Coble 1
Warren Coble
Dr. Sunderbruch
English 102
March 2nd, 2016
Counterargument Paper
Should abortion be legal? I think abortion should be legal but Kristi Brown of
Life News has a different perspective. Brown provides three reasons why abortion should
be illegal. Brown states that “murder is illegal,” “the 14th Amendment was designed to
protect classes of people like the unborn,” and “federal laws already protect the unborn”
(Brown). Her arguments are understandable and I respect them but I found some core
flaws in her reasoning behind her claims.
Brown’s first reason for abortion being illegal is that “murder is illegal” (Brown).
Brown references a California Law to support her claim stating that “a deliberate
intention unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow creature” in her argument (Brown).
Her statements are true. Murder is illegal and it can be defined as “a deliberate intention
unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow creature.” I agree with everything that Brown
has said so far about murder. The only thing I do not agree with is her comparison of
murder and abortion. If her definition of murder is “to take away the life of a fellow
creature” then I find this flawed when comparing it to murder. If the idea of a “person” is
having developed a personality and emotional characteristics then how can an unborn
fetus that hasn’t matured past the physical development of its life be referred to as a
“fellow creature?”
Coble 2
Although what she’s stated is true, it is only true for murder not abortion.
Abortion is not the same murder. Abortion can be defined as “the deliberate termination
of a human pregnancy” according to Dictionary.com (“abortion”). It is not the same as
murder. Murder is illega. Abortion is legal and it has been since 1973. The United States
Supreme Court ruled on January 22, 1973 in the case of ROE v. WADE in favor of the
legalization of abortion. Her argument is saying that abortion is the same as murder but it
falls under the logical fallacy of composition/division, believing that what’s true for one
thing must be true for all or another part of the subject matter.
Brown states that “the 14th Amendment was designed to protect classes of people
like the unborn” (Brown). This statement on its own seems accurate based on average
perceptions of the 14th Amendment but its not until what’s written in the amendment is
