Pro 1
abortionists. [150] In 1972, there were 39 maternal deaths from illegal
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]
Pro 2
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] Former
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]
Pro 3
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]
Pro 4
Fetuses are incapable of feeling pain when most abortions are performed.
According to a 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 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 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 (UK), "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]
Pro 5
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"
abortions. By 1976, after Roe v. Wade had legalized abortion nationwide, this
number dropped to two. [7] The World Health Organization estimated 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]
Pro 6
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 reported that less than one quarter of one percent of
abortions lead to major health complications. [159] [160] A 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 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]
Pro 7
Women who receive abortions are less likely to suffer mental health
problems than women denied abortions. A 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]
Pro 8
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]
Pro 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]
Pro 10
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 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] A 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]
Pro 11
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] 45% of all
pregnancies among American women are unintended. [176]
"the equivalent of adding another India and China to the world," according to
the Los Angeles Times. [131] Malnutrition, starvation, poverty, lack of
medical and educational services, pollution, underdevelopment, and conflict
over resources are all consequences of overpopulation. [21] With 55.9
million abortions performed worldwide each year, [202], the population
increase if abortion were unavailable could be substantial. [132]
Pro 15
Many religious organizations and people of faith support women’s
reproductive choice. Although many religious groups oppose abortion, the
United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Unitarian
Universalist Association of Congregations are all officially pro-choice. [139]
[140] [141] The Bible, despite interpretations to the contrary, contains no
explicit condemnation of abortion, and does not portray the killing of a fetus
as equivalent to the killing of a human being. In Exodus 21:22-25, the crime
of causing a woman to miscarry is treated as a property crime, whereas
killing the woman is considered murder and is punished with the death
penalty. [33] While the Catholic and Lutheran churches oppose abortion,
more of their members believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases
versus illegal in all or most cases (51% vs. 45%, Lutheran; 48% vs. 45%,
Catholic). [151] Joe Biden, 47th US Vice President, stated that "I accept my
[Catholic] church's position on abortion... But I refuse to impose it on equally
devout Christians and Muslims and Jews, and I just refuse to impose that on
others... I do not believe that we have a right to tell other people that --
women they can't control their body." [138]
Abortion is safe. Unless there’s a rare and serious complication that’s not
treated, there’s no risk to your ability to have children in the future or to
your overall health. Having an abortion doesn’t increase your risk for breast
cancer, and it doesn’t cause depression or mental health issues. Abortions
don’t cause infertility either. In fact, it’s possible to get pregnant quickly after
you have an abortion. So it’s a good idea to talk to your nurse or doctor
about a birth control plan for after your abortion.

Pro 12

Abortion reduces welfare costs to taxpayers. The Congressional Budget There are many myths out there about abortion. The nurses and doctors at
Office (CBO), a nonpartisan federal agency, evaluated a proposed anti- Planned Parenthood can give you accurate information about any concerns
abortion bill that would ban all abortions nationwide after 20 weeks of you have.
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]

Pro 13

Abortion reduces crime. According to a study co-written by Freakonomics co-

author Steven D. Levitt, PhD, and published in the peer-reviewed Quarterly
Journal of Economics, "legalized abortion has contributed significantly to
recent crime reductions." Around 18 years after abortion was legalized,
crime rates began to drop abruptly, and crime rates dropped earlier in states
that allowed abortion earlier. Because "women who have abortions are
those most at risk to give birth to children who would engage in criminal
activity," and women who had control over the timing of childbearing were
more likely to raise children in optimal environments, crime is reduced when
there is access to legal abortion. [20]

