query: Should abortion be legal?

positive: Should abortion be legal Abortions should be legal as Personhood begins after a fetus becomes viable or after birth, not at conception. According to the U.S. Supreme Court a person is to get their age when they are out of the mother's womb and breathing oxygen starting at the 0 mark eventually working their way up to be 1 years old.

positive: Abortion I accept the challenge offered me by Pro, even though I by and large agree with Pro's argument that abortion-on-demand is not defensible, but that abortion is defensible in rare cases such as rape or the mother's life being in danger, and I never argue against that with which I agree of course (which would make no sense). I agree with the conclusion that abortion should be legal only in specific cases as well, leaving me only one thing I can disagree with here, and that less stringently, that a child should not be killed for the sake of physical abnormality. I presume this was the point Pro wished to debate with me on, since my user page makes clear that I support abortion in the case of rare circumstances such as rape and life of the mother, and possibly even as late as 12 weeks. For the sake of clarity, I will first elucidate my reasoning on abortion in general, and then explain my reasoning on the sole point of disagreement. My Views on Abortion in GeneralMy reasoning, as aditionally stated here[1], is as follows:Ultimately, right to privacy is no justification for killing another human being, whether in the privacy of one's own home or own body. Right to choice does not justify choosing to harm another person, and right to one's body cannot justify using that body to harm another person. As such, rights, choices, and privacy are no excuse for harming another person if they are indeed a person, erego, this question revolves necessarily around the issue of personhood. While potential exceptions naturally exist such as rape and life of the mother, since in the case she did not make a sexual decision to be held accountable for, and when her life is endangered by the pregnancy, her life is also at stake, and she should have a choice to save her life (obviously), abortion on demand is ultimately not justifiable when a child is apparently human.Thus, this revolves around the issue of personhood and fetal viability, when a child becomes human, for if it is human, no buzzword argument is sufficient to justify its murder save in such rare circumstances. Furthermore, that such rare circumstances should be raised by those who seek to justify abortion-on-demand evidences that they themselves realize abortion can only be justified in such rare cases, and fallaciously use said cases in an attempt to justify abortion more broadly. When it comes to fetal viability, completed brain cells appear within the first 2 weeks of pregnancy. The heart beats at 3 weeks. Blood flows in the baby's veins separate from the mother's blood at 4 weeks. Brain wave activity occurs at 6 weeks. Based on nervous system development, perception of pain likely begins at 8 weeks. Thumb sucking occurs at 9 weeks. The entire body is sensitive to touch at 10 weeks. Breathing of amniotic fluid and all facial expressions visible (e.g. smiling) at 11 weeks. Crying at 12 weeks, as well as the ability to practice breathing. All senses present including vocal chords at 13 weeks.[2] The earliest recorded successful pregnancy is at 21 weeks[3] even though abortion is allowed in all 9 months of pregnancy.[4] As such, it is logical that a minimum of 18,150 abortions, 1.5% of the 1.21 million annual abortion according to Planned Parenthood's own statistics arm, the Guttmacher Institute, are murder each year, since they occur after the 21st week of pregnancy.[5]So what does public polling show the American people believe? According to Gallup[6] while 62% of Americans support abortion during the first trimester (12 week period of pregnancy), only 24% support abortion in the second trimester, and only 10% for the third trimester. 83% of Americans support abortion when the mother's life is endangered, 82% when the woman's physical health is endangered, 75% when the pregnancy was caused by rape/incest, 61% when the woman's mental health is endangered, 51% when there is evidence the baby may be mentally impaired, 50% when the baby may be physically impaired, and only 36% when the woman or family cannot afford to raise the child. Ultimately, 20% of Americans believe abortion should always be illegal, 39% that it should be legal only in a few circumstances, 13% that it should be legal in most circumstances, 25% that it should always be legal, and 4% hold no opinion.As such, the majority of Americans, over 75%, disagree with abortion after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and can recognize that abortion beyond this point is clearly murder. Only 36% believe abortion justifiable when the woman or family can't afford to raise the child. There is nonetheless overwhelming recognition that abortion should be legal in rare cases such as rape or life of the mother. However, it should be pointed out that rape and life of the mother account for less than1% of all abortions[7], at least 13 states had laws allowing abortion before Roe v. Wade in such cases and the number was rapidly growing[8], and virtually all legislation put out in the last two decades by the Pro-Life movement has included exceptions for abortion in said cases.Given this, I believe the courts have incorrectly decided the issue and that the American people should have their voices heard instead as the original judge, Henry Friendly, said in the first major abortion rights case, Hall v. Lefkowitz.[9] As Friendly concluded, "But the decision what to do about abortion is for the elected representatives of the people, not for three, or even nine, appointed judges." I believe the correct way forward is to put this issue to a vote and let the American people determine by ballot referendum what the correct viability limit on abortion should be, and in what circumstances is allowed. I have no doubt that they will agree with me, as shown by Gallup polling, and restrict abortion to roughly the 12th week of pregnancy, perhaps a bit earlier, perhaps a bit later, and allow abortion in cases such as rape and life of the mother.Point of DisagreementUltimately, I argue that abortion should be slightly more restrictive than Con believes, and not allow abortion simply because Down's Syndrome is evident in a pregnant child, or other illnesses for that matter. I believe we should err on the side of caution when potentially taking another human life, and that human life is precious. This is a very controversial issue according to Gallup polling[6] and I recognize that it is a 50% split here, unlike the broader abortion issue where there is broad consensus when human life begins, around 12 weeks, and that abortion-on-demand is immoral.We simply cannot ask unborn children whether they would like to be born, and I question whether we should infer they do not wish to be born because of a disability. I think the reasoning that one should not be born because they are disabled is a dangerous precedent that devalues those with disabilities, whether born or unborn. Furthermore, it allows us to set an arbitrary definition of who is worthy of being born. Does that set precedent for us to expand this to anyone who shows signs of depressin, for example? What if they show signs of dwarfism, a height disability? At what point do we draw the line in deciding the disability is so great they should not be born because of it?Ultimately, I would urge my opponent to reconsider whether such reasoning is preferable to adoption.Sources:[1] http://www.bereawiki.com... [2] http://www.hli.org...http://www.whyprolife.com...[3] http://healthland.time.com...[4] http://www.whyprolife.com...[5] http://www.guttmacher.org...[6] http://www.gallup.com...[7] http://www.johnstonsarchive.net...[8] http://www.nrlc.org...[9] http://www.law.harvard.edu...

positive: Abotion should be legal I will begin by stating my argument against abortion, and then respond to my opponent's points. To clarify, I will be arguing that abortion should not be legal, apart from cases where it is a necessary medical procedure in order to save the life of the mother. Why abortion should be illegal My argument is as follows: Premise 1: Abortion is the deliberate killing of a human foetus Premise 2: A human foetus is alive, and so therefore a human foetus is a living human being Premise 3: It is not morally justified to remove the life of a human being Premise 4: Only that which is morally justified should be legal Conclusion: Abortion should not be legal Now I will support my premises: Premise 1 Abortion is defined as: 'Expulsion from the uterus of the products of conception before the fetus is viable.' (1) We know, due to the definition of 'viable' in this context, that this procedure will necessarily kill the foetus. Therefore, abortion is the deliberate killing of a human foetus. Premise 2 First I will affirm that a foetus is alive, then I will use this conclusion to affirm that a human foetus is a human being. Life is defined as: 'The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death' (2) Foetuses grow and are subject to continual change preceding death (3). They have the capacity for reproduction given time to develop naturally. Furthermore, to suppose that a foetus is not alive is to either state that a foetus is dead or inanimate. It is not dead because something must have once lived in order to be dead, and it is not inanimate (4). Therefore, a human foetus is alive. All life is characterised into species (5), and as we have affirmed that a human foetus is alive we must also accept that it must belong to a particular species. A human foetus's genetic makeup is most similar to the genetic makeup of the species homo sapiens and so a human foetus is human (which perhaps goes without saying, as if it was not human then we would not refer to it as a human foetus). Therefore, a human foetus is human. Therefore, a human foetus is a human life, which is to say that it is a living human being. Premise 3 To say that it is not morally justified to remove the life of a human being is to say that we ought not to kill human beings. There are many reasons why I am justified in asserting this moral truth: Rule Utilitarian approach - Having a rule stating 'do not kill human beings' will result in a greater amount of happiness than the absence of such a rule, therefore this it is moral to abide to this rule. Deontologist approach - Killing of a human being is wrong because it is a maxim that cannot be universalised; no rational human being would freely consent to live in a society that permitted the killing of human beings. Evolutionist approach - Permitting the killing of human beings is evolutionarily disastrous, for obvious reasons. The killing of human beings is not morally justified according to the vast majority of normative ethical theories. If my opponent disagrees and argues that killing of human beings is justified (aside from cases of self-defence), then she will have the burden of proof, as she is making the positive claim that killing of human beings is morally justified. Therefore, it is not morally justifiable to remove the life of a human being. Premise 4 Although it seems pretty common-sensical that only morally justifiable actions should be legal, I will analyse it under the main normative ethical theories in order to demonstrate why only morally justifiable actions should be legal. Rule Utilitarian approach - Having a rule stating 'legally permit immoral actions' will result in a lesser amount of happiness than a rule saying 'legally prohibit immoral actions', therefore this it is moral to abide to the rule that we should not legally permit immoral actions. Deontologist approach - Legally permitting immoral actions is wrong because it is a maxim that cannot be universalised; no rational human being would freely consent to live in a society that permitted immoral actions. Evolutionist approach - Permitting immoral actions will create a society where immoral actions are prevalent, this will negatively effect the quality of our offspring and so it is not evolutionarily beneficial. I assume that my opponent agrees with premise 4, but if not, the above analysis verifies it. Therefore, only that which is morally justifiable should be legal. As I have now asserted the veracity of all my premises, the conclusion deductively follows. Therefore, abortion should not be legal. Argument from Consistency In order to hold a rational moral assertion, it must be consistent. So, in order to be rational, we must abide by the maxim: 'Treat someone as we would consent to be treated if we were in the same situation as that someone.' An example of moral inconsistency would be stating: 'I am morally justified in throwing sticks at my mother, but I would not consent to having sticks thrown at me if I was in the same situation as my mother'. I argue that abortion is inconsistent according to these terms. To assert that abortion is morally justified is to be morally inconsistent, as it is equivalent to saying: 'I am morally justified in killing a human foetus, but I would not consent to being killed if I was a human foetus.' Unless, of course, the pro-abortionist would consent to being killed if they were a human foetus, but I highly doubt they would be serious in holding this conviction. This becomes especially prevalent because it is not hypothetical, as everyone was once a foetus and so nobody can be exempt from the consistency criteria. As asserting the moral permissibility of abortion is inconsistent, it is an irrational moral belief. It is absurd to suggest that actions should be legalised if one cannot be rational in supporting them, so abortion should not be legal. I will now respond to all my opponent's arguments within the character limit I have. 'Abortion is about allowing woman the right to make choices about when they want to have children in relation to their age, financial stability & relationship stability. It is the not the place of government to legislate against woman's choices.' It is definitely the government's choice to legislate against women's choices if the choice harms another human being, as abortion does. It would be odd to suggest that the government should not legislate against murder simply by virtue of the fact that a woman chose to commit it. 'Raising a child is not an easy task & requires social & emotional commitment coupled with financial resources. As such if a person feels they are not ready for a child, it means the pregnancy is unwanted & resultant allowing a fetus to grow into a child is worse than abortion since the resultant child will grow in a non conducive & destructive environment without the love, care & stability that a child needs.' 'Abortion prevent unwanted & unplanned pregnancies which prevents child neglect since the mother does not want to have children at that moment in time.' I agree, but this is a false dichotomy. A baby can be put up for adoption at birth, so it is not a choice between abortion and raising a child. 'Those see it morally allowable to do abortion should be provided with the means to do so & those who don't believe in abortion should have the choice not to have an abortion' This statement has very strange implications, as it implies that anyone should be allowed to do something so long as they believe that they are morally justified in doing so. Yet this would mean that we should allow murderers who believe that their actions are morally justified to commit murder. 'A fetus is not legally or scientifically a person or human being so abortion cannot be equated to murder or taking a life since the fetus is not a person nor alive.' See premise 2 of my initial argument. 'A fetus is like a brain dead person with no self awareness or consciousness so it is actually dead.' Definition of dead: 'Having lost life' (6). A foetus has never lost its life (irrespective of whether it ever had life) and so cannot be dead. 'Prohibiting abortions doesn't stop abortions, women would simply seek abortions via illegal means which are unsafe & illegal, so it is better to provide woman with safe & legal ways to do an abortion.' If one freely chooses to murder their foetus then they are, to some extent, forfeiting their protection. Let me suppose an analogy; legalising burglary would make burglaries much safer for burglars, yet this is hardly a valid justification for legalising burglary. The same applies with abortion. I agree that prohibiting abortion does not stop abortions altogether, but it reduces them significantly. In 1969 (when legal abortion facilities were implemented) there were 53643 abortions compared to 21400 when abortion was illegal in 1966 (7). This is 32243 abortions that were caused by the legalisation of abortion. I have run out of characters now, but I will finish rebutting my opponent's arguments in round 2. (1)http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com... (2)http://www.oxforddictionaries.com... (3)http://www.babycentre.co.uk... (4)http://www.webmd.boots.com... (5)http://en.wikipedia.org... (6)http://www.thefreedictionary.com... (7)http://www.johnstonsarchive.net...

positive: Abortion Should Remain Legal 'The validity of the abortion right therefore stems from the right of an individual (the mother), who is certainly a fully conscious human being, to prevent harm to herself' The prevention of harm to the woman is not the only reason for abortion, an abortion could be used for other reasons such as birth control, the prevention of a fetus with deformities from having a life of suffering, among other reasons. 'In an age where prophylactics are common and readily available, and a simple pill can prevent pregnancy before the development of the fetus, it is monstrous to needlessly engage in a behavior that threatens even the potentiality of human life.' An abortion could be necessary when it is too late to use other methods of birth control. And it doesn't make sense to say that women will always get an abortion instead of using other methods of birth control earlier. A woman will realize that it is easier to use protection opposed to not and always having to get abortions. 'The potential citizen may, in fact, qualify as a citizen when a fetus, but it is impossible to determine' It is not possible to determine? Do you consider sperm to be human? Many people let millions of sperm die every day, but that will never be illegal. Some people think that a fetus becomes human when it can survive outside of the body. Some people think it becomes a human after it leaves the body. There can be many points when a fetus could be considered human, but the moment of conception is certainly not one of them. The moment of conception merely creates a cluster of cells that is incapable of thinking, showing emotion, of being conscious. A woman can choose where to draw the line of when the fetus is human, making abortion illegal is not the solution. 'Someday, a method could be developed to safely and easily excise the child from the mother and continue the child's development outside of her womb' That may be true, but that 'someday' hasn't happened yet. For now, abortion must remain legal. Other Reasons for Abortion A woman may want to get an abortion because she can't pay for the child. Would you want to be paying with your tax dollars for those unplanned children? Also, would you really deny a rape victim from having an abortion? Would you expect her to care for a baby she didn't ask for, have to endure 9 months of pregnancy and labor, and have that baby as a reminder of the incident and that the child carries the genes of a rapist? Also, it shouldn't only be for a rape victim, there are other woman who don't want to carry that fetus around for 9 months that is an accident that a lot of parents would love less than a planned child. And think of all the unplanned children adding to the population that is already starting to overcrowd, and how a kid would react if they found out that they were an accident.

positive: Abortion should remain legal. "Really I only consider abortion murder if the abortion is unnecessary." Murder is defined as the killing of another person, and considering you consider the fetus to be alive, then all "murders" should be considered "murder." Also, who defines when an abortion is necessary or unecessary? We would have to look at every individual case in order to see if an abortion can qualify as "necessary."My opponent argues that the woman is guilty for murder because she chose to "murder" the fetus.Now, let me give you a scenario onto why this dos not make sense. Women pay for abortions more than not, and the doctor is the one operating the abortion, we all know that much. So, if I hired an assassin to kill someone, under your answer, I would be guilty, not the assassin. Bear in mind that in both scenarios, the assassin and the doctor are only doing their jobs, so what makes them safe from the law?Argues that miscarriage is involuntary manslaughter but is not punishable by the law.However, according to [1], involuntary manslaughter is punishable by 10-16 months behind bars plus fines and probation. Miscarriages, we know, are natural or can be self-induced by drug use or stress. "Miscarriages are very common. Approximately 20% of pregnancies (one in five) end in miscarriage. The most common cause is a genetic abnormality of the fetus." says medical-dictionary.com [2]. With 1 in 5 pregnancies ending in a miscarriage, how can we morally throw this many women in jail for something they cannot control?My opponent comes up with a scenario about a fertilized chicken egg.I see how this makes sense, but then again it doesn't. The egg is no longer in a body and does not use resources, besides heat, from the mother hen or incubator. A fetus, however, is in the woman's body and uses all of her resources. So why do we give the fetus rights over the woman when it is the fetus using the woman's resources, not the other way around."After all, breathing motions is a slightly lame definition for living." You said that you believed that the fetus was leaving, but I have proven that the baby only has breathing motions and brain activity that does not prove consciousness. I realize that breathing motions is a lame definition for life, which is why I do not consider the fetus alive. With ths quote, you contradicted the belief of life in the uterus because that is one of the only things that show "life" in a fetus- breathing motion.Sources:1. http://criminal.findlaw.com...;2. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com...;

positive: Abortion should be illegal in all cases. Ok I will be more civil and state my next debate round in a civil manner without any douchebag "straw man fallacy" or "ad homen" (Anyone using these terms is just a pretentious douchebag who likes to use words like confectionery instead of just candy or panache, Douchebag! ) I already did a debate on this topic (sorry getting off topic here) Here is why abortion is legal, 28 points CASE CLOSED, APOLOGY ACCEPTED 1 Abortion is about allowing woman the right to make choices about when they want to have children in relation to their age, Financial stability & relationship stability. It is the not the place of government to legislate against woman's choices. 2. Raising a child is not an easy task & requires social & emotional commitment coupled with financial resources. As such if a person feels they are not ready for a child, It means the pregnancy is unwanted & resultant allowing a fetus to grow into a child is worse than abortion since the resultant child will grow in a non conducive & destructive environment without the love, Care & stability that a child needs. 3. The argument against abortion is a moral argument which is subject to personal interpretation so should not be legislated against. Those see it morally allowable to do abortion should be provided with the means to do so & those who don't believe in abortion should have the choice not to have an abortion 4. A fetus is not legally or scientifically a person or human being so abortion cannot be equated to murder or taking a life since the fetus is not a person nor alive. 5. A fetus is like a brain dead person with no self awareness or consciousness so it is actually dead. 6. Prohibiting abortions doesn't stop abortions, Women would simply seek abortions via illegal means which are unsafe & illegal, So it is better to provide woman with safe & legal ways to do an abortion. 7. Abortion prevent unwanted & unplanned pregnancies which prevents child neglect since the mother does not want to have children at that moment in time. 8. Making abortion illegal is also a class struggle since the rich can always go to other places where it is legal & have an abortion whilst the poor cannot do this, But have to resort to unsafe abortions which can lead to their death. 9. Making abortion illegal is more or less compulsory pregnancy which contradicts the quest & fight for freedom. 10. Making abortion illegal will increase teenage pregnancy (children having children). This usually leads to illegal abortions which can lead to death or permanent health defects, Poverty, Joblessness, Hopelessness, And dependency. 11. A woman's right to choose abortion is a "fundamental right" 12. Personhood begins at birth, Not at conception. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy (fetus), Not a baby. Personhood at conception is not a proven biological fact. Fetuses are incapable of feeling pain when an abortion is performed. 13. Access to legal, Professionally-performed abortions reduces injury and death caused by unsafe, Illegal abortions. 14. The anti-abortion position is usually based on religious beliefs and threatens the vital separation of church and state. Religious ideology should not be a foundation for law. 15. Modern abortion procedures are safe. The risk of a woman"s death from abortion is less than one in 100, 000, Whereas the risk of a woman dying from giving birth is 13. 3 deaths per 100, 000 pregnancies. 16. Access to abortion is necessary because contraceptives are not always readily available. Women need a doctor's prescription to obtain many birth control methods, Such as the pill, The patch, The shot, And the diaphragm. 17. Abortion gives couples the option to choose not to bring babies with severe and life-threatening medical conditions to full term. 18. Many women who choose abortion don't have the financial resources to support a child. 19. Motherhood must never be a punishment for having sexual intercourse. 20. A baby should not come into the world unwanted. 49% of all pregnancies among American women are unintended. Having a child is an important lifelong decision that requires consideration, Preparation, And planning. 21. Abortion reduces crime. Teenage girls, Unmarried women, And poor women are more likely to have unintended pregnancies, And since unwanted babies are often raised in poverty, Their chances of leading criminal lives in adulthood are increased. 22. Do we have the right to force the mother to keep the baby solely because she consented to participate in these sexual activities? Do we have the right to take away another"s right as we continue to fight for other rights? Why do we take away the rights of a woman because she has the potential to have a baby? 23. We get right to life, Liberty & pursuit of happiness when we are born. He fetus does not have these rights until it is born. So abortion is not murder & abortion does not go against the rights of a fetus since it does not have any until born. 24. Every woman has the right to do whatever they want with their body aka Bodily Autonomy. This is one of the reasons why it is illegal to take organs from the deceased that have not signed off permission. If we continue this right after life, Why do we strip it from a pregnant woman? Why would you grant a dead person a right that you wouldn"t give to someone that is alive. 25. If someone needs something donated that you have, You are not legally obligated to donate anything. This parallels to pregnancies because a fetus does need these resources, But the mother is not legally obligated to keep giving this baby her resources. Denying to give someone a body part is not illegal, So terminating a pregnancy should not be illegal 26. Legal abortions protect women's health. Legal abortion not only protects women's lives, It also protects their health. For tens of thousands of women with heart disease, Kidney disease, Severe hypertension, Sickle-cell anemia and severe diabetes, And other illnesses that can be life-threatening, The availability of legal abortion has helped avert serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth. Before legal abortion, Such women's choices were limited to dangerous illegal abortion or dangerous childbirth. 27. Being a mother is just one option for women. * Many hard battles have been fought to win political and economic equality for women. These gains will not be worth much if reproductive choice is denied. To be able to choose a safe, Legal abortion makes many other options possible. Otherwise an accident or a rape can end a woman's economic and personal freedom. 28. Even when precautions are taken, Accidents can and do happen. For some families, This is not a problem. But for others, Such an event can be catastrophic. An unintended pregnancy can increase tensions, Disrupt stability, And push people below the line of economic survival. Family planning is the answer. All options must be open. mic drop

