Liberals love to talk about rape -- at least those who are apologists for the abortion industry do.  When GOP Missouri senatorial candidate Todd Akin did his best Joe Biden impression and inserted both feet into his mouth over abortion, "legitimate rape," and the shutting down of the female body, liberals across the U.S. were falling all over themselves to paint Republicans as heartless Neanderthals and further the "war on women" narrative.

The Democrats have now gone so far as to turn the Democrat National Convention into an "abortion-palooza," as Ed Morrissey of Hot Air puts it.  The lib love-fest will feature such speakers as Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund; Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America; and Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University student who spoke before Congress in favor of federal funding for birth control.

Liberals claim that Akin's words were demeaning to rape victims, yet for decades they have shamelessly used rape as a political tool to further their pro-abortion agenda.  Of course, like-minded members of the mainstream media have been all too willing to help out.  GOP candidates such as Todd Akin are often asked something like the following: "If a woman was brutally raped and would be emotionally traumatized by carrying to term, would you allow her to have an abortion, or would you force her to have the child?"

Few fumble the answer as badly as Akin did, but many conservatives struggle for the appropriate reply.  It is not a difficult answer, if one has true convictions.  In fact, there are multiple ways to respond.

One good reply would be to answer the question with a question.  (This was a tactic that Christ, Himself, often used.)  For example: instead of killing the innocent child in the womb, why not execute the rapist?  A follow-up would be: do liberals (or others) who support abortion in cases of rape also support the execution of rapists?

Another retort in the form of a question could be: why compound one evil deed with another?  Rape is a horrific evil, but so is the taking of an innocent life.  Liberals act as if an abortion is like getting a tooth pulled.  One of the great lies of the pro-abortion lobby is that there are no consequences to having an abortion.  The truth is that, just as with rape, for many, an abortion is a very traumatic experience.

In fact, a woman who would be "emotionally traumatized" by carrying to term a child conceived in rape would almost certainly be "emotionally traumatized" by killing it.  It is a devastating thing to know that one has been responsible for ending a life -- especially the life of one's own child.

Of course, another great lie of the abortion industry is that the fetus is not really a living human being.  Life in the womb for a baby is as well-documented as anything in science.  (Isn't it ironic that liberals love to tout themselves as rational champions of science, yet they ignore science in the abortion debate?)  With ultrasound and doppler machines, as well as other technology, one can monitor the life of a baby in the womb from very near conception until birth.  With the new (4-D) ultrasound machines, one can see with amazing clarity the baby in the womb.  Babies can be seen grasping things, sucking their thumbs, and responding to stimuli.

At around week 8 of a pregnancy, which is shortly after most women even realize that they are pregnant, a baby can be seen on ultrasound.  By then, every organ is in place, and bones are forming.  One can see and hear their little hearts beat at around 150 beats per minute, pumping their own blood, which is often a different type than the mother's.  By weeks 9 and 10, teeth begin to form, fingernails develop, and the baby can turn its head.

At week 12, nearing the end of the first trimester, the baby can grasp objects placed in its hand.  In addition, all organ systems are functioning; the baby has fingerprints, a skeletal structure, nerves, and circulation.  Also, all of the parts necessary to experience pain are present, including the nerves, spinal cord, and thalamus.

In spite of all this, the pro-abortion cry is still "it's the woman's body; she can do what she wants with it!"  As I have demonstrated, abortion is far from this simple.

The bottom line is that rape is not a moral justification for abortion.  There is no shame in this position.  As Christian apologist Greg Koukl puts it, "[i]f the unborn child is not a living person, then no excuse for abortion is necessary.  If it is, then no excuse for abortion is adequate."  Nothing good is accomplished from creating another victim in the terrible case of rape.  As clichéd as it sounds, abortion truly does stop a beating heart.

Trevor Grant Thomas: at the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.  www.trevorgrantthomas.com