Twisting science to fit a political agenda: “It’s the literal definition of a parasite”

[This article is based on a transcript of “‘It’s the literal definition of a parasite’” courtesy of volunteer Ben Tomlin. If you’re interested in volunteering to transcribe more of our content, please complete our volunteer survey.]

(Video also available on TikTok.)

TikTok Comment: “Also you’re not killing anything but it’s not alive. It’s the literal definition of a parasite.”

This is the kind of stuff you have to believe to be comfortable being pro-choice.

First of all, parasites are alive, so I feel like you’re giving kind of a mixed message there. Second, parasites are almost always a different species than the host¹, so embryos wouldn’t apply. There are some parasites that are the same species as the host, but they tend to be ectoparasites, not endoparasites².

And just sit back for a second and think about how absurd this idea is: You think mammals reproduce via interspecies parasitism? You think the menstrual cycle that we endure throughout all of our adulthood is because our bodies are really, really eager to host a parasite? You think we evolved to be the most dominant species on the planet because our bodies just couldn’t figure out how to defeat these parasites?

The pro-abortion “fetus is a parasite” trope is a great example of the kind of garbage ideas you get when you try to twist science to fit a political agenda.

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1. “An organism that lives on or in an organism of another species, known as the host, from the body of which it obtains nutriment,” “Parasite, noun. (1)” Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/parasite. Accessed 03 October 2025. ↩︎
2. “An internal parasite,” “Endoparasite, noun.” Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/endoparasite. Accessed 03 October 2025 ↩︎