Abortion

From biology, it is obvious that life begins at the moment of conception. This life can coherently only be described as human because it possesses human DNA and is the progeny of human parents. My opponent has no evidence to back up the statement that simply because something has DNA, it does not mean it has a right to life that surpasses the rights of a woman to control her own body. Now, concerning my opponents detour into evolution and creationism, this has nothing to do with the debate. My opponent simply states that the basic evolutionary model justifies abortion, I'd like them to explain what this has to do with the argument. Now moving on to their facts about a fetus's development, which I'd like voters to know are taken from a very baised site. These facts actually have no substance, as they just tell you what happens in a child's developmental stage, my opponent gives no reason why any of these facts mean abortion is wrong. Not to mention that their statement that "by 9 weeks, pain can be felt," is supported by no evidence. In fact, recent studies have shown that unborn babies can feel pain at 20 weeks, not 9 [1. ] And since most abortions take place in the first trimester, which is from conception to week 12-13, this fact is irrelevant. . http://www.mccl.org... Now moving on to my own arguments. Opening Arguments Laws against abortions do not stop abortion from happeningConsider the following scenario, a woman wants an abortion, but since abortion is illegal, she can't have one. This isn't true, because she can infact attempt an abortion without the help of people with the necessary skills. If she desperately wants an abortion, she will probably resort to unsafe abortions. Each year, 20 million unsafe abortions are estimated to take place each year, and out of these, 67,000 women die due to complications of unsafe abortion. Also, before the 1973 decision to legalizing abortion, there were still 1 million abortions every year, and it had become the leading cause of maternal death and mutilation. . http://www.who.int......http://www.thecrimson.com......Women who are raped should always have the option for abortionThe general stats are that 9000 rape victimes will become pregnant each year. My opponent states that abortion should only be legal if the mother's life is at risk, but my opponent ignores women who were raped. If a woman living in a state where abortion was illegal, was raped, and then became pregnant. She would have two options, try for an unsafe abortion, where the risk to her life is much greater than a proper abortion, or give birth to the child. Let's consider she gives birth to the child, chances are, the child will not experience a happy childhood, given the fact that it was born to a mother who did not want it alive. If the child is given up for adoption, then the child will cost taxpayers much more money than a Medicaid abortion would. An abortion during the first trimester of a pregnancy costs around $350 - $400. But providing for a child in an adoption centre for many years would cost much more. . http://www.lifenews.com......A woman has a right to control over her bodyA fetus cannot survive independant of a woman's body during the first trimester of pregnancy, as it is attached by the placenta and the umblicical cord, it's health depends on the health of the mother, and at this point, the fetus cannot be considered as a seperate lifeform. Abortion isn't equivalent to killing a newborn, because the fetus isn't capable of living an independant life. And I know that most people would bring up late term abortions, but there are stats that show 90% of abortions occur in the first 13 weeks of the pregnancy. And at this point, the fetus isn't capable of living as an independent being. . http://www.cdc.gov......Right to privacyA supreme court decision stated that the Right to Privacy, a constitutional human right, extends to the issue of abortion. The right to privacy is our right to keep a domain around us, which includes all those things that are part of us, such as our body, home, property, thoughts, feelings, secrets and identity. The right to privacy gives us the ability to choose which parts in this domain can be accessed by others, and to control the extent, manner and timing of the use of those parts we choose to disclose. The court ruled 7-2 that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion. . http://www.pbs.org......