Abortion is generally immoral

". .. all that is being conceded is that for all intents and purposes the species of the parent and offspring can be considered to be the same for any discussion of morality or rights. "Considering that is right at the crux of the debate, I would say that's a significant concession. Once we have affirmed that the unborn in question is human, then that should answer the question of whether we can kill it by abortion. It is wrong to kill any human for an unjust reason. As such, any reason to kill that would be unacceptable for a born person should also be unacceptable for an unborn person of the same species (i. e. human). Since we would have no way of knowing whether an unborn human would carry the marker that would kick-start the next step in human evolution, and since we have no reason to expect it will happen anytime soon, we can't say that abortion is acceptable just because the unborn that we're killing may not be human. Even if it were, we should support the next step in human evolution, not risk killing it off and stunting our evolutionary growth. "This new field of epigenetics is fascinating and explores how what we are is not simply limited to what is stored in our DNA. "I agree that a human is not simply what you find in his DNA. This is why I said it's a good place to start, and how DNA, alone, is not enough to consider us human. Humans have the inherent capacity to reason and comprehend the universe around us. We are unique on this planet in that respect, and quite possibly the universe. Humans are rational moral agents with this inherent capacity, and even if the unborn (or even newborns or toddlers) have not fully developed to this point yet, they have it within them and, given the chance to grow and develop as every human does, they will develop to that point (barring any sort of catastrophic accident). "Substance View"I have no idea if Yoko Ono should be considered a cannibal for consuming the placenta. Are you a cannibal if you only eat part of a human, or do you have to kill them and consume most of them? Besides which, I think the placenta technically belongs to the woman, does it not? Is she a cannibal by consuming part of her own body? Here is where we must be careful. We must not confuse parts with wholes. The placenta is only part of the human body; it is not a human. The zygote/embryo/fetus has unique DNA from the mother, and is therefore a separate entity. However, the placenta is part of the body, not a separate, unique developing human. We can get our hair cut or cut our nails, etc. , because what is being removed are parts of our bodies, not whole, separate entities. It is the same with the placenta. From the very point of conception, we exist as a new and unique entity. We are different from the mere part of the human body because we are growing and developing along the normal developmental path that every human develops along. This change and development occurs from within. There is no fundamental change in a human at the point of birth; the only change that really occurs is a change in location. Humans do not possess the intrinsic ability to change from one species to another. We exist as the same species from fertilization through birth and beyond. As humans, every member of our species has value just by virtue of being human. As a Christian, I believe that every human has value because we are made in God's image, and God gives us value. But even from a secular perspective, seeing as though humans are such a unique species, every member within that species has value because we all have the intrinsic abilities to reason and comprehend the universe. Even in the case of something disastrous that takes this ability away, a person still has value simply by virtue of belonging to our species. -Closing Statement-I believe I have successfully shown why abortion is generally immoral. To recap, we are human from fertilization (we contain new and unique DNA from the mother in which we grow and develop, and we were conceived by human parents), not to mention the human inside the womb is the same human that comes out of the womb. We are alive because we grow and develop from within, developing along a path that every human develops along. Every human is intrinsically valuable because humans are rational moral agents with the inherent capacity to reason and comprehend the universe around us. Every member of our species is valuable by virtue of belonging to our species. It is also wrong to kill an innocent human and since the unborn are valuable, living humans, any reasons that would be unacceptable to kill a child outside the womb must also be unacceptable to kill a child inside the womb. Again, I thank Cliff Stamp for this very thought-provoking debate, and for taking the time to debate this topic for me. I look forward to reading his final round.