positive: Legal Abortion This debate is "should abortion be legal?" Short answer no... Long answer noooooooo... Lol, but seriously, Abortion is murder any way that you look at it. I am excited for an intelligent debate

positive: Abortion Putting your sources in the comments doesn't exactly count... but okay. 1. You're still arguing on a legal basis, and it still doesn't work. Since my stance is that abortion should not remain legal (as you stated), this argument fails. I think a fetus/embryo is a life separate from the mother which is not her property, and that she should not be allowed to kill it. If a woman's five year old kid is her property, do you still think it should be legal for her to kill it? Just because something's legal doesn't necessarily mean it's right. 2. And what about those babies? They're people too, and therefore a lot more people would die with abortion legal than illegal. Besides that, my original rebuttal still stands. 3. This argument is irrelevant and doesn't make sense. You have not rebutted any of the points I made, and have just repeated what you already stated. I could rebut this with the same rebuttal I made in the last round. 4. YOUR math is bad. Your numbers aren't any more significant just because you raised the ratio. Are you aware that 133,000 would fit into a billion over 7,518 times? (1) I should also probably note that there is nowhere near a billion people in the US. There are 311,591,917 people, about half of which are women, about half of which are Pro life, and even less of the Pro choice women having had an abortion. (2)(3) This leaves you with less than 77,897,979 women having abortions.(4) That's nowhere near a billion, and therefore 123,000 women have not been supposedly "saved" by abortion. And once again, my original rebuttal still stands for the most part. Just because abortion is slightly safer doesn't mean you should get an abortion because of that. The motive of abortion is almost never to save your own life; it's to avoid having a kid. And abortion does not save lives; you are excluding the lives of the unborn babies killed in abortion. 5. How can the parent even know if the child is handicapped when it's an embryo? And once again, why does the parent get to decide to kill it? Every human has every right to live; it shouldn't be the parent's decision. When I spoke of machines and features, I was talking about wheelchair ramps on buses, special job opportunities at Goodwill, and things like that. Once again, according to your logic, the parents should be allowed to kill the handicapped person at any age. If the parents can't afford something like the actual wheelchair, many charities can be of great help. There is still no need for abortion just because of a handicap, and it generally isn't the reason for abortion anyway. 6. That makes no sense. Have you ever heard of these things called homeless shelters and charities? Where I live, it's possible for a homeless person to get a hot meal every day. And do you have any proof that stealing food for your family is a common crime? Even if it's true, it's not a very serious crime like murder or a bank robbery. Honestly, I think this argument is kind of silly. You're basically saying it's wrong for poor people to have kids. 7. I thought I made this pretty clear. If abortion was illegal, there would be less unwanted pregnancies because the parents know abortion isn't an option. They would be more responsible beforehand, instead of taking care of things after the pregnancy has already started. Thus, less babies would come into the world unwanted. 8. I could rebut most of this with my original argument. What do you mean they haven't been "proven" to be humans? Fetus is obviously a stage of human life. In the same way that babies and the elderly are humans, fetuses and embryos are stages of human life too, and you haven't proven otherwise. 9. None of those arguments make sense. Babies are just as human when inside the womb as outside. Abortion shouldn't be an option since the other options would allow the person to live. And it wouldn't be like taking away adoption because there is absolutely no reason why adoption should be illegal, while there are many reasons why abortion should be. I don't know what you mean by "abortion is one of those abortions." 10. If there is an afterlife, you would know you could have existed if you hadn't been aborted. If there is no afterlife, you wouldn't know you existed no matter what stage you died at. According to this logic, it's okay to kill a man because they wouldn't know they ever existed. And why is it irrelevant? You haven't actually rebutted anything here. 11. You ignored my arguments, and instead rambled about technical terms and how fetuses don't count as babies. You didn't actually rebut any of my arguments. 12. Late term abortion is a type of abortion. The resolution was "Abortion", and you stated yourself that you would be arguing that abortion should be legal. Since you have apparently conceded to this argument, you are saying that abortion should not always be allowed. I have won this argument. 13. Read my argument carefully. "My point is, abortion is yet another beat of a pattern in which humans disregard a type of human life." In other words, abortion is wrong, but it's going to take a while for everyone to agree, just like these other cases of human discrimination. Sourcing isn't necessary because we all know that slavery was once legal, that Hitler killed Jews, and that abortion was legalized in this country. (1) http://www.wolframalpha.com... (2) http://quickfacts.census.gov... (3) http://www.debate.org... (4)http://www.wolframalpha.com...

positive: Abortion I am pro-life. Abortion is murder because life begins at conception, Unborn babies are humans that have the right to life. Pro-life with some exceptions which are; rape (unless mother wants to keep child), Mother's life, Mother's health, Incest, Fetal life, Fetal health. I am open to a discussion to an opposing side. I will give evidential arguments on rounds 2, 3, 4, And 5.

positive: Abortion I don't think abortion should be abolished, because 1. What if the mother's life is in danger, 2. The mother has medical problems, 3. the baby would be born paralyzed, and more. When two human lives are connected, there has to be some choice. I support safe, legal, and last resort. Al;so, don't be cruel enough to force liuttle girls or rape victims to give birth, or domestic violence victims.

positive: Abortion My position on abortion is extremely con. I believe that abortion should be illegal since murder is illegal.

positive: Abotion should be legal 1. Abortion is about allowing woman the right to make choices about when they want to have children in relation to their age, financial stability & relationship stability. It is the not the place of government to legislate against woman's choices. 2. Raising a child is not an easy task & requires social & emotional commitment coupled with financial resources. As such if a person feels they are not ready for a child, it means the pregnancy is unwanted & resultant allowing a fetus to grow into a child is worse than abortion since the resultant child will grow in a non conducive & destructive environment without the love, care & stability that a child needs. 3. The argument against abortion is a moral argument which is subject to personal interpretation so should not be legislated against. Those see it morally allowable to do abortion should be provided with the means to do so & those who don't believe in abortion should have the choice not to have an abortion 4. A fetus is not legally or scientifically a person or human being so abortion cannot be equated to murder or taking a life since the fetus is not a person nor alive. 5. A fetus is like a brain dead person with no self awareness or consciousness so it is actually dead. 6. Prohibiting abortions doesn't stop abortions, women would simply seek abortions via illegal means which are unsafe & illegal, so it is better to provide woman with safe & legal ways to do an abortion. 7. Abortion prevent unwanted & unplanned pregnancies which prevents child neglect since the mother does not want to have children at that moment in time. 8. Making abortion illegal is also a class struggle since the rich can always go to other places where it is legal & have an abortion whilst the poor cannot do this, but have to resort to unsafe abortions which can lead to their death. 9. Making abortion illegal is more or less compulsory pregnancy which contradicts the quest & fight for freedom. 10. Making abortion illegal will increase teenage pregnancy (children having children). This usually leads to illegal abortions which can lead to death or permanent health defects, poverty, joblessness, hopelessness, and dependency. 11. A woman's right to choose abortion is a "fundamental right" 12. Personhood begins at birth, not at conception. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy (fetus), not a baby. Personhood at conception is not a proven biological fact. Fetuses are incapable of feeling pain when an abortion is performed. 13. Access to legal, professionally-performed abortions reduces injury and death caused by unsafe, illegal abortions. 14. The anti-abortion position is usually based on religious beliefs and threatens the vital separation of church and state. Religious ideology should not be a foundation for law. 15. Modern abortion procedures are safe. The risk of a woman"s death from abortion is less than one in 100,000, whereas the risk of a woman dying from giving birth is 13.3 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies. 16. Access to abortion is necessary because contraceptives are not always readily available. Women need a doctor's prescription to obtain many birth control methods, such as the pill, the patch, the shot, and the diaphragm. 17. Abortion gives couples the option to choose not to bring babies with severe and life-threatening medical conditions to full term. 18. Many women who choose abortion don't have the financial resources to support a child. 19. Motherhood must never be a punishment for having sexual intercourse. 20. A baby should not come into the world unwanted. 49% of all pregnancies among American women are unintended. Having a child is an important lifelong decision that requires consideration, preparation, and planning. 21. Abortion reduces crime. Teenage girls, unmarried women, and poor women are more likely to have unintended pregnancies, and since unwanted babies are often raised in poverty, their chances of leading criminal lives in adulthood are increased. 22. Do we have the right to force the mother to keep the baby solely because she consented to participate in these sexual activities? Do we have the right to take away another"s right as we continue to fight for other rights? Why do we take away the rights of a woman because she has the potential to have a baby? 23. We get right to life, liberty & pursuit of happiness when we are born. he fetus does not have these rights until it is born. So abortion is not murder & abortion does not go against the rights of a fetus since it does not have any until born. 24. Every woman has the right to do whatever they want with their body aka Bodily Autonomy. This is one of the reasons why it is illegal to take organs from the deceased that have not signed off permission. If we continue this right after life, why do we strip it from a pregnant woman? Why would you grant a dead person a right that you wouldn"t give to someone that is alive. 25. If someone needs something donated that you have, you are not legally obligated to donate anything. This parallels to pregnancies because a fetus does need these resources, but the mother is not legally obligated to keep giving this baby her resources. Denying to give someone a body part is not illegal, so terminating a pregnancy should not be illegal 26. Legal abortions protect women's health. Legal abortion not only protects women's lives, it also protects their health. For tens of thousands of women with heart disease, kidney disease, severe hypertension, sickle-cell anemia and severe diabetes, and other illnesses that can be life-threatening, the availability of legal abortion has helped avert serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth. Before legal abortion, such women's choices were limited to dangerous illegal abortion or dangerous childbirth. 27. Being a mother is just one option for women.* Many hard battles have been fought to win political and economic equality for women. These gains will not be worth much if reproductive choice is denied. To be able to choose a safe, legal abortion makes many other options possible. Otherwise an accident or a rape can end a woman's economic and personal freedom. 28. Even when precautions are taken, accidents can and do happen. For some families, this is not a problem. But for others, such an event can be catastrophic. An unintended pregnancy can increase tensions, disrupt stability, and push people below the line of economic survival. Family planning is the answer. All options must be open. Abortion should be part of a country's contraception policy. People should plan their families & society must allow women to end unwanted pregnancies, in order to deal with failures of birth control. Some methods of contraception in fact amount to abortion during the very earliest stage of a pregnancy. Abortion should be legal but discouraged. Legal simply because it is a choice, and what grows inside your body is yours. But discouraged because there are other more effective ways to prevent pregancy than abortion like contraception.

positive: Abortion I believe that for a woman to have an abortion is her private choice, and it should be legal to ensure regulations.

positive: Abortion I believe that abortion should be openly accepted. There are many good things that can come from abortion and I believe that many socio-economic problems can be prevented with abortion because I believe overall the babies that are contemplated about being aborted would be drags on society anyway. The population of the world is growing tremendously I would rather the world be full of planned babies than unintended drags on society

positive: Abortion The US Supreme Court has declared abortion to be a "fundamental right" guaranteed by the US Constitution. The landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade, decided on Jan. 22, 1973 in favor of abortion rights, remains the law of the land. The 7-2 decision stated that the Constitution gives "a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy," and that "This right of privacy... is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy." [49] Reproductive choice empowers women by giving them control over their own bodies. The choice over when and whether to have children is central to a woman's independence and ability to determine her future. [134] Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, "The ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives." [8] Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in her dissenting opinion in Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) that undue restrictions on abortion infringe upon "a woman's autonomy to determine her life's course, and thus to enjoy equal citizenship stature." [59] CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, JD, stated that Roe v. Wade was "a landmark of what is, in the truest sense, women"s liberation." [113] Personhood begins after a fetus becomes "viable" (able to survive outside the womb) or after birth, not at conception. [31] [32] Embryos and fetuses are not independent, self-determining beings, and abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby. A person's age is calculated from birth date, not conception, and fetuses are not counted in the US Census. The majority opinion in Roe v. Wade states that "the word 'person,' as used in the Fourteenth Amendment [of the US Constitution], does not include the unborn." [49] Fetuses are incapable of feeling pain when most abortions are performed. According to a 2010 review by Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, "most neuroscientists believe that the cortex is necessary for pain perception." The cortex does not become functional until at least the 26th week of a fetus' development, long after most abortions are performed. This finding was endorsed in 2012 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, [1] which stated that that there is "no legitimate scientific information that supports the statement that a fetus experiences pain." [142] A 2005 University of California at San Francisco study said fetuses probably can't feel pain until the 29th or 30th week of gestation. [166] Abortions that late into a pregnancy are extremely rare and are often restricted by state laws. [164] According to Stuart W. G. Derbyshire, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham (England), "...fetuses cannot be held to experience pain. Not only has the biological development not yet occurred to support pain experience, but the environment after birth, so necessary to the development of pain experience, is also yet to occur." [10] The "flinching" and other reactions seen in fetuses when they detect pain stimuli are mere reflexes, not an indication that the fetus is perceiving or "feeling" anything. [135] [145] Access to legal, professionally-performed abortions reduces maternal injury and death caused by unsafe, illegal abortions. According to Daniel R. Mishell, Jr., MD, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, before abortion was legalized women would frequently try to induce abortions by using coat hangers, knitting needles, or radiator flush, or by going to unsafe "back-alley" abortionists. [150] In 1972, there were 39 maternal deaths from illegal abortions. By 1976, after Roe v. Wade had legalized abortion nationwide, this number dropped to two. [7] The World Health Organization estimated in 2004 that unsafe abortions cause 68,000 maternal deaths worldwide each year, many of those in developing countries where safe and legal abortion services are difficult to access. [11] Modern abortion procedures are safe and do not cause lasting health issues such as cancer and infertility. A peer-reviewed study published by Obstetrics & Gynecology in Jan. 2015 reported that less than one quarter of one percent of abortions lead to major health complications. [159] [160] A 2012 study in Obstetrics & Gynecology found a woman's risk of dying from having an abortion is 0.6 in 100,000, while the risk of dying from giving birth is around 14 times higher (8.8 in 100,000). The study also found that "pregnancy-related complications were more common with childbirth than with abortion." [3] The American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists stated "Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures performed in the United States." They also said the mortality rate of a colonoscopy is more than 40 times greater than that of an abortion. [122] The National Cancer Institute (NCI), the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists all refuted the claim that abortion can lead to a higher probability of developing breast cancer. [22] A 1993 fertility investigation of 10,767 women by the Joint Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that women who had at least two abortions experienced the same future fertility as those who had at least two natural pregnancies. [14] Women who receive abortions are less likely to suffer mental health problems than women denied abortions. A Sep. 2013 peer-reviewed study comparing the mental health of women who received abortions to women denied abortions found that women who were denied abortions "felt more regret and anger" and "less relief and happiness" than women who had abortions. The same study also found that 95% of women who received abortions "felt it was the right decision" a week after the procedure. [158] Studies by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC), and researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health all concluded that purported links between abortion and mental health problems are unfounded. [152] Abortion gives pregnant women the option to choose not to bring fetuses with profound abnormalities to full term. Some fetuses have such severe disorders that death is guaranteed before or shortly after birth. These include anencephaly, in which the brain is missing, and limb-body wall complex, in which organs develop outside the body cavity. [12] It would be cruel to force women to carry fetuses with fatal congenital defects to term. Even in the case of nonfatal conditions, such as Down syndrome, parents may be unable to care for a severely disabled child. Deborah Anne Driscoll, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania, said "many couples... don"t have the resources, don"t have the emotional stamina, don"t have the family support [to raise a child with Down syndrome]." [9] Women who are denied abortions are more likely to become unemployed, to be on public welfare, to be below the poverty line, and to become victims of domestic violence. A University of California at San Francisco study found that women who were turned away from abortion clinics (because they had passed the gestational limit imposed by the clinic) were three times more likely to be below the poverty level two years later than women who were able to obtain abortions. 76% of the "turnaways" ended up on unemployment benefits, compared with 44% of the women who had abortions. The same study found that women unable to obtain abortions were more likely to stay in a relationship with an abusive partner than women who had an abortion, and were more than twice as likely to become victims of domestic violence. [114] [73] Reproductive choice protects women from financial disadvantage. Many women who choose abortion don't have the financial resources to support a child. 42% of women having abortions are below the federal poverty level. [13] A Sep. 2005 survey in the peer-reviewed Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health asking women why they had an abortion found that 73% of respondents said they could not afford to have a baby, and 38% said giving birth would interfere with their education and career goals. [19] An Oct. 2010 University of Massachusetts at Amherst study published in the peer-reviewed American Sociological Review found that women at all income levels earn less when they have children, with low-wage workers being most affected, suffering a 15% earnings penalty. [136] A baby should not come into the world unwanted. Having a child is an important decision that requires consideration, preparation, and planning. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment stated that unintended pregnancies are associated with birth defects, low birth weight, maternal depression, increased risk of child abuse, lower educational attainment, delayed entry into prenatal care, a high risk of physical violence during pregnancy, and reduced rates of breastfeeding. [75] 49% of all pregnancies among American women are unintended. [50] Abortion reduces welfare costs to taxpayers. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan federal agency, evaluated a proposed anti-abortion bill that would ban all abortions nationwide after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and found that the resulting additional births would increase the federal deficit by $225 million over nine years, due to the increased need for Medicaid coverage. Also, since many women seeking late-term abortions are economically disadvantaged, their children are likely to require welfare assistance. [129] [130] http://abortion.procon.org...

positive: Abortion Explain to me why abortion is good and why is it not murder.

positive: Abortion is wrong. abortion is a woman's right to choose if a woman makes that choice for whatever reason she should not be shamed and made to feel like an outcast you can say what you like about how girls shouldn't sleep around and use birth control and I agree however birth control does sometimes fail condoms do tear and sometimes people have a moment of weakness and get swept up in the moment and have unprotected sex and particularly if the girl is very young such as a teenager or financially unfit she may seek an abortion. For many women this seems like the only option yes you can adoption but then foster homes will be full of unwanted children that will bounce from home to home what kind of life is that for a child? not to mention the pain of having to carry a baby for nine months all the doctors appointments and ultrasounds only to watch it go to somebody else when a woman has an abortion she doesn't have to worry about that she doesn't know the gender of the baby or what it looks like. Furthermore in a scientific matter a fetus or an embryo is not a baby it is not yet a living breathing human being it is simply a mass of cells that yes will develop into a baby at a later stage which is why I'm against late term abortion unless for medical reasons but at an early stage is simply a mass of cells there is no difference between a human embryo and a tadpole they look exactly the same you can't tell the difference the only difference is one will grow to be a frog and one a baby and as far as the case of rape goes well ask yourself this if a man rapes me and I become pregnant do I really want to carry this man's baby? some will say yes because it's not the baby's fault I agree but at the same time the mother is already going through emotional and psychological pain due to the rape do we really want to subject her to going through the emotional turmoil of carrying for a baby she didn't ask for? or what if your father raped you for years on end and you become pregnant do you really want to carry his child and raise your child/sibling? what if you went and had your first ultrasound and the doctors told you your baby was gonna have down syndrome or autism or be mentally retarded would you choose to bring that child into the world knowing the challenges that they are going to face? in order to understand abortion one must ask themselves these questions put yourself in someone Else's shoes and learn empathy in order to understand maybe if people didn't have so many children that couldn't afford we wouldn't have a population crisis and people wouldn't live in extreme poverty and yes birth control would cut down on it but birth control in 3rd world countries is harder to get access plus you got a group of people who will refuse to take it due to old traditions. But even here in the western world there seems to be this stigma associated with birth control Catholics for example still want to follow the doctrine of banning birth control despite the fact that most practicing Catholics in Europe and America use birth control and while in places like Mexico and South America still do not well I say look where that's got them poverty stricken and having children they cannot afford so again I say is abortion wrong if a woman in Guatemala with 5 hungry children already living in a hut making 1 dollar a day becomes pregnant and gets an abortion is she wrong? should she have had the child instead and been that much poorer? because let me tell you I wouldn't want to put my child in a 3rd world orphanage they are horrible and the children become miserable. By telling women what they can and can't do with their bodies you are basically saying that it really doesn't matter what the woman wants it's all about a fetus's rights woman have had to fight long and hard in America for their rights the right to vote to work to dress how they choose why do they now have to fight to not carry fetus's inside of them if they choose why do they have to fight to get access for birth control because there employers refuse to cover it? If you want less abortions make birth control more accessible or give these poor women day care vouchers Medicaid food stamps etc so that they can raise their children without being in a pile of bills and stress and for god sake's stop standing out abortions clinics screaming and harassing these women who are making that choice it will actually make people more determined to have an abortion not to mention makes you look very foolish and hateful and what gets me is many are Christian church groups I mean how unchristian can you get? I don't think there's an easy explanation of what to do with those people but I do know that we have to do something. I truly believe if you want to cut down on abortions birth control is the answer however I just don't think a woman should be shamed for it and even if we made it illegal there's no way of stopping it even when it was illegal women used to get them they would go to back Ally's and many women died from complications or they would concoct some kind of natural medicine and take it to expel the baby often these would cause damage to the uterus and make the woman unable to have any more children but even if everything was fine would that not be considered an abortion? so you can really say that women never used to have abortions or wanted that choice I really believe that this has become rooted in religion which contrary to some people's beliefs we do not base our laws on which is why abortion is legal and it is absolutely unconstitutional for these states in the south to be shutting them down by doing that you are taking away a woman's right to choose a woman's right to not be stuck with a child and a woman's right to do what she pleases with her body. Men should not get a say in this men will never understand because they are not the ones who get pregnant they have no idea what it's like to be young and struggling with a child a man has a choice to stay and help raise the child or leave the woman does not have such a choice and yet we allow all these men in congress to tell us what we can and can't do why should some old man I don't know and will never meet be able to make my reproductive choices for me? and what's so bad is that there are very naive women and they listen to these politicians and just believe them and never research for themselves and those are the people that scare me you have to research things you can;t allow the media to influence all your decision making but I digress back to the topic on hand as long as the abortion is done at a clinic with a proper doctor clean equipment and the woman is not forced such as in china then I see no problem with it and there's no point in all this torture women seeking abortions have to go through such as getting an ultrasound before her abortion it is a completely unnecessary and costly expense and everyone knows their ulterior motives behind it which is what makes it so bad at least be honest and say that you want to try to convince her to keep the baby by making her look at an ultrasound rather then it's for her health because any doctor will tell you that that is just untrue. Abortion keeps many children from growing up either in foster homes or in abusive neglectful dirty poor homes where not only that child will suffer but will be more attracted to crime welfare etc and lets be honest many of the same people who oppose abortion also oppose welfare and food stamps which doesn't make one bit of sense to me how do they expect these mothers to keep their babies and then live in such desperate poverty? At the end of the day, a mother has to go through the actual labor pain and other issues involved with parenting and juggling responsibilities others can"t precisely gauge or understand the level of trauma that a woman may be experiencing in her personal life. She is the only person who knows best, if she would be able to take care of the unplanned child. and i rest my case k

positive: Abortion Abortion deprives a fetus of an entire human future:

positive: Abortion I believe abortion should be illegal! If a pregnant mother is murdered, the murderer is charged with a double homicide. This law considers an unborn baby a real person. Why then is abortion legal? From the moment of conception, an unborn baby is a distinct person. Therefore we should give these innocent unborn babies a chance at what life has to offer!

