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Discuss abortion in the MrData.Net Abortion Discussion Forum.

Introduction: Planned Parenthood has written 9 Reasons Why Abortions are

Legal. In response, I have written 9 Reasons Why Abortions should be Illegal.
Nine
Reasons
Why
Abortions
Should Be
Illegal
Actually, I have been laughing to myself at Planned Parenthood's list, because it is so easy to defeat. It's not Planned
Parenthood's fault--there are no good reasons to support abortion, other than serious health issues of the mother or
baby. Also, I believe that Planned Parenthood serves many valuable functions. I agree with many things they do. I
strongly disagree in their support of abortion. I only chose to debate their particular opinions because a) They are a
large, national, pro-abortion organization. b) They have made a list, and my debate tactic suits such a list. I invite
you to read the following debate with an open mind and consider the validity of the two opposing opinions. If you
can find any error in my facts or reasoning, I hope you will let me know.

I am an unmarried, conservative male. I have always been supportive of the life of the unborn. However, in the past
my opinion was, "Well, the country is evenly divided on this issue. Although I am personally against abortion, there
are others who don't agree with me. I won't force the issue unless there is a consensus against abortion. I will thus
support the democratic process." However, I have gradually realized that the abortions (murders of the unborn) are
continuing at the rate of FOUR THOUSAND ABORTIONS PER DAY in the USA (ONE HUNDRED
TWENTY THOUSAND PER DAY worldwide). Meanwhile, some people are actually campaigning to increase
access to abortions. I have finally realized that, "Abortion is terrible, and must be stopped. Part of the democratic
process is the free discussion of ideas. Others are expressing their opinions, and some of them are against mine. I
should express my opinions, too. I will thus support the democratic process."

The format of this response is as follows: I have included every word of Planned Parenthood's original opinion.
Planned Parenthood makes it's statement, then I refute it one paragraph at a time. In order to guarantee that my
response is well separated from Planned Parenthood's original statement, I will color all of my responses blue. Also,
all of Planned Parenthood's statements begin with a bullet. (Note: The following discussion is focused on the United
States of America. Abortion should be fought in every country, but the circumstances of each country are different,
and some of the below points may not apply to every country on Earth.)

Abortion is never an easy decision, but women have been making that choice for thousands of years, for many
good reasons. Whenever a society has sought to outlaw abortions, it has only driven them into back alleys
where they became dangerous, expensive, and humiliating. Amazingly, this was the case in the United States
until 1973, when abortion was legalized nationwide. Thousands of American women died.

Abortion is a hard decision for many good reasons. Whenever a society has condoned abortions, they are
greater in number than when abortions are proscribed. Abortion kills babies which could otherwise live a long
life. Killing these babies is definitely dangerous to them, and much worse than humiliating. Amazingly,
because of legalization of abortion in 1973, about 1.5 Million babies (One Million Five Hundred Thousand, or
1,500,000) of American babies are being murdered in legal abortions every year. (Sources: The World

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Almanac and Book of Facts and the Information Please Almanac.)

Thousands more were maimed. For this reason and others, women and men fought for and achieved women's
legal right to make their own decisions about abortion.

By your own admission, for every 1 (one) woman that died or was maimed when abortions were illegal,
thousands
of babies are being murdered. For this reason and others, women and men are fighting for the right of babies to
live.

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 bear the child. And now, having failed to convince the public or the lawmakers,
certain of these people have become violent extremists, engaging in a campaign of intimidation and terror
aimed at women seeking abortions and health professionals who work at family planning clinics.

Surveys of women aborting their babies indicate that 1% of them are doing so because of rape or incest.
(Source: Forrest, J.D. & Torres, A. "Why Do Women Have Abortions?" Family Planning Perspectives).
Pro-life supporters have convinced the public and lawmakers that abortion, in general, is horrible. Congress
has repeatedly passed anti-abortion bills, only to have them vetoed by a pro-abortion, Liberal President.
Recently there is increasing possibility that Congress will get the 2/3 (two thirds) vote necessary to override
the Presidential veto. The main cause of Federal legalization of abortion was the Supreme Court of 1973, not
the public or the lawmakers. Failing to sufficiently convince the public or lawmakers, pro-abortion (also
known as pro-choice) supporters have instituted an insidious campaign of misinformation, emotionalism, and
Political Correctness aimed to make abortion seem acceptable. (By the way, although I do not support
campaigns of intimidation and terror, I am forced to wonder how this compares to the pain of babies literally
being torn apart without even anesthesia.)

