Critical Reasoning

Those who oppose abortion upon demand make the foundation of their arguments the sanctity of human life, but this seeming bedrock assumption is actually as weak as shifting sand. And it is not necessary to invoke the red herring that many abortion opponents would allow that human life must sometimes be sacrificed for a great good, as in the fighting of a just war. There are counterexamples to the principle of sanctity of life that are even more embarrassing to abortion opponents. It would be possible to reduce the annual number of traffic fatalities to virtually zero by passing federal legislation mandating a nationwide 25-mile-per-hour speed limit on all roads. Implicitly, we have always been willing to trade off quantity of human life for quality.

Which of the following assumptions are made in the above argument?
1) A human fetus should not be considered a "life" for purposes of government protection.
2) An appropriate societal decision is made in the balancing of individual lives and the quality of life.
3) The abortion question just makes explicit that which for so long has remained hidden from view.
4) The protection of human life is not a justifiable goal of society.
5) Government may have no authority to act on behalf of families but legitimately protect the interests of individuals.

OA: B

I thought the option D was correct. Why is B?

And what about option E? It is discussed in the argument.