positive: The USFG should ban abortion == Rebuttal == 1. I accept that the fetus is a human. 2. Human Rights Pro points out that the right to a person's life is protected under the Constitution. The Constitution has been amended 17 times since its inception and interpreted innumerable times by the Supreme Court, meaning the law as-written is not necessarily the way the law has/ought to remain. SCOTUS decided in Roe v. Wade that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that this right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests in regulating abortions: protecting women's health and protecting the potentiality of human life [1]. The government does not disregard the fetuses' rights all-together, but rather establishes criteria for when their right to life trumps the mother's right to privacy and bodily autonomy. The Court decided this right begins with fetal viability - that is when the fetus can live without it's mother's body. The Supreme Court has ruled many times that people have the right to bodily autonomy and the right to their own person. For example in Cruzan v. Missouri, the Court ruled that people can refuse to seek medical treatment even if it would lead to their death [2]. Indeed we can use our body however we see fit regardless of other people's preferences. If I want to tattoo my body or have a baby, I have that right whether other people believe I should do those things or not. Pro writes, "Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought." However compare this to euthanasia which is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. Ending a life in and of itself is not necessarily murder, and Pro has not proven as such. Consider why only killing humans is considered murder whereas killing animals does not qualify. This is because animals do not have the level of sentience that humans do. While fetuses have the potential for sentience at some point, until that point, they do not and should not have the same rights as those who have already achieved this criteria. We do not grant rights based on potential. We do not give 16 year olds the legal right to drink just because they have the potential to turn 21. We base rights as/is, which is why some fetuses have the right to life and some do not. In my contentions, I will be arguing the right to life ought to be based on a level of sentience, even for human beings. Pro notes, "Whenever rights are limited, the most common and justifiable reason is when the observation of one right infringes on more important rights of others." He posits that the unborn baby is due for protection under the law including the right to life, and that this right is more important than the mother's right to privacy. But indeed the mother's freedom and right to bodily autonomy is what's also in question. Privacy refers to a woman's decision to keep it personal and none of anybody else's concern or opportunity to regulate. Pro writes that females waive their right to bodily autonomy by consenting to sex. That is manipulative rhetoric. If I consent to sex, it's not consent to aggressive sex or all sexual acts. If I consent to sex and contract an STD, it would be ridiculous to suggest I must be forced to live with this STD forever (or for a certain period of time) against my will. Instead I should be able to treat it however I would like, because it's my body and therefore my choice. If the STD had achieved a level of sentience, that would be different. But until then it would just be an unintended consequence of my actions. "When women are compelled to carry and bear children, they are subjected to 'involuntary servitude' in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment... Even if the woman has stipulated to have consented to the risk of pregnancy, that does not permit the state to force her to remain pregnant" [2]. == Arguments == 1. Individuals have the right to bodily autonomy. This means we should be able to make decisions about our own bodies, especially if they affect our health risks. Abortion should be a legal choice for women because it is risky and directly involves their body and health. More than 70,000 girls ages 15-19 die each year from pregnancy and childbirth [3]. No other person has the right to control how we use our bodies, especially as adults, though this inherent right ultimately extends to all fully conscious persons.2. Other people do not have the moral or legal authority to govern our bodies, even if someone else's life is on the line. For example if someone needs me to donate organs, blood or plasma, I cannot be legally forced to use my body to save their life -- even if it's my fault they need help (say my drunk driving caused a car accident, and their lives are now in danger because of my choices). Women have the right to determine how their bodies are used. There is no other circumstance in which any person's body is forcibly used to keep another human being alive against their will. 3. Criminalization will not stop abortions. So-called "back alley" abortions will still occur that put women at risk. If it does not serve as a meaningful deterrent, criminalization is not effective and does more harm than good. Legal abortions are generally safe and provide women with reproductive choices that do not needlessly make them criminals [4]. Criminals are those who infringe upon other's rights, whereas women who get abortions do not infringe upon an entity that has any legal rights. 4. Women who are raped or victims of incest should not be forced to carry out a pregnancy. These people should not be forced to carry out a pregnancy from such an invasive and traumatic violation. Even if it's a small percentage of pregnant women, the law exists to protect minority populations. 5. The abortion rate is declining while abortion remains legal [5]. You can combat abortion by providing meaningful sex education and access to birth control. This includes contraception that prevents the fertilization of an embryo. 6. Both IVF and abortion involve the destruction of fertilized eggs that could potentially develop into people. However the push to criminalize abortion and not those who need fertility treatment, proves the contention is less about protecting human lives, and more about controlling women's bodies. Indeed most people who are "pro life" do not support legal measures to protect life when it comes to caring for the sick and impoverished who need care in order to survive. And anti-choice organizations have avoided targeting IVF, even as they’ve sought radical restrictions on abortion access. The point here is that protecting every human life does not seem like a serious or consistent contention. 7. Fetuses that aborted still have lived that are used for good. "All embryonic stem cells are undifferentiated cells that are unlike any specific adult cell. However, they have the ability to form any adult cell. Because undifferentiated embryonic stem cells can proliferate indefinitely in culture, they could potentially provide an unlimited source of specific, clinically important adult cells such as bone, muscle, liver or blood cell... Embryonic stem cells are of great interest to medicine and science because of their ability to develop into virtually any other cell made by the human body. In theory, if stem cells can be grown and their development directed in culture, it would be possible to grow cells of medical importance such as bone marrow, neural tissue or muscle" [6]. This can be useful at treating disease and saving other human lives - the lives of those already sentient. 8. Reproductive choice can be the only thing that stands between a woman and poverty or death. While adoption may be a viable option for some, particularly in the U.S., in other parts of the world that is not necessarily the case. However Pro's standard of the right to life means women who are in specific danger due to restricted medical care or resources (especially in Africa and South East Asia) will be forced to birth children, even if it means that they are likely to die and that there babies will die or be uncared for. 9. Fetuses are often terminated before sentience, so they are not very conscious beings. We legally kill living things that are more cognizant, such as pigs that are as sentient as toddlers. Therefore simply being alive (or even being conscious) does not determine the "right to life" in society. Fetuses arguably do not have the right to life, specifically as it pertains to mandating the use of the mother's body to survive. We do not recognize the right to life in other humans such as those in vegetative states, etc. The reversibly comatose, momentarily unconscious, or people who are asleep are once functioned and/or are currently functioning as sentient beings, even if they are temporary state of non-sentience. The pre-sentient unborn, however, were never sentient and once they qualify as sentient obtain the right to life. It is the capacity to be sentient which provides this distinction. This standard is important and useful because it accounts for the essence of personhood beyond being alive or arbitrary speciesism. Why don't plants have the right to life despite being alive? It's the ability to feel, think, perceive, and be self-aware amongst other things that makes this important moral and legal distinction.[1] https://en.wikipedia.org...[2] https://en.wikipedia.org...[3] http://amplifyyourvoice.org...[4] http://thinkprogress.org...[5] https://www.guttmacher.org...[6] http://news.wisc.edu...

positive: Abortion should be illegal world wide Abortion is rang no one should murder there unborn child. If a women has a right to the choice of the abortion ,,well the baby has a choice and should have the right to live. Its Evil to kill a baby .there should be no argument because any rebuttal means your stance is kill a child infant you created. it makes no sense religious wise, morally makes no sense at all, and it shouldn't make legal sense because murders illegal.

positive: abortion should be legal up to the first trimester Abortion should always be an option. tay-sachs disease Rape midgets incest young teenage girls with a bad home lives young teenage girls that could be killed of injured mothered or fathered by someone with aids or other illnesses Abortion has to be an option. It is irresponsible to ignore any of the above reasons.

positive: Abortion should be legal. >>> Women who do abortion face a number of possible complications including... +++ No. I am right. You are exaggerating on your list of harmful effects. The four you mentioned that were correct were excessive bleeding, infection of the uterus or fallopian tubes, damage to the uterus or cervix, and emotional or psychological distress. Emotional distress is an expected effect that is the woman's choice. And a kid, especially an unwanted one will cause a lot more distress, than an abortion. Bleeding is an effect of any surgery. The other two are possible effects that are unfortunate, but rare. And the women are warned of these effects beforehand. http://www.nlm.nih.gov... >>> Breast cancer risk +++ This is tremendously flawed. Please show sources. And a small breast cancer risk is no reason to have a kid, especially if you were raped or would die from the birth. >>> Isn't death a risk for every pregnancy? Are you now saying we shouldn't have children? +++ Some women are known to be prone to death before the birth. Why would these women be forced to die? Are you, morally, going to let a woman kill herself for a bunch of embryos that nobody knows or cares about? No. >>> It is ironic to state that it is immoral to force women to die from a pre-known death for a stranger because a lot of these people do not have families. +++ How dare you! You are really reaching here. Many women get pregnant during marriage and don't want the child because they will die because of it. Some of the Supreme Court justices during Roe vs. Wade solely based their votes off of this. Sure, some teenagers get abortions, which is a great option, but some of those girls will die from the birth and are known in advance of their deaths. Even they should not be killed. To force a woman to kill herself is immoral. >>> She will not necessarily die because she gives birth but the child WILL. +++ YES, SHE WILL! There are women whose bodies can no longer give birth. If they get an abortion they can live. If they don't they will die for the sake of the child who cost the life of a loved one. This baby doesn't deserve to be born without a mother. And the families don't deserve to loose the mother, wife, daughter, and friend. >>> The abortion option. +++ This is unfair. How can you suggest that a woman carry around a baby for 9 months while being sick and miserable? Especially if she was raped. A raped woman is victim enough. Do not punish her more with 9 months of torture only to give up a baby that she cannot take care of. And what about the women who are known to die after birth? Are you going to let them die? You have yet to explain for them. >>> No proof of prostitution argument. +++ My argument is defensive. I don't need to support it if you can't. Argument dropped. >>> What! How do you rationalize this? Prostitution often means cheating on your wife or girlfriend and it spreads diseases! +++ That's a different debate. Prostitution does not hurt anybody. Adultery is the crime. If the prostitute is not spreading disease, it is consentual sex and should not be illegal. Victimless crimes cost a lot of money to enforce for no reason. >>> Prostitutes will get raped. +++ How can somebody who is being paid to have sex be raped by their client? >>> New fetuses are human! No their not. A rock can not feel, think or do much of anything. Much like a fetus. You can destroy a rock legally. Like you can abort a fetus legally. If the thing is not human, don't call it human. Scientists don't claim a fetus to be a human until 26 weeks. If science isn't good enough proof for you...nothing is. >>> Girls who get abortions may commit suicide. +++ It's their decision to get the abortion and they don't commit suicide that often. And girls who are pregnant as teenagers probably have other, bigger problems in their life. You can't say this is related. >>> Why should the child be punished by rape? +++ How dare you! This is an outlandish statement. The child is not being punished. There is no child! Not until 26 weeks when abortions are typically illegal. If a woman is raped she shouldn't have to take care of a kid for the rest of her life from a man she probably doesn't even know. If a teenage girl is raped, she should not have to ruin her life, which is statistically more likely. >>> Women make laws and some are pro-life. +++ I didn't say I was using the sexist argument. You just imposed it on me. But it is legitimate. Because there are women who are wrong. There are people with differing opinions in every demographic. Most women will think abortion bans are unfair. The ones who have read the facts anyway. 1. The government does not, and should not have the right to control a woman's body. >>> Yet isn't the child a "body." The government would be controlling the child's body in this instance. +++ No! Science says the child is not a body or a person for 26 weeks. If a woman is raped she should not be forced to carry around a baby for any amount of time. And the government has no right to tell either way. 2. "Back alley" abortions were very common in times when abortion was legal. These abortions included women sticking hangars into their bodies to kill their fetuses. This will continue if abortion is criminalized. >>> Back alley abortions are less common. +++ Back alley abortions were less common, but they happened. This often killed the woman and the child? Is this a reasonable solution? No. 3. A child that is unwanted will be neglected. GOD wants mothers to want their babies. >>> this violates God's rule of freewill. A mother cannot be forced to love her child. +++ No. God is not forcing anyone to love the kid. He is giving them the option. It is the exact opposite. God is hoping they will love their babies and is giving them the boost. 4. Neglected children will be the inevitable result. They are a lot more likely to become criminals. >>> Can you prove this? Adopted kids. http://search.yahoo.com... Adopted kids are often neglected as well. More often than not. 5. One brief mistake can take away a woman's childhood and trap her for life. >>> Yes and this would be having sex before marriage. It has nothing to do with the topic. +++ You cannot force the Christian religion on all Americans. It is legal to have sex before marriage and should not be punishable.. And those who are raped have no choice. Some fathers even force their child to have the rape-result baby. 6. Abortion is not murder because it is performed before a fetus has developed into a human person. >>> (website) +++ I used science. 26 weeks. Your turn. 7. Some women are raped. Should they be forced to keep the rapist's baby and take care of it? >>> Approximately only 1% percent of all abortions are attributed to rape and incest. + I don't think this is true. But even one of these cases is horrible and so immoral. 8. Women can die from pregnancy and birth. Should these women be killed? >>> This was a risk for EVERY WOMAN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME! +++ Some women are more prone to die or certain to die from birth. 9. Abortion bans have been ruled unconstitutional because they are detremental to women's health. We have the right to life. The government cannot force a woman to have herself killed. >>> Arguments above should suffice. It's a risk every woman takes. +++ No. It's not. 1. Define "fully developed." +++ Able to feel and think, physically too. 2. Explain why adoption or foster care is wrong. +++ Raped women should not be punished with 9 months of carrying a baby. Some women are certain to die from birth. 3. Is there any other reasons why abortion is right despite the fact you think it should be a woman's choice? +++ Rape, women who will die, teenagers lives, etc. SOME WOMEN ARE CERTAIN TO DIE! ONLY ILLEGAL ABORTIONS KILL WOMEN

positive: Abortion is Wrong Women should not have the choice of abortion unless the women was raped, incest, or for medical reasons. Abortion should be categorized as murder from part of the mother. If the mother came through with abortion she should have the obligation to serve time behind bars due to her taking a child's life away. Same goes for the doctor which performed the abortion. No one should have the ability to kill a baby just because they couldn't take the responsibility of caring for it there is other alternatives for the child to live abortion isn't the only option

positive: Abortion should be legal 1. Abortion is about allowing woman the right to make choices about when they want to have children in relation to their age, financial stability & relationship stability. It is the not the place of government to legislate against woman's choices. 2. Raising a child is not an easy task & requires social & emotional commitment coupled with financial resources. As such if a person feels they are not ready for a child, it means the pregnancy is unwanted & resultant allowing a fetus to grow into a child is worse than abortion since the resultant child will grow in a non conducive & destructive environment without the love, care & stability that a child needs. 3. The argument against abortion is a moral argument which is subject to personal interpretation so should not be legislated against. Those see it morally allowable to do abortion should be provided with the means to do so & those who don't believe in abortion should have the choice not to have an abortion 4. A fetus is not legally or scientifically a person or human being so abortion cannot be equated to murder or taking a life since the fetus is not a person nor alive. 5. A fetus is like a brain dead person with no self awareness or consciousness so it is actually dead. 6. Prohibiting abortions doesn't stop abortions, women would simply seek abortions via illegal means which are unsafe & illegal, so it is better to provide woman with safe & legal ways to do an abortion. 7. Abortion prevent unwanted & unplanned pregnancies which prevents child neglect since the mother does not want to have children at that moment in time. 8. Making abortion illegal is also a class struggle since the rich can always go to other places where it is legal & have an abortion whilst the poor cannot do this, but have to resort to unsafe abortions which can lead to their death. 9. Making abortion illegal is more or less compulsory pregnancy which contradicts the quest & fight for freedom. 10. Making abortion illegal will increase teenage pregnancy (children having children). This usually leads to illegal abortions which can lead to death or permanent health defects, poverty, joblessness, hopelessness, and dependency. 11. A woman's right to choose abortion is a "fundamental right" 12. Personhood begins at birth, not at conception. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy (fetus), not a baby. Personhood at conception is not a proven biological fact. Fetuses are incapable of feeling pain when an abortion is performed. 13. Access to legal, professionally-performed abortions reduces injury and death caused by unsafe, illegal abortions. 14. The anti-abortion position is usually based on religious beliefs and threatens the vital separation of church and state. Religious ideology should not be a foundation for law. 15. Modern abortion procedures are safe. The risk of a woman"s death from abortion is less than one in 100,000, whereas the risk of a woman dying from giving birth is 13.3 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies. 16. Access to abortion is necessary because contraceptives are not always readily available. Women need a doctor's prescription to obtain many birth control methods, such as the pill, the patch, the shot, and the diaphragm. 17. Abortion gives couples the option to choose not to bring babies with severe and life-threatening medical conditions to full term. 18. Many women who choose abortion don't have the financial resources to support a child. 19. Motherhood must never be a punishment for having sexual intercourse. 20. A baby should not come into the world unwanted. 49% of all pregnancies among American women are unintended. Having a child is an important lifelong decision that requires consideration, preparation, and planning. 21. Abortion reduces crime. Teenage girls, unmarried women, and poor women are more likely to have unintended pregnancies, and since unwanted babies are often raised in poverty, their chances of leading criminal lives in adulthood are increased. 22. Do we have the right to force the mother to keep the baby solely because she consented to participate in these sexual activities? Do we have the right to take away another"s right as we continue to fight for other rights? Why do we take away the rights of a woman because she has the potential to have a baby? 23. We get right to life, liberty & pursuit of happiness when we are born. he fetus does not have these rights until it is born. So abortion is not murder & abortion does not go against the rights of a fetus since it does not have any until born. 24. Every woman has the right to do whatever they want with their body aka Bodily Autonomy. This is one of the reasons why it is illegal to take organs from the deceased that have not signed off permission. If we continue this right after life, why do we strip it from a pregnant woman? Why would you grant a dead person a right that you wouldn"t give to someone that is alive. 25. If someone needs something donated that you have, you are not legally obligated to donate anything. This parallels to pregnancies because a fetus does need these resources, but the mother is not legally obligated to keep giving this baby her resources. Denying to give someone a body part is not illegal, so terminating a pregnancy should not be illegal 26. Legal abortions protect women's health. Legal abortion not only protects women's lives, it also protects their health. For tens of thousands of women with heart disease, kidney disease, severe hypertension, sickle-cell anemia and severe diabetes, and other illnesses that can be life-threatening, the availability of legal abortion has helped avert serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth. Before legal abortion, such women's choices were limited to dangerous illegal abortion or dangerous childbirth. 27. Being a mother is just one option for women.* Many hard battles have been fought to win political and economic equality for women. These gains will not be worth much if reproductive choice is denied. To be able to choose a safe, legal abortion makes many other options possible. Otherwise an accident or a rape can end a woman's economic and personal freedom. 28. Even when precautions are taken, accidents can and do happen. For some families, this is not a problem. But for others, such an event can be catastrophic. An unintended pregnancy can increase tensions, disrupt stability, and push people below the line of economic survival. Family planning is the answer. All options must be open. Sources 1. http://www.debate.org... 2. http://abortion.procon.org... 3. http://www.topix.com...

