So, to wrap this, here's what I garnered:

1) There was only one argument that was clear, logical, and rational - that a unique combination of human DNA constitutes a human life. That happens at conception. Since that is a unique human and all humans "own themselves" and in so doing must be afforded the right to not having force used upon them. That said, it also seems arbitrary in that at the point when the first fertilized cell divides, nobody could rationally point to the 2 cells as a human being, capable of self-sustainment independently. Thus, logically, how can this entity be considered a human being of the same sort as all other humans. At best, this seems to be the potential to become a human.

2) Arguments that pregnancy is akin to slavery are fallacious. One cannot enslave oneself with a voluntary act. Slavery can only be a function of involuntary action, not the known consequence of voluntary action. This is an excuse given by those that seek to absolve themselves of the responsibility of their own action.

3) Arguments that the physical act of human birth is some sort of demarcation between non-humanness and humanity do not stand up to logic, and are utterly arbitrary. Such justification is fallacious. One cannot use an arbitrary time or mystical passage through the birth canal (or caesarian birth) as a basis for delineating humanity. Such action is completely arbitrary.

4) The most heinous argument was that humanity only occurs with "consciousness" which itself only occurs some time period after actual birth - which is just insane. Such rationale would logically lead to infanticide, a situation that is morally reprehensible, illogical, and irrational.

Several wanted to create smokescreens or otherwise not rationally and logically address the issue. Some espoused direct quotes from AR without additional critical analysis as to why that applies.

The issue of rape (and the included violation of incest) was not included.

Only one argument started to go in the direction that I believe is the only logical, rational, and defensible one. But when pressed, that individual backed down without completing the rational argument.

- It is only rational that the human that is born from the mother's womb and is acknowledged as a human would retain that humanity in the moments just before birth. This human could exist and survive in a capacity recognized as human for some time prior to actual birth, the difference being a mere matter of moments, and but for circumstance that action could have been earlier or later.

- It is just as rational that the entity that exists at the first division of the first fertilized cell is not a human being, as it could not conceivably exist on its own and function in any conceptual way as a human being.

- Somewhere between these two extremes lies the point of humanity. It is unknown to all. As such, we must guard the rights of the human to be in a reasonable and rational manner. Current medical capability would say that an entity up to, let us say 3 months, cannot exist on its own nor can medical technology sustain such a being and bring it to fulfillment and thus cannot be considered a human and does not have "rights."
As medical technology and capability improves, this point may not be valid and may need to be changed.
The point at which an entity can exist on its own is further along, but genetics and medical technology makes identifying the specific point impossible, thus we must err on the side of protection of that humans' rights.

In my opinion, that is the only rational, logical, and defensible reasoning possible on the subject.

The easy questions do not make a moral code, rather the difficult ones. This is one of the most difficult. Why are there so few Objectivists that want to make a rational argument?

So, nobody cares to present a rational argument?

I personally have mixed feelings about the issue of abortion. On the one hand, I think it should always be an option in the case of a rape, and probably for incest as well. But on the other hand, some doctors recommend abortions for fetuses that they think are developing abnormally, which makes me uneasy, as it almost sounds like a form of eugenics. Plus, doctors aren't always right.

Though at the end of the day, I have to admit the fact that regardless of what I feel, and regardless of what the law says, abortions are going to happen, whether I approve of them or not. Even if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, and abortions were made illegal once again, all that would do is cause a black market for abortions to open up and fill the economic demand. And in lieu of standardized, professional grade procedures being preformed by trained doctors and nurses using specialized surgical tools in sanitized clinics and hospitals, abortions would instead take place in dirty basements and back alleyways, preformed by any unskilled layman or hack who a woman, in her hour of darkest desperation, could persuade to stick a metal rod or rusty egg beater up inside of her.

And then on top of that, making abortions illegal would require the dramatic expansion of the industrial prison complex, as well as reinforcing the police state and enabling it to hunt down, capture, and prosecute any would-be abortionists who provided their seedy services to desperate women in need – and there's no guarantee the court system would not attempt to prosecute the women as well. After all, if abortion were to be legally reclassified as a form of murder, would that not make every woman who had one, if not the primary perpetrator, then at least an accomplice in the act? Can you imagine the effect this would have on society, on women, and especially on young teenage girls who simply wanted to erase that awful drunken mistake they made on senior prom night, but instead found themselves being prosecuted and inducted into the criminal justice system on charges of murder? Is that really a more preferable alternative to what we have now? Somehow, I just can't bring myself to say it is.

I don't know how many people here have seen it, but there's a movie called "The Cider House Rules" in which the theme of abortion actually plays a major role in the story. It's a really good movie, and I highly recommend it, especially to anyone who has concerns about the issue of abortion.

You can watch a trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4D2Hog1t...