00 AP Comp Readers Response Journals for October 10 Sallie Tisdale: We Do Abortions Here In “We Do Abortions Here: A Nurse’s Story,” Sallie Tisdale use pathos with specific stories and vivid imagery. She uses imagery as well to convey the moral and psychological conflict that comes with working in an abortion clinic, before finally stating her position on the topic. Throughout her essay, Tisdale talks about her interactions with different clients at the clinic. She tells stories of “a sleepy-eyed girl, just 14... with a slight and goofy smile”, “an eighteen-year-old woman pregnant for the fourth time... [who] has been so hungry for her drug that she has taken to using the loose skin of her upper arms” , and “a 16-year-old uneducated girl …show more content…
who was raped”. These stories were meant to show the different backgrounds from which women come for abortions, and are intended to evoke sympathy in the reader for these women. Tisdale does this so that there is a better understanding of her feelings of compassion towards the women. While her stories make it look as if Tisdale believes abortion to be beneficial, her descriptions of the process indicate otherwise.
Tisdale uses vivid imagery and descriptions of the procedure. She describes the actual fetus as such: “When I look into the basin, among the curdlike blood clots, I see an elfin thorax, attenuated, its pencil line ribs all in parallel rows with tiny knobs of spine rounding upwards. A translucent arm and hand swim beside”. And “just like a little kitten... Everything was still attached.” These descriptions remind the reader that although thwy may be a threat to the mother, these fetuses are still living things. The descriptions show how brutal the practice of abortion can be, which makes the reader share her …show more content…
guilt. The conflict between the sympathy Tisdale feels for the mothers and the brutality of the abortions is also shown in Tisdale’s choice of diction. She uses many oxymorons when referring to the practice of abortion. She calls it a “loving dispassion”, a “sweet brutality.” These statements show the confusion Tisdale has about her own feelings towards abortion.The conflict of ideas isn’t only shown in Tisdale’s choice of diction. Throughout the essay, Tisdale switches between talking about the necessity of abortions to talking about the guilt behind them. She logically justifies abortion, describing the fetus as “a thing whose creation has been actively worked against. Its existence is an error” and as “at least incovenient, sometimes quite literally dangerous.” Nevertheless, she also feels guilty for facilitating the abortion. Looking at the fetus in an ultrasound, she comments that she “[knows] how heavy and correct a newborn cradled feels. The creature... requires nothing from [her] but to be left alone”. Her guilt also manifests itself in the form of “fetus dream”. By switching back and forth between logically asserting that abortion is necessary and reflecting on her guilt, Tisdale effectively conveys to the reader the mental and emotional conflict that results from working in an abortion clinic.
Despite her internal conflict, Tisdale does come to a conclusion at the end of her essay that abortion is painful, but necessary. “Abortion, requires of me an entirely new set of assumptions. It requires a willingness to live with conflict, fearlessness, and grief. As I close the freezer door, I imagine a world where this won’t be necessary, then return to the world where it is.” She asserts that although abortions are difficult to live with, they are something that must be lived
with. For Tisdale, working in an abortion clinic is the cause of much conflict and confusion. She writes “We Do Abortions Here,” in an attempt to convey this conflicted mental state to her audience. She also asserts that, although uncomfortable, abortions are important. Despite her guilt and the nightmares it gives her, she continues to do what she does because of her compassion for the women who need her.
Margaret Olivia Little’s “The Moral Permissibility of Abortion” much like that Judith Jarvis Thomson’s agues over the decent and indecencies of abortion. She comes to a similar conclusion that, “no abortion in early term is ever unjust, though they can be indecent.” Little covers the impact on women throughout a pregnancy and when abortions are sought ‘for the sake of the undeveloped human, and concludes that, “a potential
Judith Jarvis Thomson, a 20th century philosopher, offers her argument defending abortion in her paper, “A Defense of Abortion”. She states initially that the fetus has a right to life, although contrary to her argument, she uses it as a premise to develop her thoughts. In short, Thomson says that the fetus’s right to life does not outweigh the woman’s right to control her body. She forces readers to participate in a thought experiment as she gives an odd example about a violinist suffering from kidney failure. The violist is facing death and in order to prevent it, he needs your help. Because you are the only one with his blood type, you are the only hope for him. You have been kidnapped by the Society of Music lovers and, without your consent, hooked up to him and you are filtering his blood and keeping him alive. In order to save his life, you must remain connected to him and support him for nine whole months. Thomson then asks if it is morally wrong to disagree to remain connected to the violinist. It is quite noble to agree to save the man’s life but should his right to life automatically force you to sacrifice nine months of yours?