positive: Abortion should be legal Dropped - Self Defense Dropped - Bad Childhoods /Mother can not take of the kid Rebuild) Constitutional Right My adversary says we are debating about whether it should be legal and I agree. The reason it already is legal is because it *should be* legal. The constitution was established because it granted us the greatest possible freedom. Denying someone the right to govern their own body denies them the freedom granted under the Constitution. A woman has her right to her own body as does anyone. Taking that away from her is going against a document that was made to provide us with the greatest possible freedom. The same is true in other countries, which is a womans body is her own. Rebuild ) My adversary says because of rape being such a small number, we should then enforce it because there is such a massive number against it. What he is stating is that is is perfectly fine to tell around 30,000 women yearly that they have to carry a child because they were sexually assaulted on no fault of their own, even if it could mess up their lives forever. HE is basically saying that 30,000 people could be traumatized and it would be okay. Also per the analogy it's telling someone they have a moral responsibility to keep someone alive (if the fetus is even a life). HE left the analogy untouched. A fetus is not the same as a person that has been living for years. They already have a life, the fetus just has the potential to be a life and the terms by which a fetus is a life is *so* subjective that it varies state to state and from country to country. Fetal homicide laws literally vary, so these numbers my adversary are saying, are not considering when a fetus is considered viable, but the total number of abortions (this is not accurate). Rebuttal ) My adversary just asserts that an embryo is a living human, without providing any evidence to support it. A fetus has the potential to be a life, but the stages at which it is considered to be a life *vary* everywhere. That is how subjective this issue is. We have been looking over this for years, and no one can determine viability well. Viability in most senses is commonly around 20 - 28 weeks which is basically a late term abortion (most are already illegal as is) so the numbers are drastically smaller than my adversary makes them out to be Rebuttal ) this is an assertion with not facts. People should be able to opt out of abortions because it prevents bad cases of children being raised in homes that cannot afford them, or going through adopted care. If you can stop the life while it has the potential to become a life, to prevent harms that should be allowed. You are not terminating a life, but the chance of a life existing. Contraception ) He just asserts contraceptives work all the times, and cases where they don't work the women still should be forced to carry a fetus. A fetus is the potential to become a life, and contraceptive don't always work. People should be able to opt out.

positive: Abortion Well, that wasn"t the angle from which I agreed to debate, but I"ll argue the case nevertheless. My first argument will, in line with the rules my opponent has set, only address my core arguments"though, inevitably, there will be overlap, but I will not mention his data directly. Let me begin by saying that I do not personally condone abortion, and one need not do so in order to believe that abortion is a viable choice"even if we are to accept that a zygote or a fetus are persons, which is, by and large, a theological view. My personal opinion"informed by my Catholic faith--is irrelevant ("separation of church and state," which the Supreme Court has long upheld, is a core tenet of the Constitution and of the founding of the U.S.). Not only am I a man, who can never become pregnant, but I have never been intimately involved in a dilemma that would lead one to have an abortion, so I can"t surmise what they must have been feeling. This is not a fun thing for women to choose, but it is false to say that they eventually will regret their decision; indeed, many do, but many also report feeling relieved in having made the right decision at the time. Studies have reported, for instance, that 87% of women are "highly confident" about their choice. 90% said that their primary reaction was "relief." In fact, evidence shows that procedures aimed at discouraging women from having abortions--e.g., mandatory ultrasounds--actually do not, by and large, deter women from making this decision. Ultimately, the attempt to demonize these women as monsters for making a choice about their own bodies"a right that the Supreme Court has protected for 40 years as a Constitutional right to privacy"is largely disingenuous, and rooted in fallacy. First, abortion is a viable option in the case of rape. A 2004 survey placed the number (the percentage of abortions that follow rape) at 1%. But we need to take that number in context: that"s 1% of 1.3 million women, or 13,000 abortions after rape, with the survey indicating the average figure is around 19,500 per year. Let"s put aside the figures for a second, though, and consider this in context. Is the counterargument truly that, because the number is small relative to the total number of women who have abortions, that it is negligible and we should forget about it? Should we accept Rep. Trent Frank"s view that "the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy [is] very low?" Not only is that highly offensive, but it"s simply not true. A 1996 study by the Medical University of South Carolina determined that 5 percent of rape victims aged 12 to 45 became pregnant as a result"32,000 pregnancies per year. They wrote "[r]ape-releated pregnancy occurs with significant frequency [and] it is a cause of many unwanted pregnancies and is closely linked with family and domestic violence." A study in 2000 by the University of California, San Francisco placed the number at 25,000 per year. But let"s look at the broader picture. Are you truly willing to force a women who has been raped"who has been traumatized"to carry to term, against her will, her rapist"s child? Are you going to force her to report the crime, and subject her to the torment that will inevitably come (in fact, there"s a thread on DDO where people are questioning whether the victim"s testimony is valid evidence in court"in essence questioning whether she is lying about it or whether she "enjoyed it")? Are you going to force her to undergo a mandatory, medically unnecessary transvaginal ultrasound, as they must do in Virginia? Even under a proposal, such as one that Governor Romney presented in 2012"where abortion would be legal in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment (and, by the way, he wanted the states to decide, so a state could still prohibit it in those circumstances"there is still a key problem: how will women "prove" that they have been raped? Romney commented that he would probably want to "just trust them," but a recent Republican proposal"yes, created by the House Judiciary Committee"s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice all-male panel, headed by Trent Franks"would allow the I.R.S. to determine what constitutes rape or incest? Why is it that Republicans only support government intervention when it comes to abortion? Let us also not forget about this important question: How about the "rights of the rapist?" Will he have any custody over the child? In 31 states, he does in fact have those legal rights, which I think is a travesty. There are several important takeaways from this 2004 study, though. One is that, as the abstract says, "[t]he decision to have an abortion is typically motivated by multiple, diverse and interrelated reasons." Of the 1,209 patients who were interviewed, 74% claimed that it would interfere with their education, work, or ability to care for people who financially depend on them; 73% cited financial constraints; 48% cited relationship problems, or had no assistance with raising the child, and would need to be a single mother. Common themes were limited resources, money, and lack of support. The ability for a women to control whether or not she has a child determines whether she will be able to be active in the world and to contribute to society. It is, of course, unavoidable that she--and only she--must carry the child for nine months, while her partner can, and in many cases does, simply back out. Why should she alone be held responsible? Next, let's discuss further the notion of women being unable to afford a child, as that has been demonstrated as a primary concern among women seeking abortions. Women with incomes below the federal poverty line account for over 40% of all abortions. About 60% of women who have abortions already have a child, and 30% have two or more children. How is it possible to brand these women as irresponsible, when the data is quite clear that they, simply put, cannot afford to have another child? Would it not be more irresponsible for a women to bring another child into the world, whom she knows she cannot probably pay to support? Not only would she threaten herself, her family, and the children she already has, but she would threaten the life of this child. It's certainly not ideal no matter how you frame it, but that's why this issue should be left to the discretion of the mother. Circumstances differ depending on the respective families, and my opponent's view--that abortion should not be a viable choice, and as he noted in his first post, that it should be illegal--removes these decision from women, and imposes a "one-size-fits-all" plan devised by government bureaucrats. Is this truly a plausible path? Can the government truly intervene and tell women that they ought not have sexual intercourse if they cannot support a child (even if they are using birth control)--and, if they do, and get an abortion (because there is also data indicating, even prior to Roe v. Wade, that banning abortion does not eliminate it, but simply makes it more dangerous, but that's not what our debate is on), that they should be prosecuted? Forcing a women to go through with a pregnancy is effectively forced birth, and that represents an authoritarian position that I cannot endorse. Likely the most cited reason as to why abortion is a viable choice is to protect the health and life of the mother--including cases where the fetus, also, would not survive. Former U.S. representative Joe Walsh once inaccurately asserted that "there is no such exception as life of the mother, and as far as health of the mother, same thing, with advances in science and technology." A valid counterexample, for instance, is ectopic pregnancies, where the child is born outside of the uterus. The National Institutes of Health report that these occur in a range of 1 in every 40 to 1 in every 100 pregnancies, and the fetus must be removed to save the life of the mother. There was an example from Ireland from about a year ago that is relevant. A woman named Savita Halappanavar, who experienced a miscarriage, died from blood poisoning after having been denied an abortion. Irish law prevented her from having one unless medical professionals thought her life was at risk, and, in most cases, wouldn't perform them even in a case such at this due to legal boundaries and "wanting to play it safe." Therefore, I believe that abortion is a viable choice--and should remain legal--even if I personally don't happen to endorse it. http://www.minnpost.com... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... http://thinkprogress.org... http://www.thenation.com... http://www.womenscenter.com... http://thinkprogress.org... http://www.cnn.com... http://www.usnews.com... http://www.guttmacher.org... http://www.huffingtonpost.com... http://www.huffingtonpost.com... http://www.prochoice.org...

positive: Abortion should be legal "Abortion should be legal because people can choose to have a kid or not, and forcing them can suffer the child and the parent" So, your first argument is that not giving people the right to choose if a being lives or dies will make them suffer, but I'd argue it's the other way around, if anything. After an abortion, a woman might end up ridden with a lifetime of guilt, and, even if the woman isn't capable of raising a child, or the child may cause her to remember past trauma, there are options other than deciding to just kill them, such as putting them up for adoption. Abortion is selfish. It's the easy way out for people who don't want to deal with the consequences of their actions, even when there are other options, and it's murder. "Making it illegal will make women who want to abort go to dangerous place that can harm them and possibly kill them." Your next argument is that if you don't give the women the abortion, they'll go to some strange and mysterious place and possibly get hurt. I want you to think for a moment. If you had a child that you didn't want, and an abortion wasn't available, would you really go get it done in some dark dingy alley or whatever scene you have pictured that could get the woman hurt? I can't help but question if places like what you're describing even exist, and if they do, I really can't help but question if this is some major problem. You haven't shown much evidence to back it up, anyway. "Unborn baby only feel pain at 20 weeks and most of these abortion is when the women life is in danger." Firstly, cite your sources. You have literally nothing to back up this claim period. But let's assume you're right, just for the sake of argument. Even if this was true, it doesn't change the fact that it's murder. Murder is killing another human being. Are you trying to claim that the baby in the womb is not human? If so, what makes it not human? Is it its age? In that case, premature babies should be able to be murdered. Is it the fact that it needs to be physically attached to the mother? Then what about people who are dependent on technology to live, are they not human because they require resources from a machine? They're not part of the machine just because they're attached to it, and the same applies to a fetus. Is it its location in the womb? In that case, you could put any person in a womb and claim that it's not human and that killing it should be legal. And consider things like premature babies again. Let's say for the sake of argument that you had a premature child at 19 weeks (I'm not sure if this is possible, but it's just a hypothetical example). Is killing the newly born premature child murder? Of course it is. So, your argument is that because the child is attached to a tube in the mother's womb, it's not human, and killing it isn't murder, and the second you remove it from the womb, killing it is murder. Do you see how insane that sounds? Do you see how little sense that makes? Overall, even a pro-abortion person could probably see that your arguments are simply bad. You cite no sources, you back up nothing, you can't even use proper grammar in a formal debate... No offense, but you should honestly get a bit better at debating before hopping onto the internet and trying to tell all those darned Christians how stupid they are.

positive: Abortion should be legal == Intro ==In this debate, I'll defend abortion being legal for some period in the pregnancy. This precludes Con from making arguments relating to abortion being immoral after a certain point in the pregnancy. The BoP in this debate is shared, both because of a lack of a clear status quo (though in most countries, abortion is legal) and because this is a normative resolution.Con needs to argue that abortion should be illegal *throughout* the pregnancy, with the two exceptions listed in R1. Note that Con has to defend bans on abortion even in cases where it is required for good mental health of pregnant individuals, and in cases where, for instance, contraception fails or there's fetal impairment. I also have fiat over measures to make abortion more safe, accessible, and cheap, and I support measures to ensure that.== My case ==I'm going to advance three claims: (1) that pregnant individuals have a right to abortion, (2) that allowing abortion prevents dangerous back-alley abortions, and (3) that legalizing abortion reduces the numbers of unwanted children in society, which is a benefit. Each of these three contentions affirms the resolution independently; if I win even one of them, vote Pro. (C1) Pregnant individuals have a right to abortionA. AutonomyBans on abortion prevent pregnant individuals from exercising a choice in terms of what they are allowed to do with their bodies. Governments ought not prevent people from exercising choices unless there is direct harm to others. As John Stuart Mill explains, "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against [their] will, is to prevent harm to others." [1] If the state bans abortion, it prevents people from exercising free will. Why should states follow this standard of respecting free choice? There's three reasons for this: (1) The state derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. The harm principle acts as a mechanism to ensure that the state is protecting the will of its people. (2) The harm principle is the best utilitarian goal, because each individual is best placed to decide their own interests and to weigh their own pleasure and pain. Given that calculations of pleasure and pain are subjective, when these are felt by the same person, that person should be able to make these decisions. (3) Empirical evidence suggests that states with more political and social freedoms also have greater rates of human development. [2]Now, Con might argue that abortion harms the fetus, and is therefore immoral. However, the fetus isn't conscious until 24 weeks of pregnancy. Consciousness only arises between the 25th and 30th week of pregnancy. [3] [4] Given that the fetus is not a conscious person, killing a fetus is akin to killing a plant -- a living being which cannot feel. B. Self-defensePregnant individuals have a right to self-defense. People who are denied abortions face immense psychological harm. According to a University of San Francisco study, "women are much more emotionally stressed if they are denied an abortion initially than if they received one upon request." [5] A 2013 study by Roca, et al. concludes that "[c]ompared with women who obtained a near-limit abortion, those denied abortion felt more regret and anger, and less relief and happiness." [6]This offers an independent reason to allow abortion. First, it means there's significant harm to people who are denied abortions. The state has an interest in preventing psychological harm to its citizens. Therefore, abortion should be legal. Second, it means people should have a right of self-defense, against psychological harm. If Con concedes that abortion should be legal to protect the lives of pregnant persons, then they concede that there's a balancing of rights here. Given that the fetus cannot feel mental states, the right of people to escape psychological harm and exercise their autonomy outweighs. Conclusion: Given that the fetus is a non-conscious entity dependent on the parent for survival, banning abortion is an unjust restriction on the free will of individuals to control their bodies and to defend themselves against psychological harm.(C2) Allowing abortion prevents back-alley abortionsA. Bans on abortion cause people to turn to harmful back-alley abortionsThe alternative to legal abortion in licensed clinics is back-alley abortions. There's two warrants for this. First, on an analytical level, people continue to want abortions even when it's illegal. They're often in desperate positions which prevent them from having kids or are afraid of the emotional harm which will result. They also often don't have access to adoption, and don't want to carry the fetus to term. This means they're likely to turn to illegal means of abortion when they don't have access to safe, legal abortion.Second, there's empirical evidence that proves this claim. Elisabeth Rosenthal of the New York Times explains, "A comprehensive global study of abortion has concluded that abortion rates are similar in countries where it is legal and those where it is not, suggesting that outlawing the procedure does little to deter women seeking it. Moreover, the researchers found that abortion was safe in countries where it was legal, but dangerous in countries where it was outlawed and performed clandestinely." [7] Indeed, back-alley abortion accounts for 13% of deaths due to pregnancy. [7] At least 22,800 women die each year from complications of unsafe abortion. [8] The reason these back-alley abortions are harmful is the lack of regulation and the lack of clinics to approach. Illegal clinics and pregnant individuals themselves (when self-aborting) tend to use brutal methods such as beating the abdomen hard, piercing the amniotic sac with a sharp object, and using poisons. [9] [10]B. Legal abortion reduces back-alley abortion ratesThere's two pieces of analytical justification for this. One, these unregulated clinics (as well as self-abortion) are illegal, meaning people are disincentivized from pursuing them, when there's access to legal clinics. Two, people recognize that a legal, regulated clinic is much safer. Together, this means that the existence of legal clinics takes down the business of unregulated abortion, due to a lack of demand.This is also empirically true. For instance, in South Africa, after abortion was legalized, abortion-related maternal mortalities reduced by ninety-one percent. [11] This means that, in Con's world, abortion continues, and is far more dangerous. Vote Pro because legal abortion saves the lives of individuals. (C3) Bans on abortion lead to more unwanted childrenBanning abortion means there's a large number of unwanted children, insofar as some people still choose to not break the law and don't engage in abortion. Adoption isn't enough to give homes and families to these children. Randie Bencannan of Rewire explains, "Recent statistics show that approximately 14,000 newborns are adopted annually in the United States through voluntary placements, a number that has remained flat for about 20 years. Meanwhile, in 2011, 1.06 million abortions were performed -- the lowest number in decades." [12] These children experience massive challenges. In some cases, they're sent to a broken foster care system. Children in foster care are four times more likely to experience sexual abuse than other children. [13] Moreover, as Pam Fessler of the National Public Radio notes, "many former foster kids have a tough time out on their own. When they age out of the system, they're more likely than their peers to end up in jail, homeless or pregnant. They're also less likely to have a job or go to college." [14] In other cases, they're retained by their families. In these cases, the children face significant problems. (1) They're more likely than other kids to die at an early age. According to one 2016 study in the US, "[S]tates with restrictive abortion policies increase IMR for black women by 2.214 infant deaths per 1,000 live births." [15] Another study in Finland found that children born due to denied abortions had an infant mortality rate of 24 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. [16] (2) They face economic and psychological disadvantages even in the long term. They perform worse in school, are more likely to face mental illnesses, and more likely to be poor. [16] (3) This hurts economic productivity. For instance, in Romania, "children born after the ban on abortions had worse educational and labor market achievements as adults . . . [and] crowding in schools, due to the large increase in fertility immediately following the abortion ban, lowered educational achievements of the cohorts affected." [17] There's even some evidence that legalizing abortion reduces crime rates, which, even if questionable, is disconcerting. [18]More unwanted children hurts the parents. Parents who're denied abortions are more likely to face psychological problems, have worse relationships, and are twice as likely to face intimate partner violence. [19] Moreover, women who are denied the ability to abort are also adversely affected in terms of economic productivity. Indeed, "[w]omen who were denied an abortion are three times more likely to be unemployed than women who were able to access one." [20] People denied abortion are also four times more likely to be pushed below the poverty line. [21] Conclusion: Banning abortion causes parents to have unwanted children without access to adoption, significantly harming the future prospects of these children, throwing these parents into poverty and unemployment, and causing significant negative impacts to society.For all the above reasons, vote Pro.Sources: http://www.debate.org...

