In the article, “Is abortion morally wrong?” written by Jessie Blaeser, an argument is presented about the morals of abortion. Blaeser maintains an unbiased stance throughout the text and leaves her main question, the title, open for the readers to answer based on the evidence she provided. She provided both points of views of Pro-Life advocates who believe that abortion should be illegal since a fetus is a person. Therefore, abortion is murder, however, the other side states that females have the ability to choose what she wants since it is her body. The writer goes equally into depth on both sides and provides many different pieces of evidence. Statistics, court cases, regular opinions, and surveys are included. Blaeser also conducted a poll of whether abortion is morally wrong or right where it was up to the audience to make the decision. The audience chose morally wrong, however, she did not touch or mention the answer showing how she is unbiased and just stating the facts.
Rhetorical Situation:
Author’s background: Jessie Blaeser is an editor and writer at The Tylt which is an online website where opinions can be heard and explained. She is a proud millennial, and has her own website where she shares her work which is writing.
Target Audience: This is targeted for those who are not sure whether abortion is morally wrong or not. It is also for those who are really biased to see the other side.
Context: Due to Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, this debate was brought back up of whether it should be legal or not.
Argumentative Elements:
Main Argument: The main argument is whether abortion is moral or not, and as a result of that, if it should be legal or not.
Claims: The author states how Pro-Life advocates say that “abortion is immoral because even an undeveloped life is still a life, and therefore, no one has the right to take that life away” (Beaser). It then goes into the Science of it by demonstrating how a fetus is a life and that abortion is murder. On the other hand, Pro-Choice advocates take into question of how the fetus life will be outside the womb since they could be mistreated due to certain living conditions. It also goes in depth to say how women have the right to choose what to do with their body, and they have the freedom to make those decisions.
Evidence: Many different pieces of evidence was used to back up the text ranging from statistics to quotes by professionals. A graph was used to show how many people voted whether abortion should be legal or not. Quotes from the Supreme Court and different laws were mentioned as well. As well as, the publics opinion on abortion and their stance on it. Different personal experiences of abortion is also used. A quote from a Scientist also is used to explain the science behind a fetus’ life. Other opinions and professional quotes are used as well to support the claim, and a poll is even conducted.
Evidence Appeals:
Logos: The author does a good job of using logical arguments by providing many different statistics and graphs. These pieces of evidence relate directly to the topic and are explained in depth as well.
Ethos: Blaeser is a young female which makes her a bit credible since she could be affected by this. She builds credibility through her examples and solid evidence used. She also does not put her opinion in there which shows she is unbiased and just presenting the facts.
Pathos: The author refrains from using emotional appeals in order to make the argument more valid and unbiased. More technical vocabulary is used and each side is presented equally.
Definitions: Everything in the article is pretty straight up, and even though, many technical terms are used it is explained afterward. More advanced terminology is used, however, it is not to the point where it difficult to understand or read.
Arrangment/Organization:
Consistency: The text is consisent and set up where each side is divided, therefore, it is not confusing. It first describes the argument as a whole then it presents Pro-Life advocates stance. After that, it presents Pro-Choice advocates stance and it goes in deoth.
Arrangment: Yes, the claims are extremely understandable since each side is divided.
https://thetylt.com/culture/abortion-ethics
Words that come to life 