Abortion

It appears, in no way unexpectedly, that much of this argument will consist over whether or not a fetus is a human being. It is much more difficult to justifying killing an innocent human than it is to justify killing a cell. For this reason, I will address the humanity of the unborn last. However, I would like to ask my opponent when she believes the unborn become human beings.I am glad that my opponent agrees that abortion because someone does not use protection is wrong.I will now begin my rebuttals.justsayin wrote "in the cases that said protection fails or this person is raped.. should abortion not be an option?"If you consider the unborn a human being, the only way I can see justifying an abortion is if both the mother and baby were certain to die if no action was taken. So in a word, no.justsayin wrote "Sure you could put the child up for adoption, but will the child not face more emotion damage due to their own parents giving them away?"I counter-ask "Would the child not face more emotional damage from dying?". In general, I think most people would rather have been born than have been aborted. I know for sure that I would rather be put up for adoption than killed.justsayin wrote "If the woman does NOT want the child, why not let her make that decision?"Because it's not her decision. What about infanticide? I change my mind post-birth, let me just smother the kid with a pillow. I can't afford to feed this kid and I don't want to put them up for adoption because it might traumatize them, let me drown them in the river Thames. That's fine, right?justsayin wrote "No one else should choose except for the woman carrying the child. It is her body, let her do with it as she wants"The only problem is, it isn't her only her body, it's also the body of the child. :/Let's turn to some arguments against abortion from famous philosophers.The notable debater Zaradi writes in his great work Abortion is generally wrong "In the understandable attempt to find the game-winning argument that proves your side 100% of the time, we as debaters have delved out of the realistic zone of our world and delved into argumentation that hardly applies to our modern society, if ever. The answer to the question of whether abortion should be allowed in our society, in my opinion, is rather simple. It comes down to one principle that I feel we acknowledge exists without ever giving it thought:Treat others how you wish to be treated." [1].This is a quite compelling argument against abortion that I have already touched on earlier. If necessary, I will expand on this in future rounds.The Unborn as Human BeingsIn abortion debates, this is easily one of the most important points to address. After all, if the unborn are human beings, it becomes much harder to justify killing them. If they are not human beings, it becomes much easier.My opponent pretty much claims that a fetus is not a human being. I ask ye, why not? It is common knowledge that a separate and genetically unique (unless cloned/twined) entity comes into being at conception. At that point it is human, and it is an individual being. What else could it be if not a human being?Sperm cells are not individual human beings. Therefore, they do not apply.It is true that fetuses are still growing and developing, but the same could be said for any non-adult. Does that mean killing children is justified?Sources:1. http://www.debate.org...