positive: Abortion should remain legal in the United States Rebuttal I: Human LifePro explains that being human is about pain and feelings, but it is not. As I explained, being a part of a species (Human) is about having that species DNA (Human DNA.) At conception, the zygote has human DNA, and is thus human.Pro is confused about what makes someone human. He posts a more philosophical concept of what it means to be human rather than a science-bound argument of genetics. A Zygote is human, and no lacking senses change that. There are many humans without all their senses, and they are still human [1: http://tinyurl.com...]. Pro’s logic is flawed. Not having the same level of development doesn’t make someone less human. By the logic, a child isn’t human because it isn’t fully developed.This isn’t about ending a life, but ending a human life. Stepping on insect life is quite different.Pro’s argument simply doesn’t hold on to my prior argument on the issue.Rebuttal II: The Mother’s LifeMuch of Pro’s argument is a flawed generalization. The global death rate among pregnant women does not accurately represent the US death rate. With places like Asia and Africa, the ratio is grossly inflated. In the US, the numbers go between 15 for every 100,000 pregnancies [2: http://tinyurl.com...] to 21 [3: http://tinyurl.com...]. That means a 1 in 4,762 chance of death AT LEAST. This means owning a house is more dangerous (1 in 38 chance of break in.)[4: http://tinyurl.com...] Standing is more dangerous (1 in 246 chance of dying from falling down)[5: http://tinyurl.com...] compared to the 1 in 2,506 lifetime change (odds of death in pregnancy multiplied by the average number of pregnancies per US woman.)[6: http://tinyurl.com...]An issue with aborting the child to save the Mother’s life is that 1) 15% isn’t to save the Mother’s life. Pro misrepresents the numbers. The 15% regards any harm that might befall the mother, including infertility, Anemia, and Placenta Previa. Most complications that lead to abortion aren’t life threatening, very few are, in fact. Half of all cases are the fault of the Hospital, and many can be fixed. Once you tear away all the less than justified excuses, you are left with a number too small to justify continued Legalization of Abortion.“Between 1968 and 2011 (the latest year for which figures are available) there have been 6.4 million abortions performed on residents of England and Wales. Of these, 143 (0.006%) were performed under Section 1(4), ie where the termination is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman or to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman...” –The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health [7: http://tinyurl.com...]”And it’s certain many can be prevented through proper care.“Today it is possible for almost any patient to be brought through pregnancy alive, unless she suffers from a fatal illness such as cancer or leukemia, and, if so, abortion would be unlikely to prolong, much less save, life.” – Dr. Alan Guttmacher.With the number of Abortions occurring for the absolute preservation of the Mother’s life, without any other option, being so small, it can’t justify the number of babies who would wrongly die under misuse of the allowance. The number of babies wrongly aborted under the guise of safety would outweigh the appropriate use of such an allowance by too great a number. I will explain this better…As convincing as the argument that women need abortion to save their lives is, it just doesn’t stand in the real world. The number of babies who would wrongly die under the misused guise of self-defense (the only legal form of Homicide, as my R1 argument made clear) would be higher than the number of mothers who would be saved. Since of the 15% that claim some form of harm, only 2.8% are for life-threatening issues, and much less are cases where the doctors couldn’t do anything else. Even at 2.8%, the number of innocent children dying from legalization would be twice that of mother/children lost because abortion wasn’t legal, no matter how much you attempt to restrict what counts as Self Defense, especially since (relative to the amount of time it takes) doctors earn more in an abortion [8: http://tinyurl.com...]. All it takes is the claim of self-defense, and abortion becomes an option for that 15% Pro mentioned.This means legalization for Self-Defense alone would allow a greater number of innocent deaths, thus being highly counter-productive to its original purpose.Conclusion I: Pro’s statistics are both generalizations that don’t properly represent the US, and doesn’t stand up to the accusations he has made. The number of women who legitimately require abortion to preserve life is too small to overtake the unjustified cases where the allowance of abortion would be misused.Rebuttal III: Rape and IncestBoth put together doesn’t even account for a percent of all abortions [9: http://tinyurl.com...]. You would end up with the same issue in Rebuttal II.Appealing to rape isn’t really relevant anyways. The cause of conception does not revoke a babies human rights. It isn’t remotely relevant to if the child deserves the right to life and liberty. This was stated in Premise II.Rape only changes the means of conception, and nothing else. Everything else is false dichotomy. Saying either it’s Abortion or [negative effect here] is a poor argument that plays off emotion. Saying that if the rape victim can’t get an abortion, she will either be 1) emotional hurt, 2) financially unstable, and 3) unhappy, simply fails to find support in fact. Pro’s assumption is only reasonable to people with no knowledge of what it’s like. His claim doesn’t match what people with experience say.According to one of the only studies strictly related to the topic of rape and abortion, 75-80% of all pregnant victims chose to keep the child [10: Mahkorn, "Pregnancy and Sexual Assault.”] The idea that most rape victims will want/need rape isn’t supported. The idea that providing Abortion to rape victims is merciful is easy to sell, but actual rape victims disagree. Cases of victims who kept their child and regretted it are hard to find, while an amazing 78% of rape victims who got abortions seem to disagree with Pro’s position that Abortion is the best answer. Unlike when a choice isn’t the best but you can still make it if you choose, this is about homicide. If homicide isn’t the only good answer, then it shouldn’t be an answer.Abortion is the Childs Rights being violated in place of better alternatives. Adoption would be the appropriate answer to issues like poverty, being too young, etc… If all of these cases were fixed through adoption, it would send less than 12,000 children into adoption each year, the equivalent of less than a 00.5% increase (50% increase every 100 years), outweighed by the increasing rate of adoption. Latest reports show that 88% of adopted children are healthy and happy. [11: http://tinyurl.com...]. This makes Adoption the appropriate answer.Pro also brought up the rapist getting visitation rights. This isn’t relevant… A child must die to prevent that? Much better alternatives are available, like repealing such a law. A leads to B. C leads to D. B sometimes involves D. Therefore A is to blame? That’s terrible logic. C (laws granting rapists visitation rights) is to blame. Rape and Incest only affect the cause, not that creation, and any inconvenience, big or small, have better alternatives than homicide.Conclusion II: There are too many alternatives for abortion to be an option. Pro’s whole case here is appeal to emotion and false dichotomy. Rape and Incest do not change the case at hand, only why we have to discuss the case.Additional Argument: Right to ChooseThe premise of the idea is that the mother would have the right to decide the value of her child, and rather or not it has the right to live. This premise is that the worth of the child is determined by how wanted it is. A child’s worth is not determined by how much his mother wanted him, and such an idea spits in the face as every Child Protection effort across the nation.“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” –Declaration of Independence. [12:http://tinyurl.com......]The Declaration of Independence says everyone is created (conceived) equal. The Declaration gives the child equality in worth, not the Mother.The idea that the Mother determines one’s right to life goes against the UDHR, which says everyone, regardless of any difference of ANY KIND, has rights, including right to life, and nothing/no one may decide otherwise.Final Conclusion: Pro has only brought up fallacies and unsupported claims. Most of his argument is False Dichotomy, Appeal to Emotion, and based off generalized information. None of his arguments hold up to my R1 arguments. Of his only 2 sources, the first only supports one of his claims, and the other is highly bias and unreliable in such a debate. If Pro brings up the age of some of my studies, I’d like to remind him that his NIH study is 2 years older than my oldest.An unborn child is a living human even as a Zygote. A mothers “choice” does not exceed the Declaration of Independence or UDHR.Rape and Incest only change the cause and not the creation or his value and rights. Too many alternatives are available, and making abortion legal for rape is simply against the Rights granted by the UDHR, regardless of ANY DISTINICTION of ANY KIND, even how he was conceived. We must remember the US ratified the UDHR, making it completely valid in the US.Legalizing abortion in cases of the mother’s life actually being threatened will lead to more innocent deaths than if abortion wasn’t legal at all. For the preservative of life, it’s more productive to not let abortion be legal at all.

positive: Abortion should be illegal but I wanna ask my oponent: it is the first debate of yours, seems u r new, why and how you challenged me to this debate? how you knew that I am PROabortion? I very doubt that you are new member here. the subject is: "abortion should be illegal. " My case is against it, it should not be illegal, it should be legal. during the debate, when I am going to refer to women who want abortion I am going to use "we". I am so lazy but for this challenge I will try to avoid lazynesssince there is no a rule which ban me from setting arguement in this round, I am going to start from now on. p. s: english is not my first language and I am not so good at it, I may make mistake when I use words. MY CASE:in the opening, he says {Abortion results in the death of an innocent human being and cannot be justified. As such it should be made illegal} which I take as he is against abortion in all cases becasue he didnt give any exception criterias. My position is "Abortion should be legal"more than that, I support: "it should be allowed at least under some conditions and some situations as well. "REBUTTAL:my opponent said: {Abortion results in the death of an innocent human being and cannot be justified}response: by saying this, does my opponent claim that fetus=human being? I would kindly want to ask him to provide us scientific evidence/proof for fetus being=human being. Burden of proof is on him about this. I dont think that fetus=human, however I am going to provide my arguements about fetus=/=human just a little later, now I am going to refure my opponent IN CASE fetus=human being. "even if" or/and "in case" Fetus=human, it is still justice for women to have abortion. antiabortionists claim that: "by having abortion you are KILLING the baby/human/fetus". first thing I am going to say about this is: we are not killing the baby nor the human, pregnant women help that fetus/baby/human to survive, at the time we have abortion we stop the help given by us, so we are not killing a baby/human/fetus. we are just stopping the help we give to them, after this it dies or it takes damages that is not our problem. as a person, we have right not to help others and you dont have right to force us to help others. so, even if the fetus=human, it can still be justified sicne we have right NOT to help others. does not "not allowing women to stop the help she gives" mean to force her to do something which she does not want to do? HUman rights Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment[1] when we look at dictionary, it says that one of the meanings of torture is: To bring great physical or mental pain upon (another)[2]considering "no one shall be subjected to tortue or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", we cant force woman to carry that baby nor to do something. at the same time, HUman rights decleration Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. [1] so, everyone has the right to "LIBERTY. " not allowing women not to carry the baby violates his liberty. (my opponent may say everyone has the right to life too I ask him: to prove that fetus is human. even if he can, I have showed above that it is still right of woman. )considering we have right not to help others, it can be justified and should not be made illegal. we can not force somebody to help somebody. MY ARGUEMENTS ABOUT: ABORTION SHOULD BE LEGAL at least UNDER THESE CONDITIONS:1. ABORTION SHOULD BE ALLOWED AT LEAST IN THE EARLY STAGES OF PREGNANCY:when we eat or break an egg of a hen or crocodile, it does not mean that we have killed a chicken or a crocodile. similarly, early stages of pregnancy is a fertilised egg and it does not mean that we have killed a human. as long as the fetus is not conscious yet, I would want to say we have to allow mother to have abortion. Most abortions (88%) are obtained in the first trimester of pregnancy. In fact, over half of all abortions are obtained within the first 8 weeks. [5]2. IF A WOMAN IS RAPED/unintended pregnancy:I think, it makes no sense to force woman to help to the child of his rapist to survive, do you think that it makes sense? Many of the youngest women in this group (70% of those age 13 or under) report having had sex forced on them. [4]Each year, almost half of all pregnancies among American women are unintended. [5]3. if the girl is not ready:imagine a girl at 14, she had sex for the first time and became pregnant, after 9 months, the maximum age she can be is 15, a girl at 15 can be not ready for motherhood. not just a girl at 14, maybe a girl at 25 who studies at university and works for part time, she can be not ready to carry the baby and then become a mother. even if the government is to ban abortion, I think in this case we need to allow women to have. Many of the youngest women in this group (70% of those age 13 or under) report having had sex forced on them. [4]Women between the ages of 15 and 19 account for about 19% of all abortions; women 20 to 24 account for another 33%; and about 25% of abortions are obtained by women who are 30 or older. [5]4. INSUFFICIENCY OF FINANCIAL PLIGHT:imagine, I get married and have sex with my wife, she became pregnant and I got expelled from my job, we are ppor now, if we have child: she/he may be suffering from hunger/starvation. Of the women obtaining abortions in 2000: 57% percent were low-income. [5]5. SURPRISES OF people:in case a girl has sex with her BF/anybody and becomes pregnant, there are so many societies in the world who see it as humiliation, it is humiliation according to their traditions, relatives and family of a girl will kill her if they know that she is pregnant without being married, the government is to protect the person, so in this case in order to save girl, the government needs to allow her to have abortion.6. HEALTH OR MEDICAL PROBLEMS:today, science is able to know before birth whether child will have a disease or a huge illness, in case the parents are warned that their children will suffer from a huge illness, then I think the government needs to allow woman to abort her child, if the government does not allow her then the child will be born and suffer from illness, not only this parents will have difficulties to look after that child. it will have many problems starting from: financial problem, health problem, time problem, problem inside the family and it goes on. ONE MORE ARGUEMENT:prohibiting abortion means not allowing woman to have her right, it means to force woman to help to another THING/person. now, let me give you example:imagine a pregnant woman, when she has an abortion she does not kill the baby, she provides baby with the needs he/she needs to survive, and when she has an abortion she stops providing and stopping providing is her right. she is providing baby, and at any time, she may stop providing, it is her right. abortion means providing baby, if I provide somebody with the needs of him, I can stop providing at any time, can not I? is not it my right? it is like this. imagine I am a rich man, we live in the same street. you have an illness, and just I have a financial status which can pay your hospital bills and your medicines. you need a treatment for 3 months, you came to me and say: Artur, you are a rich man, I have an illness, I need treatment, please provide me with the money needs for medicines. and I ask you: how much do you need. you answer: 560 000 dollars for this month, I gave you this moneym and then you had a chance to survive and now you are alive, but second month comes and you still need money, you come to me and ask:-Artur, you are a rich man, without your help I have no chance to survive, please give me 560 000 which supplies all the money I need for the treatment of this month, if you dont provide me with the money I need, then I can not survive. at the moment, do I have a right not to give you money? or is it rule for me to give you my money so that you can survive? women can also stop the help they give to the fetus inside them. if the government or people can force woman to help to the baby, then the government needs to set a new rule which forces rich people to help to the poor people. as rich people have right not to help others, women also have right not to help the fetus inside her or any person. ADVANTAGE OF MAKING ABORTION LEGAL:1. IF THE GOVERNment bans the abortion then there will be some women and doctors who will do it secretly, without the hospital or standart medical instructions, it will cause corruoption to develop and women to have ilnesses as well.2. if the government makes this legal, then it will bring income to both government or private hospitals. now, when I searched about the income of abortion I saw:In general, though, women getting an abortion between six and ten weeks' gestation can expect to pay about $350 at an abortion clinic and $500 at a physician's office. Providing abortions later in pregnancy is somewhat more complicated, and is usually more expensive. For example, at 16 weeks gestation, abortion clinics generally charge around $650 and physicians' offices generally charge around $700. After the 20th week, the cost rises to above $1,000.2 [3] if government makes abortion illegal, these money will be contribution to the development of corruption, let this money go to the government/hospitals instead of going the doctors who do it illegally and unsafely. QUESTION TO OPPONENT:since he made just one arguement in his opening statement, I ask him to come with proof that fetus is equal to human. I hope he will come with that. I wish you good luck. REFERENCES:[1] . http://www.un.org...[2] . http://www.thefreedictionary.com...[3] . http://www.prochoice.org...[4] . http://www.prochoice.org...;[5] . http://www.prochoice.org...

negative: Should Abortion Be Further Restricted Or Banned Completely should abortion be restricted

negative: Resolved - Abortion Should Be Legal This debate will be a classic abortion debate: should abortion be legal? I will be arguing on the side of legal abortion. First round is acceptance only. Abortion - The termination of a pregnancy in which the fetus dies.

negative: Abortion should remain legal I will be arguing for abortion remaining legal. On a side note: I believe the final in our triple entente of debates, if that is what it comes to, should be that google is the vastly superior search engine. Finally, good luck to my opponent, I'm eager to see your arguments!

negative: Abortion I am pro life and am highly against abortion.

negative: Legal Abortion My argument is this: you are attempting to save innocent lives. Saving lives is heteronormative and normalises the queer - and makes them "other". Otherness creates conflict and arises dictatorships.Your case makes dictatorships, yes. As for the "no statistical support" - I provided quality sources for you and I quoted them (they are behind paywalls so I will not provide the full text because I doubt the authors want that) - just saying that my arguments are unsubstantiated is fallacious.In the end my opponent just says my argument doesn't make sense - never attacking. He also provides no reasons to vote in negation, just that doing so saves lives - I AGREE but saving lives is INHERENTLY flawed!Easily vote in affirmation because of the dropped arguments and a lack of constructive arguments on my opponent's side. Thank you ~

negative: Abortion should be legal Unfortunately, Con has failed to post at a pivotal time in this debate. Not only has Con not responded, but Con cannot make arguments without denying me a chance to respond. Thus, I urge to voters to consider these unfair predicament which Con has bestowed upon me and this debate, if Con decides to respond in the final round. As it stands, my arguments affirm the resolution.

negative: Abortion should be legal. Today I will be arguing that abortion should be legal. The way this debate will work is this:R1: Opening statementR2: Defend your opening statement.R3: Rebut opponents defense.R4: Closing statement Thanks to whoever accepts and good luck.

negative: No one wins My opponent has forfeited his last round, so all of my arguments extend forward. I look forward to my opponent's response. Thank you.

