Abortion

Abortion is a huge controversial topic between candidates in a presidential election. Not only are there other important issues that exist in the world today. Abortion always seems to be the constant issue that arises in a presidential debate. For a candidate to be pro-choice or pro-life is a big position to take. No matter what the choice is, somebody is going to have a strong opinion on their views. A man by the name of Scott Klusendorf is president of the Life Training Institute. He travels throughout the United States and Canada training abortion opponents to defend their views in the public square. He gives advise to presidential candidates on how to answer different types of questions without offending the opponent or his/her supporters. In my opinion there is no easy way to defend one side better than the other. However, Abortion is always going to be a controversial topic, and knowing to defend your views and answer hard questions will be key for candidates in the upcoming elections.

A "Pro-Lifer" Argument

Scott Klusendorf, Author of Pro-Life 101: A Step by Step Guide to Making Your Case Persuasively, considers the following argument:

Rhetoric: Know what the unborn is.
In order to take a stance in the “pro-life” or the “pro-choice” debate, one needs to know what is being killed in an abortion. There is a biological and a philosophical debate that needs to be unanimously agreed upon in what the unborn is. He thinks that it is largely a moral issue. If babies, at any part of the pregnancy are considered alive, then he agrees with “Pro-Choicers” that abortion is bad. The four main differences between human beings and embryos are;

Size
Level of Development
Environment
Degree of Dependency

He believes that no one should discriminate the unborn based on these four differences. If the unborn are not human, then there needs to be discussion of what options should be made available for women seeking an abortion.
Scott claims abortion is the new racism, or prejudice, we face in this generation.

A "Pro-Choicer" Argument

Nadine Strossen is the President of the ACLU. ACLU is the American Civil Liberties Union.
They claim on their website their mission is to:

preserve all of these protections and guarantees:
Your First Amendment rights-freedom of speech, association and assembly. Freedom of the press, and freedom of religion supported by the strict separation of church and state.
Your right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.
Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.
[1]
Nadine talks of what it is to be Pro-Choice. She wishes to prevent abortion and an advocate of abortions due to rape. She stated in her presentation that approximately 50% of abortions are unplanned, and 30,000 are from rape. She backs Bill Clinton’s belief that abortions should be Safe, Legal, and Rare. She also believes it is a woman’s body, and that the unborn are still a part of the woman’s body and thus, it is her decision whether or not to abort. She referenced a case, PP vs Casey, that went to the Supreme Court that agreed that there is a Respect Realm of Pro-Creation that the Government can not touch. This private realm includes Marriage, Child-Rearing, Religious Rights, and other things of a personal nature.
Woman should be educated on healthy choices. Nadine emphasizes women’s equality, rights, and Reproductive Freedom.

Candidates Standings on the Issue of Abortion:

Giuliani: Has stated that he is pro-choice, but he is not supportive of partial birth abortions. [2]

McCain: he has stated that he is pro-life with exceptions for rape victims and when the mother’s life is in danger. [3]

Clinton: She has said that she is pro-choice [5]

Edwards: he has been quoted by the Vote-Smart Presidential National Political Awareness Test as saying “I support a woman's right to choose and believe this that right is constitutionally protected. I also support funding for family planning.” [6]

Obama: He has been a leader in the Illinois legislature in the battle to protect a women’s right to choose and promote equal economic rights and opportunities. [4]

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