Abortion

I would like to begin by refuting the arguments that my opponent brought up in the previous round. I would like to remind my opponent that I stated in my stance and definition that abortion should be illegal, But I never stated that it should be prosecuted as murder. When I say "illegal" I meant "not allowed by law" as stated in the first round. The consequences of breaking the proposed law would be up to the discretion of the judge, But I would assume that it would be charged as some variation of infanticide [2, 3]. Of course it wouldn't"t always be the woman themselves who would be charged in many cases, But the doctor or clinician performing the illegal abortion, Who may instead face charges of homicide [1]. The charges on infanticide are less about punishing the woman, And more about the helping the mother, And few rarely have prison sentences, So my opponents argument about a crash of the "global economy" would be rendered false. Rape and incest amounts to 0. 5% [4] of all abortions, Which is never a valid case to argue for a law, And parents (whether it be the rapist or the people committing incest) should be punished by law, Not the innocent child. In cases of the mother life being endangered, This relies on the intent of the action being performed. If the child is being removed from the mother to save said mothers life, This isn"t classified as an abortion as the intent of the action is the saving of the mothers life. If the death of the child is a by product of saving the mothers life, Than that wouldn't"t be considered abortion. This is called the principle of double effect, And I suggest that my opponent takes the time to research this [5]. It was never stated in my previous arguments that having an abortion will amount in negative health, Rather I stated that they have the same health as those denied abortion in the long term. I also stated that 10. 57-18. 85% of pregnancies end in abortion, Not 85% as my opponent said I stated. Also, Six and a half hundred thousand live are lost, Not six and a half million as he also said I stated. Whilst I did say that there were 200 on the waiting list for adoption, I meant 200 were actively approved for adoption at any one time. There truly aren"t great statistics on the amount of couples waiting to adopt, But some statistics estimate somewhere around one and two million are trying adoption. This means that currently for every child up for adoption, There are thirty six couples to adopt them. Clearly there is high demand but low supply. [6, 7] The cause of the decrease of abortions since its legalisation has been widely debated, But the answer is not simply "it occurs less because it"s legal. " There are a variety of possible causes to why the decrease of abortions has occurred. Some say that it"s because of the rise in effective contraceptives [8], And some say it"s because of the rise of the pro-life movement, But by making abortion illegal it does not necessarily mean it will increase underground again. I would also like to raise the point that just because something will continue anyway does not mean that we should allow its legalisation. Manslaughter isn"t legal, Yet it still occurs "underground", Does this mean that manslaughter should be legalised? My opponent has yet to give me a reason to why, Under a utilitarianistic moral view, Abortion should be considered moral. I would now like to present my case on why abortion should not be legal. The US government does not consider either homicide, Nor infanticide, As legal, So is there any reason to distinguish abortion from these crimes? Homicide is the intentional killing of one person by another, And by definition abortion is no different. The government is not being consistent in the sense that homicide is illegal, And yet abortion isn"t. A fetus is a living human, As I stated in the last round, The intentional killing of this form of human life shouldn"t be justifiable by law. As I did state earlier on in this round, Abortion should be charged similarly with infanticide, Possibly less. Those charged with this form of homicide wouldn't"t necessarily face prison time, But rather a form of mandatory counselling [9]. There is no valid reason for a law allowing a form of living human life to be a ended in favour of the convenience of a small amount of others, When that form of living human life has a potential to cause an infinite amount more good than the inconvenience it caused a small group of people. Instead of abortion we should be paying more attention on supporting these woman in making the right decisions, And being able to cope with the trials of childbirth. In this day and age woman who go though unplanned pregnancy aren"t shown many other alternative to abortion, Which is a definite problem. Sources [1] Merriam-webster. Com. (2018). Definition of HOMICIDE. [online] Available at: https://www. Merriam-webster. Com/dictionary/homicide [Accessed 4 Aug. 2018]. [2] Merriam-webster. Com. (2018). Definition of INFANTICIDE. [online] Available at: https://www. Merriam-webster. Com/dictionary/infanticide [Accessed 4 Aug. 2018]. [3] Definitions. Uslegal. Com. (2018). Infanticide Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc. . [online] Available at: https://definitions. Uslegal. Com/i/infanticide/ [Accessed 4 Aug. 2018]. [4] Lawrence, B. , Finer, L. , Frohwirth, L. , Dauphinee, A. , Singh, S. And Moore, A. (2005). Reasons U. S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 37(3), P. 112. [5] Cavar, P. (2015). Abortion, The Mother"s Life, And The Principle of Double Effect | Culture of Life Foundation. [online] Culture of Life Foundation. Available at: http://www. Cultureoflife. Org/2015/11/19/abortion-the-mothers-life-and-the-principle-of-double-effect/ [Accessed 4 Aug. 2018]. [6] Riler, K. (2012). Thirty-Six Couples Wait for Every One Baby Who is Adopted | LifeNews. Com. [online] LifeNews. Com. Available at: http://www. Lifenews. Com/2012/07/09/thirty-six-couples-wait-for-every-one-baby-who-is-adopted/ [Accessed 4 Aug. 2018]. [7] Americanadoptions. Com. (2018). American Adoptions - Being Adopted - A Look at the Happiness of Children Growing Up Adopted. [online] Available at: https://www. Americanadoption [8] Healthline. (2018). Fewer Abortions: Why Rate Is Decreasing. [online] Available at: https://www. Healthline. Com/health-news/why-abortion-rates-have-decreased#5 [Accessed 4 Aug. 2018]. [9] The Conversation. (2018). The law of infanticide is supposed to provide merciful treatment for vulnerable mothers. [online] Available at: https://theconversation. Com/the-law-of-infanticide-is-supposed-to-provide-merciful-treatment-for-vulnerable-mothers-100539 [Accessed 4 Aug. 2018].