Jessica Hull
Cata 101
Persuasive Outline
11-25-02
Abortion
Introduction
Attention Material: Show the audience a quarter and explain that during the time
most unborn babies are aborted, they are the size of a quarter.
Thesis/Overview: In my last speech, I explained what abortion is, court cases
involving abortion, and the different procedures used to abort unborn children.
Today, I am going to explain why abortion is wrong and should not be legal in
the United States. I am going support this belief by explaining the risks
involved, the opinions of other people and groups, and scientific evidence. I am
also going to offer a few solutions to this problem.
Motivation: These are some photos of children photographs of children who have
bee aborted at during different parts of development using the procedures I
explained to you in my last speech.
Ethos: As you can see all of these babies' lives have been cut drastically short
simply because they were not wanted.
Thought Pattern Problem-Solution
(Transition) (First I'm going to explain exactly what the problem with abortion
is.)
Body
I. Problem: The problem I found with abortion after doing so much research on
the topic is that it takes the life of an innocent child that is a living thing.
(Transition) (To explain how I came to this conclusion, I am first going to
explain different physical and mental health problems that can be caused by
abortions.)
A. There are many health risks involved with having an abortion.
1. Abortion has been linked to Breast Cancer.
a. According to a January 1995 issue of Medical Sciences Bulletin, "...induced
abortions increase the risk of breast cancer."
b. This same issue also reports that there was "...a greater risk of breast
cancer for women who reported one or more induced abortions than for women who
had carried their fetuses to term," but the article also says that the risk is
not increased by miscarriages.
c. The study determined a fifty percent greater risk for women who had abortions
as opposed to those who did not. (www.prolifeinfo.org)
2. Abortions can also cause a decline the mental health of women who have them.
a. The Elliot Institute reported in July of 2000 that "women who undergo
abortions are at a greater risk of mental health problems in subsequent
years..."
b. "Women who had abortions were more than twice as likely to have two to nine
treatments for mental health as women who carried to term." (Elliot Institute 1)
3. Abortions have also been found to increase the death rates in women who have
had them.
a. The Elliot Institute also reported in March 2000 that Finland has reported,
"...the risk of death from suicide is six times higher for women who have had an
abortion compared to women who gave birth."
b. The study also showed that in the year immediately after an abortion, "the
risk of dying from accidents or homicide was four and twelve times higher."
(Elliot Institute 2)
(Transition) (There are many risks involved with having abortions, which is one
reason I believe they should be outlawed.)
B. The fact that so many people in the United States are against abortion is
another significant reason to stop it.
1. A majority of people in the United States are pro-life.
a. According to Wirthlin Worldwide poll in January of 1998, 59% of those polled
were pro-life.
b. In fact, 61% of women are pro-life as opposed to 53% of men. (Wirthlin
Worldwide)
2. Various religious organizations have also come out to proclaim a pro-life
stance.
a. The Catholics Bishop Conference spoke out against abortion in early November
2002.
b. The Bishops called the "...Roe v. Wade decision, "disastrous to our nation."
(Cybercast News Service)
c. Lutherans have also come out against abortion.
d. At the National Lutherans for Life Convention Pastor Laurence L. White
proclaimed "...the killing must stop...The time for silence is over." (Lutherans
for Life)
3. Many women themselves have come out against abortion as well.
a. Patricia Heaton who stars in the television series Everybody Loves Raymond
serves as honorary chair for the organization Feminists for life.
b. Margaret Colin who starred in Independence Day and Three Men and a Baby
became co-chair of the organization.
c. Kate Mulgrew who appears in Star Trek: Voyager proclaimed that she was "...a
liberal Democrat," who believes "Life is sacred to me on all levels. Abortion
does not compute with my philosophy.
d. The two women "who started the women's movement in America," Elizabeth Cady
Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were also against abortion.
e. Stanton once wrote, "When we consider that women are treated as property, it
is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be
disposed of as we see fit." (Keating 1-3)
(Transition) (Because there are so many people who are against abortion, I
believe the courts should reconsider the Roe v. Wade decision.)
C. Scientific evidence that proves abortion is murder is the strongest reason I
have found for outlawing abortion.
1. Joseph C. Howard, the Director of the American Bioethics Advisory Commission
gave strong evidence as to why abortion is wrong.
a. He writes, "Studies involving ultrasonography, electronic fetal heart
monitoring, amniocentesis, chorionic villi sampling, radioimmunochemistry,
fetoscopy, and contact embryoscopy all lead to one and only one valid
conclusion: human life begins at the moment of fertilization."
b. Prof. Jerome LeJeune, perhaps the "most eminent geneticist in the world,"
said, "Each human has a unique beginning which occurs at the moment of
conception. A unique personal constitution s spelled out for the specific human
being created, whose personal constitution has not occurred before and will
never occur again." (Howard 1)
c. An article from abortionfacts.com titled "Why Can't We Love Them Both" by Dr.
and Mrs. J.C. Willke, explains the position of Dr. Liley, "who did the first
fetal blood transfusion in the womb."
