted, twisted view.
Funny, because I'd say that's a rather accurate representation of what goes on.

Me: You can't answer my analogy question, because the answer is YES, you have the right to stop someone from using your body.
I also missed out on a perfect opportunity to discuss consent, maybe next time.

Him: You may applaud yourself as 'pro-choice,' but it seems you really just don't want to stand up for the preservation of life.

Me: Au contraire, I stand up for life in terms of the right to the autonomy of people's bodies.

Him: Not the baby's.

Me: We went over this already, yes the baby's if the baby is autonomous.

Him: And by not standing up for preserving created life, you are enabling the murder of millions of innocent children.
I wonder if he's pro-Israel...

Him: And even greater, do you understand why the controllers push abortion as population control? Have you read 'Our Common Future?'
Ummmm what? Did we just teleport into a crazy conspiracy theory? This is getting really bizarre. Maybe this is what happens when their head explodes internally.

Me: No one is pushing abortion on people, at least not in the US, it's a personal decision by the individual.
Yeah, I'm a pretty patient guy.

That was his last cryptic message to me, as if you say, if you don't believe in the 'controllers' and their illuminati New World Order you must be in denial and not worth talking to.

Oh well.

How I got here

I have a regrettable past, littered with inexcusable actions taken in large part due to the privileged nature of my gender and race. While I wish that I could escape from these transgressions, I like to think that in some karmatic way, by standing up for Feminism and LGBTQ rights, I'm balancing out the universe - or at least the minuscule portion of it that I've had a noticeable impact on.

But my actions in this realm are not meant in an obligatory way, rather, I genuinely feel strongly about supporting these causes because on a deeply personal level, I hold our shared experience of life to the highest regard. And so, rather than just sitting back, and letting society have it's way with these beleaguered groups, I am adding my voice to the allied forces against the demons of our selfish nature.