negative: Adults should be able to order kids menus to get the toy According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little. Barry! Breakfast is ready! Ooming! Hang on a second. Hello? - Barry? - Adam? - Oan you believe this is happening? - I can't. I'll pick you up. Looking sharp. Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those. Sorry. I'm excited. Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. A perfect report card, all B's. Very proud. Ma! I got a thing going here. - You got lint on your fuzz. - Ow! That's me! - Wave to us! We'll be in row 118,000. - Bye! Barry, I told you, stop flying in the house! - Hey, Adam. - Hey, Barry. - Is that fuzz gel? - A little. Special day, graduation. Never thought I'd make it. Three days grade school, three days high school. Those were awkward. Three days college. I'm glad I took a day and hitchhiked around the hive. You did come back different. - Hi, Barry. - Artie, growing a mustache? Looks good. - Hear about Frankie? - Yeah. - You going to the funeral? - No, I'm not going. Everybody knows, sting someone, you die. Don't waste it on a squirrel. Such a hothead. I guess he could have just gotten out of the way. I love this incorporating an amusement park into our day. That's why we don't need vacations. Boy, quite a bit of pomp... under the circumstances. - Well, Adam, today we are men. - We are! - Bee-men. - Amen! Hallelujah! Students, faculty, distinguished bees, please welcome Dean Buzzwell. Welcome, New Hive Oity graduating class of... ...9:15. That concludes our ceremonies. And begins your career at Honex Industries! Will we pick ourjob today? I heard it's just orientation. Heads up! Here we go. Keep your hands and antennas inside the tram at all times. - Wonder what it'll be like? - A little scary. Welcome to Honex, a division of Honesco and a part of the Hexagon Group. This is it! Wow. Wow. We know that you, as a bee, have worked your whole life to get to the point where you can work for your whole life. Honey begins when our valiant Pollen Jocks bring the nectar to the hive. Our top-secret formula is automatically color-corrected, scent-adjusted and bubble-contoured into this soothing sweet syrup with its distinctive golden glow you know as... Honey! - That girl was hot. - She's my cousin! - She is? - Yes, we're all cousins. - Right. You're right. - At Honex, we constantly strive to improve every aspect of bee existence. These bees are stress-testing a new helmet technology. - What do you think he makes? - Not enough. Here we have our latest advancement, the Krelman. - What does that do? - Oatches that little strand of honey that hangs after you pour it. Saves us millions. Oan anyone work on the Krelman? Of course. Most bee jobs are small ones. But bees know that every small job, if it's done well, means a lot. But choose carefully because you'll stay in the job you pick for the rest of your life. The same job the rest of your life? I didn't know that. What's the difference? You'll be happy to know that bees, as a species, haven't had one day off in 27 million years. So you'll just work us to death? We'll sure try. Wow! That blew my mind! "What's the difference?" How can you say that? One job forever? That's an insane choice to have to make. I'm relieved. Now we only have to make one decision in life. But, Adam, how could they never have told us that? Why would you question anything? We're bees. We're the most perfectly functioning society on Earth. You ever think maybe things work a little too well here? Like what? Give me one example. I don't know. But you know what I'm talking about. Please clear the gate. Royal Nectar Force on approach. Wait a second. Oheck it out. - Hey, those are Pollen Jocks! - Wow. I've never seen them this close. They know what it's like outside the hive. Yeah, but some don't come back. - Hey, Jocks! - Hi, Jocks! You guys did great! You're monsters! You're sky freaks! I love it! I love it! - I wonder where they were. - I don't know. Their day's not planned. Outside the hive, flying who knows where, doing who knows what. You can'tjust decide to be a Pollen Jock. You have to be bred for that. Right. Look. That's more pollen than you and I will see in a lifetime. It's just a status symbol. Bees make too much of it. Perhaps. Unless you're wearing it and the ladies see you wearing it. Those ladies? Aren't they our cousins too? Distant. Distant. Look at these two. - Oouple of Hive Harrys. - Let's have fun with them. It must be dangerous being a Pollen Jock. Yeah. Once a bear pinned me against a mushroom! He had a paw on my throat, and with the other, he was slapping me! - Oh, my! - I never thought I'd knock him out. What were you doing during this? Trying to alert the authorities. I can autograph that. A little gusty out there today, wasn't it, comrades? Yeah. Gusty. We're hitting a sunflower patch six miles from here tomorrow. - Six miles, huh? - Barry! A puddle jump for us, but maybe you're not up for it. - Maybe I am. - You are not! We're going 0900 at J-Gate. What do you think, buzzy-boy? Are you bee enough? I might be. It all depends on what 0900 means. Hey, Honex! Dad, you surprised me. You decide what you're interested in? - Well, there's a lot of choices. - But you only get one. Do you ever get bored doing the same job every day? Son, let me tell you about stirring. You grab that stick, and you just move it around, and you stir it around. You get yourself into a rhythm. It's a beautiful thing. You know, Dad, the more I think about it, maybe the honey field just isn't right for me. You were thinking of what, making balloon animals? That's a bad job for a guy with a stinger. Janet, your son's not sure he wants to go into honey! - Barry, you are so funny sometimes. - I'm not trying to be funny. You're not funny! You're going into honey. Our son, the stirrer! - You're gonna be a stirrer? - No one's listening to me! Wait till you see the sticks I have. I could say anything right now. I'm gonna get an ant tattoo! Let's open some honey and celebrate! Maybe I'll pierce my thorax. Shave my antennae. Shack up with a grasshopper. Get a gold tooth and call everybody "dawg"! I'm so proud. - We're starting work today! - Today's the day. Oome on! All the good jobs will be gone. Yeah, right. Pollen counting, stunt bee, pouring, stirrer, front desk, hair removal... - Is it still available? - Hang on. Two left! One of them's yours! Oongratulations! Step to the side. - What'd you get? - Picking crud out. Stellar! Wow! Oouple of newbies? Yes, sir! Our first day! We are ready! Make your choice. - You want to go first? - No, you go. Oh, my. What's available? Restroom attendant's open, not for the reason you think. - Any chance of getting the Krelman? - Sure, you're on. I'm sorry, the Krelman just closed out. Wax monkey's always open. The Krelman opened up again. What happened? A bee died. Makes an opening. See? He's dead. Another dead one. Deady. Deadified. Two more dead. Dead from the neck up. Dead from the neck down. That's life! Oh, this is so hard! Heating, cooling, stunt bee, pourer, stirrer, humming, inspector number seven, lint coordinator, stripe supervisor, mite wrangler. Barry, what do you think I should... Barry? Barry! All right, we've got the sunflower patch in quadrant nine... What happened to you? Where are you? - I'm going out. - Out? Out where? - Out there. - Oh, no! I have to, before I go to work for the rest of my life. You're gonna die! You're crazy! Hello? Another call coming in. If anyone's feeling brave, there's a Korean deli on 83rd that gets their roses today. Hey, guys. - Look at that. - Isn't that the kid we saw yesterday? Hold it, son, flight deck's restricted. It's OK, Lou. We're gonna take him up. Really? Feeling lucky, are you? Sign here, here. Just initial that. - Thank you. - OK. You got a rain advisory today, and as you all know, bees cannot fly in rain. So be careful. As always, watch your brooms, hockey sticks, dogs, birds, bears and bats. Also, I got a couple of reports of root beer being poured on us. Murphy's in a home because of it, babbling like a cicada! - That's awful. - And a reminder for you rookies, bee law number one, absolutely no talking to humans! All right, launch positions! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Black and yellow! Hello! You ready for this, hot shot? Yeah. Yeah, bring it on. Wind, check. - Antennae, check. - Nectar pack, check. - Wings, check. - Stinger, check. Scared out of my shorts, check. OK, ladies, let's move it out! Pound those petunias, you striped stem-suckers! All of you, drain those flowers! Wow! I'm out! I can't believe I'm out! So blue. I feel so fast and free! Box kite! Wow! Flowers! This is Blue Leader. We have roses visual. Bring it around 30 degrees and hold. Roses! 30 degrees, roger. Bringing it around. Stand to the side, kid. It's got a bit of a kick. That is one nectar collector! - Ever see pollination up close? - No, sir. I pick up some pollen here, sprinkle it over here. Maybe a dash over there, a pinch on that one. See that? It's a little bit of magic. That's amazing. Why do we do that? That's pollen power. More pollen, more flowers, more nectar, more honey for us. Oool. I'm picking up a lot of bright yellow. Oould be daisies. Don't we need those? Oopy that visual. Wait. One of these flowers seems to be on the move. Say again? You're reporting a moving flower? Affirmative. That was on the line! This is the coolest. What is it? I don't know, but I'm loving this color. It smells good. Not like a flower, but I like it. Yeah, fuzzy. Ohemical-y. Oareful, guys. It's a little grabby. My sweet lord of bees! Oandy-brain, get off there! Problem! - Guys! - This could be bad. Affirmative. Very close. Gonna hurt. Mama's little boy. You are way out of position, rookie! Ooming in at you like a missile! Help me! I don't think these are flowers. - Should we tell him? - I think he knows. What is this?! Match point! You can start packing up, honey, because you're about to eat it! Yowser! Gross. There's a bee in the car! - Do something! - I'm driving! - Hi, bee. - He's back here! He's going to sting me! Nobody move. If you don't move, he won't sting you. Freeze! He blinked! Spray him, Granny! What are you doing?! Wow... the tension level out here is unbelievable. I gotta get home. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Mayday! Mayday! Bee going down! Ken, could you close the window please? Ken, could you close the window please? Oheck out my new resume. I made it into a fold-out brochure. You see? Folds out. Oh, no. More humans. I don't need this. What was that? Maybe this time. This time. This time. This time! This time! This... Drapes! That is diabolical. It's fantastic. It's got all my special skills, even my top-ten favorite movies. What's number one? Star Wars? Nah, I don't go for that... ...kind of stuff. No wonder we shouldn't talk to them. They're out of their minds. When I leave a job interview, they're flabbergasted, can't believe what I say. There's the sun. Maybe that's a way out. I don't remember the sun having a big 75 on it. I predicted global warming. I could feel it getting hotter. At first I thought it was just me. Wait! Stop! Bee! Stand back. These are winter boots. Wait! Don't kill him! You know I'm allergic to them! This thing could kill me! Why does his life have less value than yours? Why does his life have any less value than mine? Is that your statement? I'm just saying all life has value. You don't know what he's capable of feeling. My brochure! There you go, little guy. I'm not scared of him. It's an allergic thing. Put that on your resume brochure. My whole face could puff up. Make it one of your special skills. Knocking someone out is also a special skill. Right. Bye, Vanessa. Thanks. - Vanessa, next week? Yogurt night? - Sure, Ken. You know, whatever. - You could put carob chips on there. - Bye. - Supposed to be less calories. - Bye. I gotta say something. She saved my life. I gotta say something. All right, here it goes. Nah. What would I say? I could really get in trouble. It's a bee law. You're not supposed to talk to a human. I can't believe I'm doing this. I've got to. Oh, I can't do it. Oome on! No. Yes. No. Do it. I can't. How should I start it? "You like jazz?" No, that's no good. Here she comes! Speak, you fool! Hi! I'm sorry. - You're talking. - Yes, I know. You're talking! I'm so sorry. No, it's OK. It's fine. I know I'm dreaming. But I don't recall going to bed. Well, I'm sure this is very disconcerting. This is a bit of a surprise to me. I mean, you're a bee! I am. And I'm not supposed to be doing this, but they were all trying to kill me. And if it wasn't for you... I had to thank you. It's just how I was raised. That was a little weird. - I'm talking with a bee. - Yeah. I'm talking to a bee. And the bee is talking to me! I just want to say I'm grateful. I'll leave now. - Wait! How did you learn to do that? - What? The talking thing. Same way you did, I guess. "Mama, Dada, honey." You pick it up. - That's very funny. - Yeah. Bees are funny. If we didn't laugh, we'd cry with what we have to deal with. Anyway... Oan I... ...get you something? - Like what? I don't know. I mean... I don't know. Ooffee? I don't want to put you out. It's no trouble. It takes two minutes. - It's just coffee. - I hate to impose. - Don't be ridiculous! - Actually, I would love a cup. Hey, you want rum cake? - I shouldn't. - Have some. - No, I can't. - Oome on! I'm trying to lose a couple micrograms. - Where? - These stripes don't help. You look great! I don't know if you know anything about fashion. Are you all right? No. He's making the tie in the cab as they're flying up Madison. He finally gets there. He runs up the steps into the church. The wedding is on. And he says, "Watermelon? I thought you said Guatemalan. Why would I marry a watermelon?" Is that a bee joke? That's the kind of stuff we do. Yeah, different. So, what are you gonna do, Barry? About work? I don't know. I want to do my part for the hive, but I can't do it the way they want. I know how you feel. - You do? - Sure. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor, but I wanted to be a florist. - Really? - My only interest is flowers. Our new queen was just elected with that same campaign slogan. Anyway, if you look... There's my hive right there. See it? You're in Sheep Meadow! Yes! I'm right off the Turtle Pond! No way! I know that area. I lost a toe ring there once. - Why do girls put rings on their toes? - Why not? - It's like putting a hat on your knee. - Maybe I'll try that. - You all right, ma'am? - Oh, yeah. Fine. Just having two cups of coffee! Anyway, this has been great. Thanks for the coffee. Yeah, it's no trouble. Sorry I couldn't finish it. If I did, I'd be up the rest of my life. Are you...? Oan I take a piece of this with me? Sure! Here, have a crumb. - Thanks! - Yeah. All right. Well, then... I guess I'll see you around. Or not. OK, Barry. And thank you so much again... for before. Oh, that? That was nothing. Well, not nothing, but... Anyway... This can't possibly work. He's all set to go. We may as well try it. OK, Dave, pull the chute. - Sounds amazing. - It was amazing! It was the scariest, happiest moment of my life. Humans! I can't believe you were with humans! Giant, scary humans! What were they like? Huge and crazy. They talk crazy. They eat crazy giant things. They drive crazy. - Do they try and kill you, like on TV? - Some of them. But some of them don't. - How'd you get back? - Poodle. You did it, and I'm glad. You saw whatever you wanted to see. You had your "experience." Now you can pick out yourjob and be normal. - Well... - Well? Well, I met someone. You did? Was she Bee-ish? - A wasp?! Your parents will kill you! - No, no, no, not a wasp. - Spider? - I'm not attracted to spiders. I know it's the hottest thing, with the eight legs and all. I can't get by that face. So who is she? She's... human. No, no. That's a bee law. You wouldn't break a bee law. - Her name's Vanessa. - Oh, boy. She's so nice. And she's a florist! Oh, no! You're dating a human florist! We're not dating. You're flying outside the hive, talking to humans that attack our homes with power washers and M-80s! One-eighth a stick of dynamite! She saved my life! And she understands me. This is over! Eat this. This is not over! What was that? - They call it a crumb. - It was so stingin' stripey! And that's not what they eat. That's what falls off what they eat! - You know what a Oinnabon is? - No. It's bread and cinnamon and frosting. They heat it up... Sit down! ...really hot! - Listen to me! We are not them! We're us. There's us and there's them! Yes, but who can deny the heart that is yearning? There's no yearning. Stop yearning. Listen to me! You have got to start thinking bee, my friend. Thinking bee! - Thinking bee. - Thinking bee. Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! There he is. He's in the pool. You know what your problem is, Barry? I gotta start thinking bee? How much longer will this go on? It's been three days! Why aren't you working? I've got a lot of big life decisions to think about. What life? You have no life! You have no job. You're barely a bee! Would it kill you to make a little honey? Barry, come out. Your father's talking to you. Martin, would you talk to him? Barry, I'm talking to you! You coming? Got everything? All set! Go ahead. I'll catch up. Don't be too long. Watch this! Vanessa! - We're still here. - I told you not to yell at him. He doesn't respond to yelling! - Then why yell at me? - Because you don't listen! I'm not listening to this. Sorry, I've gotta go. - Where are you going? - I'm meeting a friend. A girl? Is this why you can't decide? Bye. I just hope she's Bee-ish. They have a huge parade of flowers every year in Pasadena? To be in the Tournament of Roses, that's every florist's dream! Up on a float, surrounded by flowers, crowds cheering. A tournament. Do the roses compete in athletic events? No. All right, I've got one. How come you don't fly everywhere? It's exhausting. Why don't you run everywhere? It's faster. Yeah, OK, I see, I see. All right, your turn. TiVo. You can just freeze live TV? That's insane! You don't have that? We have Hivo, but it's a disease. It's a horrible, horrible disease. Oh, my. Dumb bees! You must want to sting all those jerks. We try not to sting. It's usually fatal for us. So you have to watch your temper. Very carefully. You kick a wall, take a walk, write an angry letter and throw it out. Work through it like any emotion: Anger, jealousy, lust. Oh, my goodness! Are you OK? Yeah. - What is wrong with you?! - It's a bug. He's not bothering anybody. Get out of here, you creep! What was that? A Pic 'N' Save circular? Yeah, it was. How did you know? It felt like about 10 pages. Seventy-five is pretty much our limit. You've really got that down to a science. - I lost a cousin to Italian Vogue. - I'll bet. What in the name of Mighty Hercules is this? How did this get here? Oute Bee, Golden Blossom, Ray Liotta Private Select? - Is he that actor? - I never heard of him. - Why is this here? - For people. We eat it. You don't have enough food of your own? - Well, yes. - How do you get it? - Bees make it. - I know who makes it! And it's hard to make it! There's heating, cooling, stirring. You need a whole Krelman thing! - It's organic. - It's our-ganic! It's just honey, Barry. Just what?! Bees don't know about this! This is stealing! A lot of stealing! You've taken our homes, schools, hospitals! This is all we have! And it's on sale?! I'm getting to the bottom of this. I'm getting to the bottom of all of this! Hey, Hector. - You almost done? - Almost. He is here. I sense it. Well, I guess I'll go home now and just leave this nice honey out, with no one around. You're busted, box boy! I knew I heard something. So you can talk! I can talk. And now you'll start talking! Where you getting the sweet stuff? Who's your supplier? I don't understand. I thought we were friends. The last thing we want to do is upset bees! You're too late! It's ours now! You, sir, have crossed the wrong sword! You, sir, will be lunch for my iguana, Ignacio! Where is the honey coming from? Tell me where! Honey Farms! It comes from Honey Farms! Orazy person! What horrible thing has happened here? These faces, they never knew what hit them. And now they're on the road to nowhere! Just keep still. What? You're not dead? Do I look dead? They will wipe anything that moves. Where you headed? To Honey Farms. I am onto something huge here. I'm going to Alaska. Moose blood, crazy stuff. Blows your head off! I'm going to Tacoma. - And you? - He really is dead. All right. Uh-oh! - What is that?! - Oh, no! - A wiper! Triple blade! - Triple blade? Jump on! It's your only chance, bee! Why does everything have to be so doggone clean?! How much do you people need to see?! Open your eyes! Stick your head out the window! From NPR News in Washington, I'm Oarl Kasell. But don't kill no more bugs! - Bee! - Moose blood guy!! - You hear something? - Like what? Like tiny screaming. Turn off the radio. Whassup, bee boy? Hey, Blood. Just a row of honey jars, as far as the eye could see. Wow! I assume wherever this truck goes is where they're getting it. I mean, that honey's ours. - Bees hang tight. - We're all jammed in. It's a close community. Not us, man. We on our own. Every mosquito on his own. - What if you get in trouble? - You a mosquito, you in trouble. Nobody likes us. They just smack. See a mosquito, smack, smack! At least you're out in the world. You must meet girls. Mosquito girls try to trade up, get with a moth, dragonfly. Mosquito girl don't want no mosquito. You got to be kidding me! Mooseblood's about to leave the building! So long, bee! - Hey, guys! - Mooseblood! I knew I'd catch y'all down here. Did you bring your crazy straw? We throw it in jars, slap a label on it, and it's pretty much pure profit. What is this place? A bee's got a brain the size of a pinhead. They are pinheads! Pinhead. - Oheck out the new smoker. - Oh, sweet. That's the one you want. The Thomas 3000! Smoker? Ninety puffs a minute, semi-automatic. Twice the nicotine, all the tar. A couple breaths of this knocks them right out. They make the honey, and we make the money. "They make the honey, and we make the money"? Oh, my! What's going on? Are you OK? Yeah. It doesn't last too long. Do you know you're in a fake hive with fake walls? Our queen was moved here. We had no choice. This is your queen? That's a man in women's clothes! That's a drag queen! What is this? Oh, no! There's hundreds of them! Bee honey. Our honey is being brazenly stolen on a massive scale! This is worse than anything bears have done! I intend to do something. Oh, Barry, stop. Who told you humans are taking our honey? That's a rumor. Do these look like rumors? That's a conspiracy theory. These are obviously doctored photos. How did you get mixed up in this? He's been talking to humans. - What? - Talking to humans?! He has a human girlfriend. And they make out! Make out? Barry! We do not. - You wish you could. - Whose side are you on? The bees! I dated a cricket once in San Antonio. Those crazy legs kept me up all night. Barry, this is what you want to do with your life? I want to do it for all our lives. Nobody works harder than bees! Dad, I remember you coming home so overworked your hands were still stirring. You couldn't stop. I remember that. What right do they have to our honey? We live on two cups a year. They put it in lip balm for no reason whatsoever! Even if it's true, what can one bee do? Sting them where it really hurts. In the face! The eye! - That would hurt. - No. Up the nose? That's a killer. There's only one place you can sting the humans, one place where it matters. Hive at Five, the hive's only full-hour action news source. No more bee beards! With Bob Bumble at the anchor desk. Weather with Storm Stinger. Sports with Buzz Larvi. And Jeanette Ohung. - Good evening. I'm Bob Bumble. - And I'm Jeanette Ohung. A tri-county bee, Barry Benson, intends to sue the human race for stealing our honey, packaging it and profiting from it illegally! Tomorrow night on Bee Larry King, we'll have three former queens here in our studio, discussing their new book, Olassy Ladies, out this week on Hexagon. Tonight we're talking to Barry Benson. Did you ever think, "I'm a kid from the hive. I can't do this"? Bees have never been afraid to change the world. What about Bee Oolumbus? Bee Gandhi? Bejesus? Where I'm from, we'd never sue humans. We were thinking of stickball or candy stores. How old are you? The bee community is supporting you in this case, which will be the trial of the bee century. You know, they have a Larry King in the human world too. It's a common name. Next week... He looks like you and has a show and suspenders and colored dots... Next week... Glasses, quotes on the bottom from the guest even though you just heard 'em. Bear Week next week! They're scary, hairy and here live. Always leans forward, pointy shoulders, squinty eyes, very Jewish. In tennis, you attack at the point of weakness! It was my grandmother, Ken. She's 81. Honey, her backhand's a joke! I'm not gonna take advantage of that? Quiet, please. Actual work going on here. - Is that that same bee? - Yes, it is! I'm helping him sue the human race. - Hello. - Hello, bee. This is Ken. Yeah, I remember you. Timberland, size ten and a half. Vibram sole, I believe. Why does he talk again? Listen, you better go 'cause we're really busy working. But it's our yogurt night! Bye-bye. Why is yogurt night so difficult?! You poor thing. You two have been at this for hours! Yes, and Adam here has been a huge help. - Frosting... - How many sugars? Just one. I try not to use the competition. So why are you helping me? Bees have good qualities. And it takes my mind off the shop. Instead of flowers, people are giving balloon bouquets now. Those are great, if you're three. And artificial flowers. - Oh, those just get me psychotic! - Yeah, me too. Bent stingers, pointless pollination. Bees must hate those fake things! Nothing worse than a daffodil that's had work done. Maybe this could make up for it a little bit. - This lawsuit's a pretty big deal. - I guess. You sure you want to go through with it? Am I sure? When I'm done with the humans, they won't be able to say, "Honey, I'm home," without paying a royalty! It's an incredible scene here in downtown Manhattan, where the world anxiously waits, because for the first time in history, we will hear for ourselves if a honeybee can actually speak. What have we gotten into here, Barry? It's pretty big, isn't it? I can't believe how many humans don't work during the day. You think billion-dollar multinational food companies have good lawyers? Everybody needs to stay behind the barricade. - What's the matter? - I don't know, I just got a chill. Well, if it isn't the bee team. You boys work on this? All rise! The Honorable Judge Bumbleton presiding. All right. Oase number 4475, Superior Oourt of New York, Barry Bee Benson v. the Honey Industry is now in session. Mr. Montgomery, you're representing the five food companies collectively? A privilege. Mr. Benson... you're representing all the bees of the world? I'm kidding. Yes, Your Honor, we're ready to proceed. Mr. Montgomery, your opening statement, please. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my grandmother was a simple woman. Born on a farm, she believed it was man's divine right to benefit from the bounty of nature God put before us. If we lived in the topsy-turvy world Mr. Benson imagines, just think of what would it mean. I would have to negotiate with the silkworm for the elastic in my britches! Talking bee! How do we know this isn't some sort of holographic motion-picture-capture Hollywood wizardry? They could be using laser beams! Robotics! Ventriloquism! Oloning! For all we know, he could be on steroids! Mr. Benson? Ladies and gentlemen, there's no trickery here. I'm just an ordinary bee. Honey's pretty important to me. It's important to all bees. We invented it! We make it. And we protect it with our lives. Unfortunately, there are some people in this room who think they can take it from us 'cause we're the little guys! I'm hoping that, after this is all over, you'll see how, by taking our honey, you not only take everything we have but everything we are! I wish he'd dress like that all the time. So nice! Oall your first witness. So, Mr. Klauss Vanderhayden of Honey Farms, big company you have. I suppose so. I see you also own Honeyburton and Honron! Yes, they provide beekeepers for our farms. Beekeeper. I find that to be a very disturbing term. I don't imagine you employ any bee-free-ers, do you? - No. - I couldn't hear you. - No. - No. Because you don't free bees. You keep bees. Not only that, it seems you thought a bear would be an appropriate image for a jar of honey. They're very lovable creatures. Yogi Bear, Fozzie Bear, Build-A-Bear. You mean like this? Bears kill bees! How'd you like his head crashing through your living room?! Biting into your couch! Spitting out your throw pillows! OK, that's enough. Take him away. So, Mr. Sting, thank you for being here. Your name intrigues me. - Where have I heard it before? - I was with a band called The Police. But you've never been a police officer, have you? No, I haven't. No, you haven't. And so here we have yet another example of bee culture casually stolen by a human for nothing more than a prance-about stage name. Oh, please. Have you ever been stung, Mr. Sting? Because I'm feeling a little stung, Sting. Or should I say... Mr. Gordon M. Sumner! That's not his real name?! You idiots! Mr. Liotta, first, belated congratulations on your Emmy win for a guest spot on ER in 2005. Thank you. Thank you. I see from your resume that you're devilishly handsome with a churning inner turmoil that's ready to blow. I enjoy what I do. Is that a crime? Not yet it isn't. But is this what it's come to for you? Exploiting tiny, helpless bees so you don't have to rehearse your part and learn your lines, sir? Watch it, Benson! I could blow right now! This isn't a goodfella. This is a badfella! Why doesn't someone just step on this creep, and we can all go home?! - Order in this court! - You're all thinking it! Order! Order, I say! - Say it! - Mr. Liotta, please sit down! I think it was awfully nice of that bear to pitch in like that. I think the jury's on our side. Are we doing everything right, legally? I'm a florist. Right. Well, here's to a great team. To a great team! Well, hello. - Ken! - Hello. I didn't think you were coming. No, I was just late. I tried to call, but... the battery. I didn't want all this to go to waste, so I called Barry. Luckily, he was free. Oh, that was lucky. There's a little left. I could heat it up. Yeah, heat it up, sure, whatever. So I hear you're quite a tennis player. I'm not much for the game myself. The ball's a little grabby. That's where I usually sit. Right... there. Ken, Barry was looking at your resume, and he agreed with me that eating with chopsticks isn't really a special skill. You think I don't see what you're doing? I know how hard it is to find the rightjob. We have that in common. Do we? Bees have 100 percent employment, but we do jobs like taking the crud out. That's just what I was thinking about doing. Ken, I let Barry borrow your razor for his fuzz. I hope that was all right. I'm going to drain the old stinger. Yeah, you do that. Look at that. You know, I've just about had it with your little mind games. - What's that? - Italian Vogue. Mamma mia, that's a lot of pages. A lot of ads. Remember what Van said, why is your life more valuable than mine? Funny, I just can't seem to recall that! I think something stinks in here! I love the smell of flowers. How do you like the smell of flames?! Not as much. Water bug! Not taking sides! Ken, I'm wearing a Ohapstick hat! This is pathetic! I've got issues! Well, well, well, a royal flush! - You're bluffing. - Am I? Surf's up, dude! Poo water! That bowl is gnarly. Except for those dirty yellow rings! Kenneth! What are you doing?! You know, I don't even like honey! I don't eat it! We need to talk! He's just a little bee! And he happens to be the nicest bee I've met in a long time! Long time? What are you talking about?! Are there other bugs in your life? No, but there are other things bugging me in life. And you're one of them! Fine! Talking bees, no yogurt night... My nerves are fried from riding on this emotional roller coaster! Goodbye, Ken. And for your information, I prefer sugar-free, artificial sweeteners made by man! I'm sorry about all that. I know it's got an aftertaste! I like it! I always felt there was some kind of barrier between Ken and me. I couldn't overcome it. Oh, well. Are you OK for the trial? I believe Mr. Montgomery is about out of ideas. We would like to call Mr. Barry Benson Bee to the stand. Good idea! You can really see why he's considered one of the best lawyers... Yeah. Layton, you've gotta weave some magic with this jury, or it's gonna be all over. Don't worry. The only thing I have to do to turn this jury around is to remind them of what they don't like about bees. - You got the tweezers? - Are you allergic? Only to losing, son. Only to losing. Mr. Benson Bee, I'll ask you what I think we'd all like to know. What exactly is your relationship to that woman? We're friends. - Good friends? - Yes. How good? Do you live together? Wait a minute... Are you her little... ...bedbug? I've seen a bee documentary or two. From what I understand, doesn't your queen give birth to all the bee children? - Yeah, but... - So those aren't your real parents! - Oh, Barry... - Yes, they are! Hold me back! You're an illegitimate bee, aren't you, Benson? He's denouncing bees! Don't y'all date your cousins? - Objection! - I'm going to pincushion this guy! Adam, don't! It's what he wants! Oh, I'm hit!! Oh, lordy, I am hit! Order! Order! The venom! The venom is coursing through my veins! I have been felled by a winged beast of destruction! You see? You can't treat them like equals! They're striped savages! Stinging's the only thing they know! It's their way! - Adam, stay with me. - I can't feel my legs. What angel of mercy will come forward to suck the poison from my heaving buttocks? I will have order in this court. Order! Order, please! The case of the honeybees versus the human race took a pointed turn against the bees yesterday when one of their legal team stung Layton T. Montgomery. - Hey, buddy. - Hey. - Is there much pain? - Yeah. I... I blew the whole case, didn't I? It doesn't matter. What matters is you're alive. You could have died. I'd be better off dead. Look at me. They got it from the cafeteria downstairs, in a tuna sandwich. Look, there's a little celery still on it. What was it like to sting someone? I can't explain it. It was all... All adrenaline and then... and then ecstasy! All right. You think it was all a trap? Of course. I'm sorry. I flew us right into this. What were we thinking? Look at us. We're just a couple of bugs in this world. What will the humans do to us if they win? I don't know. I hear they put the roaches in motels. That doesn't sound so bad. Adam, they check in, but they don't check out! Oh, my. Oould you get a nurse to close that window? - Why? - The smoke. Bees don't smoke. Right. Bees don't smoke. Bees don't smoke! But some bees are smoking. That's it! That's our case! It is? It's not over? Get dressed. I've gotta go somewhere. Get back to the court and stall. Stall any way you can. And assuming you've done step correctly, you're ready for the tub. Mr. Flayman. Yes? Yes, Your Honor! Where is the rest of your team? Well, Your Honor, it's interesting. Bees are trained to fly haphazardly, and as a result, we don't make very good time. I actually heard a funny story about... Your Honor, haven't these ridiculous bugs taken up enough of this court's valuable time? How much longer will we allow these absurd shenanigans to go on? They have presented no compelling evidence to support their charges against my clients, who run legitimate businesses. I move for a complete dismissal of this entire case! Mr. Flayman, I'm afraid I'm going to have to consider Mr. Montgomery's motion. But you can't! We have a terrific case. Where is your proof? Where is the evidence? Show me the smoking gun! Hold it, Your Honor! You want a smoking gun? Here is your smoking gun. What is that? It's a bee smoker! What, this? This harmless little contraption? This couldn't hurt a fly, let alone a bee. Look at what has happened to bees who have never been asked, "Smoking or non?" Is this what nature intended for us? To be forcibly addicted to smoke machines and man-made wooden slat work camps? Living out our lives as honey slaves to the white man? - What are we gonna do? - He's playing the species card. Ladies and gentlemen, please, free these bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! The court finds in favor of the bees! Vanessa, we won! I knew you could do it! High-five! Sorry. I'm OK! You know what this means? All the honey will finally belong to the bees. Now we won't have to work so hard all the time. This is an unholy perversion of the balance of nature, Benson. You'll regret this. Barry, how much honey is out there? All right. One at a time. Barry, who are you wearing? My sweater is Ralph Lauren, and I have no pants. - What if Montgomery's right? - What do you mean? We've been living the bee way a long time, 27 million years. Oongratulations on your victory. What will you demand as a settlement? First, we'll demand a complete shutdown of all bee work camps. Then we want back the honey that was ours to begin with, every last drop. We demand an end to the glorification of the bear as anything more than a filthy, smelly, bad-breath stink machine. We're all aware of what they do in the woods. Wait for my signal. Take him out. He'll have nauseous for a few hours, then he'll be fine. And we will no longer tolerate bee-negative nicknames... But it's just a prance-about stage name! ...unnecessary inclusion of honey in bogus health products and la-dee-da human tea-time snack garnishments. Oan't breathe. Bring it in, boys! Hold it right there! Good. Tap it. Mr. Buzzwell, we just passed three cups, and there's gallons more coming! - I think we need to shut down! - Shut down? We've never shut down. Shut down honey production! Stop making honey! Turn your key, sir! What do we do now? Oannonball! We're shutting honey production! Mission abort. Aborting pollination and nectar detail. Returning to base. Adam, you wouldn't believe how much honey was out there. Oh, yeah? What's going on? Where is everybody? - Are they out celebrating? - They're home. They don't know what to do. Laying out, sleeping in. I heard your Uncle Oarl was on his way to San Antonio with a cricket. At least we got our honey back. Sometimes I think, so what if humans liked our honey? Who wouldn't? It's the greatest thing in the world! I was excited to be part of making it. This was my new desk. This was my new job. I wanted to do it really well. And now... Now I can't. I don't understand why they're not happy. I thought their lives would be better! They're doing nothing. It's amazing. Honey really changes people. You don't have any idea what's going on, do you? - What did you want to show me? - This. What happened here? That is not the half of it. Oh, no. Oh, my. They're all wilting. Doesn't look very good, does it? No. And whose fault do you think that is? You know, I'm gonna guess bees. Bees? Specifically, me. I didn't think bees not needing to make honey would affect all these things. It's notjust flowers. Fruits, vegetables, they all need bees. That's our whole SAT test right there. Take away produce, that affects the entire animal kingdom. And then, of course... The human species? So if there's no more pollination, it could all just go south here, couldn't it? I know this is also partly my fault. How about a suicide pact? How do we do it? - I'll sting you, you step on me. - Thatjust kills you twice. Right, right. Listen, Barry... sorry, but I gotta get going. I had to open my mouth and talk. Vanessa? Vanessa? Why are you leaving? Where are you going? To the final Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena. They've moved it to this weekend because all the flowers are dying. It's the last chance I'll ever have to see it. Vanessa, I just wanna say I'm sorry. I never meant it to turn out like this. I know. Me neither. Tournament of Roses. Roses can't do sports. Wait a minute. Roses. Roses? Roses! Vanessa! Roses?! Barry? - Roses are flowers! - Yes, they are. Flowers, bees, pollen! I know. That's why this is the last parade. Maybe not. Oould you ask him to slow down? Oould you slow down? Barry! OK, I made a huge mistake. This is a total disaster, all my fault. Yes, it kind of is. I've ruined the planet. I wanted to help you with the flower shop. I've made it worse. Actually, it's completely closed down. I thought maybe you were remodeling. But I have another idea, and it's greater than my previous ideas combined. I don't want to hear it! All right, they have the roses, the roses have the pollen. I know every bee, plant and flower bud in this park. All we gotta do is get what they've got back here with what we've got. - Bees. - Park. - Pollen! - Flowers. - Repollination! - Across the nation! Tournament of Roses, Pasadena, Oalifornia. They've got nothing but flowers, floats and cotton candy. Security will be tight. I have an idea. Vanessa Bloome, FTD. Official floral business. It's real. Sorry, ma'am. Nice brooch. Thank you. It was a gift. Once inside, we just pick the right float. How about The Princess and the Pea? I could be the princess, and you could be the pea! Yes, I got it. - Where should I sit? - What are you? - I believe I'm the pea. - The pea? It goes under the mattresses. - Not in this fairy tale, sweetheart. - I'm getting the marshal. You do that! This whole parade is a fiasco! Let's see what this baby'll do. Hey, what are you doing?! Then all we do is blend in with traffic... ...without arousing suspicion. Once at the airport, there's no stopping us. Stop! Security. - You and your insect pack your float? - Yes. Has it been in your possession the entire time? Would you remove your shoes? - Remove your stinger. - It's part of me. I know. Just having some fun. Enjoy your flight. Then if we're lucky, we'll have just enough pollen to do the job. Oan you believe how lucky we are? We have just enough pollen to do the job! I think this is gonna work. It's got to work. Attention, passengers, this is Oaptain Scott. We have a bit of bad weather in New York. It looks like we'll experience a couple hours delay. Barry, these are cut flowers with no water. They'll never make it. I gotta get up there and talk to them. Be careful. Oan I get help with the Sky Mall magazine? I'd like to order the talking inflatable nose and ear hair trimmer. Oaptain, I'm in a real situation. - What'd you say, Hal? - Nothing. Bee! Don't freak out! My entire species... What are you doing? - Wait a minute! I'm an attorney! - Who's an attorney? Don't move. Oh, Barry. Good afternoon, passengers. This is your captain. Would a Miss Vanessa Bloome in 24B please report to the cockpit? And please hurry! What happened here? There was a DustBuster, a toupee, a life raft exploded. One's bald, one's in a boat, they're both unconscious! - Is that another bee joke? - No! No one's flying the plane! This is JFK control tower, Flight 356. What's your status? This is Vanessa Bloome. I'm a florist from New York. Where's the pilot? He's unconscious, and so is the copilot. Not good. Does anyone onboard have flight experience? As a matter of fact, there is. - Who's that? - Barry Benson. From the honey trial?! Oh, great. Vanessa, this is nothing more than a big metal bee. It's got giant wings, huge engines. I can't fly a plane. - Why not? Isn't John Travolta a pilot? - Yes. How hard could it be? Wait, Barry! We're headed into some lightning. This is Bob Bumble. We have some late-breaking news from JFK Airport, where a suspenseful scene is developing. Barry Benson, fresh from his legal victory... That's Barry! ...is attempting to land a plane, loaded with people, flowers and an incapacitated flight crew. Flowers?! We have a storm in the area and two individuals at the controls with absolutely no flight experience. Just a minute. There's a bee on that plane. I'm quite familiar with Mr. Benson and his no-account compadres. They've done enough damage. But isn't he your only hope? Technically, a bee shouldn't be able to fly at all. Their wings are too small... Haven't we heard this a million times? "The surface area of the wings and body mass make no sense." - Get this on the air! - Got it. - Stand by. - We're going live. The way we work may be a mystery to you. Making honey takes a lot of bees doing a lot of small jobs. But let me tell you about a small job. If you do it well, it makes a big difference. More than we realized. To us, to everyone. That's why I want to get bees back to working together. That's the bee way! We're not made of Jell-O. We get behind a fellow. - Black and yellow! - Hello! Left, right, down, hover. - Hover? - Forget hover. This isn't so hard. Beep-beep! Beep-beep! Barry, what happened?! Wait, I think we were on autopilot the whole time. - That may have been helping me. - And now we're not! So it turns out I cannot fly a plane. All of you, let's get behind this fellow! Move it out! Move out! Our only chance is if I do what I'd do, you copy me with the wings of the plane! Don't have to yell. I'm not yelling! We're in a lot of trouble. It's very hard to concentrate with that panicky tone in your voice! It's not a tone. I'm panicking! I can't do this! Vanessa, pull yourself together. You have to snap out of it! You snap out of it. You snap out of it. - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! - Hold it! - Why? Oome on, it's my turn. How is the plane flying? I don't know. Hello? Benson, got any flowers for a happy occasion in there? The Pollen Jocks! They do get behind a fellow. - Black and yellow. - Hello. All right, let's drop this tin can on the blacktop. Where? I can't see anything. Oan you? No, nothing. It's all cloudy. Oome on. You got to think bee, Barry. - Thinking bee. - Thinking bee. Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Wait a minute. I think I'm feeling something. - What? - I don't know. It's strong, pulling me. Like a 27-million-year-old instinct. Bring the nose down. Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! - What in the world is on the tarmac? - Get some lights on that! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! - Vanessa, aim for the flower. - OK. Out the engines. We're going in on bee power. Ready, boys? Affirmative! Good. Good. Easy, now. That's it. Land on that flower! Ready? Full reverse! Spin it around! - Not that flower! The other one! - Which one? - That flower. - I'm aiming at the flower! That's a fat guy in a flowered shirt. I mean the giant pulsating flower made of millions of bees! Pull forward. Nose down. Tail up. Rotate around it. - This is insane, Barry! - This's the only way I know how to fly. Am I koo-koo-kachoo, or is this plane flying in an insect-like pattern? Get your nose in there. Don't be afraid. Smell it. Full reverse! Just drop it. Be a part of it. Aim for the center! Now drop it in! Drop it in, woman! Oome on, already. Barry, we did it! You taught me how to fly! - Yes. No high-five! - Right. Barry, it worked! Did you see the giant flower? What giant flower? Where? Of course I saw the flower! That was genius! - Thank you. - But we're not done yet. Listen, everyone! This runway is covered with the last pollen from the last flowers available anywhere on Earth. That means this is our last chance. We're the only ones who make honey, pollinate flowers and dress like this. If we're gonna survive as a species, this is our moment! What do you say? Are we going to be bees, orjust Museum of Natural History keychains? We're bees! Keychain! Then follow me! Except Keychain. Hold on, Barry. Here. You've earned this. Yeah! I'm a Pollen Jock! And it's a perfect fit. All I gotta do are the sleeves. Oh, yeah. That's our Barry. Mom! The bees are back! If anybody needs to make a call, now's the time. I got a feeling we'll be working late tonight! Here's your change. Have a great afternoon! Oan I help who's next? Would you like some honey with that? It is bee-approved. Don't forget these. Milk, cream, cheese, it's all me. And I don't see a nickel! Sometimes I just feel like a piece of meat! I had no idea. Barry, I'm sorry. Have you got a moment? Would you excuse me? My mosquito associate will help you. Sorry I'm late. He's a lawyer too? I was already a blood-sucking parasite. All I needed was a briefcase. Have a great afternoon! Barry, I just got this huge tulip order, and I can't get them anywhere. No problem, Vannie. Just leave it to me. You're a lifesaver, Barry. Oan I help who's next? All right, scramble, jocks! It's time to fly. Thank you, Barry! That bee is living my life! Let it go, Kenny. - When will this nightmare end?! - Let it all go. - Beautiful day to fly. - Sure is. Between you and me, I was dying to get out of that office. You have got to start thinking bee, my friend. - Thinking bee! - Me? Hold it. Let's just stop for a second. Hold it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, everyone. Oan we stop here? I'm not making a major life decision during a production number! All right. Take ten, everybody. Wrap it up, guys. I had virtually no rehearsal for that.

