2,387 videos 1,376,944,188 views US Joined Aug 30, 2018
Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, the largest and fastest growing conservative youth activist organization in the country with over 250,000 student members, over 150 full-time staff, and a presence on over 2,000 high school and college campuses nationwide. Charlie is also the Chairman of Students for Trump, which aims to activate one million new college voters on campuses in battleground states in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. His social media reaches over 100 million people per month and according to Axios, he is one of the "top 10 most engaged" Twitter handles in the world. He is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which regularly ranks among the top news shows on Apple podcast charts.
Charlie Kirk Defends Life at Conception Using DNA Science Against Pro-Choice College Student Kiana
Charlie Kirk engages in a detailed debate with college student Kiana on abortion, personhood, and moral responsibility. The conversation explores when life begins, the rarity of medical necessity abortions, and the distinction between developmental stages and human rights. Kirk argues that DNA formed at conception determines every human characteristic, making that the definitive moment when life worthy of protection begins. Kiana challenges him on maternal well-being, quality of life considerations, and the development of fetuses, leading to a philosophical clash between bodily autonomy and the right to life.
When asked why abortion has become such a divisive political issue in recent years, Charlie Kirk points to two primary factors: the repeal of Roe versus Wade and what he describes as a 60-year dehumanization movement that has made it acceptable to terminate human beings based on size and developmental stage.
Kiana, a college student, approaches Kirk not to change his mind but to understand his perspective, particularly questioning why the pro-life movement has become what she perceives as more hateful towards women and why women should not have the option to choose abortion.
The Fundamental Question of Choice
Kirk reframes the abortion debate around a fundamental question: does anyone have the agency or choice to murder under the law? When Kiana suggests there are consequences but people do have that choice, Kirk clarifies that under the law, murder is not a legal option, which he says defines the pro-life position on abortion.
Kiana shifts the conversation to special circumstances, questioning why options are not available when the mother's life is in danger. She emphasizes that no one is advocating for killing babies, but rather for preserving options in extreme situations.
The Statistics Behind Abortion
Kirk responds with specific statistics: less than half of 1% of all abortions involve rape, incest, or life of the mother. According to Kirk, 99.5% of all abortions are performed as a form of birth control when other contraceptive methods fail.
When Kiana asks whether someone who is not stable or ready should be forced to bring a child into the world without being able to provide the life it deserves, Kirk states unequivocally that every life has a moral obligation to be able to live.
Defining When Life Begins
Kirk presses Kiana on a critical question: at what point does the human being in utero become a human being? There must be a transition point from not human to human. Kiana responds that she would place this threshold somewhere in the second to third trimester, explaining that the fetus transitions from a clump of cells in the first trimester to having a developed heart, brain, and nerves in later stages.
Kirk challenges this timeline with scientific facts. The heartbeat is detectable at six weeks, which falls within the first trimester, not the second. The second trimester does not start until 18 weeks. Brain waves are detectable at 10 weeks. These developmental milestones occur much earlier than Kiana's stated threshold.
The Argument from Development
Kiana argues that early-stage fetuses are not sufficiently developed, referencing an earlier discussion where images of a dolphin fetus and human fetus were indistinguishable. Kirk counters that inability to visually distinguish between species does not negate the human being's existence or value.
The conversation returns to life of the mother situations. Kirk asserts these cases are extremely rare, estimating less than 500 out of 1.5 million abortions annually. Furthermore, he notes that many of these situations involve babies that could be delivered by cesarean section rather than terminated. If a baby is at 28 weeks and there is a medical threat to the mother, Kirk questions why termination would be chosen over delivery by C-section.
Late-Term Abortion Frequency
When Kirk brings up late-term abortion as being very common and frequent, Kiana disputes this characterization. Kirk claims it happens tens of thousands of times per year, though specific statistics are not provided in the exchange.
The Well-Being Argument
Kirk probes Kiana's use of the term "well-being," asking why any person should be able to terminate another human being if they feel their well-being will be jeopardized. He asks her to apply a universal moral standard: should he be able to terminate someone in the audience if they get in the way of his well-being?
Kiana provides a personal example, explaining that if she were to get pregnant, she would not be able to give birth to that child and provide it the life it deserves. When Kirk asks how she would get pregnant, Kiana points out that accidents happen even when using birth control.
Responsibility and Consequences
Kirk poses a direct question: shouldn't people take responsibility for their actions? He characterizes the pro-choice position as wanting "all the fun but none of the responsibility." Kiana pushes back, reiterating that accidents happen.
Kirk acknowledges that accidents do happen, but argues that when accidents involve other human beings, termination is not the appropriate response. The moral code society lives by does not permit eliminating another human being because of an accident.
Quality of Life and Conservative Values
Kiana challenges Kirk on whether he cares about the outcome of the child's life, asking why he does not care about a child born into horrible conditions to a college student, and why more funding is not directed toward supportive establishments.
Kirk responds by outlining the comprehensive conservative vision for supporting children and families:
Safer streets through more police presence
Better schools through school choice initiatives
Stronger churches to provide ethical guidance
Curtailing inflation to increase purchasing power for families
He emphasizes that everything conservatives believe in aims to make it easier to have children in this country. Just because conservatives do not support increased government spending on particular programs does not mean they do not care about positive outcomes for children.
The Species Question
Kirk returns to fundamental biology, asking what species the being is at six weeks of development. Everything in the animal kingdom has a species classification—humans are homo sapiens, alligators are a different species. After some back and forth, Kiana acknowledges it would be a homo sapien.
Kirk follows the logic: if it is a homo sapien, it is human. If it is human, shouldn't it be given human rights? Kiana maintains her position that it has not developed enough and is still just a clump of cells.
The Development Continuum
Kirk uses his own nine-month-old baby as an example. The baby is still developing—cannot speak yet, is just learning to crawl. Everyone in the room is still developing. Men's brains do not stop developing until age 35. Development is a continuum, not a threshold for human rights.
When Kiana reiterates her concern about bringing a child into the world without being able to give it the life it deserves, Kirk poses a thought experiment: if a single mother with two-year-old twins wakes up one day and decides she cannot do it anymore and cannot give them the life they deserve, should she be able to take out a shotgun and kill both children?
Kiana immediately responds that of course not, that would be objectionable. Kirk explains this is why he finds it objectionable to eliminate two babies at six weeks—they are morally the same thing. One just happens to be bigger, older, and outside the womb. Both are human beings.
Emotion Versus Science
Kiana accuses Kirk of looking at the issue more emotionally than scientifically. Kirk rejects this characterization, stating he is approaching the issue with incredible reason and can pinpoint to the minute when human life begins, while Kiana provides a range.
Kirk's position is that life begins not at birth but at conception, approximately nine months before birth. When Kiana characterizes this as his opinion, Kirk corrects her—it is science's opinion.
DNA as the Marker of Human Life
Kirk explains that at the moment of conception, fundamental characteristics are determined:
Eye color
Skin color
Tastes, wants, desires, and interests
Introvert or extroverted personality
Height potential
Predisposition to certain diseases
Body type
All of this information is encoded in DNA—deoxyribonucleic acid—formed at conception. As scientists map the human genome, they discover that everything about a person is contained in this genetic code. The DNA does not start at six weeks, eight weeks, ten weeks, or twenty weeks. It starts at conception.
That is when each individual was formed, when they came into this world, and when they became worthy of protection. The conversation concludes with Kirk thanking Kiana for her time.
