Taxpayer Dollars Used For Abortions

Thank you, Mojique, for accepting this challenge. As a note; I am unsure of your side point's validity to this argument, ("I may also argue as a side point that abortions are economically beneficial, and that, from the eyes of the government they may eventually pay for themselves,") as we are not arguing the monetary benefits from abortion. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I would like to start by restating my argument, as well as defining important keywords of both my opponent and mine interests; "I argue the use of taxpayer dollars to carry out abortions allows the violation of minorities' beliefs and is, in fact, oppressive on some unwilling taxpayers. " (A) Abortion: the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. (Google Search) (B) Social Contract Theory: Social contract theory, nearly as old as philosophy itself, is the view that persons' moral and/or political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them to form the society in which they live. [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy] www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/ (C) Kill: cause the death of (a person, animal, or other living thing). (Google Search) (D) Oppressive: 1. unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint, especially on a minority or other subordinate group. 2. weighing heavily on the mind or spirits; causing depression or discomfort. (Google Search) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For my opening argument, I will be using the Christian/Catholic ideology as a direct subject of oppression as they are the most likely to be pro-life out of all groups, hence being an unwilling abortion taxpayer. Christian/Catholics on Abortion: Statistics Catholics (54 percent pro-life, 38 percent pro-choice) and the 24 percentage point margin among Protestants and other Christians (57 percent pro-life, 33 percent pro-choice) As we can see, the majority of Catholics and Christians have identified as pro-life. Mother Tereasa on abortion: "But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?" http://www.catholicnewsagency.com... Mother Tereasa, a revered Catholic advocate, certainly hit the nail on the head. The majority of Christians look upon abortion as the "direct killing of the innocent child." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a metaphorical comparison of what it's like for Pro-life people who are forced into an abortion tax. You are walking away with recently purchased ammo past an alley as you see a child is cornered into a wall and two men are looming over him. Suddenly, one of the men spins around and pins you to the wall and hands you an unloaded gun. The man demands "Load this gun and hand it to my partner, or be beaten." Terrified, you load the gun with the ammo and hand it to the man's partner. The man turns around and shoots the child. You are shame ridden, and feel intense guilt. The child represents the fetus the abortionist will be terminating. The man who pinned you and threatened to beat you is a metaphor for the government, you either 'fill the gun' by paying the tax, or, 'be beaten' with fines. The ammo is your money which you load into the 'gun,' or abortion fund. The shooter is the abortionist. Because you made the abortion possible with your supplies, you feel as if you are responsible for the child's/fetus's death/killing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Round 2/First Argument) Conclusion: An abortion tax is oppressive on the majority of Christians/Catholics, or other pro-life minorities, and can/will carry over an unnecessary burden of shame.