Abortion is immoral.

Well. I see you've managed to make it on time. :B ===CON's case=== 1. Rights "Pro's first response is that while the mother has the right to abort a fetus, it's not necessarily the moral option. However my opponent hasn't provided a moral framework (ethical system) to justify this argument." I do not need to. Con is clearly confused. Argument started with Con saying that a woman's rights overrule the fetus', and therefore abortion is within the woman's rights. Pro responded by labeling said argument as IRRELEVANT, not by reaffirming the resolution. Point is irrelevant because not all lawful actions are considered immoral, as mentioned above. Therefore, unless my opponent wishes to challenge my premise, rights do not prove or strengthen con's case. 2. Sentience Con's response to my preposition to what makes us human by questioning whether masturbation is immoral also since "sperm has the *potential* for sentience". I suppose this means that under my opponent's beliefs, a puddle of sperm trapped within a plastic container could somehow develop the same amount of consciousness as any other human being. What my opponent fails to realize is that sperm, on it's own, does not have the potential for sentience. Sperm, combined with an egg, which is an EMBRYO, has the potential for sentience. Therefore, under my definition, male masturbation is NOT immoral. However, under my opponent's definition of what makes us human, which is simply a "a particular level of conscious determines whether or not one indeed has the right to life", any person in an even TEMPORARY state of unconsciousness loses his/her rights as a human being. Ergo, my opponent believes that if at any time I should faint, I lose my right to live, making the murder of a temporarily unconscious person legal. Instead of responding to the obvious flaws in con's definition of "human", she chooses to ignore it, dismissing all counter arguments by asserting that "my opponent is unaware of the fact that humans are in fact conscious during sleep". Here my opponent makes a deliberate misinterpretation of my words. If you scroll up and read through my original argument, nowhere have I stated that humans are unconscious during sleep. It is simply my opponents assumption. What my opponent must realize is that dream and sleep renders us to a REDUCED state of consciousness, which is similar to that of animals.[1] Therefore, under my opponents beliefs, the murder of a sleeping human is comparable to the killing of a dolphin, of a primate, of any animal capable of reaching primary consciousness. So until my opponent is capable of coming up with a FEASIBLE alternative to my definition of what makes us human, the fetus should be considered a human and treated with equal rights. 3. Safety My opponents last point is that "[not all] pregnancies are necessarily 'safe'". However, as my opponent has not cited any source to prove said point, this is just another of con's subjective, unverifiable claims. In fact, a recent study from Finland shows that abortion has four times the mortality rate compared to normal pregnancies.[2] And even with pregnancy risks and complications, pregnancy itself is a consequence of the woman's choices, as I will point out below. Therefore, these risks are negligible as they come as an ensuing consequence. ===PRO's Case=== Harrumph. I see that my ambiguity is costing me dearly. Please allow me to rephrase my points. 1. Intentionally inflicting harm >on others< for the sake of expediency >for oneself< is immoral. 2. The fetus is held within the responsibility of the biological parents. 3. In an abortion, the mother is trying to escape responsibility by the inflicting harm on another human life. Con labels this statement as presumptuous, pointing out that "[if] the baby would be born with catastrophic birth defects, they [the parents] may opt to have an abortion". However, as my opponent does not explain why this is an example of not avoiding responsibility, this point is invalid until further notice. My opponent also claims that there could potentially be a "plethora of reasons". However, since she only mentions one FAULTY example, these unmentioned reasons should be discounted until further notice. 4. Abortion is immoral. As you can see, the revised syllogism can now be considered valid and free of any faulty premises. Therefore, the conclusion is valid. ===Conclusion=== My opponent claims "He [pro] determines that I must prove sending a prisoner to jail is immoral in order to justify my claim [abortion is not a consequence] ... these two examples are not at all analogous.". Con is clearly mistaken here. I am not comparing the effects or causes of jail to pregnancy, I am using the two examples to prove that the detrimental effects of pregnancy are natural consequences of the individual's actions. However, seeing as my opponent is incapable of comprehending the analogy, I am willing to supply another one. Let us compare abortion to eating chocolates, and the pregnancy risks and term to gaining weight. The woman is not forced to eat the chocolates, and she knows that eating them will probably cause her to gain weight, and she doesn't want to gain weight. However, she eats the chocolates anyway, and, not surprisingly, she gains weight. Does the woman have any right to complain about the weight gain when it is clearly a CONSEQUENCE of her actions? Now, let us apply this to abortion. Does my opponent have any right to complain that "To force a woman to utilize her body in certain ways against her will is immoral", when it is clearly a consequence of the woman's actions that the outcome is not to her liking? In her conclusion, con also claims that "it's hypocritical to suggest birth control is permissible but abortion is not.", asserting that "Plan B" (The morning after pill) works similarly to an abortion. Unfortunately, attune to my opponent's previous arguments, she is once again making assertions on things she does not understand. Plan B actually works by DELAYING the egg from ovulation, killing the sperm.[4] That's why PLAN B DOESN'T WORK IF YOU ARE ALREADY PREGNANT. Thank you. ===Sources=== 1.http://www.neurologyreviews.com... 2.http://www.pregnantpause.org...