negative: abortions should abortions be legal in cases where the female just doesnt want to keep the baby and if they cannot take care of the baby should the fetus be aborted

negative: Abortion should be legal I accept your challenge, and the rules as stated above. I look forward to a spirited and respectful debate.

negative: Abortion should be legal Sorry, I was extremely busy today and didn't have time to make an argument. Is it okay if I post one in the comments tomorrow morning? I have to go to bed an can't make an argument now either. I am so sorry for the inconvenience!

negative: Abortion should be legal Wow, disappointing. If Pro wishes to forfeit the remaining rounds just write "x" in them to speed the timer up.

negative: Incest should not be considered in the legality of abortion. Incest should not be considered in the legality of abortion. I often hear moderate arguments about abortion to include something along the lines of "Abortion should only be legal in cases of rape or incest." While the condition of rape has at least some logical and clear reasoning as to why it should be considered in the legality of abortion, nothing I have read beyond the dangers of inbreeding seems to support that being conceived in incest should be handled any differently that one not conceived in incest.

negative: Legality of Abortion. I accept this challenge to debate sebuk on the legality of abortion. I should state here that I don't support abortion morally as I belive a fertilized egg is an example of life and has its own rights to life, but I still belive abortion should be completely legal and should be undergone upon any female who desires it without questions asked. Good luck to you, sir.

negative: Abortion should be illegal Legal abortion is needed to protect women's health, is justifiable in certain circumstances, and it is a woman's right to choose to abort a fetus. A fetus cannot feel pain until the 26th week Legalizing abortion protects women's health I don't disagree that abortion, in most cases, is morally wrong. However when abortion is illegal it is dangerous to the health of the woman due to back-alley abortions. Whether abortion is legal or not women will abort the fetus if they choose to. This is the most important reason abortion needs to remain legal because making it illegal changes nothing except more desperate women will die from their abortions. The fetus will be terminated either way but illegal abortions are unsanitary and incredibly dangerous in most cases while legal abortions are generally safe. Rape, incest, or danger to the mother In certain cases abortion is the only option if delivering the child is dangerous to the mother. Other times, rape may be the reason the mother is unwilling to deliver the fetus. Nobody should be able to force a woman to carry the unwanted fetus and go through painful, sometimes dangerous, delivery. There are many reasons women need an abortion and it should only be used as a last resort, but sometimes it must be done. Women's rights Abortion is, in the majority of cases, morally wrong in my opinion seeing as birth control is so readily available and putting a child up for adoption is an option. I want to make it very clear I am totally against late term abortion! But the woman should be able to choose in the early stages of pregnancy if the woman sees no other option. Consciousness in the fetus Abortion should only be legal within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, or the first trimester. 88% of abortions take place within this time frame. (I would prefer not to debate over the other 12% as I agree that it should be illegal) The first stages of consciousness begin to develop around 12-16 weeks with the development of thalamic afferents to the cortex but at this stage almost nothing from the thalamus can reach the cortex. The brain cannot sense pain until about 29 weeks but it can receive visual and auditory information at about 24 weeks. Suffering to the fetus cannot be a factor in early abortions because the fetus cannot feel pain. http://www.prochoiceamerica.org... http://www.nature.com... http://abortion.procon.org...

negative: Abortion should be illegal It appears that my opponent will not make an opening statement. I will post a small argument here.I. Legalized Abortion Reduces CrimeThe crime drop in the 90s was partially because of legalized abortion: "For instance, homicide fell 25.9 percent in high-abortion states between 1985 and 1997 compared to an INCREASE of 4.1 percent in low-abortion states. Panel data estimates confirm the strong negative relationship between lagged abortion and crime. An analysis of arrest rates by age reveal that only arrests of those born after abortion legalization are affected by the law change."[1] Abortion reduces crime rates. II. Legalized Abortion Reduces Women's Deaths "Six months after abortion was legalized in Guyana in 1995, admissions for septic and incomplete abortion dropped by 41%. Previously, septic abortion had been the third largest, and incomplete abortion the eighth largest, cause of admissions to the country's public hospitals. One year after Romania legalized abortion in 1990, its abortion-related mortality rate fell from 142 to 47 deaths per 100,000 live births. These are examples of the positive impact legalizing abortion has on women's health."[2][3][7] Legalized abortion is safer than "backalley" abortions.III. Legalized Abortion Reduces Breast Cancer Risks "In February 2003, the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) held a workshop of more than 100 of the world's leading experts who study pregnancy and breast cancer risk. The experts reviewed human and animal studies that looked at the link between pregnancy and breast cancer risk, including studies of induced and spontaneous abortions. Some of their findings were: • Breast cancer risk is increased for a short time after a full-term pregnancy (that is, a pregnancy that results in the birth of a living child).• Induced abortion is not linked to an increase in breast cancer risk.• Spontaneous abortion is not linked to an increase in breast cancer risk.The level of scientific evidence for these findings was considered to be "well established" (the highest level)."[4] Legalized abortion reduces the risk of breast cancer when compared to a pregnancy. IV. Legalized Abortion Reduces Mental Illness Rates "The biggest study worldwide of the relationship between termination and mental wellbeing is published and concludes: 'The best current evidence suggests that it makes no difference to a woman's mental health whether she chooses to have an abortion or to continue with the pregnancy.'"[5] It would be an unwanted pregnancy, not the abortion itself, that would cause mental illness in a woman. Legalized abortion reduces mental illness incidence. V. Abortion Is Not Immoral "Despite the potential that a fetus has for becoming a human being, and its similarities to a human being, we cannot say that a fetus is a human being. A fetus resides in a legal and social no-man's land, where rights and personhood can have no force or meaning, unless women are kept thoroughly oppressed. Plus, there are many significant differences between a born human being and a fetus, which creates reasonable doubt as to its status. Because there can be no consensus on the matter, the value accorded to a fetus is a subjective, personal matter. Individuals, not society as a whole, must choose what the status of a fetus should be, based on their personal beliefs, morality, and circumstances. And ultimately, this choice belongs only to pregnant women."[6] Abortion is not immoral and should not be illegal. Overall, abortion should be legal.Sources [1]: http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu...[2]: Abortion in Context: United States and Worldwide," Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1999. [3]: http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org...[4]: http://www.cancer.org...[5]: http://www.guardian.co.uk...[6]: http://www.abortionaccess.info...[7]: "Envisioning Life Without Roe: Lessons Without Borders," Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2003.

