argumentive essay on abortion - fallacies?

this is an an argument essay im doing for my 9th grade english honors class on abortion. i take the side of pro abortion and basically we lose 10 points out of 100 for every argument FALLACY she finds in the essay. so if you could please read the essay and tell me if i have any fallacies it would be much appreciated.

The topic that I am arguing in this essay is Abortion. I am for abortion and support the fact that it is legal in the United States. Abortion is controversial in the fact that many believe it is the cruel and brutal murder of a human life. These people call them self pro-life .But some believe that termination of the fetus from a woman's womb is the woman's right, a right that cannot be taken away from her as it is supported by the Constitution, and these people are known as pro-choice. During the case of Roe VS Wade in 1973 the Supreme court stated that abortion bans were unconstitutional, making abortions legal in all states. However, the people who are 'pro-life' are fighting to have abortions become illegal. In the following paragraphs I will be expressing my logical point of view as a pro-choicer.

One reason I am pro abortion is the fact that a fetus is not life. A fetus is a fertilized embryo attached to the wall of the uterus, basically a clump of developing cells. The rights that protect us are set aside for human beings, not animals , not an inanimate object, and definitely not undeveloped cells. Another reason to further explain why a fetus is not a human is the fact that it is dependent on its host, the pregnant woman. Without the woman providing oxygen and nourishment to the fetus is could not survive. Therefore it does not have an independent existence which is one of the most important characteristics of a human.

Another reason that I am for abortion is that in certain cases, carrying out a pregnancy can be life threatening to the woman. People that have diseases such as a heart or kidney disease can face many dangerous pregnancy complications that could result in death. Other conditions that can arise regardless of prior medical condition is hemorrhaging and obstructed labor. Hemorrhaging is when the muscles rupture or tear in the uterus and cause uncontrollable bleeding. An example of this is 37 year old Elizabeth Davis who lived in Danville, Virginia where she died of a heart attack after having massive blood loss the day after having vaginal delivry. Also during childbirth the body bumps extra blood to the body and if it becomes too high the mother could face fatality. It has been reported that woman dying from pregnancy complications has nearly tripled over the past decade in California and have increased mildly in other parts of the U.S.

One other reason that I am pro abortion is that many women who seek to terminate their pregnancy are pregnant against their own will because of incidents involving rape. Rape is forced sex upon a woman and leaves them emotionally scarred and in many cases they are impregnated during the terrifying process. A woman who is raped and impregnated should not be forced to nurse a fetus of her tormentor for nine months as a constant reminder of the pain that was caused to her. A study done in the years 1998 and 2000 show that each year 25,000 pregnancies occurred from rape each year, and of these 9000 were aborted thanks to the choice given to us by law. If abortion was illegal that would mean a total 25,000 babies would be brought into the world against a woman's will as a product of sexual abuse.

In conclusion, laws against abortion are not fair to women and violates the rights promised to all human beings. These same rights say nothing about a fetus which is an undeveloped life-form. Forcing compulsory pregnancies on women can also result in life threatening complications. Lastly, due to uncontrollable actions by others, a woman might wind up pregnant, and to force her to go through a pregnancy is immoral and irrational. Now after evaluating the argument fully, it should be very easy for you to apply simple logic to see laws against abortion are faulty and can lead to many problems that are unnecessary and could serve as a major inconvenience to many women.

Remember that the abortion debate in centrally focused on philosophical beginnings of life vs. the scienitific beginnings of life. If you are going to maintain that a fetus is not life you'll need some supporting evidence (your premises should support your claims), which is more difficult than one may think. You can get yourself into very deep waters quickly. You may want to consider conceding the "at which point does life begin" question and focus on making strong premises (as you have already done very well) that argue a pro-choice position on grounds of medical conditions that specifically endanger a mothers life, as well as pregnancy arising against a womens will i.e., incidents of rape. Good luck. Hope that helps.

