Abortion is wrong under most circumstances

I appreciate your move away from ad hominem and onto defending abortion. Your arguments are well stated and I appreciate your effort to convey your ideas in a professional way. Many people, including my opponent justify abortion because they say that the child is not a human at the point of the first trimester. They say that since the child is still wholly dependent on the mother for it's existence, it cannot be considered a separate living being. However, under this logic, a born child, still in the nursing phase, is not a separate entity either. In truth, nearly all of us as human beings are dependent on others for our well being, whether it be emotionally, physically, or spiritually. Thus, dependency is not a factor in determining whether or not something is human. My opponent cites the definition for what a homo sapien is: A species of mammal capable of walking upright, articulate speech, and highly developed brain function. And this is a very good definition of a FULLY DEVELOPED human. A tree is defined as "a plant with a permanently woody stem or trunk." (1) A sapling does not have a woody stem it its early stages, and yet we still consider it to be a tree. In the same way, an unborn child does not meet the dictionary definition of a homo sapien, but it should still be considered human. My opponent says that some women will get an abortion by any means, and therefore we should provide them with a safe alternative. I think that this is a policy of both appeasement, and injustice. This can be considered appeasement because it gives women who desire to have an abortion a legal alternative simply because they threaten to do so illegally. This is also full of injustice because it rewards those who deliberately do wrong. (I will address the reasons why abortion is immoral later.) What if our government provided a quick way for you to murder your friend simply because you threatened to do so illegally if it was not made legal. Obviously that holds no logic. Thus, abortion should not be legal because women threaten to get illegal abortions if denied legal ones. It is true, by sources including the one that my opponent cites that adoption can be difficult and emotionally stressful. However, it is not as bad as abortion. With adoption, a woman may have emotional problems, and the child too may face emotional problems. But at least with adoption, a child has the opportunity to make his life better and to make his own choices. A woman can have a more clear conscience knowing that they spared a life. With abortion, a woman sits with the knowledge that she denied someone of a life, and she denied the world of a potential genius. In abortion, a child gets no choice, a child gets no freedom. Adoption is by far the less damaging option. Abortion can only be justified politically by a government that does not value the lives of its citizens. To deprive them of the previously stated benefits is just too much for me to accept as politically ok. My opponent attempts to say that higher consequences for rape and protection and training of the victims is irrelevant. This could not be farther from the truth. Armed and or trained women, protecting each other and themselves, not allowing themselves to become targets, and the concept of a higher risk for rapists would nearly eliminate rape, and as a result, eliminate this "need" for abortion to solve rape. It's true, I do not spend time focusing on how the victims are hurt from rape, because we already know this. So let's stop these horrible things from happening. Seeing as this is the final round, I will conclude my argument. Abortion violates the very principles of a free, safe America. It is a clear violation of human rights, and it hams many while temporarily benefiting only the mother. Rape and incest can be solved without the help of abortion, and actions should be taken to prevent these things, rather than cover up the mess. By depriving mothers and fathers of their good conscience, by depriving society of potential for mankind, and by depriving children of everything good in this world, abortion is neither politically, nor morally acceptable. I urge the American public to do all that is in their power to oppose this legalized genocide. Source: (1) http://dictionary.reference.com... Stories of abortions hurtfulness: http://www.operationrescue.org...