Daniel Ippolito is a devout Roman Catholic, a father, a fifth-degree black belt and a scientist.
Though there are many angles from which to examine the morality of abortion, science is the most concrete, Ippolito said at a pro-life lecture Friday.
Ippolito, a professor of biology at Anderson University, spoke about the role of science in pro-life and pro-choice arguments.
He said his views on abortion are shaped by his knowledge of biology, not only his religion.
“You can be silenced because people say you only believe what you believe because you are Christian,” Ippolito said. “That’s why I just try to focus on the science.”
The event was hosted by Maurer Advocates for Life, who advertise themselves as the only pro-life group on IU’s campus.
Ippolito spoke to a small audience composed of four Advocates for Life members, Ippolito’s wife and son, two undergraduate students, a photographer, a videographer and two Bloomington Police Department officers.
The lecture, “Abortion, Science, and Smokescreens,” traced the process of gestation before questioning fetal viability as a method of determining the cutoff period for abortions.
“The viability threshold is a moving target due to rapidly improving technology,” Ippolito said. “So it’s not much help in making ethical decisions.”
Ippolito then discussed “smokescreens,” or common arguments used to defend abortions.
He criticized politicians who say they are personally opposed to abortion but don’t want to push their beliefs onto others.
“It’s like saying, ‘I’m personally opposed to rape, so I want to keep it safe, legal and rare. I don’t want to impose my values on those who disagree with me,” Ippolito said.
He argued a fetus is a distinct, alive biological entity from the moment of its fertilization and should be legally protected.
He cited the protection of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from the Declaration of Independence as an example.
“We all function by a hierarchy of values, the most fundamental right of which is the protection of innocent life,” Ippolito said.
Senior Sarah Buchanan said she was disappointed by the lecture.
She and her boyfriend, both pro-choice, attended the lecture to learn more about scientific arguments against abortion but said Ippolito mostly focused on value judgments.
“It was supposed to cover evolutionary biology, but it didn’t,” Buchanan said. “It was just generic rhetoric we’ve already heard.”
Ippolito’s lecture was followed by a short Q&A session.
Buchanan asked Ippolito during this time if forcing a woman to carry a fetus to term violates her liberty. He said liberty falls lower than life on the hierarchy of values.
“There is a cross-cultural intuition that prioritizes life,” Ippolito said.