One reason I am pro abortion is the fact that CLAIM1=a fetus is not life.PREMISE1a=fetus is a fertilized embryo attached to the wall of the uterus, basically a clump of developing cells.PREMISE1b=The rights that protect us are set aside for human beings, not animals, not an inanimate object, and definitely not undeveloped cells.

Fallacies of Relevance- Neither of your premises support the claim that a fetus is not life...
Another reason to further explain why CLAIM2=a fetus is not a humanPREMISE2a=is the fact that it is dependent on its host, the pregnant woman.PREMISE2b=Without the woman providing oxygen and nourishment to the fetus is it could not survive.PREMISE2c = Therefore it does not have an independent existence which is one of the most important characteristics of a human.

Reductio ad absurdum- a fetus is not human because it does not have independent exsistence; dependence is not (or less than) a characteristic of a human, therefore anything that is dependent is not (or less than) a human. Such would lead one to conclude that babies, toddlers, etc. are not human as they are certainly dependent for survival.

Another reason that I am for abortion is that CLAIM3=in certain special cases, [as well as general associated risks,] carrying out a pregnancy can be life threatening to the woman.PREMISE3a=People that have diseases such as a heart or kidney disease can face many dangerous pregnancy complications that could result in death.PREMISE3b=Other conditions that can arise regardless of prior medical condition is hemorrhaging and obstructed labor. Hemorrhaging is when the muscles rupture or tear in the uterus and cause uncontrollable bleeding. An example of this is 37 year old Elizabeth Davis who lived in Danville, Virginia where she died of a heart attack after having massive blood loss the day after having vaginal delivry.PREMISE3c=Also during childbirth the body bpumps extra blood to the body and if it becomes too high the mother could face fatality. It has been reported that woman dying from pregnancy complications has nearly tripled over the past decade in California and have increased mildly in other parts of the U.S.

Non sequitur or Appeal to probability: it does not follow that general risks associated with pregnancy are grounds to terminate pregnancy... However, specific risks that endanger the mother may follow... You may want to concentrate those specifically.

Here is your strongest argument One other reason that I am pro abortion is that many women who seek to terminate their pregnancy are pregnant against their own will because of incidents involving rape. Rape is forced sex upon a woman and leaves them emotionally scarred and in many cases they are impregnated during the terrifying process. A woman who is raped and impregnated should not be forced to nurse a fetus of her tormentor for nine months as a constant reminder of the pain that was caused to her. A study done in the years 1998 and 2000 show that each year 25,000 pregnancies occurred from rape each year, and of these 9000 were aborted thanks to the choice given to us by law. If abortion was illegal that would mean a total 25,000 babies would be brought into the world against a woman's will as a product of sexual abuse.

I think the politically correct thing to say is "pro choice" rather than pro abortion! :-)

You wrote: "a fetus is not life." -- here is a fallacy. It's not a logical fallacy, but just an ordinary fallacy. If you google the "characteristics of living things" you'll see that it is life.


We all are dependent on our environment and cannot live without it.

Google this: When Does Human Life Begin?

And have you heard of partial birth abortions? Even late term abortions are obviously baby killing. I mean, that thing is obviously a baby with hands and a brain and all the rest... However, there is a reasonable argument for pro choice:

Keep it legal, because people have been aborting babies since the beginning of human life on earth, and they are going to do it no matter what the law says. Keeping it legal keeps it safe.

Even pro choice people can probably agree that abortion, though it may be the woman's right and may be appropriate according to some reasoning and in some circumstances, is kind of horrifying.

I mean, if we put the whole debate aside and just think of what it is, it is horrifying.

Do you think it is okay for a couple to have unprotected sex and just routinely get abortions when necessary?

Nevertheless, I am not arguing pro life or pro choice. I can't for an opinion, because it is one of those problems with no solution. Like I said, it is inherently horrifying, but we can't prevent it. That is a strong argument, I think.

One other reason that I am pro abortion is that many women who seek to terminate their pregnancy are pregnant against their own will because of incidents involving rape.--- I think this is a strong paragraph.

:-)