Abortion should be legal up through the second trimester, regardless of circumstance

My opponent has asserted that abortion has had no positive effect on women's health. I will treat this as two separate arguments: physical and mental health.1. Physical health1A. In regards to my opponent's abortion/pregnancy statement and accompanying infographs, the entire point is irrelevant. Whether or not the legalization of abortion was responsible for the downward fatality rates in pregnant mothers, it has little to do with this debate. If Roe V Wade led to an increase in fatalities, then the information would be relevant. Either way, it is reasonable to assume that the abortion/child birth fatality rate are decreasing because medicine is constantly progressing and improving. If this assumption is true, then my opponent's assertion actually works against him; abortion is becoming safer because practices are getting better, which is only possible because of the legalization of abortion.1B. My opponent also asserts that many studies show an increase in preterm (premature) births, as well as other malfunctions, in women who have previously undergone at least one abortion. While this may have been true in the past, it does not reflect modern abortion practice. My first source summarizes a longitudinal study that observes trends in preterm birth rates:"The study looked at 732,719 first births by women in Scotland between 1980 and 2008 and found that during the early 1980s, women who'd had one abortion or more had a higher rate of preterm births during later pregnancies. But the researchers documented a steady drop in that risk over the next 15 to 20 years, and concluded that by the year 2000, Scottish women with a history of abortion were no longer more likely to give birth before 37 weeks' gestation, the widely accepted definition of prematurity." [1]Also, a study (2007) conducted by the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most prestigious medical journals on Earth, found no statistically notable increase in various common birth defects:"After adjustment for maternal age, interval between pregnancies, gestational age at abortion, parity, cohabitation status, and urban or nonurban residence, medical abortion was not associated with a significantly increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, preterm birth, or low birth weight." [2]1C. My opponent used this quote:"A 2007 paper in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine cites 59 studies that exhibit a statistically significant association between abortion and the risk of premature births in subsequent pregnancies. In five of the largest and more recent of these studies, all found increases in premature births before 32 weeks gestation in women who had an abortion. All of these studies also found that this risk escalated when more than one abortion was performed. Children born before 32 weeks gestation are at increased risks for early death, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness and other health complications."This is the summary from JustFacts.com (which has a noted conservative bias). A quick look in the foot notes will give you direct quotes from the actual study. One such quote is this:"Five large, recent, international studies have shown an association of prior abortions to preterm delivery and 50 studies over the last 50 years have shown a statistically significant association (Appendix B). All of the studies found a statistically significant increase in preterm births before 32 weeks for women undergoing at least 1 first-trimester abortion, with the ORs [odds ratios] ranging from 1.3 to 2.5. Women undergoing [two or more] abortions had an even larger risk of preterm birth, with ORs ranging from 1.8 to 5.2." [3]Notice that the study mentioned that 50 of the studies took place over the past 50 years. Statistics relating to correlation of abortion and preterm births from the 70's, 80's, and 90's are irrelevant when discussing the safety of abortion in 2016. As for the more current studies cited by the paper, I cannot identify them as I cannot access the original paper. Either way, the negative effects of abortion on future pregnancies is decreasing, if not vanishing.1D. Since my opponent brought up fatality rates for both abortion and child birth, allow me to show that getting an abortion is indeed safer than pregnancy. "The risk of death associated with a full-term pregnancy and delivery is 8.8 deaths per 100,000, while the risk of death linked to legal abortion is 0.6 deaths per 100,000 women, according to the study. That means a woman carrying a baby to term is 14 times more likely to die than a woman who chooses to have a legal abortion, the study finds." [4]If a mother is concerned about the possible health effects the procedure can have on her, she should remember that child birth is much more likely to end in tragedy.2. Mental healthWhile Post Abortion Stress Syndrome (PAS) is a possible result of terminating a pregnancy, recent studies show that it is much lower than it was in the past. The two studies cited by JustFacts.com (and by extension, my opponent) are dated. The study from Finland took place between 1987-1994 and the study from California took place in 1989. These studies are more than two decades old, and times have changed. A more recent study (2015) reported that of the 667 participants interviewed, 95% did not regret their abortions. This was a longitudinal survey, with each participant being interviewed three times over a three year period [5]. A possible reason for this is the fact that social stigmas surrounding abortion are decreasing.At the end of the day, PAS is a possible consequence of abortion that a prospective mother must consider. However, taking away her right to choose to terminate her pregnancy based on the slight possibility she may regret it later is foolish. Just consider how many women that would not be able to undertake the procedure, just because the government decided that they shouldn't, that would have not suffered from PAS when they had an abortion.[1] http://articles.latimes.com...[2] http://www.nejm.org...[3] http://www.justfacts.com... (see footnote #169)[4] http://health.usnews.com...[5] http://journals.plos.org...