d. The Doctor stated, "seven days after fertilization the young individual, in
command of his environment and destiny with a tenacious purpose, implants in the
spongy lining of and with a display of physiological power, suppresses his
mother's menstrual period. This is his home for the next 270 days and to make it
habitable, the embryo develops a placenta and protective capsule of fluid for
himself. He also solves, single-handed, the homograft problem, that dazzling
feat by which foetus and mother, although immunological foreigners who could not
exchange skin grafts nor safely receive blood from each other, never the less
tolerate each other in parabiosis for nine months." (abortionfacts.com)
e. Joseph Howard's article also explains how the fetus develops in the womb.
i. "...At three weeks after fertilization the heart is beating..."
ii. "By week four "...the nervous system begins to develop as well as the
respitory system."
iii. "At six weeks, brain activity starts and is measurable."
iv. "At seven weeks the immune system has begun to function...and by eleven
weeks, ...there is some ability to fight infection."
v. "Already for one month now, the human embryo/human fetus has been capable of
rotating his head, bending his elbow, and sucking his thumb." (Howard 2-3)
(Transition) (As the scientific evidence proves, the human life begins at
fertilization and continues until birth.)
II. Solution: There are many ways to find a solution to the abortion problem, I
will explain a few that can help bring about an end to abortion.
A. Now I am going to explain some court rulings that may help to form a solution
to the abortion problem.
1. One Missouri law may help to change laws in other states.
a. According to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in early November
2002, "Missouri law allows prosecutors to consider the death of a baby before
birth in the same way they would consider other murders."
b. This law allowed a man to be convicted of the murders of both his girlfriend
and her unborn child and sentenced to life in prison. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
2. A Bill Pending in the Texas legislature would also help to make women more
aware of what abortion involves and the risks of abortion.
a. "Rep. Frank Corte filed a bill that would require a woman to sign a form
stating that she was given the chance to review information about abortion's
risks and alternatives, as well as information on fetal development, before
obtaining an abortion."
b. "Similar pro-life laws in other states have proven successful in reducing
abortion rates." (Dallas Morning News)
3. President Bush has also taken a stand against abortion.
a. Bush says he may cut funding for the World Health Organization "...because of
its research into the dangerous abortion drug RU-486."
b. A spokesman for Mr. Bush said, "We can't support any activity that supports
abortion as a method of family planning or that motivates or coerces people into
practicing abortion, so we would not use our money to support RU-486
research..." (Agence France-Presse)
4. The Washington Times also had promising reports for pro-lifers.
a. Two bills are pending in the House of Representatives that would "...make it
a crime to take teen girls across state lines for abortions...and legislation
that would punish criminals who kill or injure an unborn child in the process of
a violent crime committed against a pregnant mother."
b. Experts expect both of these bills to pass both Houses of Congress in 2003.
c. A more promising bill that would ban partial birth abortions is also expected
to be signed into law next year. (Washington Times)
(Transition) (While none of these laws bans abortion altogether, they are all a
step in the right direction.)
Conclusion
Underview: After learning of all the risks involved with abortion, the many
people who are against abortion, and the scientific evidence that supports my
belief that life begins at conception, I am even more convinced as, I hope you
are that abortion should be illegal in the United States. While the solutions to
the problem are not an outright ban to abortion, they are moving in that
direction and I hope a bill to ban this practice will not be far away.
Last Thought: I hope the next time you look at a quarter you will realize that
you were once that tiny and you were given the opportunity to live unlike babies
who are that small who are not given the opportunity. I hope that you will also
see that the murders of 3,250 innocent children everyday in the U.S. is wrong
and should be stopped.
References
www.proinfolife.org. Induced Abortion and Breast Cancer: The Scientific
Evidence. Medical Sciences Bulletin. Publ. Pharmaceutical Information
Associates, Ltd. January 1995.
Elliot Institute. Women's Health Declines After Abortion While Childbirth Helps.
July 26, 2000.
Elliot Institute Press Release. Substance Abuse Five Times Higher After
Abortion. March 20, 2000.
Wirthlin Worldwide. Poll. January 1998.
Cybercast News Service. Catholic Bishops Call Roe v. Wade "Disastrous" at Natl.
Meeting. November 12, 2002.
Lutherans for Life. National Lutherans for Life Convention Encourages Pro-Life
Lutherans. November 12, 2002.
Keating, Raymond J. Newsday. Hollywood Feminists Offer Voice to Pro-Life
Movement. November 5, 2002.
Howard, Joseph C. American Bioethics Advisory Commission. Personhood. January
19, 2001.
www.abortionfacts.com. Why Can't We Love Them Both. Dr. and Mrs. J.C. Willke.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Man Gets Life in Prison for Killing Pregnant Girlfriend
and Her Baby. November 9, 2002.
Dallas Morning News. Texas Legislator Introduces Right to Know Bill. November
14, 2002.
Agence France-Presse. Abortion Drug May Prompt Bush to Cut WHO Funding. November
7, 2002.
Washington Times. Pro-Life Groups Prepare Legislative Strategy Following
Election. November 12, 2002.