Abortion remains one of the most controversial issues in our society today. Pro-life supporters are those who are against abortion and who believe abortion is in all cases wrong. Pro-choice supporters are those who are in favor of abortion and who believes that whatever a woman does with her body is her choice. Patricia Bauer and Don Marquis are both scholars who wrote in depth articles explaining their views on abortion in an effort to spur their audience into action. Even though the both share same views, they use different and strong rhetorical strategies, mainly logos, ethos, and pathos, to get their message across their audience and to show the effectiveness and seriousness of their arguments. In his essay “why abortion is immoral”, Don …show more content…
Marquis is an ethics and medical ethics philosopher. Marquis is currently professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas. His field works and advanced degree is enough for him to gain more trust from his audience. To bolster the credibility of his claims, Marquis quotes fellow experts and scholars throughout his article. For example, he quotes George Robert who stated that, “In the case of ordinary sexual reproduction, the life of an individual human being begins with complete fertilization” (188). This quotation helps Marquis identify with the audience and speak to his credibility and trustworthiness. After identifying with the audience and gaining credibility and trustworthiness, Marquis begins emotionally appealing to his audience. Finally, Marquis backed up his claim using one general but strong emotional appeal, and then generated other examples using it. For example, when he stated that “the loss of one’s life deprives one of all the experiences, activities, projects and enjoyments that would otherwise have constituted one’s future” (189). He further tries to capture and appeal to the audience emotions by stating that “the loss of one’s life is one of the greatest issues one can suffer” …show more content…
Bauer’s credibility centers on the fact that she is a Washington post reporter and bureau chief. Although she is not an expert in abortion related issues, her own education and experience gives her enough credibility to offer a reasonable opinion on the topic. She can therefore, assume that her audience will listen, if not wholeheartedly embrace her ideas. Ethos can also be noted when she stated that her own daughter has Down syndrome (par.2). This shows that she’s writing from a more personal and experienced level and helps her earn the trust of her readers. Bauer’s appeal to logic is somewhat weak. Putting up a picture of Margret’s graduation from high school can be perceived as a logical evidence which she uses to appeal to the reader’s sensibilities. She also states “the abortion debate is not just about a woman’s right to choose whether to have a baby; it’s also about a woman’s right to choose which baby she wants to have” (par.15). This statement invites her audience to engage in logical reasoning as to the role a woman has to play in the decision making
Marian Faux is an author deeply engaged in writing about the basic personal matters of modern times. Her previous book, Childless by Choice, discussed the advantages and disadvantages of bearing children, and the effects that the legalization of abortion had on premature mothers. Yet, she channelled her visions of abortion into another book, Roe v Wade: The Untold Story of the Landmark Supreme Court Decision That Made Abortion Legal, where she not only, in depth, told the complete process of the Supreme Court case “Roe v Wade”, but also analyzed the worldwide aftermath of the decision, and the changes it brought in society. Prior to this effort, Faux attempted to summarize the subject of abortion into one book, in which, she claimed that “Abortion
She asserts that she can push herself and alter the shame and stigma around the problem by telling her own story and encourage others to do the same. Willis writes, "The shame and silence surrounding abortion is violence against women, a brutality that tends to further silence women," suggesting that these narratives are themselves a form of violence (Willis, 2007). Willis contributes to the de-stigmatization of the subject and fosters a more sympathetic and compassionate understanding of abortion by sharing both her own and other people's
A great number of women today are facing the issue unplanned pregnancies. Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in the world today. Valerie Tarico, the author of the article, “I Am Pro-Abortion, Not Just Pro-Choice: 10 Reasons Why We Must Support the Procedure and the Choice,” challenges to address issues that women face when going through an abortion. In her article, Tarico uses rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos and repetition to make her argument inducing. In her text, she addresses the common issues around abortion, arguing that abortion should be allowed, and is the right thing to do.
Rather than stating the argument, Willis poses it as a question, “Are the fetuses the moral equivalent of born human beings?” (Abortion Debate 76), thus showing how modern feminists can only support one side of the argument in their chosen stance, and cause limitations by doing so. In doing so, Willis shows how to some “extent… we objectify our enemy and define the terms of our struggle as might makes right, the struggle misses its point” (Ministries of Fear 210), which implies that feminists have completely missed the point of the argument by getting caught up in an answer. Rather than looking for a compromise or gray area, they exert their stance as the only solution that woman can have. Willis also shows how feminists fundamentally “see the primary goal of feminism as freeing omen from the imposition of so called ‘male values’, and creating an alternative culture based on ‘female values’”
Don Marquis’s purpose to his essay is to set out to prove that abortion is seriously wrong. He is addressing that abortion is morally wrong and should not be permitted except in certain cases. The authors thesis is “Abortion, except perhaps in rare instances, is seriously wrong”(Marquis, 754). Marquis’s purpose for exceptions or rare instances is to eliminate those instances that could be considered ethically controversial such as cases like abortion after rape or abortion during the first fourteen days after conception. Marquis provides another exception in the form of a pregnancy that could endanger a woman’s life and abortion when the fetus is anencephalic.
