Shadowing Practice: 18 歲大一生 vs 反墮胎倡議者：不被想要的孩子該不該生？｜美國校園辯論・中英字幕 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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206 sentences
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I couldn't think of anything less normal than going and killing your child through an abortion.
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I think it's very normal, actually.
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You call it, like, killing and stuff, but I say, so what?
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You said it was killing earlier.
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Yeah, but I say, so what?
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It can be murder, no shade.
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It can really be murder.
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But the thing about it is, why do you feel this way about abortion?
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Like, what is your whole opinion on it?
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Yes, well, abortion ends an innocent human life, and I'm against ending innocent human lives okay
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so can I ask you personally like do you have kids
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I do not okay are you like do you want to have any kids maybe okay are you like married
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or whatever okay so I feel like you don't realize all the extra things
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that come with becoming a mother and becoming a parent at the wrong time especially when you're in like a really
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i guess bad situation for example i'm not gonna say oh like it's the only thing
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because is i guess we can both agree
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that is like horrible nobody should have to go through
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that especially getting impregnated after that but i mean like usual stuff
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when you're put in a bad position like oh let's say
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like a 16 year old girl got pregnant by her boyfriend
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but you know she has a long way ahead of herself
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but having a baby means
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that she came from a low -income family living like in the trailer park
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and stuff like that she has a bunch of siblings
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and a mother who's gonna have to take care of her baby on top of all
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that do you think that just because oh
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she made the choice to have sex but she didn't want to get pregnant
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and have a baby
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that means she just automatically has to deal with bringing a
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baby into a more rougher situation where the child isn't going
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to have any like good things besides just getting fed basically
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like the way human life is literally just like oh
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if they're if they have a house over their head
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and just are getting fed then automatically like your life is just great i don't know who's saying
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that um but i think
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that yes maybe them being
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then growing up temporarily in a lower income family is better
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than them getting their rims their limbs ripped from their body
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well some people don't really like some people get their abortions really really early
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so stuff like that doesn't really like go down immediately the baby still dies though yeah
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but that's the way of life like sometimes stuff like
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that has to happen to be honest to make sure
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because there's things like oh if i were to get pregnant me personally
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if i were to get pregnant clearly that's not good for me to be having a child right now like
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because i'm 18 years old i'm a freshman in high school
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i mean high school sorry i just got a freshman in college like there's no point like literally
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that would mess up everything
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that i'm trying to mess up everything it might make things a little bit more difficult
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but i think you seem like a strong young woman who makes smart decisions
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and you a hundred percent would be able to take care of a child
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and go to school i'm not saying it's going to be easy want to take care of a child
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and so guess what
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if you don't want to take care of a child do not have sex it is foolproof the thing
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but the thing about it is we have the right to have sex the way the way
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you do i'm sorry this thing is kind of short can i lift
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this yep you have the right to have sex but then you
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when once you conceive a child
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which is a total totally normal thing to happen after
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you have heterosexual sex that's how we all got here you don't then to just go kill your child
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that is the the i couldn't think of anything less normal than going
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and killing your child through an abortion i think it's very normal actually you call it like killing
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and stuff but i say
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so what you said it was killing earlier yeah what is it i say
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so what it can be murder no shade i it can really be murder
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but the thing about it is
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but the thing about it is things like this are actually necessary
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because living with there's a bunch of mothers who are young
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who also like i have a friend who's a teen mother she constantly tells me like she really thinks
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that that was not the best choice for her to have that child
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because she was pregnant by the wrong person at the wrong time she was supposed to go to college
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and really she would have been not dealing with the burden of having a baby
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so do you think she should be able to kill her baby
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now her she's here now why would he why would she do
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that he's here now exactly
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so why would she kill him before he's born what's the difference it's the same baby difference is
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that it's not in the side of her anymore yeah wouldn't
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you want your parents to want you though there is somebody who wants them
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it may not be their biological parents but there is no child
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that is unwanted there are over two million families waiting to adopt foster care who's
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so we should just kill unwanted kids yeah oh wow okay yeah
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they're not needed like there's not there's no need for a child
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that a mother is not ready for
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or a child that's not going to be parented the right way
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or put in a good situation like a good situation is
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two people who are mutually ready to have a child
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and parent this child and raise them in a good
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so would you say that i i would have been better off aborted
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because i didn't have those two parents who were in love with each other at least one
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i didn't my parents were separated since i was going after going off what you just said.
