PRO-ABORTION/PRO-CHOICE

Opening Statement
Introduction(3 mins):
Abortions should be legal statewide. Whether you believe its right or wrong, women
should have the right to decide that for themselves, and not be forced into a certain
situation.
For the health of the mother
-Whether its legal or not, women are going to get abortions. Whether its in a safe clinic
or they take it into their own hands at home.
-For example: Coat hanger Method
-If she does it herself, she will shove it up her vagina, hoping to get it through her
cervix and into her uterus to induce a miscarriage or abortion
-To get from the cervix to the uterus, you have to go through a narrow hole, and
trying to blindly shove a sharp wire in there can be very dangerous and can possibly
lacerate or puncture the cervix, uterine wall, or bowels. All which can cause bleeding,
and ultimately death. Some cases, caught early enough can be treated by a doctor,
however many factors are stacked against this.
-Even if the woman performing this illegal abortion is completely aware of all of the
risks, many are just to desperate to care, and will do whatever it takes to get an
abortion. However, if abortions were legal, they would never have to make that choice,
and put themselves in a life threatening position.
https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/anatomy-of-a-coat-hanger-abortion/
-In 2011, two women died as a result of complications from known legal induced
abortion
http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/
If a man can back out, a woman should be able to too/gives women control of their lives
-some women don't choose to have sex, and are then forced to carry and give birth to
the child
- Get ride out the child because they might not want their child to be raised without
knowing the father or having to tell the child their father doesn't want to be in their life.
1st rebuttal (2 mins)
Bad situation
-The number of women every year who have an abortion because of incest or rape:
14,000
http://healthresearchfunding.org/20-remarkable-pro-choice-abortion-facts-statistics/
Rape victims
-If she gives birth to the child, her rapist can try to take her to court and get shared
custody of the child
- Doesn't have a stable home/ place to raise the child in.

-defending against one of their points

2nd Rebuttal (2 mins)
DEFENDING
-Abortions are most safely done within the first trimester, before the 12th week of
pregnancy
6
wks

7 wks

8 wks

9
wks

10
wks

11
wks

12
wks

13
wks

34.9% 17.7% 13.2% 8.7% 5.8%

4.8%

3.6%

2.7%

14-15
wks
3.5%

16-17
wks
1.8%

18-20
wks
1.9%

21
wks
1.3%

ATTACKING THEIR POINTS

-Genetically distinct from mother
-One of the most common arguments today against being Pro Choice is the fact
that there is a strand of DNA in each cell of an embryo. This, as the argument says,
clearly shows that human life begins at conception. The only problem with this argument
is that there are DNA strands in many things. If someone exfoliates their skin, they are
removing cells that have DNA in them. If the removal of a non-viable embryo is
considered murder because theres DNA in a cell, wouldnt that logic also mean
someone exfoliating would be a murder as well?
http://healthresearchfunding.org/20-remarkable-pro-choice-abortion-facts-statistics/
-fetus feels pain during abortion
-Its concluded that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks because the unborn child
can react to stress and other stimuli. However
6
wks

7 wks

8 wks

9
wks

10
wks

11
wks

12
wks

13
wks

34.9% 17.7% 13.2% 8.7% 5.8%

4.8%

3.6%

2.7%

14-15
wks
3.5%

16-17
wks
1.8%

18-20
wks
1.9%

21
wks
1.3%

-Abortions can cause physical and emotional pain

-The risk of death from childbirth is 10X higher than the risk of death from having
an abortion
http://healthresearchfunding.org/20-remarkable-pro-choice-abortion-facts-statistics/
-The anti abortion activist convinced President Reagan to direct U.S. Surgeon General
C. Everett Koop to analyze the health effects of abortion and submit a report to the

president. After 15 months of research, no report was forthcoming. On Jan 9, 1989,

Koop wrote a letter to the president explaining that he would not be issuing a report at
all because the scientific studies do not provide conclusive data about the health
effects of abortion on women (referring to their mental health).
https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/gpr/09/3/gpr090308.html
-In 2012, researchers in the Journal of Psychiatric Research examined the differences
in the mental health of women who received abortion care versus women who were
unable to get the procedure. The study found that one week after getting the abortion,
97 percent felt it was the right decision. Of the women who were unable to get the
abortion, 67 percent wished they had been able to get the procedure; those women
were three times more likely to be below the poverty level two years later; and seven
percent had reported an incident of domestic violence in the previous six months (more
than twice the number of women who had gotten an abortion).
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/media/fact-sheets/abortion-distorting-science-safetylegal-abortion.pdf
Open Forum (3 mins)
ASK THEM GOOD QUESTIONS
NEED MORE HERE!!!
Closing Statement (2 mins)
-Were not saying that women should or shouldnt get an abortion. Were saying that we
believe women should have the choice to decide to get an abortion or not. If they have
the child and are able to endure that situation, thats great, but some cant, and they
should not be forced into that situation.
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/amp-64-9-863.pdf
https://hrlr.oxfordjournals.org/content/8/2/249.abstract
http://healthresearchfunding.org/20-remarkable-pro-choice-abortion-facts-statistics/
http://abortion.procon.org/
Extra Facts if Needed:
1. Causes pregnancy problems: Medical research incorporating studies from
21 countries shows that abortion does not increase the risk of suffering major
pregnancy complications during future pregnancies or deliveries. There is no
added risk of infant mortality or of having a low birth weight infant, nor is there
increased risk of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, or miscarriage following an
abortion
2. Causes Breast Cancer: A 2006 study published in the International Journal
of Cancer examined the records of 267,361 women in nine countries and found
no link between abortion and breast cancer, noting that the findings provide
further unbiased evidence of the lack of an adverse effect of induced abortion on
breast cancer risk.

3. Eighty-nine percent of abortions take place in the first 12 weeks of

pregnancy, and nearly 99 percent occur during the first 20 weeks. Earlier
abortion is associated with fewer mortality and morbidity risks.
4. Studies of abortion services worldwide found that abortion-related deaths
are rare in countries where the procedure is legal, accessible, and performed
early in pregnancy by skilled providers.
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/media/fact-sheets/abortion-distorting-science-safetylegal-abortion.pdf