An Analysis Of Ron Reagan's Speech

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After reading Reagan’s speech, the prospect of stem cell therapy sounded promising and I was left wanting to find out more information about the specifics to his broad claims about “the future of medicine.” Following up with Doerflinger’s rebuttal, however, immediately made me much more skeptical and less optimistic about Reagan’s argument. In all, each piece not only offered separate viewpoints but also exemplified alternate methods of presenting a rebuttal argument.
Reagan’s argument is that embryonic stem cells can be used to cure a variety of debilitating illnesses. His purpose in making the argument is to inform audiences about the process and persuade them to vote for candidates which support funding embryonic stem cell research.

Reagan’s …show more content…

He has first-hand experience of having a loved one affected by a fatal and debilitating disease which gives him more clout regarding the issue. Additionally, his argument is strongly based upon emotional appeals. He begins by defining stem cell research and employs his first use of pathos as he asks his listener to imagine they have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Next, he provides an example of a young woman with type-1 diabetes. He draws upon this emotional example heavily to support his viewpoint by asking his listeners to “take a giant stride forward for the good of all humanity …show more content…

By doing so, he anticipates the pro-life rebuttal to his argument. In short, he acknowledges this opposing view as a means of further gaining support for his own stance. He basically says “I understand the ideological hang-ups of those against stem cell research, but my argument is superior because it promotes the ‘health a wellbeing of many’ and the ‘good of all humanity.”

In his rebuttal, Richard Doeflinger, maintains that Reagan failed to endorse embryonic stem cell research in speech but rather more closely described “human cloning” for the treatment of disease or injury. The purpose of his argument is to highlight the shortcomings of Reagan’s argument and present examples which demonstrate that there are other viable treatments besides stem cell research for debilitating conditions such as Parkinson’s and juvenile

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