Examples 1
You shouldn't listen to Maria's argument against abortion. She isn't a serious person and has never studied philosophy.
Ad Hominem
Of course Daniel supports abortion rights. He only believes that because he wants people to approve of him.
Attacking the Motive
You can't criticize people who oppose abortion for being judgmental when some supporters of abortion rights are judgmental too.
To Quoque
FREE POINT
FREE POINT
If abortion remains legal, society will become so careless about human life that eventually people will stop valuing vulnerable people of all kinds.
Scare Tactics
You shouldn't make abortion illegal because think about the frightened teenager who may have nowhere to turn and feels completely alone.
Appeal to Pity
Millions of people support legal abortion, so their position must be correct.
Bandwagon
Someone who supports legal abortion is basically saying that human life has no value at all.
Straw Man
Instead of debating whether abortion should be legal, we should talk about how expensive college has become.
Red Herring
Everyone has a right to choose what happens to their own body, so everyone has a right to choose whether another person gets to live.
Equivocation
Abortion is morally acceptable because choosing abortion is a morally acceptable choice.
Begging the Question
No one has proven that a fetus has no moral status, so a fetus must have exactly the same moral status as a born person.
Appeal to Ignorance
Either you believe abortion should be completely legal, or you believe women should have no control over their own lives.
False Dilemma
Have you finally stopped supporting the killing of innocent children?
Loaded Question
After a state changed its abortion law, the number of abortions changed. Therefore, the new law definitely caused the change.
False Cause
I know two people who regretted having abortions, so most people who have abortions must eventually regret them.
Hasty Generalization
If abortion is allowed for one difficult circumstance, then more exceptions will be added, eventually the law will have no restrictions, and abortion will become available for any reason at any stage.
Slippery Slope
A pregnancy is like a houseguest. Since you can ask a houseguest to leave your home, you should be able to end a pregnancy whenever you want.
Weak Analogy
Every member of an organization that supports abortion rights believes exactly the same thing about abortion.
Division
Every person in a particular anti-abortion organization believes that abortion should be illegal in every circumstance, so the entire organization must hold that exact position.
Composition