Danielle Silva
Professor M. MacKnight
WRT104
27 February 2011
Project 2: Analyzing a Text
In the article, “Abortion, Right and Wrong”, Rachel Richardson Smith, a student of theology, explains her views on abortion. Rachel is not for abortion; however she is not against abortion either. She, among many other people, stands in the middle between pro-life and pro-choice. Throughout this article, she explains the pros and cons of each topic. The people who put themselves on the pro-life side sometimes become a bit too overwhelming with their “scare tactics”. Also, many of the people involved with anti-abortion campaigns are usually on the religious side. Therefore, they follow these reasoning’s simply because of their religion. Rachel explains that she leans towards the pro-life side because she simply does not like the idea that abortion is “the taking of human life”. However, she feels as though our society needs to figure out the “value of human life”. She explains that in our society abortion seems to be such a big deal because one is taking the life of someone who is not even born yet. On the other hand, we seem to have no problem taking the life of a person who is born and grown in ways like “self-defense, the death penalty, and war”. Overall, the author of the article feels as though she cannot take side. She could never come to terms with herself to agree that abortion is a good idea, however, she also feels as though in some circumstances woman need the choice.
The author begins her article in a way which all writers try to obtain. Her first sentence reads, “I cannot bring myself to say I am in favor of abortion”. The reason she starts her article off this way is to grab the attention of the people who are pro-life. She figures that someone who is anti-abortion will pick up this article, read the first sentence, and be interested right from the start. Although the article is not totally in favor towards the pro-lifers, she does this to get these types of people to read it and try to get her message out to them. Rachel wants the anti-abortionists to realize how she and many other people feel about abortion and how in some situations it is not as bad as they make it out to be. However, the author also wants the pro-choice groups to engage in her article. Those who have had an abortion do feel guilt in most circumstances and the author gives the article the title “Abortion, Right and Wrong” to grab the attention of both groups, however people of abortion would want to read the parts about it being right to make themselves feel more comfortable about their conditions.
The way the author writes the article brings upon new ideas towards abortion. Everyone seems to think they either need to be pro-life or pro-choice and there cannot be any in-between. However, Richardson Smith explains her view in a new and interesting way. She explains, “Even as I refuse to pass judgment on other women’s lives, I weep for the children who might have been”. Taking a side to be against or for abortion is a confusing thought for the author. There are so many different ways to look at each argument. The author shows and explains each side perfectly and creates a new category which she explains as, “I find myself in the awkward position of being both anti-abortion and pro-choice”. I feel as though a lot of people are unaware of this feeling and they themselves would feel this way after reading this article. The author does this because she wants people reading the article to be able to feel the way she feels and not have to feel guilty for it. It’s not a bad thing to hate abortion; however because of the tactics of pro-lifers some may feel scared to think that it is not a horrible procedure. Writing about the “scary tactics” of the pro-lifers was incorporated into this article to show the religious anti-abortionists how some of their ideas can be a little unrealistic. Rachel explains, “What I find incomprehensible is that even as they are opposed to abortion they are also opposed to alternative solutions”. If she still has the pro-life groups interested in her writing, maybe she can convince them that these religious aspects about sex and abortion do not make sense. It does not seem right to have so much hatred towards people of abortion when the religious groups are not even giving alternatives to prevent people from having to seek for abortion. The author wants these pro-life groups to try and tweak their policy and also comprehend that because they are not providing an alternative for sex, to not pass judgment on those who are forced to have abortions.
Abortion has become such a large issue to the country and somehow is bound to come up in many conversations. Some feel very strongly about the topic, while others simply don’t seem to care so much. Rachel Richardson Smith clearly feels strong about her opinion on abortion, however she is not sure which side she can take. She does have more cons for the anti-abortionists but she says, “The only thing the anti-abortion groups seem to have right is that abortion is indeed the taking of human life”. Although this statement is correct, the author disagrees when the pro-lifers call abortion murder because she does not feel it should be considered murder. Smith brings up this point because she wants the anti-abortion readers to see how wrong it is to call it murder. She tries to portray this wrongness by explaining how some people make it such a huge ordeal when one agrees to have an abortion and then pursue to call it murder; but then it is completely normal to feel no remorse for those who are murdered because of “the death penalty, war, killing in self-defense”. By adding this to the article she is trying to show that if one is going to be as persistent as to believing the life of an unborn child is extremely precious, why does he or she not feel the same for those who are well into their lives and already have been born? Rachel wants readers to understand that by calling abortion murder does not make sense unless every situation in which the life of someone is taken can be called murder.