Thomson starts off her paper by explaining the general premises that a fetus is a person at conception and all persons have the right to life. One of the main premises that Thomson focuses on is the idea that a fetus’ right to life is greater than the mother’s use of her body. Although she believes these premises are arguable, she allows the premises to further her explanation of why abortion could be morally permissible. People would find it more understanding and more willing to help someone who is a relative.
This quote stood out to me because it offered a new perspective to the controversial issues on abortion. After reading this, I realized how abortion was always tied to the women, which not only isolates them in this problem but also unconsciously reduces them to their reproductive functions. The
Abortion is a considered a sensitive topic in society; as a result it is not frequently mentioned or discussed. However; Marquis has decided to voice his opinion on the matter.
This article written by Eleanor Cooney, talk about abortion. In it she shared her experience about an unwanted pregnancy and the difficulties she went through to have a safe abortion. She talks about two women and how they
In her essay “Abortion, Intimacy, and the Duty to Gestate,” Margaret Olivia Little examines whether it should be permissible for the state to force the intimacy of gestation on a woman against her consent. Little concludes that “mandating gestation against a woman’s consent is itself a harm - a liberty harm” (p. 303). She reaches this conclusion after examining the deficiencies in the current methods used to examine and evaluate the issues of abortion. Their focus on the definition of a “person” and the point in time when the fetus becomes a distinct person entitled to the benefits and protections of the law fails to capture “the subtleties and ambivalences that suffuse the issue” (p. 295). Public debate on the right to life and the right to choose has largely ignored the nature of the relationship between the mother and the fetus through the gestational period and a woman’s right to either accept or decline participation in this relationship.
The topic of my paper is abortion. In Judith Jarvis Thomson's paper, “A Defense of Abortion,” she presented a typical anti-abortion argument and tried to prove it false. I believe there is good reason to agree that the argument is sound and Thompson's criticisms of it are false.
Thomson’s main idea is to show why Pro-Life Activists are wrong in their beliefs. She also wants to show that even if the fetus inside a women’s body had the right to life (as argued by Pro – Lifers), this right does not entail the fetus to have whatever it needs to survive – including usage of the woman’s body to stay alive.
...e essay she says “but I don’t feel all one way about abortion anymore, and I don’t think it serves a just cause to pretend that many of us do”(629). This quote lets the reader identify with it being okay to feel conflicted about abortion. It seems that often people feel they have to choose sides in the abortion debate. However, Quindlen allows her audience to find comfort and acceptance and not really knowing what they would do if ever faced with this decision. She uses a balance of real life examples that she has experienced and witnessed. Most of her examples touch the reader deep down inside so that they are left feeling as if they were a fly on the wall when these things were going on.
In the article 'A Defense of Abortion' Judith Jarvis Thomson argues that abortion is morally permissible even if the fetus is considered a person. In this paper I will give a fairly detailed description of Thomson main arguments for abortion. In particular I will take a close look at her famous 'violinist' argument. Following will be objections to the argumentative story focused on the reasoning that one person's right to life outweighs another person's right to autonomy. Then appropriate responses to these objections. Concluding the paper I will argue that Thomson's 'violinist' argument supporting the idea of a mother's right to autonomy outweighing a fetus' right to life does not make abortion permissible.
Is an egg chicken or an egg? How many of you had asked this question when you were little?
In this paper I will be arguing in favor of Judith Jarvis Thomson view point on abortion. I am defending the use abortion and only in the first trimester. I will consider Don Marquis objections of the practice but ultimately side with Thomson.
Judith Thomson’s “A Defense of Abortion” is an essay where Thomson argues that abortion is not impermissible. To be even more precise, she argues for abortion should also be sometimes permissible, but she also grants that there are certain situations in which getting an abortion would be immoral. “Most opposition to abortion relies on the premise that the fetus is a human being, a person, from the moment of conception.” (Thomson, 48). She uses the rhetorical triangle to help her achieve her argument about abortion. Which uses ethos, pathos, and logos to influence her providing the argument surrounding abortion.
Abortion by definition means the way of ending pregnancy by removing fetus from the womb before it is able to survive independently. Abortion is an extremely debatable issue because while some people are completely against it, others believe that a woman should have the right to choose. Abortion decision is like killing own child or killing an innocent human life before coming out from uterus. I will explain how a human life is being destroyed, the process in which they destroy the fetus, and how to avoid this situation all together I believe that abortion is morally impermissible.