I am pro-life in the conventional sense of the word – not in the sense used by Leonard Peikoff in his pro-abortion argument at abortionisprolife.com, but I am not totally resolved on this issue. I know Ayn Rand was strongly pro-abortion rights, as is ARI, and I respect Ayn Rand too much to disregard her opinion on such an important issue. I have listened to Leonard Peikoff’s argument linked to above, and it addressed a couple of my questions precisely, but I’ve yet to be totally convinced. This is my problem:
Does abortion=infanticide?
What is the difference between a baby and a fetus?
- Location
A baby exists outside of a woman’s body, a fetus exists inside.
- Dependency
A baby relies on a woman to a greater extent than does a fetus, though both are ultimately dependent.
- Age
Self-explanatory
What is the defining difference that justifies the killing of a fetus and not a baby?
A related question is this: does an infant have positive rights to food, shelter, clothing, etc. from his parents? If the answer is yes, it implies all the more that abortion is wrong. If the answer is no, it implies abortion is just. 