Some say these acts will stop abortions, but that is ridiculous. When the smoke clears, the same urgent reasons
will exist for safe, legal abortions as have always existed. No nation committed to individual liberty could
seriously consider returning to the days of back-alley abortions; to the revolting specter of a government
forcing women to bear children against their will. Still, amid such attacks, it is worthwhile to repeat a few of
the reasons why our society trusts each woman to make the abortion decision herself.

The act which will stop abortion is the act of making the decision to be more careful regarding sexual activity
and to be responsible for the consequences of sexual activity, including the consequence of an unwanted
pregnancy. The same urgent reasons have always existed for being careful regarding sex. (These are reasons
such as disease, emotional entanglements, and, of course, pregnancy.) No nation committed to individual
liberty could seriously consider the wholesale murder of helpless babies with little concern for the concern for
the well being of the babies. Women aren't forced to bear children, they choose to bear children by the act of
having sexual intercourse. (Note that surveys indicate that rape or incest account for only 1% of legal
abortions.) Saying that the government forces women to bear children against their will is like saying that the
government forces people to become fat after they decide to eat too much and not exercise enough. Bearing
children is the natural result of sexual intercourse under favorable conditions, it is not forced upon women by
the United States government. I am forced to wonder: If a woman has a history of bad decisions which cause
her an unwanted pregnancy, why should our society trust her to take the welfare of the child into account and
trust her "to make the abortion decision herself"? Still, though it is clear that women have made choices that
put them in the position of being pregnant, it is worthwhile to repeat a few reasons why abortion is an
abhorrent murder of a baby.

1. Laws against abortion kill women.

To prohibit abortions does not stop them. When women feel it is absolutely necessary, they will choose to
have abortions, even in secret, without medical care, in dangerous circumstances. In the two decades before
abortion was legal in the U.S., it's been estimated that nearly a million women per year sought out illegal
abortions. Thousands died. Tens of thousands were mutilated. All were forced to behave as if they were
criminals.

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1. Laws supporting abortion kill babies.

To prohibit abortions vastly decreases them. Abortion are "absolutely necessary" in only two cases: the
mother's health or the baby's health. Abortions based on the mother's health account for 3% of abortions.
Abortions based on the baby's health account for 3% of abortions. Total: 6%. (Source: Forrest, J.D. & Torres,
A. "Why Do Women Have Abortions?" Family Planning Perspectives) Women don't feel that abortion is
"absolutely necessary." Women feel selfishly inconvenienced by pregnancy. To repeat, because abortion was
made legal in the U.S., about 1.5 Million (1,500,000) babies are murdered every year in the U.S. by abortion.
Every baby of the aborted 1.5 Million dies. Cold blooded murder is criminal, and should be treated as murder.
(Killing a baby is sometimes, though rarely, medically necessary. This is not murder, and should be legal, just
as killing someone in self defense is legal.)

2. 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.

2. Legal abortions protect women's health.

Protecting women's lives preventing serious medical complications are valuable, and should be legal. Your
own figures indicate that tens of thousands of women have health reasons for aborting babies. Your own
figures indicate that millions of women abort their babies. This indicates a very rough estimate of 1% of
abortions that are done because of the mother's health.

3. A woman is more than a fetus.

There's an argument these days that a fetus is a "person" that is "indistinguishable from the rest of us" and that
it deserves rights equal to women's. On this question there is a tremendous spectrum of religious,
philosophical, scientific, and medical opinion. It's been argued for centuries. Fortunately, our society has
recognized that each woman must be able to make this decision, based on her own conscience. To impose a
law defining a fetus as a "person," granting it rights equal to or superior to a woman's - a thinking, feeling,
conscious human being -- is arrogant and absurd. It only serves to diminish women.

