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Abortion

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. Abortion has been an intensely debated issue in the United States today. It is very difficult to find someone who doesn't have an opinion about abortion, and probably a strong opinion at that. Our country remains divided over what many consider the most conflict-ridden American issue since slavery. There are usually two sides. The pro-life side and the pro-choice side. Both sides make a good case. However, an agreement exists among pro-lifers and pro-choicers that when human personhood starts the person must be protected.
The endless debates on the topic usually go nowhere, leaving the rivals even more committed to their positions and the open-minded observers readily confused. One reason the debate goes nowhere is that each side focuses on a different topic. They make no progress because they are not talking about the same thing. The pro-abortionist prefers to discuss choice and all of the social problems important in an unwanted child. As pro-abortionist Leonard Peikoff says, "It is only on this base that we can support the woman's political right to do what she chooses in this issue. No other person--not even her husband--has the right to dictate what she may do with her own body. That is a fundamental principle of freedom." Now the anti-abortionist is interested mainly in protecting the life of the fetus. Kerby Anderson, an anti- abortionist, protests that a fetus is a living thing. "A flat EEG (electroencephalograph) is one of the most important criteria used to determine death. If the cessation of brain wave activity can define death, could the onset of brain wave activity define life? Individual brain waves are detected in the fetus in about 40-43 days. Using brain wave activity to define life would outlaw at least a majority of abortions." Basically, the pro-abortionist focuses on a woman's rights and the anti-abortionist focuses on a fetus' rights. Though interconnected, a grown woman and a fetus are in no...

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