But in the interest of fairness and consistency, this is also an argument that people should be vegetarians, and against the death penalty.

I've never heard anybody support legal abortions on the grounds that a fetus is not alive. I've heard people suggest that a fetus isn't a fully developed human, though, and CT/MRI scans tend to bear this out. A lot of the traits that we consider most human about ourselves don't develop until after birth. But even this is really a side point.

The question is how does a society weigh the interest of a fetus, or a developing human, against the interest of a fully developed one. Self-mutilation has nothing to do with the real question. Can a government order its citizens to put up with something they don't like when medicine has an answer ... or does an individual have the right to decide what goes on inside their own body?

I'm not a fan of big government. I think a person's body is their own. Just like a person is allowed to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes, even though it's bad for them, and for their child if they become pregnant at some point, I think a person's right to privacy and to control their own destiny outweighs the government's right to tell them what to do.

Majority of the abortion are from teen sex, aka underage sex, which is illegal, right? So if people weren't stupid enough and had some self control, maybe abortion wouldnt be as big as a debatable subject as it is. As for rapes, those all can be vouched with a police report. So, the only reason a woman should get an abortion is if she was raped. They have condoms/ Birth control pills for a reason, too.

I think it is abortion is good in some cases. Dont bash me for that. But if you are young and you get pregnant, you should get an abortion. Also if you are in poverty, poor or cant afford them an abortion is ok. Thats my opinion ~!

So just because you are young, you kill your baby? Just because you are "poor", you kill your baby?

That's wrong.

The only case that should be an exception if there is a health risk to the mother giving birth.

Maybe people could have some self control so they dont have a baby when they're "young."

To me, saying that because condoms exist, abortion should be illegal is just like saying that because we have seat belts and stop signs, there's no reason to have any emergency rooms. But we can all agree hospitals and ERs are a good thing to have.

If a teen can't make the right choice when it comes to condoms, there's no way they're going to be able to make good choices as a parent. Really, stupid people with no self control aren't fit to be parents, right? And the vast majority of kids who wind up at an orphanage are never adopted.

Nobody is saying abortion is a good thing, but when you look at the situation realistically, there are an awful lot of shades of gray.

First thing i want to state, we have emergency rooms for more than car crashes. Thank you. (Think realistically, what else would you use a condom for? Nothing.)

Sorry, but how can you agree with that if a teen does something illegal, then their choice ends a life? Who in the world justifies this stuff? Sure, people could be jailed for downloading 10 songs, but they dont go to jail for "killing." Um, yea, WTF. Also, a chance at life, to become SOMEONE is better than no chance at all. Right?

Nobody goes to jail for having an abortion because it's not illegal.

I'm not sure that teens having sex is actually illegal, if both of them are underage. Statutory rape is the only law I can think of against it, and that only comes into play when one is an adult, and more than a few years age difference between the two.

I think the issue here is what's best for society as a whole. A great deal more unwanted children growing up into a life of poverty in orphanages, many of them becoming homeless at 18 when they have to leave, doesn't make the world a better place. Children being raised by incompetent parents is a bad thing for everybody. And big government making laws about what can and can't happen in a uterus is about as scary as these domestic, warrentless wiretaps.

Also, I have to admit I'm confused why anyone would want to make an exception in cases of rape? I mean, the fetus is every bit as much alive no matter how the woman became pregnant.

They create life just to destroy it. SHOULDN'T it be illegal? That's what we [pro-life] people are TRYING TO GET ACROSS.

Well, rape is the only exception you can make when it comes to abortion because...
1. It was uncontrollable, involuntary.
2. Possible inheritance of an STD
3. Killed in many... unbelievable ways. Rape affects mentality, let's take that to mind.
When people have sex, it's voluntary on both sides, am I right? If one doesn't want it, then What's it called? Thank you.

Over 60% of abortions are not from rape. Think about this: i bet you, before abortion came out (as in passed as legal), that there were not this many cases of under-aged sex. I exclude rape because people took advantage of this. "I can just have the baby aborted, so I'll just have sex." That is the mentality when it comes to abortion. Abortion was supposedly legalized to help, but it just warped into something to eliminate life.

It's hard to choose a side here, there being good evidence on both sides of the argument. However, I'll half to go against it. The legalization goes against our Declaration of Independence, for one thing. ("We hold these truths to be self evident...entitled to LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...") Secondly, although some children up for adoption do not get adopted, it seems like a good choice to give them a chance. A fetus is alive. I mean, how sad are people when a newborn baby dies? Verry much so. Same if it dies a few months after birth. But if it dies before birth, at an even YOUNGER age, people don't think twice about it. There are contraceptives, and I believe that if one is stupid enough not to use them when pregnancy is not intended, one should have the child, and either raise it or put it up for adoption. I can see young couples not being able to care for a child, and thus wanting it not to be born, but adoption is an option (hey that rhymes). I myself am the result of a teenage pregnancy, and I'm glad I was born and not murdered. Also, being against abortion doesn't mean being against the death penalty. Fetuses, unborn babies, have not killed anyone. People put on death row have, and with modern forensics, few innocent people are convicted. Should hospitals end lives rather than save and help them? I should think not.