TO: MR MALAY KRISHNA, CHAIRPERSON, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY BOARD
CC: MR ANAND RAO, HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES
FROM: ANURAG GUPTA PGP-14-174
SUBJECT: CRITIQUE OF THE ESSAY ON TEENAGERS’ AUTONOMY ON ABORTION
DATE: OCTOBER 6, 2014
I would like to share my views on the essay about the autonomy of abortion by Teenagers, the article seem to bear relevance for our proposal towards supporting the CSR investment to the organization under consideration. The essay analysis the laws permitting teenagers to go for abortion and how it affects the lives of the teenagers. The author has concluded that parental consent should be taken in such cases before taking any decision. However, on deeper examining of the reasons, it appears that there is a
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This is built by appealing to the emotions that if minors are allowed to take such decisions autonomously, they are prevented from taking consultation from their parents and hence may act boldly taking the wrong decision. This argument seeks to identify the parents’ emotional reactions but it cannot be a justification for denying a minor’s autonomy.
2) Another reason given by the author is that most of the patients in case of teenage abortion have traumatic post-abortion complications which lead to suicidal thoughts in them. The evidence cited is an equivocation which wrongly equates the percentage of gynecologists treating patients with post-abortion complications to the percentage of patients actually ending up with such trauma. Further, it supposes that the consent has not been taken or no consultation has been done before the abortion.
3) The third reason given by the author are about the motives of the organizations in favor of minors’ autonomy. He says that such organizations have a vested interest in such a law. It tries to construct a premise that the organization would not favor something that is not profitable and hence affects its business interests. This seems to be a pre-conceived bias of the author as the same approach is not being used when quoting the support of religious organizations against the
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“What these supporters fail to consider is that just because a minor wants to get an abortion does not mean she should get one. Think about it. Do you want your daughter to make an impulsive decision about such an important matter?”
Critical Questions Applications
Is the evidence sufficient to support the conclusion No there is no statistical evidence
Is the quality of evidence strong No evidence for the argument is based on emotional quotient
Does the reasoning rely on fallacies Yes there is emotional appeal and it imposes a notion that autonomy would drive teenagers to act bluntly
What additional evidence would strengthen the reasoning Statistical evidence on instances of causalities due to autonomous decision on abortion
Does the author consider objections and alternatives No alternative is considered
Exhibit 2: Analysis of the second reason
The second reason is based on equivocation that since most gynecologists treat patients with post-abortion trauma, most patients are expected to have such