3. A fetus is more than a piece of tissue.

Yes, there has been argument over this issue for centuries.

a. Regarding Science and Medicine: Currently, all valid science and medicine is 100% clear that a fetus is
a person. Practically, 100% of a person's genetic makeup is determined at the moment of conception.
Science and medicine define being a person (human) by genetic means. According to science and
medicine, a fetus is a distinct organism.
b. Regarding Religion: Religion, on the other hand, is not as clearly defined as medicine and science,
because religion introduces the soul into the situation. However, no religious leader would say that a
fetus does not have a soul and that because of this a fetus may be capriciously aborted. Religious
opinion is slowly beginning to accept science and medicine. Any religious leader with a strong practical
grounding in scientific knowledge will have to admit that every embryo has a soul. However, regardless
of when a person gains a soul, religious opinion does not show any support at all for abortion. In fact,
religion is one of the strongest opponents of abortion.
c. Regarding Philosophy: Philosophical opinion does show some variety regarding when a baby becomes a
person. This is due solely to the fact that most philosophy is of ancient origin. Regardless of whether a
philosopher believes ancient philosophies (which were developed before the discovery of cells, heredity,
and DNA), the philosopher would not support capricious abortions.
d. Conclusion: Neither science, nor medicine, nor religion, nor philosophy supports capricious abortions.
In fact, there is a narrow band of belief in science, medicine, religion, and philosophy that life is
valuable, should be supported, and should not be killed when the killing is reasonably avoided. In fact,
those who believe strongly in science, in medicine, in religion, or in philosophy are some of the

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strongest opponents of abortion.

e. Regarding Choice: Currently, some small groups run large campaigns to convince people that women
have a "right to choose" to abort their babies. This is absurd. The choice comes in when the women
decide to have risky sex. When people make choices, they must accept certain ramifications of these
choices. Sometimes, people don't want to accept the ramifications of their choices, and try to find an
unethical means to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. (By the way, how can any woman with a
conscience abort her baby?)
f. Regarding Rights: No one is saying that babies should have "rights equal to or superior to a woman's".
That would be absurd. Pro-life proponents are simply saying that babies have a right to life. That is all.
A right to life. If anyone can tell me how a baby having a right to life in any way makes its "rights
equal to or superior to a woman's", I would greatly appreciate being informed about this!
g. Regarding Development: You imply that a fetus is not "a thinking, feeling, conscious human being."
Current, valid science indicates that a fetus is not a senseless mass of tissue, as some people have
believed in the past. According to Planned Parenthood, a fetus is "the organism that develops from the
embryo at the end of eight weeks of pregnancy and receives nourishment through the placenta; the fetus
continues to develop until the pregnancy ends." According to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate®
Dictionary, Tenth Edition, an organism is "an individual constituted to carry on the activities of life by
means of organs separate in function but mutually dependent : a living being". In other words, Planned
Parenthood admits that a fetus is an individual, and a living being! According to Dr. Ruth's
Encyclopedia of Sex, "The beginning of the fetal period [is] arbitrarily designated by most
embryologists to occur eight weeks after fertilization. At this time, the embryo is nearly one and
one-half inches long. Few, if any, major new structures are formed thereafter; development during the
fetal period of gestation consists of the maturation of structures formed during the embryonic period." In
other words, the basic structure of the baby has already been formed! Planned Parenthood admits this.
Now, remember, this is still within the first "trimester"! The baby has a small brain. The baby can feel
pain. The baby can feel vibrations. The baby has vague vision and hearing. The baby has reactions
which indicate a simple intelligence. Who knows whether a baby is conscious at this point? Admittedly,
the baby is undeveloped enough at this point that its sensations and thoughts are not similar to adults'.
However, the baby is a thinking, feeling human being, though admittedly undeveloped.
h. Regarding Diminishment: For women to have the legal right to freely take the lives of their babies,
whether on a whim, for their own selfish reasons, or for their own selfish comfort, "is arrogant and
absurd".

4. 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.

4. Being a mother is the most important purpose of women.

a. Regarding Women's Freedom: Many are calling the 1990's the "Me Decade." One aspect of this is some
women who consider only their own needs and desires, and disregard the needs and desires of others.
This is most obvious when women are willing to kill their own babies (either born or unborn) to fulfill
their own selfish desires. Every possible reason for abortion (other than serious health issues for the
mother or baby) is a selfish one. Everyone, including men, women, and babies (born and unborn)
should have the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
b. Regarding Mothering: No task is as crucial as that of parenting. Being a mother is the most important
purpose of a woman. Being a father is the most important purpose of a man. Mothering (and Fathering)
means having children and caring for them, often sacrificing one's own desires in order to provide the
needs and wants of the children. This is the true definition of "parent." Without sacrifice, love is
meaningless.
c. Regarding Choices: Women in Industrialized countries have many choices.
d. Regarding Equality: The "political and economic equality for" men and women is not worth much if
men and women do not share the responsibilities of parenting.