Pro 14

Abortion is justified as a means of population control. Philosopher Peter

Singer, MA, Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, defended abortion
as a way to curb overpopulation. [137] The United Nations estimated that
the world's population will increase to 9.3 billion by 2050, which would be
Women's rights arguments in favour of abortion
Here are some of the women's rights arguments in favour of abortion:
women have a moral right to decide what to do with their bodies
the right to abortion is vital for gender equality
the right to abortion is vital for individual women to achieve their full
potential
banning abortion puts women at risk by forcing them to use illegal
abortionists
the right to abortion should be part of a portfolio of pregnancy rights that
enables women to make a truly free choice whether to end a pregnancy
This argument reminds us that even in the abortion debate, we should
regard the woman as a person and not just as a container for the foetus. We
should therefore give great consideration to her rights and needs as well as
those of the unborn.
Pro-choice women's rights activists do not take a casual or callous attitude to
the foetus; the opposite is usually true, and most of them acknowledge that
choosing an abortion is usually a case of choosing the least bad of several
bad courses of action.
Bodily rights
Many people regard the right to control one's own body as a key moral right.
If women are not allowed to abort an unwanted foetus they are deprived of
this right.
The simplest form of the women's rights argument in favour of abortion goes
like this:
 a woman has the right to decide what she can and can't do with
her body
 the foetus exists inside a woman's body
 a woman has the right to decide whether the foetus remains in
her body
 therefore a pregnant woman has the right to abort the foetus
The issue brings many ideas about human rights into brutally sharp focus.
 every human being has the right to own their own body
 a foetus is part of a woman's body
 therefore that woman has the right to abort a foetus they are
carrying
The important US Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade to some extent
supported that view when it ruled that a woman's right to terminate her
pregnancy came under the freedom of personal choice in family matters and
was protected by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
This leads some people to claim is that it is unethical to ban abortion because
doing so denies freedom of choice to women and forces 'the unwilling to
bear the unwanted'.
Opponents of this argument usually attack the idea that a foetus is 'part' of a
woman's body. They argue that a foetus is not the same sort of thing as a leg
or a liver: it is not just a part of a woman's body, but is (to some extent) a
separate 'person' with its own right to life.
A second objection to this argument is that people do not have the complete
right to control their bodies. All people are subject to various restrictions on
what they do with their bodies - and some of these restrictions (laws against
suicide or euthanasia) are just as invasive.
Childbearing, freedom and equality
The women's liberation movement sees abortion rights as vital for gender
equality.
They say that if a woman is not allowed to have an abortion she is not only
forced to continue the pregnancy to birth but also expected by society to
support and look after the resulting child for many years to come (unless she
can get someone else to do so).
They argue that only if women have the right to choose whether or not to
have children can they achieve equality with men: men don't get pregnant,
and so aren't restricted in the same way.
Furthermore, they say, women's freedom and life choices are limited by
bearing children, and the stereotypes, social customs, and oppressive duties
that went with it.
They also regard the right to control one's own body as a key moral right, and
one that women could only achieve if they had were entitled to abort an
unwanted foetus.
No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she
will or will not be a mother.
Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood
In summary:
 women need free access to abortion in order to achieve full
political, social, and economic equality with men
 women need the right to abortion in order to have the same
freedoms as men
 women need the right to abortion to have full rights over their
own bodies (including the right to decide whether or not to carry
a foetus to birth) - without this right they do not have the same
moral status as men
2. Abortions are considered to be very safe procedures
Serious problems or complications after an abortion are quite rare.
“The safest time to get an abortion is in the first trimester. The likelihood of
complications — whether it’s infection, perforation of the uterus, heavy
bleeding — is much lower,” said Dr. Mitchell Kramer, the chair of obstetrics
and gynecology at Huntington Hospital in Huntington, New York.
Mishaps are so rare, in fact, that a study from 2015Trusted Source found that
less than 1 percent of abortions done in the first trimester lead to
complications.
It’s actually riskier to give birth than to get an abortion.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
