Abortion is Wrong

Since you didn't post definitions, I will post my own. Abortion: The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. Wrong: Unjust, dishonest, or immoral. Murder: The unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. First off, it is foolish to debate morals, as they are subjective. So instead, I will base my argument off of this statement by my opponent: "I do believe abortion is wrong in all circumstances and I will defend this happily." So is abortion really wrong in all circumstances? First I will rebut my opponent's statements, then put out my own. "It is easy for a lot of people to say that the baby/foetus is not alive from the moment of conception because it neither looks like a more developed human nor can they see it. But it is alive, as it is carrying out cellular functions like mitosis and it is growing further into a more developed human" - This is because it is the view supported by science. First, a fetus isn't alive. For something to be alive, it needs to fit these 7 criteria: 1.) Is it composed of cells? Yes 2.) Does it have different levels of organization? Yes 3.) Does it use energy? Yes 4.) Does it respond to stimuli? Yes and no. A fetus doesn't think or feel pain until around week 30. [1] 5) Does it grow? Yes, but it needs the mother for growth 6) Does it reproduce? No 7) Does it adapt to its' environment? It depends on the fetus. (1-7) [2] So a fetus is not alive. (I believe fetuses are alive later in a pregnancy.) Is a fetus a human? No. Definition of Human Being: A man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance. It is obvious that a fetus is not a human, because it doesn't fit the traits of a human. Fetuses can't think, stand upright, or live on their own. They are totally dependent on the mother. My opponents argument here is that aborting a fetus is murder, however, this is false. A fetus isn't alive until late in the pregnancy, so how can you kill something that isn't alive? A fetus can't think or feel pain until late in the pregnancy. It isn't a human being. Before I go any further, I would like to clarify this. Once a fetus feels pain and can think, the only reason why an abortion is to save the mothers life. Before it can think, it should be legal for rape cases, the mother is too young, or to help the fetus (It would die when it is born, or it has a terminal illness.) More of my opponents argument. "Babies in the womb are often simply called "clumps of cells". This is a very stupid argument on the part of pro-abortion people as, while it is true, it is exactly what any living thing is. We are all made up of cells. So yes, the baby is a clump of cells, but so are you and so is the next person and everyone else living on this planet. What separates you from that baby is a matter of time and development." - What Pro-Choicers mean by this is that the fetus can not feel pain. It can't think. It isn't conscious. When you abort it, you are not killing a human. "Babies also show human emotion/responses/behaviours while in the womb. Ultrasounds have shown babies sucking their thumbs in the womb, responding with joy to their parents loving talk to them despite not being able to see them, and responding with fear to the mother's stress etc." - Yes. But, this is late in the pregnancy. "Today, killing another human being is considered murder, unless you do it in the name of choice. Despite all the clear evidence that a baby in the womb is alive and human (what else could it be, if it is a human's offspring and must be killed/terminated?) , the murder of that baby is legal and accepted by many. If your four year old sister was brutally murdered by way of dismemberment while she was alive, would you not seek justice?" - First off, a fetus is not a human being. A human has to be a separate individual, living on its' own [3]. A fetus does not fill these traits. A 4 year old can live on its own. It eats without help. It breaths without help. It is conscious. It thinks. A fetus has none of those traits. I will not post your full next point, for it is too long. Here is my response: Yes, kids are not fully developed. But we are human beings. We live independently. We can communicate. We are conscious. A fetus isn't. And as I said again, people don't abort fetuses for fun. They do it to help the fetus. 3/4 of American women say they can't afford a child. Is that what you would prefer? The child being neglected because it can't be provided for? 12% of women included a Heath reason for their abortion. Is what you would prefer? Causing major damage to a women's Heath in favor of a fetus that can't even feel, much less understand pain? 1/2 said they had abortions because they were single parents or they had an abusive partner. Would you prefer for the child to be abused when in can feel pain? Or have it never feel pain? [4] "Abortion is dangerous. More dangerous than childbirth. While, if you look it up, the official statement is that "abortion is safer than childbirth", the fact remains that many deaths by legal abortion are not reported. I keep as up to date as I can in the pro-life vs pro-abortion stuff as I can, and so often I see reports there of women dying in botched abortions, while less than one in ten thousand women die in childbirth." - If the deaths are not reported, how do you know they exist? Here is a link to a study showing abortion is safer then childbirth [5]. Plus, it is the women's choice to get an abortion. She knows the risks. It isn't your job to stop her from getting an abortion because it is "dangerous." "For those women who do survive abortion and go on to have children later, abortion prior to that time will actually increase the chances of maternal deaths in full-term pregnancies. Studies show that the risk of ectopic pregnancies is twice as high for women who have had one abortion, and up to four times as high for women with two or more previous abortions. There has been a 300% increase of ectopic pregnancies since abortion was legalised. Ectopic pregnancies account for 12% of pregnancy-related maternal deaths." - Once again, it is the women's choice. She knows the risks. It isn't your job to decide what risks people can take. For your point about mental health, what do you think would happen if they wanted an abortion but they were not allowed one? If a poor women gives birth to a child she can't support, what do you think the mental health effects would be? Keep in mind that 3/4 of American women cite money as a reason for abortion. What do you think the mental health effects would be then? Plus, it isn't the abortion that causes the mental health problems. Now onto my argument. Pro states that abortion should be wrong for all circumstances. First, as TheWorldIsComplicated points out in the comments section, what if the women had cancer? If she gets treatment, the fetus will stop developing. If she doesn't get treatment she will die, and the fetus with her. If you refuse to let the woman get treatment, then you lose 2 lives, instead of just one. What if the fetus will die when it is born? Would abortion not be better to save the baby's suffering and potential pregnancy problems? Why should the fetus and mother go through so much pain in vain? What if the mother will die when she gives birth? Why would you place a higher value over a non-living being over a mother who could have kids and a husband? Let me focus on that. What if the women has 2 kids and a husband, and she will die if she gives birth? How will the kids feel? Having their mom die so early? What about her husband? Losing one of the people he loves the most? What will happen to their family, having their income cut? What about the mother's parents? How will they feel, losing one of their kids? Earlier in the debate, you asked me how I would feel if one of my kids died. I would feel like the parents of this hypothetical mother. What is the mother is a young girl? Why should she go through all the pain and have to raise a child so young? 1/2 of high school girls who have kids drop out of school to care for the kid [6]. Why put the girl through all that, when the fetus can be aborted at a time where it isn't alive, can't think, and can't feel pain. What if the pregnancy comes from rape? Why should the women have to go through the pain and mental problems of giving birth to a child she was forced to have? This is like saying if you get shot, you are not allowed to have the bullet removed. What if the women is too poor to support the child? It would be neglected, probably end up in jail, not have enough food, and won't get enough attention from the mother. Abortion can save that kid from so much suffering. All of these are valid reasons for abortion. You need to respond to each one of these in your next argument. To conclude, I have proven a fetus isn't alive nor is it a human, so abortion isn't murder. I have then provided multiple examples of when abortion should be allowed. Good luck! Sources: [1] http://www.livescience.com... [2] http://infohost.nmt.edu... [3] http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org... [4] http://www.abort73.com... [5] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... [6] http://www.progressivepolicy.org...