Twitter is poking holes in this man’s ‘simple’ pro-choice argument

Over the course of the last week, Twitter users have been circulating a series of tweets composed by writer Patrick S. Tomlinson, which addresses President Trump's intentions around women's reproductive rights in the United States.

With pro-choice / pro-life discussion intensifying amid the President's recent attempts to halt funding to Planned Parenthood, Patrick decided to add his voice to the conversation by posing a question which he feels stumps most ant-abortionists.

The series of tweets, which presents a 'simple scenario' to his followers has amassed tens of thousands of likes so far, but, unsurprisingly, it hasn't been without its critics.

Patrick begins: "Whenever abortion comes up, I have a question I've been asking for ten years now of the "Life begins at Conception" crowd. In ten years, no one has EVER answered it honestly."

"It's a simple scenario with two outcomes. No one ever wants to pick one, because the correct answer destroys their argument. And there IS a correct answer, which is why the pro-life crowd hates the question," he continued.

"Here it is. You're in a fertility clinic. Why isn't important. The fire alarm goes off. You run for the exit. As you run down this hallway, you hear a child screaming from behind a door. You throw open the door and find a five-year-old child crying for help."

Whenever abortion comes up, I have a question I've been asking for ten years now of the "Life begins at Conception" crowd. In ten years, no one has EVER answered it honestly. 1/

— Patrick S. Tomlinson (@stealthygeek) October 17, 2017

"They're in one corner of the room. In the other corner, you spot a frozen container labelled "1000 Viable Human Embryos." The smoke is rising. You start to choke. You know you can grab one or the other, but not both before you succumb to smoke inhalation and die, saving no one."

Posing a question to the public, he continued: " Do you A) save the child, or B) save the thousand embryos? There is no "C." "C" means you all die. In a decade of arguing with anti-abortion people about the definition of human life, I have never gotten a single straight A or B answer to this question. And I never will."

Providing an insight into his past experience when posing the question,  Patrick explained: "They will never answer honestly, because we all instinctively understand the right answer is "A." A human child is worth more than a thousand embryos. Or ten thousand. Or a million. Because they are not the same, not morally, not ethically, not biologically."

"This question absolutely evicerates their arguments, and their refusal to answer confirms that they know it to be true. No one, anywhere, actually believes an embryo is equivalent to a child. That person does not exist. They are lying to you".(sic)

"They are lying to you to try and evoke an emotional response, a paternal response, using false-equivalency. No one believes life begins at conception. No one believes embryos are babies, or children. Those who claim to are trying to manipulate you so they can control women."

"Don't let them. Use this question to call them out. Reveal them for what they are. Demand they answer your question, and when they don't, slap that big ol' Scarlet P of the Patriarchy on them. The end."

Like most discussions around this highly contentious issue, opinion is divided, with many pouring scorn on the proposed scenario.

"Oh don't be silly. Nobody is asking anybody to kill a child in place of an embryo. They're asking you to allow the embryo become a child," wrote one

Another added: "You are asking a question like Sophie's Choice. Both are life, both are worth saving. I don't see your question as defining when life begins."

What are your thoughts?