Bringing in the author’s own personal experience with unplanned pregnancy and abortion is another way she tries to make the reader feel the way she feels. A lot of people who are anti-abortionists don’t realize how the ones who have experienced an abortion actually feel about getting one. In her experience she explains, “I also know from experience the crisis an unplanned pregnancy can cause”. Smith brings out her own personal life story to allow the reader to understand that she is not just another normal writer trying to get the reader to become an anti-abortionist or to become a person of pro-choice. She wants the reader to know that she actually has knowledge in the subject because she has experienced something similar to the issue. By doing this, she enables readers who are pro-choice that abortion is not always the best solution depending on the situation. Someone who is leaning towards abortion simply because they do not want the child inside of them may not realize the joy that comes with having that baby. The author says, “My children sometimes provoke me and cause me endless frustration, but I can still look at them with tenderness and wonder at the miracle of it all”. In Rachel’s position it was in her best interest to have the child and feel the regret only when her children seem to aggravate her, rather than feeling the guilt and regret of never having the baby at all.
Abortion, Right and Wrong, explains and interprets each side of abortion so well, however makes the reader realize there is no right or wrong answer to abortion. When one reads Richardson Smith’s article, first one agrees with the first side she is explaining and then one agrees with the other side, left with confusion. However, when done reading the entire article, after thinking for a few minutes, it is concluded that there may not be a one side the reader can agree with. It leaves one with feeling pros and cons on the pro-life side and pros and cons on the pro-choice side. The author then explains how abortion is definitely not the right answer, however sometimes it depends on the condition. She explains, “What many people seem to misunderstand is that no woman wants to have an abortion. Circumstances demand it; women do it”. She is illuminating how abortion is erroneous, however, in some cases with explanation it can be an understandable situation. It is not always right to pass judgment on those who have had an abortion because those judging do not know their circumstances.
Rachel Richardson Smith is not trying to make the reader change whether they are pro-life or pro-choice; she is simply trying to get each side to understand the ideas she has brought up that don’t always get explained. She wants the pro-choice group to see that although they may feel abortion is completely the choice of the woman bearing the child, more thought should be put into the minds of these women before decisions are made because abortion is killing an innocent life. In addition to that, she wants the pro-life group to grasp that some of their strategies are a bit too stringent and these people need to ease up a bit and recognize they cannot be so severe with some of the actions the group portrays and the words spoken by he or she. Lastly, the author shows that those who feel they cannot choose whether they are pro-life or pro-choice do not need to decide which side he or she is on. It is completely fine to be in-between, however the writer wants those human beings to understand what each side is about and they can learn this through her article. Personally, I feel as though this article opened up so many new ideas and feelings towards abortion. Before reading and examining the text, I was felt very strongly about abortion. Pro-life was my definite choice. The reasoning behind the fact that I am was an anti-abortionist was simply because of the way I was brought up. Coming from a religious family, my thoughts towards abortion were always evil. Although I still do not agree with abortion, as I never will, the article brings up various exceptional points that I can cope with. The way she states she is both anti-abortion and pro-choice is very appealing to me. Thinking deeply into the subject never was a thought for me. The author thought deeply for me in her text by allowing myself to read it. Realizing many new ideas from the article, one thing I will do differently simply because of the reading is cut back on the judgment of those who have had or who are going to have an abortion. This text showed me, among many other things, not to feel so strongly about being anti-abortion. I’m sure many other pro-life men and women would conclude to feeling the way I do because of Rachel Richardson Smiths article, Abortion, Right and Wrong. In the end of the article she states, “I suspect I am not alone”. She is most definitely not alone, seeing as I agree with her explanations and interpretations towards abortion completely.
No comments:
Post a Comment