The Abortion Debate

Con = Pro-Life Pro = Pro-Choice I will be defending two main assertions. (1) There are good arguments that a fetus is a person and therefore has the right to live. (2) There are no comparably good arguments that a fetus is not a person and/or is able to be justifiably killed via abortion. Rather than beat a dead horse, I will wait for my opponent to present his/her argument before defending my second main assertion. For the first assertion I would first like to point out that person is a moral term. It refers to a member of our moral community (therefore deserving consideration). I argue that a fetus is a person based on the following argument 1. All human beings living from conception to brain death are persons 2. A fetus is a human being that is living post-conception and before brain death 3. A fetus is a person To defend the first premise of my first argument I offer these scientific facts: Life begins at the point of conception, And science confirms this. The zygote differs on a molecular level from both its parents and every other organism on earth. It also differs in behavior from the individual gametes, Preventing additional sperm from entering the cell within the first thirty minutes after conception. Based on the difference of behavior and molecular structure the most reasonable conclusion is that the zygote in question is not a cell of the mother's body, Rather an individual human cell of its own. It is also not merely another human cell, Rather an organism. Let me explain. A human cell can differ between heart cells, Skin cells, Stomach cells, Etc. But an organism exhibits different behavior. The zygote begins constructing its own body, Using the resources provided by its mother. This process is organized and purposeful, Rather than random and chaotic behavior exhibited by a common tumor. Therefore we can conclude from this that the zygote from conception onward is a human organism or human being. Since the zygote is a human being it deserves person-hood, Due to its state of being alive. Any differences between the zygote and human beings after birth would not affect the state of its person-hood. This defends the first premise of the previous argument. Since the second premise is fairly straightforward we can lead to the conclusion with minimal effort, Namely A fetus is a person This would lead to the structure of my second argument 1. The unjustified killing of a person is homicide 2. A fetus is a person 3. Abortion is the unjustified killing of a fetus 4. Abortion is homicide Since I have already established my argument in supporting premise two, I will start with premise three. Abortion: the termination of a pregnancy after, Accompanied by, Resulting in, Or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus This definition (provided by Merriam-Webster) establishes that Abortion is a medical procedure designed to terminate a pregnancy by the intentional killing of the fetus. Why is it unjustified? The justification would come from woman's liberty. If she wants to terminate her pregnancy, Shouldn't that justify it? Unfortunately, It does not. However powerful the desire for abortion may be, The abortion process takes away a fetus's right to life, Which is required for the rights of liberty, And pursuit of happiness. Also, Killing another born human being is already a right no one has in the first place, It shouldn't make a difference of their size, Age, Structure, Development, Viability, Environment, Etc. In whether it can be killed or not. Abortion takes all three unalienable rights away from the person in question (the fetus). On basis no one should be able to choose to take someone's life deliberately. This is my starting defense of premise three, And, If standing, Proceeds to the conclusion. Abortion is Homicide Thanks to my opponent, Whoever they may be for participating in this debate. I am very excited to hear your best arguments for your position and to embark on this exciting dialogue. If you want to see the article where I gathered my facts in supporting the first premise of my first argument, Here is the link https://lozierinstitute. Org/a-scientific-view-of-when-life-begins/ I have posted this opening statement several times, I request that whoever agrees to participate in this dialogue do so until the end.