Jordana Timerman Pathos

In the last year, more women’s rights movements have been occurring in the United States and all over the world. Several are advocating key issues regarding reproductive rights, physical abuse, and sexual violence. Women all over the world are faced with threats to their fundamental rights, which include access to contraceptives and a safe legal abortion. Jordana Timerman, an Argentine journalist and author of Misogyny, Femicide, and an Unexpected Abortion Debate addresses Argentina’s critical movement in stopping unsafe abortions, violence, and prejudice of Latin American women. In the article, Timerman discusses the powerful women’s rights movement happening in Argentina to stop innocent women from dying of femicides and illegal abortions.

Throughout the article, Timerman utilizes pathos to her advantage to create a better effective argument. An instance where Timerman uses pathos is through the use of images. A few images shown were of women activating for their rights through peaceful protest. For example, Timerman shows an image of a young girl with the words, “Wealthy women abort, the poor die.” (Timerman) Images like this present an opportunity for the audience to have sympathy for the women that are less fortunate than those who are privileged enough to have safe abortions. Another instance where she uses pathos was to get those who may be against abortion to have a different perspective of why a woman may need one. “A young mother of three who in 2007 was refused an early abortion that she needed to receive cancer treatment is emblematic. She died, as did the baby.” (Timerman) In the article, Timerman notes how religion and capital officials ultimately have had the control of what women can and cannot do with their bodies because of the regions conservative views and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. The audience, especially women, will have great empathy for these women because of the number of women globally who are faced with threats to their fundamental rights. Timerman also uses pathos by telling the story of an unfortunate girl who died wrongfully. Timerman states that a

Since Timermans article was posted to the New York Times on May 15, 2018, it makes her argument relevant to the audience. Since the New York Times is accessed through the internet, it ensures a larger audience Timerman can persuade. The timing of her argument also makes it much more effective because of the multiple women’s rights movements happening globally. For example, in America, multiple women marches have occurred since the election of President Trump in 2017; resulting in more waves of movements, like the #MeToo movement. These powerful movements have resulted in justice for those who have been sexually abused or assaulted and the rights to decide for themselves to have an abortion. Thus, her describing the threats happening to Latin American women helps the audience feel a sense of urgency in helping women get the rights they deserve. For instance, Timerman uses current situations that are happening in Latin America to further assist her in making her argument more effective. For example, El Salvador’s abortion laws are criminalized in all cases, even if a woman’s life is threatened because of it. Women in El Salvador have also received life-long prison sentences on the charges of aggravated homicide from getting illegal abortions. She also gives an example of a current situation in Argentina that needs to be stopped because of the unfair