Abortion is wrong

By innocent, I mean one who is "free from moral wrong". That is a very relevant question because I am not against killing in all cases, only those of which it involves an innocent human life. With that said, I fully agree with my opponent that we should "force" the "unwanted child" on other people; I agree that we should allow women the right to make their own decisions; I don't think that we should allow women to suffer "the possibly extremely detrimental consequences of being pregnant for one mistake"; I further think that abortion should be legal through all 9 months of pregnancy and should be paid for by the government for any woman. If… If the unborn are not human. And if my opponent can prove by science that the unborn are not human or by philosophy that even if they are, we have no duty to value them, I am fully prepared to concede. This debate is not about who's pro-choice and who's anti-choice. In fact, I'm pro-choice on a whole lot of issues: I support a woman's right to chose her religion, for her to decided which shoes she will wear, what car she drives, and a lot of other issues. I'm also anti-choice on a whole bunch of issues: spousal abuse, dumping toxic waste into rivers, ect. Some choices, however, a civilized society should not allow. The killing of innocent, unborn humans is one of those choices that should not be allowed. Again, if it can be proven by science that the unborn are not human or by philosophy that even if they are, we hold no reason to let them live, I will concede. My point is simply this, can we kill the unborn? Yes, if… If the unborn are not human. You have to answer: "What is the unborn?" before you can ask: "Can we kill the unborn?". Perhaps an example is needed to further the point. Let's say that your younger sibling comes up behind you and asks, "Can I kill this?". Now after you hear this, what is the first question that comes to your mind? Probably "What does he have?". Snail or bug, maybe. Cat or neighbor, uh oh. Other sibling, we need counseling. The fact is, you would never say blindly that your sibling can kill it. You must first know what the thing is. This may be a silly illustration, but it does prove my point. Can we kill the unborn? Yes, if… If the unborn aren't human. This is the question that most pro-choices like to avoid, ignore. Yet this is the single most important question to answer in order to make a correct judgment. Science will tell us that the unborn are whole, distinct, and living human beings. What kind of human being? The unborn are humans in the earliest stages. If you consult embryology textbooks world wide, they will all tell you that you were a distinct, whole, living human being right at the moment of conception. [1} You can look at the books yourself, but I'll provide an example. Keith L. Moore and T. V. N. Persaud write, "A zygote is the beginning of a new human being." [2] If science is right, then the intentional death of these innocent lives should not be permitted. Even without science, philosophy will tell use the same. Philosophy will tell us that there is no significant, essential difference between the embryo you once were and the adult you are today. As Stephen Schwarz points out using the acronym SLED, differences of size, level of dependency, environment, and degree of dependency are not relevant in the way that abortion advocates need them to be: [3] Size: It is true that embryos are much smaller than adults but since when does size matter? Males are generally larger that females but that does not mean that they should get more rights. Level of Development: Yes, embryos are less developed that you and I. But, again, how is this relevant? 5 year olds are more developed that 2 year olds; 16 year olds are more developed that their younger siblings; 40 year olds are more developed than teens. Does that mean that the more developed we are, we get more rights, or the right to life? No. Environment: Does location determine one's worth? Walking across the street or rolling across the bed does not make you worth any more. If this is true, then a 6 inch journey down the birth canal does not determine worth either. Degree of Dependency: If viability makes us valuable human beings, then all those who depend on insulin or kidney medication are not valuable, and we may kill them. In summary, yes, the child might be an inconvenience to the mother but does that permit the killing of an innocent human being? No. [1] Also see: 1. T.W. Sadler, Langman's Embryology, 5th ed. 2. Ronan Odysseus'Rahilly and Fabiola Muller, Human Embryology and Teratology, 2nd ed. [2] Moore and Persaud, The Developing Human, 2 [3] Stephen Schwarz, The Moral Question of Abortion