Analysis Of Terry O Neill's Legal Abortion Can Be A Lifeline

Many people are familiar with the term abortion and its popular controversy in society today. Anyone who is familiar with the term should also be familiar with the two groups that form the controversy of abortion: pro-life and pro-choice. The article I chose is written by Terry O’Neill and is titled, “Legal Abortion Can Be a Lifeline”. The article was published on January 22, 2013, to U.S. News. It argues that abortion saves lives rather than taking them. O’Neill’s claim “abortion is a lifeline” rests upon the questionable assumption that a baby inside a womb is not considered life. Legal abortions can and has saved the lives of many women, or at least that is what Terry O’Neill’s central argument is. She argues that legal abortion the

The first and best example of an ethos used in the article is in the first paragraph when she says, “Abortion, one of the safest and most common medical procedures in the United States, is an essential aspect of women 's reproductive healthcare” (O’Neill, Screen 1). She uses this to try and make abortion out to be “essential” to women, and to make it seem that it would be unethical to take away that “essential” aspect of a woman’s reproductive healthcare. In the article, O’Neill uses pathos to appeal to the readers on an emotional level. In paragraph four it is stated, “The reasons why a woman would not want to continue a pregnancy are as varied as the women themselves. Those reasons can be heartbreaking—involving an abusive spouse or parent, crushing poverty, substance abuse, a terminal illness” (O’Neill, Screen 1). She uses this play on words to try to make the reader emotional and feel sympathetic towards women who consider abortion. The majority of the articles consist of logos. For a lot of her arguments she uses facts and evidence to prove her point. O’Neill provides factual information about the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade and what women did before this court case legalized abortion nationwide. O’Neill does not tell the reader where she gathered this information. In fact, a few of the ‘logos’ she used seemed to be more opinion based than on facts, because there was no proof given. For example, in the very first sentence she uses the statement, “Abortion, one of the safest and most common medical procedures in the United States…” as factual evidence to begin her argument (O’Neill, Screen