(ACOG), the risk of death from childbirth is approximately 14 times higher
than death associated with abortions.
5. Banning abortion won’t stop them from happening
There are a handful of reasons why women choose to end their pregnancies
“The three most common reasons are: having a baby would interfere with
the woman’s work, education, or ability to care for their existing children;
they couldn’t afford a baby at the time; or concern for another individual,”
Bickman explained.
Prohibiting abortion will actually just put more financial, emotional, and
physical stress on women and push more people into poverty, says Bickman.
In addition, research has shown that restricting women’s access to abortion
won’t actually stop them from occurring.
Abortion rates are pretty much the same in countries where abortion’s
prohibited and where it’s legal.
The abortion rate is 37 per 1,000 women in countries that ban abortions and
34 per 1,000 in countries that allow abortions, according to the Guttmacher
Institute.
Criminalising abortion does not stop abortions, it just makes abortion less
safe
Preventing women and girls from accessing an abortion does not mean they
stop needing one. That’s why attempts to ban or restrict abortions do
nothing to reduce the number of abortions, it only forces people to seek out
unsafe abortions.
Unsafe abortions are defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as “a
procedure for terminating an unintended pregnancy carried out either by
persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not
confirm to minimal medical standards, or both.”
They estimate that 22 million unsafe abortions take place each year, the vast
majority of which occur in developing countries.
In contrast to a legal abortion that is carried out by a trained medical
provider, unsafe abortions can have fatal consequences. So much so that
unsafe abortions are the third leading cause of maternal deaths worldwide
and lead to an additional five million largely preventable disabilities,
according to the WHO.
Almost every death and injury from unsafe abortion is preventable
Deaths and injuries from unsafe abortions are preventable. Yet such deaths
are common in countries where access to safe abortion is limited or
prohibited entirely, as the majority of women and girls who need an abortion
because of an unwanted pregnancy are not able to legally access one.
In countries with such restrictions, the law typically allows for what are
known as narrow exceptions to the legislation criminalising abortion. These
exceptions might be when pregnancy results from rape or incest, in cases of
severe and fatal foetal impairment, or when there is risk to the life or health
of the pregnant person. Only a small percentage of abortions are due to
these reasons, meaning the majority of women and girls living under these
laws might be forced to undertake unsafe abortions and put their health and
lives at risk.
Those who are already marginalised are disproportionately affected by such
laws as they have no means to seek safe and legal services in another
country or access private care. They include women and girls on low income,
refugees and migrants, adolescents, lesbian, bisexual cisgender women and
girls, transgender or gender non-conforming individuals, minority or
Indigenous women.
The WHO has noted that one of the first steps toward avoiding maternal
deaths and injuries is for states to ensure that people have access to sex
education, are able to use effective contraception, have safe and legal
abortion, and are given timely care for complications.
Evidence shows that abortion rates are higher in countries where there is
limited access to contraception. Abortion rates are lower where people,
including adolescents have information about and can access modern
contraceptive methods and where comprehensive sexuality education is
available and there is access to safe and legal abortion on broad grounds.
Many countries are starting to change their laws to allow for greater access
to abortion.
Over the last 60 years, more than 30 countries have changed their laws to
allow for greater access to abortion, at times recognizing the vital role that
access to safe abortion plays in protecting women’s lives and health. Ireland
joined that list on 25 May 2018 when, in a long-awaited referendum, its
people voted overwhelmingly to repeal the near-total constitutional ban on
abortion.
 can face cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and discrimination in, and
exclusion from, vital post-abortion health care.
Despite the trend towards reforming laws to prevent deaths and injuries,
some countries, including Nicaragua and El Salvador, maintain draconian and
discriminatory laws that still ban abortion in virtually all circumstances. In
fact, according to the WHO, across the globe 40% of women of childbearing Access to abortion is therefore fundamentally linked to protecting and
age live in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws, or where abortion upholding the human rights of women, girls and others who can become
is legal, is neither available or accessible. In these states, abortion is banned pregnant, and thus for achieving social and gender justice.
or only permitted in highly restricted circumstances, or if legal, is not
accessible due to multiple barriers to access in practice.