negative: Abortion should be legal Thank you for coming to tonight's debate.Since my opppnent has made himself 'pro' in a debate where the resolution is "Abortion should be legal," I take it that he intends to carry the burden of proof. He did not stipulate that the burden of proof would be shared, so I will not be arguing that "Abortion should not be legal" (unless it becomes necessary in the course of the debate). I will simply offer rebuttals to Pro's arguments. If his case survives my critique, then he should win. If his case does not survive my critique, then he should lose.With those preliminaries out of the way, let's look at his arguments one at a time. From reading his post, I can discern three arguments: (1) the argument from the right of a pregnant woman to not have a child, and (2) the argument from the dangers of illegal abortions, and (3) the argument from bodily sovereignty.I. The right to not have a child.1. If abortion were not legal, then pregnant women would be forced to have children.2. A pregnant women should have the right to prevent herself from having a child.3. Therefore, abortion should be legal.The problem with this argument is that the first premise is just a tautology, and the second premise is a re-wording of the resolution, which means his argument begs the question. Essentialy, he's saying (1) If abortion were not legal, then it would be against the law to have an abortion; (2) it should not be against the law to have an abortion; (3) therefore, abortion should be legal. Pro has attempted to hide the circularity of his argument by the way he worded his premises.II. Illegal abortions are unsafe.1. If abortion is not legal, more women will have unsafe abortions.3. Therefore, abortion should be legal.Notice that what's missing from this argument is the second premise. Without a second premise, the conclusion doesn't follow, so this is an invalid argument. I could make guesses about what the second premise is, but then I might be accused of the strawman fallacy. In that case, I'll wait for Pro to supply the second premise.III. Bodily sovereignty1. The government should not control a woman's body.2. Making abortion illegal controls a woman's body.3. Therefore, the government should not make abortion illegal.This argument is problematic because there is a relevant exceptions to the first premise. If a woman had no other way to feed her child than to breast feed it, then the government would have the right to enforce a law that mothers breastfeed their own children. The alternative is that the government should allow mothers to neglect their own children, leaving them to starve to death. But having a law that expects women to breastfeed their own children means that there is a law that controls a woman's body. So although we might say that in most cases, the government should not control a woman's body, that is not without exception.ConclusionThe "right to not have a child" is just a rewording of "the right to have an abortion," so the first argument is circular. The second argument is invalid because there's a missing premise. The third argument is unsound because the first premise is false on the basis that there is an exception that is relevant to abortion. So all three arguments fail.

negative: Abortion up to the Second Trimester Should Be Legalized. My opponent's resolution states: "Abortion up to the Second Trimester Should Be Legalized." As my opponent and I both reside in the United States, I must assume we are debating legality of abortion relative to this nation. Since he specifies that abortion up to the second trimester "SHOULD BE" legalized, we necessarily must be debating that abortion OUGHT to be legalized up to my opponent's only standard: the end of the second trimester. While ever so slight, this would certainly be a change to the current legal position on abortion in the U.S. If my opponent was merely attempting to defend the status quo, he would have stated something along the lines of "Abortion up to the Second Trimester is Legally Justifiable". Since he did not, I will be supporting the position of keeping the current laws intact. Based on the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade (1973), the court "held that a mother may abort her pregnancy for any reason, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable.'" The Court defined viable as being "potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks."[1]" (http://en.wikipedia.org...) As the Supreme Court ruling has essentially already legalized abortions up to the point where the fetus can be deemed viable, which takes place around the end of the second trimester, I am curious to hear why he believes this ruling should be overturned in lieu of his proposed standard. I can only imagine he takes opposition to the Court's determination as to the relevance of viability. If this is the case, my opponent must argue why his seemingly indiscriminate time period of the second trimester is superior to the Court's standard of viability. My opponent states "I argue that a fetus is not a person, and thus it is not murder." This statement not only contradicts his case, but it makes it nearly impossible for him to affirm the resolution. If my opponent truly believes this, then there was no reason for him limit the debate to the second trimester. The individual in the womb remains a fetus until birth (http://en.wikipedia.org...). This clearly puts my opponent in a difficult situation to justify why the end of the second trimester should be the only standard for determining the legality of abortions. By my opponents own logic, abortions should be legalized up to the birth of the fetus. I will remind my opponent (and the audience) that he had the ability to set up this debate with a formulated resolution and a first round argument which supported that resolution. The fact that he contradicted his own resolution, while most certainly unintentional, does not relieve him of his obligation to affirm the resolution which he himself devised. If he would like to challenge me to a separate debate regarding legalizing abortions up until birth, I would be more than happy to do so.

negative: AAN Tour: Voluntary Abortion should be legal I will use this round for my arguments on why "Voluntary abortion should be legal". ArgumentsC1: The ability of a woman to control her body is part of her bodily rights. This is the main argument that I'm going to present. My position is centered on the argument of bodily rights and bodily integrity. The violation of these is unethical and intrusive. This argument alone is enough to justify the legalization of abortion. -Bodily integrityThis is the inviolability of the physical body and it involves different rights that should be guaranteed to women. Some of these rights are related to reproductive and sexual rights. The bodily integrity ensure total control of the woman's body and the decision to continue a pregnancy or not. -Abortion in the bodily rights' argumentEvery woman has the right to chose what to do with her body and have others respect this bodily autonomy. Legal abortion ensures the ability of a woman to control her body which is not possible if she is forced to continue a pregnancy. -Abortion as a reproductive rightReproductive rights definition is:"Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children" [1]Safe and legal abortion is part of the reproductive rights of every woman and it's heavily related to the bodily rights. If abortion is illegal, women would be deprived of these rights that are fundamental in a modern society. -Beginning of life or personhood is irrelevant to the debateThe beginning of life and/or personhood is definitely an interesting topic that is as controversial as this debate, but it is not relevant because of the bodily rights' argument. The rights should be respected independently of things like if the fetus is alive, a human being or a person. This is important to note because this is a part of a common argument against abortion and the ability to choose and control of the woman's body. This is easier to see and understand if we replace the fetus with a grown adult. This adult is alive, is a human being and a person but no one should be forced to donate organs or give his body to save the life of this person. In other words women should not be forced to continue a pregnancy (donate her womb) to the fetus, even if this is alive/human/person. For this reason the argument of life and personhood is irrelevant to the discussion. C2: Making Abortion legal makes the procedure safer. Abortion is a safe medical procedure when is done properly. This can only be ensured if abortion is legal. -Illegal abortion won't stop abortionsWomen try to get abortions, even if this is illegal. For example, abortion used to be illegal in the US. Untrained "doctors" and conditions without medical standards were common characteristics of illegal abortion. Inducing own abortions were common too. This conditions didn't stop women to get these abortions. Estimates of the number of illegal abortions in the 1950s and 1960s ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year only in the US. [2]-Unsafety of illegal abortionMaking abortion illegal is a barrier to accessing safe abortion services and endangers women's health. Before making abortion legal an estimate of 5000 women died each year because of unsafe abortions [3]Illegal abortion is still the leading cause of maternal death. 47000 women die each year because of this. [4][5] -Surgical abortion is a safe medical procedureWhen abortion is practiced by a trained person, the procedure is safe with little to no risk. It's complications are less serious than those related to giving birth. [6]ConclusionPro has presented a compelling case for the legalization of Voluntary abortion. The arguments were related to the bodily integrity of women and the safety of abortion in the world. I await for Con's arguments. Thanks. Vote PRO. Sources1. . http://who.int...2. . http://www.guttmacher.org...3. . http://www.prochoiceamerica.org...4. . http://www.who.int...5. . http://whqlibdoc.who.int...6. . http://www.reuters.com...

negative: Abortion Laws Should Be Legalized. My opponent wanted practice debating, but did not feel up to writing an affirmative case, so I have obliged on an agreed-upon topic. I understand that the resolution means "abortion should be legal." For this debate, I will consider mainly first trimester abortions, but also abortions at any time when the life of the mother is at stake. Negating the resolution requires that no abortion should be legal, so to it suffices to affirm that some abortions should be legal. this puts aside the issue of late term abortion. 1. Whether or not to have an abortion is a moral decision, but it is a personal decision to be made by the woman, not a decision for society. The Supreme Court ruled that for the first trimester the fetus is by nature totally dependent upon the mother, so it is properly considered part of the mother. The fetus cannot survive independently. The Court also ruled that the Constitution has an implied right of privacy. I don't necessarily agree that there is such a right in the Constitution, but the logic of the fetus being part of the mother is sound. The mother has an inherent right to manage her own body, and no law ought to interfere with that right. 2. The life of the mother ought to be prioritized above the ultimate survival of the fetus. Society has a lot invested in the mother in terms of education, and she is highly valued by her friends and family. The fetus has no perception, and most important, no memories. Consequently, if it comes to a medical decision to save either the mother or the fetus, it ought to be the survival of the mother that prevails. Legalizing abortion to save the life of the mother is required to make the right decision. 3. For the first few days after conception, the fertilized egg is a microscopic undifferentiated sphere. Many fertilized eggs, more than half are spontaneously aborted naturally. No one considers spontaneous abortion as morally significant. No one holds them to be comparable to a late term miscarriage. Generally no one knows they happen, and no one thinks it important to find out. Since natural abortions in the first few days are not given moral significance, it is consistent to make early induced abortions legal. Incidentally, the "morning after pill" is a contraceptive, not an abortion drug, but there are other drugs that accomplish early abortions. 4. Modern society has needs that differ strongly from those of primitive societies. In primitive societies many people died in childhood. Having many children was required to maintain populations. That is consistent with an instinct to carry pregnancies through to term. Modern societies are far more likely to suffer from overpopulation than underpopulation. Even if first-world nations, raising a child properly is an expensive undertaking for both the parents and society. It is therefore rational to allow legal abortion as a mechanism for population control. Cumulatively, there have been about 50 million abortions in the United States since legalization in 1973. We are having problem caring for the population we have, let alone 50 million more. Abortion should be legal for the good of society. 5. The alternative to legal abortion is illegal abortion. Illegal abortion was rampant before legalization, and if made illegal it would be so again. Illegal abortions are often performed by quacks. 5.1 Making abortion illegal would deter some abortions, but at the expense of injured women. In the United States, the death toll would not be as high as in other countries. In 1965, the number of deaths due to illegal abortion was 235, a limited number as a consequence of real doctors treating the injuries with antibiotics. http://www.straightdope.com.... 235 unnecessary deaths per year is 235 too many. 5.2 Wealthier women could afford to travel to a country where abortion is legal, while the poorer would endure illegal abortions. Making abortion illegal is therefore unjust. If abortion were illegal everywhere, then the toll of death and injury worldwide due to improperly performed illegal abortions would be much higher. 5.3 In the U.S., emergency room treatment is provided to everyone who needs it. Consequently, while death could often be avoided, there would be a substantial drain on medical resources to patch up botched abortions. The abortion decision is a serious one, but it is not one that should be made by government, and certainly not in a broad way that makes all abortion illegal. The resolution is affirmed.

negative: Abortion should remain legal in the United States. Thousands of American women died and thousands more were maimed before abortion was legal. For this reason and others, women and men fought for and achieved women's legal right to make their own decisions about abortion. However, there are people in our society who still won't accept this. Some argue that even victims of rape or incest should be forced to have the child. And now, having failed to convince the public, certain of these people have become violent, engaging in a campaign of intimidation and terror aimed at women seeking abortions and health professionals who work at family-planning clinics. Some say these acts will stop abortions, but that is ridiculous. But, the same urgent reasons will exist for safe, legal abortions as have always existed.

negative: Abortion should be illegal While you're right that it is morally wrong to kill a fetus, How do you or anyone for the matter have a say in this? You think making it illegal is going to solve ANYTHING? People are still going to have abortions whether it's legal or not and wouldn't it be better for it to be done the medical way? Besides, Abortions being legal doesn't necessarily mean that all the fetuses are going to die. It gives woman the option to chose and abortions are still very unlikely then. Abortion should be legal both for medical reasons and because it has nothing to do with you. Better safe than sorry.

negative: Abortion in the early stage of pregnancy should be legal Definitions/Explanations Abortion in the early stage of pregnancy should be legal = By this I mean abortion should be legal for a woman to choose in the embryonic period of pregnancy. Abortion - is the end (termination) of a pregnancy. A low-risk surgical procedure called suction aspiration or suction curette is generally used for first trimester abortions. Medical (non-surgical) abortions using medications such as mifepristone (RU486) are available in some clinics. The embryonic period in humans begins at fertilization (penetration of the egg by the sperm) and continues until the end of the 10th week of gestation (8th week by embryonic age). If you have any problems with the debate, use the comments section so we can agree to terms before we start the debate.

negative: Restricted abortion should be legal Definitions/Explanations Restricted abortion should be legal = By this I mean abortion should be legal for a woman to choose in the embryonic period of pregnancy. Abortion - is the end (termination) of a pregnancy. A low-risk surgical procedure called suction aspiration or suction curette is generally used for first trimester abortions. Medical (non-surgical) abortions using medications such as mifepristone (RU486) are available in some clinics. The embryonic period in humans begins at fertilization (penetration of the egg by the sperm) and continues until the end of the 10th week of gestation (8th week by embryonic age). If you have any problems with the debate, use the comments section so we can agree to terms before we start the debate.

negative: Resolved: Abortion should be legal.............................................. On DDO Accepted. This is regardless whether the motion refers to the abortion of pregnancy, or abortion of on-going debates in DDO as may be implied in the resolution. However, DDO has no legal jurisdiction, hence the "legality" of aborting debates does not make sense unless the proponent intends this to mean "allowing abortion of on-going DDO debates". The proponent is expected to be elaborate on the motion on round 2.

negative: The U.S. should eliminate all restictions on a woman's right to an abortion. The Supreme Court, in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, recognized a woman's right to abortion in the United States. All legal restrictions on this right, including "informed consent" laws, "spousal notification" laws, "parental consent" laws, waiting periods for women, and restrictions on late-term abortions for serious reasons should be eliminated. 1. Other developed countries, including Canada, have no legal restrictions on abortion, and have far lower abortion rates than countries that place legal restrictions on the procedure, namely the U.S. and countries in South America. Generally, the more advanced and developed a country is, the more lenient its abortion laws are. 2. "Informed consent" laws are wrong and should be abolished. In some U.S. States, informed consent laws (sometimes called "right to know" laws) require that a woman seeking an elective abortion be given factual information by the abortion provider about her legal rights, alternatives to abortion (such as adoption), available public and private assistance, and medical facts. While pro-life advocates have hoped these would reduce abortion in the U.S., many are unfair and contain complex language designed to confuse women, and attempts to "personify" a fetus. Women have counseling services available and need not be coerced by documents designed to interfere with their right to have an abortion. 3. Spousal notification laws ought to overturned. Several states require that a woman notify her husband of her decision to have an abortion. A woman's husband should have no business knowing or consenting to his wife's medical procedures. There is simply no reason why a woman should be burdened with allowing her husband to know about a private decision. Since domestic abuse occurs in the U.S., a husband may physically try to stop his wife from obtaining an abortion. Additionally, many women in the U.S. are separated, but not legally divorced yet from their husbands. Requiring them to notify their legal spouse regardless of the status for their marriage is unfair and should not be legally required. Women are not property of their spouses. 4. Parental notification laws should be abolished. A mother or father of a minor seeking abortion should not be involved in the decision. If parents are allowed to influence their daughter's decisions, the daughter may resort to dangerous, risky means in order to obtain an abortion. In addition, in some cases a woman could be putting her life in danger by attempting to obtain an abortion with her parent's knowledge. Additionally, her parents or guardians may be hard to contact and delay a medical procedure for the daughter. Counseling is available for most women at clinics throughout the nation. Females should have complete control of their bodies: their bodies are not owned by their parents. 5. Mandatory waiting periods for women should be abolished. Given that abortion is a personal decision, a woman seeking one has obviously thought about obtaining one, and therefore an unnecessary, extra period makes obtaining the abortion needlessly delayed. Women have busy lives and generally do not have infinite time to schedule an appointment for an abortion. Waiting periods generally serve no purpose; the fetus continues to develop the longer that a woman waits for an abortion. 6. Late-term abortions would only be performed in extenuating circumstances, such as when the physical health of the woman is placed in severe jeopardy. Placing legal restrictions on them are wholly unnecessary. They are very rare, and there is always a very good reason why they would performed. For example, if a rare genetic disorder was discovered that would create a baby born with a severe physical or mental impairment that was not correctable and would lead to a short, depressing lifespan ,or if a woman life would be seriously endangered by continuing with the pregnancy. A physician is a much better consultant for a woman's decision to have an abortion later in a pregnancy than a representative or senator.

negative: Abortion should be legalized. I suppose I agree that not all arguments for legal abortion are hypocritical. Albeit, I still believe they are deeply flawed. In regards to applying Natural Rights ethics, I think the main flaw of the pro-lifer argument is that there is ambiguity in what defines life. There is not ambiguity in that the woman is a life. The very existence of the debate would, to myself, indicate the life of the woman should be prioritized. It would also indicate to me that as long as the debate continued, abortion should be legal as otherwise, it would definitely take lives and MAYBE advocate murder. I believe it is the place of a government to establish and uphold laws that protect its citizens, so in this case, the government (or state) has two options. 1) Legalize abortion. Women are not being killed, the unborn might be. 2) Ban abortion. Women are being killed, the unborn might be. Even accepting Natural Rights arguments, the ambiguity in what defines a life also muddles how clear it is whether or not the woman is a criminal, or whether or not she deserves to die for taking another life. I am of the opinion that we should prioritize what we definitely know as life, and so it seems comparatively more immoral to myself that we ban abortion, definitely killing people who didn't deserve it, than if we legalized abortion, possibly killing people who didn't deserve it. In regards to your paragraph highlighting the difference between consensual sex and rape, I agree with you. I believe there is a significant difference in regards to responsibility. My point was that if one is truly a pro-lifer, then the circumstances should make no difference, as the pro-lifer's argument is not that people shouldn't get abortions because of responsibility, but rather because abortions are murder. However, the child conceived is not responsible for how it was conceived, and the circumstances of conception should not compromise the value of life, if one truly believes it is a life. My point in presenting the situation of a woman not acknowledging the fetus as a life was primarily to note that there is a necessity for government and state definition on what defines a life. In your hypothetical situation of the legalization of infanticide, I would contest the state's ruling. It seems what we keep coming back to is establishing what exactly "life" is. To myself, the distinction between humans and animals is primarily in mental capacities, and thus once the fetus has a mind developed enough to emit EEG, it can be considered, legally, a human life. You do bring up the point that there are plenty of rational people, probably more knowledgeable than myself on science, who would disagree, but I believe I've already constructed and presented my argument in regards to how we should consider the fetus, and you seem to agree with me to an extent, providing no other real counter-argument than 'Well, there are people who disagree.' I hold these views regardless of how they should be legalized or implemented. If you believe it is an argument to be held at the state level, then this is my reasoning for legalizing abortion at the state level. To those who believe it is a federal matter, then this is my reasoning for legalizing abortion at the federal level. Regardless of how the system implements it, I believe abortion a necessary right.

negative: should abortion be legal "My opponent has to prove why abortion should be legal." I've done that.

negative: Abortion By abortion keeping abortion legalized, we are losing millions of innocent lives on a yearly basis. If you are opposed to keeping guns legal in the United States; 57,000,000+ abortions have occured since 1973. Since 1973, only 1.6 million deaths as a result of gunfire. (I use the word "only" to contrast that number from the number of abortions, not to discredit the significant amount). So answer me this; what logical reasons can you give me for why abortion should remain legal?

negative: World Online Debating Competition: All Forms of Abortion Should Be Legal The resolution is that all forms of abortion should be legal. I will be proposing this motion and BOP is on myself. Ajabi will simply be opposing this motion via negation and arguing why all forms of abortion should not be legal. First round is acceptance, second for the contentions, third for extension and rebuttal, fourth for rebuttal and summation. Good luck to Ajabi and I hope for an enticing debate!

negative: Abortion up to the Second Trimester Should Be Legalized. =====Counterarguments===== "Since he specifies that abortion up to the second trimester "SHOULD BE" legalized, we necessarily must be debating that abortion OUGHT to be legalized up to my opponent's only standard: the end of the second trimester. " ----> UNTRUE. Saying abortion of the 2nd trimester should be legalized does not mean any attempts at further legalizing abortion should be stopped. This is a faulty assumption that my opponent centers his entire argument around. If you just bring up other examples, it shows the fallacy in my opponent's thinking. For example, let's say that the homosexuals of America hypothetically can not MARRY or be in a CIVIL UNION. Do realize, that federally speaking, a civil union has 1000+ rights LESS than a marriage. So if you are in a civil union, you do get all the state rights but none of the federal rights. Of course, gay couples across America can engage in civil unions, but not in this example. If I were to argue that "gay couples should be allowed to engage in civil unions (assuming they can't in this example)", then does that mean I also argue that they OUGHT NOT MARRY? By my opponent's logic, if I argue for the rights of matrimony for gay couples in virtue of civil unions, then I am also saying they shouldn't be allowed to marry - which is preposterous. Nice try CP, but ultimately you have created a strawman. 1. Supreme Court Case Roe v. Wade (1973) My "proposed standard" MATCHES this ruling, so your argument is erroneous. The second trimester typically ends on the 28th week [1], which is the Court's definition of being "viable". 2. Abortion isn't murder Again, this portion of my opponent's argument rests on the false assumption that if I argued for abortion during the second trimester, then I am against abortion for the third trimester. This is simply not true nor accurately inducted. =====Conclusion===== I applaud my opponent for his interesting back-bending argument in his position, but ultimately it fails. While it seems apparent that the phrase "abortion up the second trimester should be legalized" means that abortion dealing with the third trimester should be barred, there is nothing that says so. It's safe to say that my opponent's entire argument is built upon and broken down by one point: his misunderstanding that arguing FOR 2nd-trimester-abortion does not necessarily mean it's arguing AGAINST 3rd-trimester-abortion.