Essay On Why Abortion Is Immoral This article called “Why Abortion Is Immoral” written by Don Marquis argues and why abortion is prima facie impermissible. Marquis accesses both anti-abortion arguments and also pro-choicer’s claim to protect the legalization of abortion. My paper is going to understand and examine the the both sides arguments, and to attempt to recognize abortion is immoral.
Earlier in the text, Tisdale explains the reasons why women get abortions, “Women have abortions because they are too old, too young, too poor, and too rich, too stupid, and too smart” (Tisdale 382). As the quote suggests, there is conflicting reasons for abortions. Once again suggesting that abortion is a very complex topic, that must be looked at without such a black and white
Sallie Tisdale describes an uneducated sixteen-year-old girl that doesn’t even know how babies are formed. It was not the girl’s fault for getting pregnant; she was raped (Tisdale 416). Knowing this, the audience, like the author, feels compassion for the girl. It would be unfair to the girl if she couldn’t have the abortion. The audience recognizes that although abortion is cruel, it is needed.
Throughout Don Marquis’s article on why abortion is immoral, it is clear that he stands at a third party view on this controversial idea. Marquis is neither anti-abortion nor pro-choice, and he states different reasons why he thinks this throughout his article. Some of the reasons are that anti-abortionists’ views are too broad and pro-choicers’ views are too narrow, not enough research or factual information of the topic of abortion, and then towards the end he talks about how it may or may not be different with animals. First, Marquis talks about anti-abortion and the problems he sees from the pro-choice side, and then he talks about pro-choice and counteracts that with the problems an anti-abortionist would see. He believes abortion is immoral;
Abortion is not only a fluctuating concept in our society, but an ethical and emotional debate, as well. The image I have chosen presents concepts from a cultural and historical background, as well as presents an ethical, emotional, and logical appeal to the audience. The debate about abortion has simply been overblown and exhausted. The truth of the matter is, abortion is murder. Ending a life, whether innocent or guilty, is murder.
Question 1 Don Marquis believed that abortion is morally wrong, he supports this by uttering that what makes killing an unborn baby or fetus wrong is by depriving the right of living a life of future experiences, activities, and accomplishments, as these elements are what we consider valuable in someone’s life. According to Marquis killing a human being is equivalent to killing a fetus, (even though a fetus is not completely developed, and it’s not classified a human being) because terminating a pregnancy for whatever motive it could be, it robs the fetus of its inherent value, same with killing a person, by doing it so, you are stealing a person’s right to live, and taking away their purpose in this world. Continuously an example of this could be that fetus could become the future pioneer of modern medicine or technology, this is a valuable future not just for the fetus itself but to the world, so killing the fetus, will also prevent of new discoveries in medicine or technology which contributes to the rest of the world, so Marquis concluded that any action that averts a potential future its morally wrong. Question 6
In “A Defense of Abortion,” Judith Thomson argues with a unique approach regarding the topic of abortion. For the purpose of the argument, Thomas agrees to go against her belief and constructs an argument based on the idea that the fetus is a person at conception. She then formulates her arguments concerning that the right to life is not an absolute right. There are certain situations where abortion is morally permissible. She believes that the fetus’s right to life does not outweigh the right for the woman to control what happens to her own body.
They talked about seven lies pro-choicers believe but are morally incorrect. For example, pro-abortionist believe abortions are needed to prevent overpopulation. When in reality, America and many other countries are below the replacement rate needed to have a steady population. They provided evidence of doctors that confirm their argument that human life begins at the beginning of conception. This source is most valuable for my essay because it helped me understand the views of pro-life.
Jost, Kenneth. " Abortion Debates." CQ Researcher 21 Mar. 2003: 249-72. Web. 27 July 2015.
In Carol Gilligan 's essay, "Concepts of Self and Morality," a college student answers the question of what morality should be by stating, "The basic idea that I cling to is the sanctity of human life" (171). When a woman decides to have an abortion, she overlooks the sanctity of human life and she forgets her morals. Therefore there should not be a question of choice in the matter of