Even in states with broader access to legal abortion, pregnant individuals can
still face multiple restrictions on and barriers to access to services such as
cost, biased counselling, mandatory waiting periods. The WHO has issued
technical guidance for states on the need to identify and remove such
barriers.
Amnesty International believes that everyone should be free to exercise their
bodily autonomy and make their own decisions about their reproductive lives
including when and if they have children. It is essential that laws relating to
abortion respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of pregnant persons and
not force them to seek out unsafe abortions.

Criminalising abortion is a form of discrimination, which further fuels stigma Performing abortion only on the basis of a woman's request is allowed in 30
percent of countries, including in the US, Canada, most European countries,
Firstly, the denial of medical services, including reproductive health services and China, with 42 percent of the world's population living in such countries.
that only certain individuals need is a form of discrimination.
1920 – Lenin legalized all abortions in the Soviet Union. 1931– Mexico was
The committee for the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All the first country in the world to legalize abortion in cases of rape.
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, or the Treaty for the
Rights of Women), has consistently stated that restrictive abortion laws
constitute discrimination against women. This applies to all women and
people who can become pregnant, as the CEDAW Committee has confirmed
that CEDAW’s protections, and states’ related obligations, apply to all
women and therefore include discrimination against women who are
lesbians, bisexual, and/or transgender, particularly given the specific forms of
gendered discrimination they face.

Secondly, stigma around abortion and gender stereotyping is closely linked

to the criminalisation of abortion and other restrictive abortion laws and
policies.

The mere perception that abortion is unlawful or immoral leads to the

stigmatization of women and girls by health care staff, family members, and
the judiciary, among others. Consequently, women and girls seeking abortion
risk discrimination and harassment. Some women have reported being
abused and shamed by health care providers when seeking abortion services
or post-abortion care.

Access to safe abortion is a matter of human rights

Access to safe abortion services is a human right. Under international human

rights law, everyone has a right to life, a right to health, and a right to be free
from violence, discrimination, and torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment.

Human rights law clearly spells out that decisions about your body are yours
alone – this is what is known as bodily autonomy.

Forcing someone to carry on an unwanted pregnancy, or forcing them to

seek out an unsafe abortion, is a violation of their human rights, including the
rights to privacy and bodily autonomy.

