I need help refuting pro-life arguments from the left.

[Athelwulf]

The specific reference is The Liberal Case Against Abortion by Vasu Murti, ISBN 0-9772234-3-4, if anyone wants to look it up.

I came across this book in the library and wondered how one could argue against abortion from a liberal point of view. So I opened it and skimmed it. I was expecting it to really be an argument from a conservative viewpoint, but disguised as a liberal viewpoint — in other words, nothing more than "Life begins at conception! Abortion kills babies! Praise Jesus!", just like any other "liberal" case against things like same-sex marriage.

Well, to me, it doesn't seem to be that simple. Some arguments in this book have me at a loss for words. I'm not sure how they could be refuted. If anyone has seen these arguments before and knows any counter-arguments, I appreciate any help here.

I'll share two passages which contain, in my opinion, a couple of the toughest arguments. They're both from a chapter about pro-life feminists. The first is a quote from an article called "Pro-Abortionists Poison Feminism" by Rosemary Bottcher, on page 28:

(Pro-abortion feminists) resent that the value of a woman is determined by whether some man wants her, yet they declare that the value of an unborn child is determined by whether some woman wants him. They resent that women have been "owned" by their husbands, yet insist that the unborn are "owned" by their mothers.

They believe that a man's right to do what he pleases with his own body cannot include the right to sexually exploit women, yet proclaim that a woman's similar right means that she can kill her unborn child.

The other passage is a quote from the book Pro-Life Feminism: Different Voices, on page 29:

Abortion, in the final analysis, works to the advantage of the exploitative male, not for the female. It provides an end to any and all financial, legal or social obligation which comes with childbirth by eliminating the possibility of birth. Abortion provides the ultimate rationale when pressing for sexual favors. It makes the female a perpetual and re-suable sex object. When an unwanted pregnancy occurs, the female is potentially left without any social support.

The male can remove himself from the situation, physically or mentally because abortion is "her" right. The female is left with the sole and final legal responsibility for killing her offspring. It is her body and mind which bear the scars of this destructive operation and experience... Abortion is a male sexual fantasy come true.

Again, counter-arguments are greatly appreciated.