Abortion

I will now rebuttal arguments made my pro, and provide some of my own arguments as well. **************************************************************************************************************1. A FETUS IS A HUMAN BEING(Ia) Pro has indeed agreed that a fetus is alive. However, pro explains that just because something is alive does not make it human. What an interesting remark. I would like to show the voters a source that my opponent cited in their round 2 argument, which describes what the fetus looks like and consists of during the 8th week of pregnancy:"This week, many changes take place in your baby, who now measures about 1.6cm. His embryonic tail is just about gone, and all his organs, muscles and nerves are beginning to function. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. Your baby's hands now bend at the wrist, and his feet are starting to lose their webbed appearance. His eyelids cover more of his eyes and tastebuds are forming on his tongue. " (A) My opponent asks me to define why a fetus is a person before I make the claim abortion is murder. The answer to my opponents question can be found in source they posted. You will not that while describing the 8 week fetus, my opponents source uses pronouns and words such as "who", "his", and "baby". Now my opponent might try to argue that this source is referring to the baby as a mother would talk about a fetus in her womb; however, in the context of the source, the source is referring to the fetus as a person. You would never use pronouns such as "his" to refer to a person (or fetus) who is not a human being or animal. A more appropriate term for something that was not a human being would be "it", something that was not living or a human being/animal. (Ib) I find it interesting that my opponent notes a fetus as a "blob of flesh". This living "blob of flesh", who might I add is a human being just as you and I, is just as much a person as we are. Not a fully developed person, but still a person. I might add that we as human beings the day we are born are still developing! Why are we classified as a human being when we are born (while still developing to an adult), but not classified as a human being when a fetus is developing? In some long explanations, I answered my opponents following arguments:-"He needs to define why a fetus is a person before making claims of "murder""-"I think it is plain to see my opponent has some explaining to do before saying that this blob of flesh has the same rights as everyone else. "I defined that a fetus is a person in (Ia), using a source my opponent already provided. I explained, in (Ib), that a "blob of flesh", which my opponent refers to as a human being/fetus, does in fact posses the same rights as any human being because they are in fact a living, developing human being just like you and I. It is that simple. **************************************************************************************************************2. ABOTION IN THE BIBLE My opponent calls me a exegesis, very interesting considering the verse described (Exodus 21:22-23) by my opponent is not an example of abortion. In fact, nowhere in the Bible is the topic of abortion even mentioned. Although, there are some verses that can be applied to the science of abortion today. Here is a passage that explains what I have mentioned:"There is a small but influential circle of prochoice advocates who claim to base their beliefs on the Bible. They maintain that “nowhere does the Bible prohibit abortion. ” [1] Yet the Bible clearly prohibits the killing of innocent people (Exodus 20:13). All that is necessary to prove a biblical prohibition of abortion is to demonstrate that the Bible considers the unborn to be human beings. " (B)To my opponents remark that Genesis 2:7 has no relevance to the topic of life, I must disagree and provide a qualified argument from the Huffington Post:"The Bible doesn't talk about abortion, but it does say when a human being's life begins. Genesis 2:7 is clearest. The first human became a “living being” (nefesh hayah, “a living breath”) when God blew into its nostrils and it started to breathe. " (C)So my opponent is wrong when arguing that Exodus 21:22-23 is an example of abortion. Because, as stated previously, abortion is not mentioned in the Bible anywhere. However, verses regarding abortion and murder are given that support abortion is murder, and that life starts as soon as God breathes that breath of life into our earthly vessel. **************************************************************************************************************I appreciate my opponent debating this topic, and look forward to their response. Thank you. **************************************************************************************************************(A). http://www.babycentre.co.uk...(B)http://www.christiananswers.net... (C). http://www.huffingtonpost.com...