DEVELOPING CONVERSATION SKILLS DEBATE PRACTICE TEST

#1 ABORTION: BE LEGALIZD IN THE PHILIPPINES

A. INTRODUCTION
Abortion is the ending of pregnancy by removing a fetus or embryo before it
can survive outside the uterus. An abortion which occurs spontaneously is
also known as a miscarriage.
In our law, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution says, in part, "Section
12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and
strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution". It shall
equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from
conception.
The act is criminalized by Philippine law. Articles 256, 258 and 259 of the
Revised Penal Code of the Philippines mandate imprisonment for women who
undergo abortion, as well as for any person who assists in the procedure.
Article 258 further imposes a higher prison term on the woman or her
parents if the abortion is undertaken "in order to conceal [the woman's]
dishonor".
Proposals to liberalize Philippine abortion laws have been opposed by
the Catholic Church, and its opposition has considerable influence in the
predominantly Catholic country.
The constitutional provision that "[The State] shall equally protect the life of
the mother and the life of the unborn from conception." was crafted by the
Constitutional Commission which drafted the charter with the intention of
providing for constitutional protection of the abortion ban, although the
enactment of a more definitive provision sanctioning the ban was not
successful. The provision is enumerated among several state policies, which
are generally regarded in law as unenforceable in the absence of
implementing legislation. The 1987 RP Constitution also contains several
other provisions enumerating various state policies. Whether these
provisions may, by themselves, be the source of enforceable rights without
implementing legislation has been the subject of considerable debate in the
legal sphere and within the Supreme Court.

Every year, worldwide, about 42 million women with unintended pregnancies

choose abortion, and nearly half of these procedures, 20 million, are unsafe.
Some 68,000 women die of unsafe abortion annually, making it one of the
leading causes of maternal mortality (13%). Of the women who survive
unsafe abortion, 5 million will suffer long-term health complications. Unsafe
abortion is thus a pressing issue. Both of the primary methods for preventing
unsafe abortionless restrictive abortion laws and greater contraceptive use
face social, religious, and political obstacles, particularly in developing
nations, where most unsafe. Can we even bare to see? A fetus being thrown
out in front of us like its nothing? Or are we going to wait for our love ones
to die because of abortion?

B. DISCUSSION:
Non- Necessity:
Abortion is absolutely not a "necessity." Life should be protected.
In today's day and age, condoms and birth control aren't new inventions that
people have never heard of. People should be responsible with sex, also
known as, guess what, reproduction... Sex will always have the risk of
conceiving a baby, and people who engage in sex should always be aware of
that risk. See life as a beautiful gift, and if you cannot accept that gift, give
him/her to someone who will love and cherish it. Adoption should always be
an option, stopping a human heartbeat should not.
Abortion infringes on the right of THE BABY TO LIVE!
Pro-abortion activists will tell you that the women should have the right to
terminate he pregnancy but that is a load of crap! The baby should have the
right to live a happy life, not be killed before it even starts. Liberals always
talk about a "fair chance." Aborting a baby directly contradicts that!!! If the
mom really cannot handle a baby, ADOPTION is always an option!
Even a child must live!!
Because, every living creature is supposed to live, even the mother of the
child is living because she was not decided to be aborted by her parents or a
guardian thats why every people must live without even killed. Because the
child is the future of our country, thats why we must let them be!!!!!

"Health is a state of emotional and social wellbeing and not merely

the absence of disease and infirmity."
It is a fact that over 100 potential physical complications have been
associated with abortion including chronic infection, hemorrhaging, and an
inability to carry a subsequent pregnancy to term. We also know from women
who have gone public about the aftermath of of abortion on their lives that
there is long term psychological trauma: guilt, depression, and anxiety,
feelings of hopelessness, lowered self-esteem, hostility, insomnia, suicidal
feelings, drug dependency and difficulties with family and sexual
relationships. Such conditions cry out for the need to undertake in-depth and
objective studies to determine the nature of any delayed reaction to
abortion.
Non- Beneficiality
I now believe one could make a strong argument that abortion is wrong.
Why?
Logic.
Let
me
examine
some
arguments.
If a woman has an unwanted baby, and decides to keep it, it's very true that
her life will be altered radically. Proponents of abortion may mention this.
Hence, in this sense, an abortion could be a benefit to the mother.
But

benefits

don't

always

outweigh

the

costs.