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In Conclusion: Wouldn't it make better sense to consider the option of adoption, rather than the option of
abortion? Waiting lists are never ending for adoptable newborns. Instead of losing his or her life, the baby
instead gets a chance to have a good life with a married couple who highly desire a child to love, raise, and, in
other words, parent.

5. Outlawing abortion is discriminatory.

Anti-abortion laws discriminate against low-income women, who are driven to dangerous self-induced or
back-alley abortions. That is all they can afford. But the rich can travel wherever necessary to obtain a safe
abortion.

5. Legal abortion is discriminatory.

a. Low income women have much support and many options. Often, the families of the mothers are willing
to assist the mother. Many government programs are also designed to help low income women
throughout all phases of bearing and raising children. Finally, adoption is an excellent choice for those
women who don't have the financial strength to bear parenting. All expenses are paid, and more, for
women who are willing to adopt out their newborn babies.
b. Legal abortion discriminates against babies. Any law which allows the callous, cold blooded killing of a
life must be considered as discriminatory (at the very least!). Even the cold blooded killing of animals is
proscribed by law, yet some campaign for less restrictions on killing unborn babies!
c. Legal abortion discriminates against fathers.

6. Compulsory pregnancy laws are incompatible with a free society.

If there is any matter which is personal and private, then pregnancy is it. There can [be] no more extreme
invasion of privacy than requiring a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. If government is
permitted to compel a woman to bear a child, where will government stop? The concept is morally repugnant.
It violates traditional American ideas of individual rights and freedoms.

6. Legalized abortion is incompatible with a free society.

How anyone can talk about "compulsory pregnancy laws" with a straight face is beyond me. Women who
abort their babies were not compelled to become pregnant. Unless they are forced to engage in unprotected
intercourse, they have many opportunities to avoid pregnancy.

7. Outlaw abortion, and more children will bear children.

Forty percent of 14-year-old girls will become pregnant before they turn 20. This could happen to your
daughter or someone else close to you. Here are the critical questions: Should the penalty for lack of
knowledge or even for a moment's carelessness be enforced pregnancy and childrearing? Or dangerous illegal
abortion? Should we consign a teenager to a life sentence of joblessness, hopelessness, and dependency?

7. Keep abortion legal, and more children will abort their children.
The so called "penalty" should be enforced maintenance of any pregnancy which does not involve serious
health risks to the mother or baby. "Enforced childrearing" is not condoned by anyone, and it is ridiculous to
seriously consider "enforced childrearing".

8. "Every child a wanted child."

If women are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term, the result is unwanted children. Everyone knows
they are among society's most tragic cases, often uncared-for, unloved, brutalized, and abandoned. When they
grow up, these children are often seriously disadvantaged, and sometimes inclined toward brutal behavior to
others. This is not good for children, for families, or for the country. Children need love and families who
want and will care for them.

8. Every child is a wanted child.

Regarding the United States of America: People strongly desiring children are on lengthy waiting lists for the
chance to adopt infants. In fact, adoptive parents pay tens of thousands of dollars in order to adopt, as well as

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submitting to various screening procedures. Adopted babies are treated almost as well as the biological
children of married parents: they are not brutalized and abandoned. In general, the children which are
seriously disadvantaged are those children who are fortunate enough to not have been aborted, but are
unfortunate enough to be raised by the mother alone, without the father's assistance. In these cases, adoption is
a better solution, too.

9. Choice is good for families.

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.

9. Choice is good for families.

Choice is
good for families. A choice which is sometimes not given enough consideration is adoption. A choice which is
often used unnecessarily is abortion. Family planning means contraceptive measures, awareness of the
potential responsibilities of parenting, and, if necessary, adopting out the baby. Family planning does not mean
that abortion is "the answer" to "unintended pregnancy". Rather, family planning is avoiding an unintended
pregnancy and dealing with it if it happens. All options should be used. However, abortion should not be
considered to be an option unless there are serious health risks to the mother or her unborn child.

At the most basic level, the abortion issue is not really about abortion. It is about the value of women in
society. Should women make their own decisions about family, career, and how to live their lives? Or should
government do that for them? Do women have the option of deciding when or whether to have children? Or is
that a government decision?

