Debate: Abortion is it right or wrong?
Side: against abortion

I disagree with abortion - simply because I believe that, by destroying a fetus, you are destroying a human. The most common reasons people tend to agree with abortions (from what I've seen) are:-the fetus isn't a baby - it's just a cluster of cells-what if the woman was raped?-what if the child would have a bad life because of a condition it has? -what if the woman can't look after the baby? I would say that, even if you think a fetus doesn't classify as alive - it is still a human. The only difference between a fetus and a baby is that the fetus is just a few months/weeks earlier in development. I would say that, even if you don't want to call it a 'living being', it is still a human being, and should be treated as such. Nobody would deny a baby its basic human rights simply because it's not a child yet. Nobody would deny a child its basic human rights simply because it isn't a teenager. Nobody would deny a teenager its basic human rights simply because it isn't an adult. It is wrong to kill a fetus, a baby, a child, a teenager and an adult. The only difference between all of them is that they are in a different stage of development/life.And how do we decide when the fetus becomes a living being and not a cluster of cells? At 5 weeks when it has a heartbeat? At 8 weeks when it starts to move? At 9 weeks when it can open and close its fists? At 13 weeks when it has facial features? At 16 weeks when you can feel its movements? Maybe it's when it can survive outside the womb. But how do we know when that is? It could be at 22 weeks, with a 0-10% chance of survival. 23 with 10-35%. Or 24 with 40-70%. Maybe it's best to wait until it's above 90% at 27 weeks. Or should it be at precisely 21 weeks and 5 days - the earliest it's survived? In order to allow an abortion, there should be an exact date/time when it stops being legal - when the fetus is considered alive. It is impossible to put an exact time on it, unless you believe that life begins at conception.If a woman was raped and became pregnant, I would be immensely sympathetic towards her - and would understand why she would want to abort the baby. Of course she wouldn't want to be carrying the child of a rapist, a living reminder of what she's gone through. However, I would strongly encourage her not to have an abortion. In my opinion, a life is a life. It is wrong to destroy a life. If you are to destroy a fetus (even if it makes your life a hell of a lot easier) you are essentially destroying a human life.Many women choose to get abortions because their baby has been diagnosed (before birth) with some sort of condition. I know this argument is common as, in Britain, over 90% of babies who are diagnosed with down syndrome before their birth are aborted. My response to this would be that, to deny a fetus its right to live simply because it could end up being blind, or even just have autism, is to place the value of a human being with one of these conditions as lower than a healthy being. You are essentially saying that, because your child will have down syndrome, they aren't worth the time/effort. I understand that maybe some people will say "it's not that simple", and maybe it isn't, but you're still denying a human being the right to live, because it's difficult for somebody. Maybe you think their life isn't worth it but, considering the fact that the fetus has no say in the matter and can't influence your decision, how is it right to make that decision on behalf of your unborn child? The final reason that I have often heard is "what if the mother couldn't look after the baby?". To this I would say, you are in an unfortunate situation - you don't want your child to end up in a bad home or in foster care - but you can't look after them yourself. I would suggest either keeping the baby and trying to find support from a helpline or charity or find someone to adopt them. Obviously, it is difficult to find a suitable home for your child to grow up in, and possibly even more difficult to let them go. However, I firmly believe that it is worth it a million times over if you are letting somebody live.