Abortion

Should abortion be prevented?
By Frances Kissling
Salon.com, Inc.
October 3, 2006

Kissling used many quotations from politicians and statistics to prove her point about the desire not to better "message" abortion rights, but to respect the moral sensibilities of American women. The majority of the quotations are from the politician’s speeches. Kissling presents both of the arguments by using quotations to support that argument and then instill her own opinions. She believes that there is no right number for abortions and that women should have the freedom to decide whether they want to give the gift of life. She states that, “Government has washed its hands of pregnancy -- it will not pay for abortion, it provides inadequately for contraception and sexuality education, and it certainly does not provide for women, children and families.” I truly believe in this statement because many politicians believe that it is not morally right for a woman to have an abortion but there are no actions to support their statements.

An Opening on Abortion?

By E. J. Dionne Jr.

The Washington Post

November 21, 2006

The author used a variety of statistics to make his argument stronger. He pointed out the fact that abortion rates are closely tied to income. He believes that the politicians ignore many factors when they have the debate about abortion. He speaks about both the Democrats and the Republicans as well as their opposing views. It seems that the abortion rates fell by 11 percent between 1994 and 2000, which means that the government is somewhat successful in its efforts. However, the author states that this number can increase. I believe that this author is correct in that the government can improve the abortion rates but it should also consider in preventing pregnancy in the first place, through contraceptives and training programs.

Let's consider a third option for abortion

By Margaret Somerville

The Calgary Herald, a division of Canwest MediaWorks Publication Inc.

February 2, 2006

Somerville used a variety of quotes and statistics in her argument concerning abortion. She argues that the majority of the Canadians fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum and struggle to decide exactly where. She states,” The "No, unless" and "Yes, but" positions differ on where to draw the line restricting abortion and in their basic messages. The "No, unless" allows abortion as an exception to the norm and carries much stronger values messages that abortion is always a serious matter.” From my experience, I believe that the United States is very similar to Canada, where people stand somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. It is not entirely unethical and unmoral for a woman to abort if she has medical conditions. It’s fairly difficult to have this made into a law. Each circumstance is different and everyone has a different point of view on this issue.

Anti-abortion measure fails

By Joe Kafka

The Associated Press State & Local Wire

February 6, 2006

Like all the previous authors, the authors used quotations and statistics to argue his point about abortion. However, this seems more neutral than other articles, where he stated both side of the arguments and the concerns and opinions of both parties. The bill that would have required Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls to do a professional assessment of the physical and emotional risks facing each woman who asks for an abortion was declined. The pro-bill people believed that women who undergo this procedure should be fully informed and that the doctors should be sued for any negligence. People who against the bill believed that doctors in other departments are not subject to such standards, then doctors who perform this procedure shouldn’t either.

What Does It Mean to Be Pro-Life?

By Gregg Jackson

Human Events, DC

January 26, 2007

Jackson used Mitt Romney’s comment about whether a person can be personally "pro-life" and supportive of a "women's right to choose" simultaneously as an introduction to his article. Romney answered no to this question. If someone is pro-life, then he or she is legal protection for living human beings inside their mother's womb regardless of the stage of development. He mentioned a very interesting point in his article: people like Romney, Kerry, and Clinton have to appeal to both sides of the debate by staking out some "moderate" more "middle of the road" position. I believe that he definitely made a very interesting point, because it is true. In order to win an election, they have to appeal to as many people as they can.

First, abortion has always been a controversial issue in this country. The previous author all mentioned something about how the government, whether it’s about politicians, its efforts to prevent abortion or where the different parties stand in this issue. One author mentioned that the country is not doing enough to prevent abortions because they either inadequately supply contraceptives and training programs or not providing enough supports to mothers and babies. Another say that the politicians have to appeal to both sides of the debate in order to win the election. Many authors used statistics and quotations to prove their points but the statistics can be used for or against the argument. Some articles are definitely more objective than some; some even fail to mention the other side of the argument. Overall, these articles voice more about an opinion than actually reporting this issue neutrally.