Women should be able to make decisions about how to live their lives. Women do make decisions about how
to live their lives. Women should have the option of deciding when or whether to have children. They do this
by making choices regarding when to have sexual intercourse and what contraceptive methods to use. The
government has no power to make these decisions, and it doesn't. Abortion is not a choice about women's
value, family, career, how to live their lives, or when or whether to have children. Abortion is a choice
between allowing an unborn baby to live or killing it.

The anti-abortion leaders really have a larger purpose. They oppose most ideas and programs which can help
women achieve equality and freedom. They also oppose programs which protect the health and well-being of
women and their children.

I support any "ideas and programs which can help women achieve equality and freedom" or "protect the health
and well-being of women and their children." I don't know these "anti-abortion leaders".

Anti-abortion leaders claim to act "in defense of life." If so, why have they worked to destroy programs which
serve life, including prenatal care and nutrition programs for dependent pregnant women? Is this respect for
life?

Who are these "Anti-abortion leaders"? They sound like a real threat to society. Let me know who they are and
what they are doing, and I will fight against them and their campaigns to "destroy programs which serve life."
If they truly are as you portray them, they aren't my leaders, since I don't follow their opinions. I fully support
life in all of its forms, especially human life. Anyone who supports life in general must also support the life of
the unborn.

Anti-abortion leaders also say they are trying to save children, but they have fought against health and
nutrition programs for children once they are born. The anti-abortion groups seem to believe life begins at
conception, but it ends at birth. Is this respect for life?

Once again, let me know who they are, and I will work against them. Who in his right mind could fight against
health and nutrition programs for children?

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Then there are programs which diminish the number of unwanted pregnancies before they occur: family
planning counseling, sex education, and contraception for those who wish it. Anti-abortion leaders oppose
those too. And clinics providing such services have been bombed. Is this respect for life?

I fully support "family planning counseling, sex education, and contraception". I support any programs which
diminish the number of unwanted pregnancies before they occur. Your mythical "Anti-abortion leaders" do not
have any influence on the members of the pro-life group. The only pro-life group I can think of in the United
States which opposes sex education and contraception is the religious pro-life. However, no religious pro-life
group that I know of opposes family counseling or contraception based in rhythm methods.

Such stances reveal the ultimate cynicism of the compulsory pregnancy movement. "Life" is not what they're
fighting for. What they want is a return to the days when a woman had few choices in controlling her future.
They think that the abortion option gives too much freedom. That even contraception is too liberating. That
women cannot be trusted to make their own decisions.

You speak of "the compulsory pregnancy movement". Who are the members of this movement? Is this another
mythical group? Compulsory pregnancy would seem to include forced impregnation. I must admit, any group
which supports forced impregnation must indeed take freedoms away from women. Such groups should be
stopped by any means possible. I and my fellow pro-life people, on the other hand, fully support women's
freedoms, including the freedom of making the essential choices of when to have sexual intercourse and what
contraceptives to use. These choices are essential in preventing pregnancy.

Americans today don't accept that. Women can now select their own paths in society, including when and
whether to have children. Family planning, contraception, and, if need be, legal abortion are critical to
sustaining women's freedom. There is no going back.

Women should select their own paths in society, including when and whether to have children. Family
planning and contraception are critical aids to sustaining many freedoms of both men and women. I hope that
someday the United States of America will once again make abortion illegal. This will also give the right to
life to the unborn and will allow them to have freedoms of their own when they are born.

If you agree with this, you can help. Circulate this statement among your friends, and support our work by
contacting Planned Parenthood in your area. Thank you.

If you agree that human life has value, including the lives of the unborn, then speak out when the time comes!
Don't keep quiet while millions of babies are murdered in cold blood. Speak out! Bookmark this page. Show it
to others. Better yet, if you have a Web site, put a link to this page on your Web site! Spread the word! Thank
you.

Based on Planned Parenthood "Revised version March 1989."

Portions Copyright © 1998, Planned Parenthood® Federation of America, Inc.

Use of this page signifies your agreement to Terms of Use

Portions Copyright © 1998 by Mr Israel Steinmetz. These portions released into the Public Domain.

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Page last updated 10 December 2001 by MrData@mail.com (Mr Israel Steinmetz).

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