Saanvi Kumar
GT-ILA 8 Advanced
Ms. Arndorfer
10 March 2023
Rhetoric in Pro-Life Claims
Debated throughout the last century, abortion has drawn a thin line between human rights and murder. In the 1973 Supreme court case Roe v. Wade, Norma McCorvey, also known as Jane Roe, challenged Henry Wade about the legal status of abortion. Abortion’s status changed from illegal to legal after the closing of the case. However, in 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the decision, causing a divide within the country and resulting in pro-choice and pro-life beliefs. Chuck Fleischmann, a congressman from Tennessee, and the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), compellingly communicate with viewers about pro-life views using emotional appeal to convey feelings
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A print advertisement by the National Abortion Federation (NAF) claims that “77% of anti-abortion leaders are men. 100% of them will never be pregnant.” Due to the facts and figures presented, viewers will easily understand and remember the message delivered. However, the claim lacks credibility and uses a red-herring fallacy to draw away from the main point of the issue: the legal status of abortion, instead accentuating an unrelated point with the people who believe abortion should stay illegal. The rhetoric simply does not weigh enough in response to comparing numbers to human life. The two ideals completely differ because human life will always take precedence over …show more content…
They assert, “We don’t see a potential life. We see life with potential.” while having an image of a fully-grown fetus in the center of their advertisement. The rhetoric incites hope within viewers. It invokes a desire to protect the unborn while also making the NRLC seem clever by maneuvering words in their favor, subtly implying that pro-choice considers babies negligent.
Pro-Life conveys its standpoint through emotional rhetoric. Since many cultures and religions view life as the purest thing in the world, broadcasting babies' potential and making pro-choice look heartless allows pro-life to appear engaging to its audience of internet users and the general public. The use of emotional appeal causes viewers to feel sympathy for the baby, even before it enters the world, with the natural instinct to protect babies taking over. Although abortion still divides the country, pro-life’s influential claims have compelled many viewers to join their