But what are the costs? Well, the main cost is that the fetus dies, through no
choice of it's own. And the choice then becomes this: you either complicate
the life of a mother who may have only 60 years more to live, or you end the
life of a human that has their entire life to live. Using only this logic, I don't
see how abortion could ever be justified, unless you strongly value the life of
the
mother
over
that
of
the
baby.
I find it interesting that people often speak about older people sacrificing for
the young, perhaps since the young have longer to live (the idea of a parent
jumping in front of a bullet heading for their child). But if that belief is
commonplace, why don't I ever hear a parallel argument that one should
sacrifice for the life of the fetus? You'd think that the latter would be an even
stronger argument than the former, since a fetus will have more time to live
than
a
child
will.
Other proponents of abortion will tell you that a mother has a right to have
an abortion since it's her own body. I rarely hear people discuss just how
weak
this
argument
is.
It's
quite
weak.
The fetus is in the mother's body simply because that's where the birth
process dictates that it be. If abortion is wrong, should a mother have the

right to have an abortion simply because the wrongdoing would occur in her
own
body?
Well, if you believe crime is wrong, is it OK for someone to commit murder in
their own car or home simply because they own that car or home? Of course
it's not OK. Is it OK for someone to inject illegal drugs simply because they
are
injecting
it
into
their
own
body?
Of
course
not.
If unplanned pregnancies weren't sometimes avoidable, perhaps abortion
would be justified. Unplanned pregnancies are not unavoidable. Yes,
accidents do happen, and perhaps exceptions could be considered in those
circumstances, but an adult is an adult. It shouldn't be difficult to prevent
unplanned pregnancies with birth control. However, I agree that many
people may have limitations that make it more difficult for them to use birth
control.
And what about the all-important question: is the fetus a person? Well, I
think the best answer is this: yes it is. It is a human. It is no longer a sperm
or egg...it's a developing human being. Why should it matter whether the
human being is in the womb or whether the human being has left the womb?
After all, the only thing separating the fetus from being a newborn is time.
Time is the only thing separating the fetus from developing into an adult.
That's it! There are no significant structural changes that need to occur to
change the fetus into a baby. Nothing. Just time. The human being has
already
been
created.
If you believe that humans shouldn't be killed, I really don't see how abortion
could be logically justified, since time is the only barrier between a fetus and
a
baby.
I'm not suggesting that a woman that has an abortion is likely to be evil.
That's hardly the case. Myself, I was undecided on this topic until recently.
It's
a
complex
topic
in
the
following
sense:
I think that a significant problem is one of perception. People don't perceive
a fetus as a baby, a human, so they have less difficulty aborting it. What's
out
of
sight
is
often
out
of
mind.
Look at gamblers. It's easier to give away money in the form of poker chips,
right? And why is that? Because it doesn't look like money. Do you think
people would throw away as much money if the poker chips were actual
bills?
No,
they
wouldn't.
And when people have abortions, the idea of the fetus as a human being is

often out of sight and hence out of mind. I understand why people have that
perception, but perception isn't always accurate.
CONCLUSION:
People will say it is murder. Others will object and say it is just a fetus.
Millions of babies die without even being born because of abortion. Abortion
destroys the lives of helpless, innocent children and is legal in many
countries. People these days take advantage of abortion and chose to abuse
it and use it as a birth control. Abortion is a war against the unborn and
should be illegal everywhere unless a life threatening matter occurs.
Until we all accept that abortion kills an innocent human being...
Until
mothers
are
held
responsible
for
their
actions...
Until
it
becomes
illegal
to
kill
an
unborn
child...
Until then, millions of innocent lives will continue to be snuffed out, while
people
continue
choosing
the
easy
way
out.
Doesn't everyone deserve the right to live?