Debate Topics

Abortion

Pros of Legal Abortion A woman's right to choose abortion is a "fundamental right" recognized by the US Supreme Court. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby. Personhood at conception is not a proven biological fact. Fetuses are incapable of feeling pain when an abortion is performed. o According to Stuart W. G. Derbyshire, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham (England), "[n]ot 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." Access to legal, professionally-performed abortions reduces injury and death caused by unsafe, illegal abortions. o The World Health Organization estimated in 2006 that "back-alley" abortions cause 68,000 maternal deaths each year in countries where abortion is not legal. The anti-abortion position is usually based on religious beliefs and threatens the vital separation of church and state. o Religious ideology should not be a foundation for law in the United States. Modern abortion procedures are safe. o The risk of a womans 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. Furthermore, a 1993 fertility investigation of 10,767 women by the Joint Royal College of General Practitioners and 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. Access to abortion is necessary because contraceptives are not always readily available. What about rape? Why should a woman who has been raped by forced to carry a baby of a man she doesn't love? The American Medical Association (AMA) recognizes abortion as a medical procedure if performed by a licensed physician in compliance with good medical practice standards. Abortion gives couples the option to choose not to bring babies with severe and lifethreatening medical conditions to full term. Many women who choose abortion don't have the financial resources to support a child. A baby should not come into the world unwanted. o 49% of all pregnancies among American women are unintended. Having a child is an important lifelong decision that requires consideration, preparation, and planning. An association between abortion and breast cancer is unsubstantiated. o The National Cancer Institute (NCI), the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) have all refuted the reliability of studies claiming abortion can lead to a higher probability of developing breast cancer.

Cons of Legal Abortion Abortion involves killing a human being, which defies a commandment from God. Fetuses feel pain during the abortion procedure. Women should use contraceptives, not abortion, to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Abortions cause psychological damage. o A 2002 peer-reviewed study published by the Southern Medical Journal of more than 173,000 American women found that women who aborted were 154% more likely to commit suicide than women who carried to term. An Apr. 1998 Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology study of men whose partners had abortions found that 51.6% of the men reported regret, 45.2% felt sadness, and 25.8% experienced depression. Unborn babies are human beings from the moment of conception. They have a fundamental right to life, which must be protected. Do two wrongs make a right? Rape is a crime, so is abortion. One in the legal sense, the other in the spiritual sense. Should a preborn child reap the punishment for the crime against the mother?

Legalization of Marijuana Pros of Legalizing Marijuana Most marijuana users never use any other illicit drug. Marijuana has not been shown to cause mental illness. Marijuana use has not been shown to increase risk of cancer. Marijuana has been proven helpful for treating the symptoms of a variety of medical conditions. Marijuana has not been shown to cause long-term cognitive impairment. There is no compelling evidence that marijuana contributes substantially to traffic accidents and fatalities.

Cons of Legalizing Marijuana A State cannot be involved with the distribution of substances considered immoral by relevant lots of the population.

A substance considered unhealthy cannot be produced and distributed with the help of the state, because the goal of the state is to protect citizens health and not to expose them to risk.

The easy availability of drugs would create new consumers rather than rescuing current ones.

Drugs are addictive. They rob the user of free will. A drug user cannot make an informed and rational decision to continue using drugs because the use of the drug eliminates that users ability to think logically. Nor can they disseminate themselves from drug taking. Drug use is dangerous to persons besides the user. o In the rise of health care costs, violence associated with the use of drugs, neglect of children by drug-addicted parents, and other third party effects.