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Mm -hmm.
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That children should be born to two people who are ready to have a kid.
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Okay.
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Would I have been better off aborted?
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Your parents weren't ready to have you?
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Like, I'm just asking.
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No, they didn't plan it.
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They weren't barely even together.
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It was not an ideal situation at all.
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Would it have been better if my mom would have killed me through abortion?
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No, I'm saying it would have been better if your mom had the choice.
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She gave you.
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She did have the choice.
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She got the choice to have you.
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So that clearly she wanted you on top of that.
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So it's not as
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if you were an unwanted child where she wasn't ready for you in all aspects like
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if there's all
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so many aspects where it's just like this child is not
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needed to have to become in this world are you a christian no okay do you believe
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that um anybody is a mistake or do you think
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that everybody has purpose i wouldn't say anybody is a mistake
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but i'm saying that how do i say this i'm saying
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that every mother should have the choice to have the child that she
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that she wants most situations is where a woman just says
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i don't want this child i'm not ready
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i don't feel like i have enough money it's i don't want this child
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and that's valid most abortions so she should just be able to kill her child
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so when should that end when should we draw that cutoff line
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when should we drug
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that cover do you mean like in the process of any point i mean
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because there there are some people who believe
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that you should be able to have post -birth abortions like
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i feel like around like the 20 something week where your child can live outside of you without
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without you like them growing stuff like that but
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if your child can't live without you there's a certain point in time like obviously
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i don't agree with nobody getting an abortion at seven months
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your child is what's the difference the baby is huge
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but the difference baby i never said it wasn't fetus baby
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so why should why should
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because what you're doing right
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now it's it's being a little ageist like you're saying older older babies deserve life no younger babies don't no
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i'm saying there's a there's a period of time where it's like it's also morality morality you know
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that your child you can feel your child kicking or
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and all this extra stuff up inside of you like there's no reason to like wait
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so long to do it this is what you look like yeah
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and you can't do nothing with that like you can leave them alone
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and let them grow so that they can be like you one day
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and have a life
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and have experiences like my parents wanted to have me though my parents were ready to have me
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they weren't together that you were unwanted
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that does not give your mother
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i don't want to i wouldn't want to be in a world where my family
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when my parents do not want me to be honest no
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like i there's a lot of children like you guys are more
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that decision then instead of your parents making it for you no
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because there wouldn't be no decisions for me to make it's not i'm non -existent
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so what's the point you don't understand how non -existent at
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that point you sound right now
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that you're on a college campus you have your life
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and you're sitting here and you're looking because i was wanted other human beings
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and saying because they're unwanted they don't have the same parents
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and the same life I feel like you're more worried about the fetuses
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that are inside and are not born than the actual children who are alive
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and in foster care and the ones who are really not wanted
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and the ones who are wondering why did my parents not want me because they didn't have the choice.
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And they're still worthy of life.
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That is not why.
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Nobody said they're not worthy.
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I'm saying that their parents, their mothers, I'm saying their mothers should have gotten the choice to have them if they wanted to have them,
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not because they were pressured.
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And nobody should be pressuring any woman to have a child that they are not ready for and do not want.
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Yeah, nobody should be pressuring women to not murder their children, is what you're saying.
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Oh, well, it's one of the best things.
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But you think that instead of fixing the system that needs reforming...
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It's not fixed.
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You're not listening.
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No, but the thing about it is, like I'm saying, it is fixed.
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Do you want to listen or do you just want to respond?
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Abortion is a form of health care and it's needed for women who are not ready.
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Do you want to listen to what I have to say
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or do you want to respond?
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you can say what you have to say okay are you ready to listen
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i've been listening okay you are saying
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that we should kill the victims of a system
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that needs reforming you
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and i both agree victims of what of a system you just said the foster care system
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and the adoption system about that's not what i'm talking about i didn't say kill them okay
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i'm i'm i'm confused you didn't saying i'm
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You're talking about the kids in foster care?
