Pro-Choice/Pro-Life

Thank you for your response. I look forward to this debate.One thing that I ask is that my opponent posts the sources in the debate to make finding them easier for the judges.I'm going to provide my supporting arguments, and rebut my opponent's case.Establishing Life and Human:I would like to point out the definitions of life and the definition of a human. Now a human is just any living being in the genus species Homo sapien. Now, if you google the genus species of a human embryo, you get nothing [1]. A human embryo does not have its own classification. This makes sense, because if it did, you could not rely on giving birth to a human baby. In fact, giving birth to a human baby would be rare if the embryo did not contain the intrinsic characteristics of a human.To be clear, I will only be defining life according to science. Any philosophical arguments on the beginning of life are unfounded as they lack the necessary backing. Biology is a scientific study, not a philosophical one. So a scientific definition is all we need.Now onto life:1) Metabolism - transfering outside energy into internal energy.2) Respiration - intake of gases needed for life.3) Feeding - intake of nutrients needed for life4) Excretion - to expell waste.5) Reproduction - the ability to reproduce after onesself.6) Growth - to grow or increase in size.7) Movement - to change position or move.[2]Now, an embryo only needs some of these characteristics. For example, someone who is paralyzed is not less human, because he/she cannot move as much. Neither is someone without genetalia considered less human due to the lack of reproductive ability. They still contain a lot of the other qualities and are still considered medically alive.However, these things are definite signs of life, and once a few of them have been met, an organism can be considered alive.Establishing the Embryo's Life:1) 2) 3) 4) 6) This all comes from the same process in the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord provides oxygen and nutrients to the embryo, and the embryo can expell carbon dioxide through it. The embryo takes this nutrients and uses it for its body to continue growth as the pregnancy moves on [3].That alone is enough to qualify it for life. Something which is not alive will not metabolise after taking in nutrients and thene expell waste. And an organism that is not alive will not grow.Life at Conception:A human zygote is the first stage of a human being [4]. The zygote is also a eukaryotic cell, which is considered the smallest form of life [5] [6]. So allow me to put this into a syllogism.P1) A eukaryotic cell is alive.P2) A zygote is a eukaryotic cell.C) A zygote is alive.Conclusion:Human life does indeed begin at conception. We can argue some of the details in following rounds, but what I've presented is sufficient to make the claim that a human life does begin at conception and doesn't stop being a human life until it dies. As such, it should be protected as having the right to life.Rebuttal:R1) Life I have refuted this in my case.R2) ReligionI am a Christian, but I am not arguing from Christianity in this debate. Religion should not have any part of this debate from my side or my opponent's side. The issue of abortion in politics should be completely scientific. There is no need for us to discuss religion anymore in this debate.R3) Consequences for the momAs far as rape goes, here's how to look at it. The human embryo is a human life that has not wronged the mom. The embryo didn't consent to being alive either. It's here due to natural biological processes. The embryo is not an invader on the mother. It is there because that's what humans do.To assign capital punishment to the embryo because of someone else's wrongdoing is unjust. An innocent life should never be punished for the actions of the guilty, especially not with his/her own life.It's not that I don't feel bad for women who were raped. I'm sure I would understand if that were to happen to me. However, emotions do not override the right to life.R4) The Mother should have the right to make a decision with her own body.I agree with this statement, but the embryo is not the woman's body. It is attached to her body, but it has a separate set of genes that make it a different organism. Because of this, the woman cannot decide to abort the baby on these grounds.R5) Women may go into poverty without an abortionSomeone's mistakes in not practicing safe sex should not result in the embryo's punishment. A woman who cannot afford to support a baby should not have sex without contraceptives or a preventative measure that doesn't kill another human.R6) Teen pregnancy and the life of the mother.I have a couple points. In some states, it's not even legal for minors to have sex with each other [7]. So making it easier on minors in certain states is just encouraging illegal activity.However, in the states that it is legal, lacking the option to abort can force teens to have safer sex to make sure a pregnancy doesn't happen. If it does happen, the teen should be forced to deal with the consequences. A baby isn't a liability or a simple consequence of a mistake. Even the embryo, as proven above, is a human life.In the event that the mother threatened is not a teen, certain procedures can be taken to make the pregnancy safer, like c-sections and water births [8] [9]. Both of these things can make pregnancy easier and safer. Obviously, c-sections have risks, but in the event of a medical emergency, they're usually more life saving than not.As part of the doctor's hypocratic oath, they are required to do whatever they can to keep humans alive. This must include all humans. Not just the ones that have already been born. That oath overrides the philosophical questions of what to do when one or both lives are in danger for a normal pregnancy. A doctor is required to do everything he/she can to save both lives, and it's not a question about whether or not the unborn baby is a human life.Conclusion:The embryo's right to life far outweighs the other arguments in this debate. Unless the embryo does something legally deserving of capital punishment, we cannot legally support killing him/her.Sources:[1] https://www.google.com...[2] http://www.britannica.com...[3] http://pregnancy.familyeducation.com...[4] http://www.biology-online.org...[5] http://www.differencebetween.net...[6] http://dictionary.reference.com...[7] http://www.juvenilelawcenter.com...[8] http://kidshealth.org...[9] http://www.webmd.com...