February Beginners Tournament (Round 1): Abortion should be illegal.

I. Living HumanOn the contrary, the placenta begins development about a week after fertilization (the fourth week of pregnancy). [1] [2] It's two primary functions, specifically, are nutrition and excretion, which admittedly does admittedly successfully constitute the three characteristics of life provided. However to be considered living, the fetus most exhibit all seven of the traits of life, which Pro has not proven.Pro states that because a fetus has human DNA, it's human. This is true in the same sense that the deceased or stem cells have human DNA. Should we also start campaigns for those having some innate right to life? I'm not quite sure what Pro's argument about functions being insufficient criteria is trying to prove, and being it's not very in-depth in itself, I don't feel I have enough information to address it.II. Human RightsFirst, the Constitution (including the 14th amendment) is exclusively in regards to the United States, alone, and is certainly not a document that prescribes rights to the entire global population, much less one the attempts to. However, as far as it concerns the domestic rights of its citizens, let's examine the first sentence of the amendment, as provided by Pro:All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. Throughout the entirety of development, the fetus is quite obviously not born. The process of naturalization requires the following [3]:1) That you're 18 years or older.2) Must be a legal permanent resident.3) Must have held the status of permanent resident for five years before applying.4) Must have been physically present for at least half of those five years (30 months) (and are disqualified if you've been outside the U.S. for 6 month continuously.Since the fetus accomplishes none of this (and hasn't been born), it is not a U.S. citizen. Additionally, even if we were to posit its citizenship, I'd like to focus on the phrase “...subject to the jurisdiction thereof...” Roe v. Wade ruled that within the first trimester, the right to abortion be unrestricted, and as proven in my case, that's when the vast majority are performed. The resolution implies the abortion be entirely outlawed, from the first to the third trimester. Doing so would violate federal jurisdiction, and by extension, the Constitution.Pro then goes on to advocate the existence of inalienable rights, but provides no reasoning or proof in believing they're real, rather than just some philosophical case study. His only justification is the example that an immigrant is protected from murder and theft as a byproduct on the 14th amendment. However, section I. of the amendment directly concerns the legal protections of citizens of the U.S., and not criminal law as are those examples, especially as it would be by one individual to another and not the doing of the state.Finally, he cites a few definitions of “person” in an attempt to prove fetuses are as such; however, all of them are layman uses, and they do not prove a fetus is a legal person, especially as the Supreme Court concluded against the notion.III. Health of the MotherMedically, the definition of infant (synonymous with baby) is that it requires birth. [4, 5, 6] The use of the word baby to refer to an unborn fetus is layman terminology that does make a substantive argument.Adoptions generally cost anywhere from a low of $15,000 to a high of $50,000. [7] Abortions can cost up to $1,500, and are often less. [8] Couple that with the fact that a significant portion of women are facing financial hardships to begin with, adoption would only push them further into financial turmoil.All of Pro's claims that abortion produces negative effects on women not only aren't sourced, but are pretty extensively debunked by the entirety of my health argument, but I would like to address a few of them specifically:“...after having the abortion more than half of women expressed guilt… and one third had regrets about their decision.”Those who were denied abortions felt more regret and anger, and the overwhelming majority (95%) that had abortions felt that it was the right decision. [9]References:[1] http://bit.ly...[2] http://bit.ly...[3] http://1.usa.gov...[4] http://bit.ly...[5] http://bit.ly...[6] http://bit.ly...[7] http://bit.ly...[8] http://bit.ly...[9] http://bit.ly...