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You care about abortion, right?
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Are you talking about the kids in foster care?
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I never said you should kill them.
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You are saying that it would be better for them to be aborted than for them to be in that system.
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No, I'm not.
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I'm saying it would have been better
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if their parents were not ready for them and did not want them
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and they were put in a situation where they were not supposed to.
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Help them.
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Help them.
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No, help them because they're already here.
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You shouldn't be worried about the ones that are not here, haven't lived a life or anything.
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they're getting aborted then oh well that's not affecting you in absolutely no way
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because mind you you have not experienced have you had an abortion absolutely yes
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i'm sure you haven't you haven't experienced nothing at the wrong time no i haven't
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but i haven't even been pregnant before why are you where in the dorm women why are you saying
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that women cannot go to school
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and also be a parent in their dorm you have to wait for stuff like
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that you have to deal with nine months of stress and then nurturing and taking care of your child.
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a couple months i'm aware of how pregnancy works
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it's a whole pause on everything that's not a good situation pause
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it's just an additional blessing it's not a blessing a blessing is a woman who is deemed infertile
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and then gets pregnant by her husband and oh lo behold it's a miracle
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that she actually can have kids
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and wants to have kids a miracle is not somebody who gets knocked up
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you have a very distorted view of human life and it's really scary Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “18 歲大一生 vs 反墮胎倡議者：不被想要的孩子該不該生？｜美國校園辯論・中英字幕”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: parent, abortion, baby, mother. This video has 206 sentences and 2313 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:08. The speaker talks fast, about 208 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| abortion noun | /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/ | A spontaneous abortion; a miscarriage. |
| foster verb | /ˈfɒstə/ | To nurture or bring up offspring, or to provide similar parental care to an unrelated child. |
| unwanted adjective | /ʌnˈwɒntɪd/ | Not wanted; unwelcome. |
| blessing noun | /ˈblɛs.ɪŋ/ | Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward. |
| innocent adjective | /ˈɪnəsənt/ | Free from guilt, sin, or immorality. |
| aspect noun | /ˈæspɛkt/ | Any specific feature, part, or element of something. |
| worthy adjective | /ˈwɝ.ði/ | Having worth, merit, or value. |
| shade noun | /ʃeɪd/ | Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked. |
| miracle noun | /ˈmɪɹ.ə.kəl/ | An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin. |
| pause noun | /pɔːz/ | A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation. |
| freshman noun | /ˈfɹɛʃ.mən/ | a person (of either sex) entering the first year of an institution, especially a high school (ninth grade for US, grade 9 for Canada, grade 7 for Philippines)… |
| morality noun | /məˈɹælɪti/ | Recognition of the distinction between good and evil or between right and wrong; respect for and obedience to the rules of right conduct; the mental… |
| fetus noun | /ˈfiːtəs/ | An unborn or unhatched vertebrate showing signs of the mature animal. |
| existent adjective | /ɪɡˈzɪst(ə)nt/ | existing; having life or being, current; occurring now |
| confused adjective | /kənˈfjuːzd/ | unable to think clearly or understand |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mess up verb | To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss. | |
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. | |
| go off verb | To explode. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| knock up verb | /nɒk ʌp/ | To put together, fabricate, or assemble, particularly if done hastily or temporarily. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I think it's very normal, actually.
- Would I have been better off aborted?
- Your parents weren't ready to have you?
- You're talking about the kids in foster care?
- Are you talking about the kids in foster care?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is unwanted · be parented · were separated |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | woman who makes · somebody who wants · people who are |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have been · haven't lived · have not experienced |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 88 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: abortion /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/, shade /ʃeɪd/, freshman /ˈfɹɛʃ.mən/, adoption /əˈdɑp.ʃən/, heterosexual /ˌhɛtəɹəˈsɛkʃuəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: morality /məˈɹælɪti/, biological /ˌbaɪ.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/, temporarily /ˌtɛmpəˈɹɛɹəli/, dormitory /ˈdɔɹ.mɪˌtɔɹ.i/, heterosexual /ˌhɛtəɹəˈsɛkʃuəl/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like abortion, foster, unwanted.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.