In some cases, abortion can be ruled as a justifiable homicide.

I ask that a good way of words be maintained and that no arguments should be presented in the final round. Allow me to define the burden of proof for both sides of the house today:BURDEN OF PROOFPRO needs to justify that abortion can be ruled as both justifiable in some cases and that abortion is homicide by natureCON needs to justify at least one of the following: that abortion is unjustified in all cases or that abortion is not homicide by natureDEFINITIONSSeeing that PRO has not defined any terms, I shall proceed to do so: Justice: The proper administration of the law [1]Abortion: The deliberate termination of pregnancy [2]Murder: The unlawful premediated killing of one human being by another [3]SUBSTANTIVESP1) Abortion is not homicideAs is clearly defined in the definition above, murder is the killing of one person by another. The key word here is the term 'human', which may seem like a hazy term with no clear thresholds in the context of a debate concerning unborn babies. Thus, I shall take the liberty to define what a human is. It is recognised in many countries, especially those that draft laws regulating or opposing abortion, that the organism inside the womb becomes a human (the beginning of life) when it is medically determined that the fetus can survive outside the womb [4]. Exactly when a fetus achieves this stage can vary, but laws peg to the 24-28 week mark and , during which the fetus has about a 40%-80% chance of survival outside of the womb [5]. In other words, and for the purpose of this debate, it is illegal to abort after 28 weeks of gestation as the fetus is considered a human from that point onwards. Thus, we arrive at the conclusion that in principle, abortion in its own right is not a form of homicide. However, the practical facet of abortions is not accounted for. Hence, we look at three possible categories of abortion under the context of the aforementioned law:1. Abortion is carried out before 28 weeks of gestationThis is not homicide and hence disproves the motion.2. Abortion is carried out after 28 weeks of gestation, but is done so for reasons other than to protect the health/survival of the mother or to relieve the mother of psychological trauma. While this is clearly homicide, this is not justifiable as both sides of the house today acknowledge that aborting for reasons other than to protect the mother psychologically and physically in critical scenarios is unjustified. Moreover, it is hardly a justified act if said act is infringing the law.3. Abortion is carried out after 28 weeks of gestation, but is done so to protect the health/survival of the mother or to relieve the mother of psychological trauma. Once again, this is classified as homicide, and can be deemed as unjustified since it is a breach of the 28-week law. Please note that while it is established that both sides of the house today agree on the fact that aborting for reasons other than to save the mother's life or to alleviate her psychological trauma (i. e. rape, incest), this does not necessarily mean that both sides of the house today agree that using abortion to achieve this is necessarily justified. In response to this, I will prove that abortion is not the only way to safeguard the physical and psychological interests of the mother. CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, I have defined the terms and demonstrated that abortion is either not homicie, or is homicide but not justifiable, disproving both burdens of proof of PRO, and have upheld my burden to prove that abortion is not homicide in its very nature. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from PRO! SOURCES USED[1] . http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com...[2] . http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...[3] . http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...[4] . http://www.bbc.co.uk...[5] . http://www.healthline.com...