A pregnant person should always have the right to abortion, regardless of circumstances.

In response to the opening prompt, I qualify for this debate. I believe that abortion is not morally right under any circumstances. In engaging in this debate, I will draw heavily upon my own Biblical beliefs as well as scientific facts that I believe prove the sacred truth regarding the sanctity of every human life. I shall endeavor to conduct this debate in the spirit of civility, maintaining politeness while being candid, despite the controversial nature of the subject. C1 R1: The fundamental argument laid out by Pro (PianoSandwich) is as follows: "I believe that it is an issue of bodily autonomy (on the part of the pregnant person, not the fetus. ) Regardless of the circumstances in which the fetus was conceived, whether there was consent present or not, it is up to the person carrying the fetus to decide whether to terminate the pregnancy" (PianoSandwich, Round 1, Paragraph 2). As my main counter principle, I maintain that human life begins at the moment of conception and the fertilized female egg meets and exceeds the minimum scientific conditions for a form of life, making it morally wrong to terminate it under any circumstances. C2 R1: The study of life occurs in the field of biology. Within biology, there are numerous different classifications of life such as cellular life, molecular life, and anatomical life (Margulis, 2014). I am assuming that the main scientific debate between Pro and me will occur over the issue of cellular life versus anatomical life (visible life forms). However, I would first like to strengthen my position by discussing the difference between life and inanimate matter. The attributes of living matter are responsiveness to stimuli, growth, a metabolism, energy transformation, and eventually the capability to reproduce (Margulis, 2014). Therefore, it does not matter whether living matter is visible to the naked human eye as long as it meets these conditions. These conditions clearly distinguish inanimate matter from living matter. In the human life cycle, the process of reproduction requires cellular forms of life: sperm cells and the female egg (Margulis, 2014). When a sperm cell fertilizes an egg, they combine to make one living cellular organism and the human life process has started at the moment of conception. At the moment of conception, there will only be one fertilized egg as the female enters the first trimester of her pregnancy. This fertilized egg will react to stimuli. It will grow. It possesses a metabolism with definite condition for survival. It transforms energy and it will eventually develop the sexual organs necessary for reproduction. Consequently, it meets all of the definitions of living matter. Scientifically, this proves that the fertilized egg is, without a doubt, a form of life. However, the real questions now become: Is the fertilized egg still cellular life or is it anatomical life? Technically, the fertilized egg at the moment of conception is not a single cell. It has an anatomy of two cells: the sperm cell and the egg cell. After conception, the life form never returns to its original single cell form. It begins to develop a more complete anatomy of cells. The strict, biological definition of anatomical life is a structured form of living matter that is visible to the naked eye (Margulis, 2014). However, doctors and biologists can see enough through modern technology to tell us that a fertilized egg has an anatomy of cells. Consequently, the fertilized egg must be classified as an anatomical form of life, which represents the start of the human life cycle. C3 R1: In the first trimester of a pregnancy, the first things that develop from the fertilized egg are the heart, the brain, and the spinal cord. Each of these can distinctly be seen by week four of a woman"s pregnancy (. http://www.womenshealth.gov...). Therefore, the developing fetus is not a mass of tissue. That fetus is a developing human being. It possesses all of the organs that the human race has considered the symbols of human vitality: the heart and the brain. C4 R1: Bringing together all of the evidence I have outlined in the previous sections, a fetus is scientifically a human being. Morally? A fetus is an innocent, unborn human child who is completely helpless. PianoSandwich began the debate stating that he/she believed that a woman reserved the right to abort a fetus in cases such as rape or incest. Having established from a scientific basis that a fetus is without a doubt a living human, we must ask a very difficult question. What moral basis do we have for terminating the life of an unborn child whose only "crime" was to exist as the result of someone else"s evil deeds? We have no moral basis before God or in scientific laws to take the life of a human being that has not even interacted with others yet. C5 R1: My question in the previous paragraph also leads to another interesting question. Abortion advocates loves to use rape as an example to prove why abortion should be legal. However, wouldn"t real justice take the form of executing the rapist instead of the fetus? The rapist committed the crime against the woman, not the conceived fetus. In the case of rape, true justice would execute the rapist and award his whole estate to the rape victim to support her and her unborn child. Since rape is also a crime that society must take responsibility for, the government would also be just in providing assistance to rape victims. Conclusion: A fertilized egg meets all of the biological definitions for life. It is the first step in the human life cycle. Modern technology enables us to obtain conclusive evidence of a woman"s pregnancy and the subsequent development of the fetus. At every stage of her pregnancy, that fetus is unquestionably a human being. It has committed no crimes against people and it possesses the same natural rights that every person who has been born does: the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There is no moral justification to rob anyone under any circumstances of those rights. Consequently, there is no moral or natural justification for abortion.