Abortion is morally wrong

You"re very welcome. There is no proof either way, it is entirely subjective, as are both our positions on the question of whether a fertilised egg or a foetus are human beings. I think the psychological impact an ultrasound scan has on someone when they see the resemblance of a foetus to a baby is why it is controversial in some countries. This is why I refer to your argument as emotionally driven because you see the similarity to a baby and therefore latch onto the idea that it"s a baby. As I"ve said, it"s an opinion so I don"t expect to be able to persuade you otherwise. In response to your criticism of the example I gave. It could be argued that a healthy foetus has just as much "potential" of becoming a human being as a healthy fertilised egg. Just as healthy semen has the potential of fertilising an egg. I"m well aware of how reproduction works. I"d urge you to take more of an objective approach. In the UK, abortions are legal up to 24 weeks. This is because we are pro choice. It gives a woman and her partner enough time to make the right decision for them and their potential family. Asking when a foetus becomes a baby, will always invoke an emotional response. The all important "potential" that you speak of is removed by contraception. Yet you will not say whether or not it is immoral. If the potential of sperm or indeed an egg, to make a human being, isn"t valid, why is the potential of a fertilised egg or foetus valid. The debate isn"t about that though, it"s about giving women the right to choose. 24 weeks is more than long enough to make the very difficult decision whether or not to have an abortion. When you look at it like this, choice wins every time in a civilised society. As a woman, I would have thought you"d agree. Sure, rights have their limitations. Why should a woman, who may have had an accidental pregnancy due to a broken condom, be forced to have the baby? Put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel if you and your partner didn"t have the means to provide for it? A baby would be born and the whole family would suffer because of it. A baby isn"t a commodity that should be born because its mother was forced into it. I think every baby should be born into a family at the right time and under the best possible circumstances for that family. Not because a condom broke or someone got raped. This is very important. I was shocked to read what you said about disability but soon realised you hadn"t understood the following sentence. Maybe I should have articulated my point better so I apologise for that. I"ll clarify. Parents must have the choice to have an abortion before a certain deadline. Choosing to abort a foetus because it has a big nose, or one leg or no eyesight, is a separate moral issue. One that I did not comment on as I hope you appreciate now. In developing countries, contraception and abortion can help improve infant mortality rates. I"d invite you question the morality of that. It takes two to tango as they say. The child in that example would be both the rapist"s and the victim"s, of course. I wonder what the child would think, to know that they have been born into such a family, or lack thereof. Not to mention how the mother feels about that. I think to condemn them to such an eventuality is positively wicked, don"t you? The pro choice position actually considers the welfare of children because it takes into the consideration the ability of a family to bring them up when they intend to, therefore ensuring the best possible upbringing. I give you the benefit of the doubt in assuming you care about the wellbeing of children. I"d therefore be interested to understand why you still have reservations about giving a family the choice to bring up a child when they are ready, so they can do so to the best of their ability, unless you"ve changed your mind.