So You Want to Write a Paper on Abortion
If you've gotten this far then you have access to the Internet. Congratulations! I will be providing you with a list of links where you can get information about the right of a woman, and the right of a family, to choose. If you find this information in any way deficient you have other resources at hand - first, your local library. If you write this paper without a trip to the library then you deserve a "D". Stop being a lazy Christian, get off your butt and go. Ask the librarian how to find the information you need. Research. Read. Take notes. Discuss the issue with different people. Write. Rewrite, and rewrite again. Learning isn't supposed to be easy, but if you do it correctly it will be a thing of joy forever.

How to Formulate an Argument
You may think of an argument as a quarrel or dispute, something your parents have after you've gone to bed. But what your teacher means by "argument" is, a course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood. Reasoning is not the same as expressing outrage, name calling, emotional appeals, or flat out assertions of rightness or wrongness, and neither is it a litany of what you think God thinks. Emotional displays of any kind only reduce the credibility of your argument.

"The sleep of reason produces monsters." - Goya

Here are some samples of possible arguments:
1. If life begin at conception then abortion is the taking of a human life. Since we cannot yet know if life begins at conception or not, there is a 50:50 chance that abortion takes a human life. Until we know for certain we, as a society, are putting our morals and our humanity at risk by making an assumption that has as much of a chance being wrong as being right.
2. Studies indicate that young women who have, understand, and take advantage of their options after high school are less likely to have an unplanned pregnancy or abortion. We can lower the incidence of abortion by insuring and encouraging the options of high school girls.
3. While Christian conservatives actively oppose abortion, twenty percent of all abortions are had by women who describe themselves as "born again." The Christian church cannot expect of secular society the values that it has failed to impress upon its own members. I am presenting three things the Christian church must do to reduce abortions among its members and create healing for those who have felt driven to this act.

Notice - no namecalling, no assertions of right and wrong, not even a mention of "pro-life" or "pro-choice." But what you do have is an opportunity to learn something for yourself and transmit what you've learned to others.

Judging the Validity of a Source
Should you quote Miss Poppy Dixon? I'd give you a "D" if you did. After all, you found me on the Internet. Anyone can say anything on the Internet. What you need are books, magazines, journals, and newspaper articles. Some of the things you should look at when judging a source are who the author is, what discipline or group he comes from, and what his bias may be. Let's look at some examples: Sapphire Blue and Concerned Women for America.

Concerned Women for America posted the following in a press release, "Planned Parenthood Abuses Christmas - Celebration of Christ's Birth Used to Promote Abortion. If the group had existed 2000 years ago, it would have targeted Mary, an unwed, pregnant teenager, for a profitable abortion. A press release is written to attract attention and provide sound bites for media outlets. This would not be a good thing to quote in a paper as it is purely speculation driven by a desire to erode the credibility of Planned Parenthood. While you may agree with what they are saying it will not help the credibility of your argument.

At Sapphire Blue is the picture of a woman killed in an illegal back-alley abortion. While it is heart-wrenching and tragic, just like photographs of aborted feti, the goal is to provoke an emotional response and not to craft a valid argument and add something constructive to the debate.

You would be much better off starting with research. Look through the following sites. These should provide many ideas for a paper and sound facts from which to formulate your arguments and provide valid materials that point you in the direction of other supporting facts. And remember, it is WOMEN who need and have abortions, so don't limit your search to "abortion".

Barna Research
The Alan Guttmacher Institute
Thomas - Legislative Information on the Internet
Supreme Court of the United States
World Health Organization
CIA Factbook

Now remember, Miss Poppy says, "If you don't care enough about 'unborn babies' to do an excellent job on your paper, then you're nothing but talk."

PS If you want me to read and critique your paper before you turn it in I'll be happy to do so. Send it to misspoppy@jesus21.com.