Patrick Lee Abortion Rhetorical Analysis
Carlo Veconi
Lawrence Lanahan
10/1/14
ENG 106 For decades the issue of abortion has drawn the attention of politicians and civilians alike, and regardless of any political or religious affiliation, every one has a static opinion, and neither side is backing down. The issue is the morality of safe and legal abortions for women. Coming to rise in the late 1970’s, abortion laws led to the creation of two strong groups; the pro-life party, fighting for the lives of future children, and the pro-choice party, fighting for the right for women to get abortions if they decide to. Pro-choice supporters have often been identified as feminists, working on behalf of women’s civil liberties; however, the pro-life feminist party, while still being …show more content…
Jeffrey Reiman, Professor of Philosophy and religion at American University, quotes Patrick Lee in his article, who describes the pro-life argument that abortion is a form of murder. Reiman recites Lee’s description “’that it is wrong to kill an unborn human being because she is identical to an entity that, at some time later in her development, everyone agrees it is wrong to kill” (Reiman, 332). To put weight behind this point, pro-lifers hold that since abortion is murder, it is therefore unconstitutional, and that going against the constitution could lead to significant legal ramifications. This argument belongs to pro-life supporters, but its main focus is not on women’s rights because not all pro-lifers are feminists, while the pro-choice party is mostly consistent of …show more content…
The pro-choice party self-identifies as a feminist group in the battle over abortion laws, and their reasons are well-rounded and widely accepted; the pro-life supporters, on the other hand, consist of the original pro-life party and the pro-life feminist party, both bringing their own arguments to the table against pro-choice supporters. Pro-life party members are against abortion because they view the procedure as a form of murder. Pro-life feminists fight to criminalize abortion because they hold that abortion is a procedure designed to keep men unaccountable for their sexual actions thereby allowing them to act out sexually without any consequences. Alternatively, the pro-choice party members do not recognize the ‘abortion is murder’ argument because if fetuses cannot receive all constitutional rights and protections the argument to grant them partial protection is illegitimate. Pro-choice feminists also fight for the legalization of abortion because they feel that the decision to get an abortion is their right, moreover, that personal medical decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not a
Lawrence Lanahan
10/1/14
ENG 106 For decades the issue of abortion has drawn the attention of politicians and civilians alike, and regardless of any political or religious affiliation, every one has a static opinion, and neither side is backing down. The issue is the morality of safe and legal abortions for women. Coming to rise in the late 1970’s, abortion laws led to the creation of two strong groups; the pro-life party, fighting for the lives of future children, and the pro-choice party, fighting for the right for women to get abortions if they decide to. Pro-choice supporters have often been identified as feminists, working on behalf of women’s civil liberties; however, the pro-life feminist party, while still being …show more content…
Jeffrey Reiman, Professor of Philosophy and religion at American University, quotes Patrick Lee in his article, who describes the pro-life argument that abortion is a form of murder. Reiman recites Lee’s description “’that it is wrong to kill an unborn human being because she is identical to an entity that, at some time later in her development, everyone agrees it is wrong to kill” (Reiman, 332). To put weight behind this point, pro-lifers hold that since abortion is murder, it is therefore unconstitutional, and that going against the constitution could lead to significant legal ramifications. This argument belongs to pro-life supporters, but its main focus is not on women’s rights because not all pro-lifers are feminists, while the pro-choice party is mostly consistent of …show more content…
The pro-choice party self-identifies as a feminist group in the battle over abortion laws, and their reasons are well-rounded and widely accepted; the pro-life supporters, on the other hand, consist of the original pro-life party and the pro-life feminist party, both bringing their own arguments to the table against pro-choice supporters. Pro-life party members are against abortion because they view the procedure as a form of murder. Pro-life feminists fight to criminalize abortion because they hold that abortion is a procedure designed to keep men unaccountable for their sexual actions thereby allowing them to act out sexually without any consequences. Alternatively, the pro-choice party members do not recognize the ‘abortion is murder’ argument because if fetuses cannot receive all constitutional rights and protections the argument to grant them partial protection is illegitimate. Pro-choice feminists also fight for the legalization of abortion because they feel that the decision to get an abortion is their right, moreover, that personal medical decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not a