Abortion should remain legal in the US

First things first: When making this debate, I was in a rush and I had copied the debate itinerary from another one of my debates, and forgot to change the settings so that this would be a 4 round debate. I have spoken with Nonsense, and we have agreed to continue the debate as normal, and in place of a fourth round, I will start a new 1 round debate which will act as the round for our rebuttals and conclusions. Thanks to the Con for accepting this debate! I wish this to be a fair and great debate! To reiterate, I will be arguing the following statement: "Abortion should remain legal in the United States." With that, I will clarify the conditions of my contention. I am arguing that any abortion restrictions and laws should remain as they are, with no suggested changes or additions. I am arguing that current abortion regulations need to stay the way they are. This means that my contention also suggests that abortion should not be outlawed, and that other forms of abortion should not be made legal if not already. This is an important part of my argument. Also, while my personal views on abortion are varied, I still argue my statement because I know it is the best for society. I encourage any readers and also the Con to take an unbiased approach to reading and taking part in this debate. Now, my first argument: I: Women have the right to choose what to do with their body It is a known fact and idea, that everyone is entitled to the right to choose. To choose what brand of food they wish to buy from the store, or what color to die their hair. We also have the right to choose on decisions that have to do with our bodies. In a life or death situation for another person, legally, you have the right to choose whether you want to donate the means to save that person's life (without legal consequences). [1] In the same way, we are also entitled to choice when it comes to things that have immediate or prolonged consequences, such as committing a crime or doing drugs. Stretching that idea out, women have the right to have an abortion, as it is a part of their body. We know this because the society we live in is all based off of the free choice of Americans. At the current standards, a woman seeking an abortion goes through many steps to actually terminate her pregnancy. Depending on the state, some are required to go through counseling, and permission from a parent (in minors) or a doctor-- however, all over America, women seeking an abortion go through the shaming of society of their decision, while still making the decision to terminate their pregnancy. [2] We know that a lot of things are being done to deter that choice, but like a good and civilized society, we still allow those women to have their freedom of choice. II: Personhood doesn't begin until viability After arguing the reasoning as to why women undoubtedly have the right to their own body, the question still remains: when do fetuses have the right to their own body? It is a known fact, in science and in the law, that life in the womb begins when the fetus is capable of living on its own. When is this? "..20 to 35 percent of babies born at 23 weeks of gestation survive, while 50 to 70 percent of babies born at 24 to 25 weeks, and more than 90 percent born at 26 to 27 weeks, survive."[3] So generally, fetuses are more than likely to be considered viable at 26-27 weeks, and in the most rare cases, maybe 23 weeks. A vast majority of states ban abortions after 20 weeks, while some even ban abortions after12 weeks. [4] Abortion isn't even legal while the fetus is considered viable! So, if the fetus is not yet its own person, not yet capable of even surviving outside of the womb, then it is assumed that everything is indeed a part of the woman's body. This means until the fetus has reached personhood, women have the right to choose what to do withtheir body. This means that if abortion is only legal while the fetus is not capable of living on its own, then abortion is not an illegal practice, and should remain a legal option to women in early stages of pregnancy. III: Completely enforcing anti-abortion laws is impossible Let's assume just momentarily that abortion was banned everywhere. In a situation where Congress easily passed legislation that prevented women from getting abortions in any conditions, and no other country in the world provided legal options to terminate a pregnancy. This would still not prevent abortions from occurring. Women seeking an abortion for whatever reason, are more than likely still going to get an abortion in whatever way possible, despite it being illegal. People argue all the time, "If you make guns illegal, people are still going to get guns, just illegally." This is a true statement that has just as much truth when it comes to abortions. You just simply can't forbid a woman from terminating her pregnancy and hope that laws and regulations are going to act as a deterrent in a world like that. This leads to my next argument; IV: The risk of illegal abortions This is my last and most important argument. In that country where no woman could legally get an abortion, they will find a way to get one should their situation be that desperate. This will lead to illegal abortions, which are not safe at all. When a person that decides they cannot have a baby for social or financial reasons, and they are determined that they do not have the means to bring a child into the world, then they will also be determined to end that pregnancy in anyway possible. This is a sad but absolutely true statement. Illegal abortions took place in the so called back-alleys, and they were not safe or something anyone wanted to think about. Before Roe v. Wade, illegal abortions were done in many terrible ways, some of which including coat hangers, illegal drugs, knitting needles or even a punch to the stomach. These methods were unsafe, and led to many women dying as a result of it. The statistics are saddening. [5] It has been wisely said, "Roe v. Wade was not the beginning of abortions, but rather the end of women dying because of them." This is my strongest and main argument to keeping abortion legal in the United States. Abortion needs to remain to be a legal option for women, as it is their choice, and it is not up to anyone else. Whether we disagree with their decisions or not, certified abortion clinics should remain to be legally open to any women in any circumstances. [1]https://www.academia.edu...... [2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com...... [3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org...... [4] http://www.prochoiceamerica.org...... [5] https://www.guttmacher.org......