The Harvard Political Union (HPU) hosted its first debate of the semester over the legal, moral, and philosophical issues of abortion yesterday.

Held in a Science Center classroom, the debate pitted members of Harvard Students for Choice (SFC) against members of Harvard Right to Life (HRL), before an audience of about 75 students.

SFC board member Jessica C. Coggins ‘08 and Alyssa E. King ‘08, who is not a member of the SFC, clashed against former HRL vice president Laura E. Openshaw ‘05 and HRL President Catherine C. Roche ‘06.

Moderated by HPU member Amelia S. Canter ’07, the debate opened with five-minute statements from each side. Canter then alternated questions between the two teams. Either was allowed either a one-minute response or a rebuttal to each question. The debate lasted an hour.

“It’s an issue that definitely needs some discussion,” said Ryan M. McCaffrey ‘07, who attended the debate. “When you don’t have that much time to talk, you don’t really get down to what the debate is really about.”

The floor was then opened to student questions, most of which addressed the ethical issues of abortion. While Openshaw and Roche answered these questions, King refused to do so, saying she wanted to discuss only the legal aspects of abortion.

“I was surprised that the pro-choice side refused to address the moral side of the debate,” McCaffrey said later. “I thought they could’ve addressed it in a much better fashion.”

But Coggins said later that she did not expect to “change people’s minds.”

“We bring new legal arguments to the table, and provide a more nuanced view of the state’s role in abortion,” she said. “We want students to think.”

HRL, which does volunteer work with local pregnancy centers in Boston, also heads up a program which facilitates the process for students who want to opt out of the portion of the Student Health Services Fee that funds abortions.

“We want to make sure that this issue is in the rhetoric, and that it’s on people’s minds,” Roche said. “We feel that there’s a right answer, and we try to convince as many people as we can that abortion is not that answer.”

The abortion debate is the first in a series of debates HPU has planned for this semester. Topics of discussion will include gun control, drug legalization, and social security. A debate between Palestinian and Israeli students is currently being planned for after spring break.

Harvard Political Union Chair Vivek G. Ramaswamy ’07 said he was pleased with the high caliber of the debate.

“What was unique about it was that the people who came really have strong emotions tied to abortion, and that shapes their political views,” Ramaswamy said.

“The point of these debates is to open up free dialogue, and provide a forum to foster political debate,” he said. “We want to get people to talk, and to broaden their mindsets.”