In many circumstances, those who have no choice but to resort to unsafe

abortions also risk prosecution and punishment, including imprisonment, and
2. Abortion has lower infection and complication rates than delivering a
baby.
For women forced to carry their fetus to term, the risk of infection or other
complications in pregnancy is far greater than that with medical or surgical
abortions.
Chorioamnionitis occurs in 2-4% of full-term births (more in preterm), and
that’s just one type of infection that can occur in pregnancy. Viral infections
can lead to death or severe long-term effects of the mother or, more often,
the fetus or infant, and bacterial infections can similarly carry a range of
pregnancy complications from preterm birth to death.
Overall, fewer than 0.05% of women getting abortions experience any kind of
severe complication requiring hospital care, compared to about 1.6% of
women who experience severe complications during delivery, according to
the CDC.
3. Pregnancy carries greater risk of complications over time than abortion.
Less life-threatening but still serious complications occur even more often in
pregnancy. Consider these numbers: 11.3% of pregnant women experience
hypertension, eclampsia or pre-eclampsia; 13.2% experience genitourinary
tract infections; 9.9% experience anemia; 5.6% experience an ectopic
pregnancy (also possible with medical abortion but far less likely); 5.2%
experience hemorrhage; 8.2% experience gestational diabetes; and 6.3%
experience hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe condition of nausea and
vomiting during pregnancy that can be fatal. No similar risks are associated
with abortion at these rates in the short term or long term.
4. More women die from childbirth than from abortion
The risk of death from childbirth is at least 11 times greater than the risk of
death from surgical abortion before 20 weeks' gestation. Approximately 800
women a year die from pregnancy-related or childbirth-related conditions in
the U.S. (a number which is rising). Meanwhile, only two women died from
legal induced abortions in the U.S. in 2011, the most recent year for which
data is available.
5. Pregnancy and childbirth carries more long term physical and mental
health risks than abortion.
Both in the short term (3 to 6 months) and long term (more than 6 months),
pregnancy and delivery confer several health problems or risks.
Approximately 87% to 94% of women report some kind of problem
postpartum, such as backache, urinary stress incontinence, fecal
incontinence, urinary frequency, depression and anxiety, hemorrhoids,
extreme tiredness, frequent headaches, migraines, perineal pain,
constipation, increased sweating, acne, hand numbness or tingling, dizziness
and hot flashes. Women who needed a cesarean section face other future
risks, such as formation of adhesions, intestinal obstruction, and bladder
injury during future abdominal surgeries and placenta accreta, placenta
previa, and uterine scar dehiscence in future pregnancies. Long-term health
problems that last more than 6 months after giving birth occur in 31% of
women.
Women who developed gestational diabetes have a higher lifetime risk of
developing type 2 diabetes. In fact, up to half with GDM may develop type 2
diabetes. Similarly, women who develop pre-eclampsia in pregnancy have
double the risk of stroke and quadruple the risk of high blood pressure over a
lifetime. Pre-eclampsia is also associated with a higher risk of lifetime heart
disease overall. Blood clots, which affect 1 to 2 pregnant women out of
1,000, can continue to be a risk after pregnancy as well.
Mental health risks are higher with pregnancy and delivery as well. Risk of
postpartum depression is approximately 10% but can range from 7% to 30%
depending on how it’s measured, and prenatal depression occurs among
about 10% of pregnant women as well. Similar rates do not exist among
women who electively terminate pregnancies. Women who have abortions
certainly may experience sadness, grief and other negative emotions, and
some do develop depression and anxiety, but there is no evidence that the
depression and anxiety is connected to having an abortion. In fact, those
most likely to experience depression or anxiety are women with a prior
history of mental health problems or women who had little support for their
choice, needed to be secretive about it or faced stigma related to it.
Many of the supposed long-term risks of abortion, meanwhile, have been
thoroughly debunked.
More facts on abortion and on the Texas law's effects here, here and here.
Pro-Choice Arguments
Nearly all abortions take place in the first trimester when a fetus is attached
by the placenta and umbilical cord to the mother. As such, its health is
dependent on her health, and cannot be regarded as a separate entity as it
cannot exist outside her womb.
The concept of personhood is different from the concept of human life.
Human life occurs at conception, but fertilized eggs used for in vitro
fertilization are also human lives and those not implanted are routinely
thrown away. Is this murder, and if not, then how is abortion murder?
Adoption is not an alternative to abortion because it remains the woman's
choice whether or not to give her child up for adoption. Statistics show that
very few women who give birth choose to give up their babies; less than 3
percent of white unmarried women and less than 2 percent of percent black
unmarried women.
Abortion is a safe medical procedure. The vast majority of women (88
percent) who have an abortion do so in their first trimester. Medical
abortions have less than 0.5 percent risk of serious complications and do not
affect a woman's health or future ability to become pregnant or give birth.
In the case of rape or incest, forcing a woman made pregnant by this violent
act would cause further psychological harm to the victim. Often a woman is
too afraid to speak up or is unaware she is pregnant, thus the morning after
pill is ineffective in these situations.
Abortion is not used as a form of contraception. Pregnancy can occur even
with responsible contraceptive use. Only 8 percent of women who have
abortions do not use any form of birth control, and that is due more to
individual carelessness than to the availability of abortion.
The ability of a woman to have control of her body is critical to civil rights.
Take away her reproductive choice and you step onto a slippery slope. If the
government can force a woman to continue a pregnancy, what about forcing
a woman to use contraception or undergo sterilization?
Taxpayer dollars are used to enable poor women to access the same medical
services as rich women, and abortion is one of these services. Funding
abortion is no different from funding a war in the Mideast. For those who are
opposed, the place to express outrage is in the voting booth.

Teenagers who become mothers have grim prospects for the future. They
are much more likely to leave school; receive inadequate prenatal care; rely
on public assistance to raise a child; develop health problems; or end up
divorced.

Like any other difficult situation, abortion creates stress. Yet the American
Psychological Association found that stress was greatest prior to an abortion
and that there was no evidence of post-abortion syndrome.