The Abortion Debate

Lauren Gray

English 101

Professor Berta

September 20,2011

The Abortion Debate

Is abortion ever okay? That's the big question of much controversy, but is there really a right answer to such a loaded question? Patricia Bauer of The Washington Post

takes the subject head on in her article " The Abortion Debate No One Wants to Have". Bauer's article canvasses her struggle with decision that many women make to abort an unborn fetus when prenatal testing diagnosis downs syndrome and other disabilities. Bauer discusses her experience with her own daughter Margaret who was born with disabilities, and gives us her account of this controversial debate. The main idea Bauer focuses on is that a human is a human and even with disabilities their life is worth living despite what others might say or think. Bauer engages her audience by appealing to their sense of right and wrong and giving us an emotional account of her own story.

Bauer's article was posted in the Washington Post on October 18, 2005. Obviously the articles intended general audience is the readers of The Washington Post, specifically women. Anything dealing with abortion will obviously be pointed towards women because it is such an emotional subject for them. Its a huge decision that only women will have to face. Also at this time states were either becoming either pro-life or pro- choice states, at this point in time the abortion debate was raging. So it can also be inferred that audience was every voter in the united states. Bauer had quite a large audience to appeal to.

Bauer's entire argument comes from experience and so she pulls for an argument riddled with ethos and pathos. In terms of appealing to the reader's emotions, Bauer did a terrific job. She portrayed the issue as if someone was trying to take her child away, her child that she has raised into adulthood. The main emotional appeal in the work is Bauer's ability to make the audience see it from her eyes, the eyes of a loving mother. Why society views abortion as justified and unremarkable in the case of children with disabilities baffled Bauer, she replied,"I have struggled with this question almost since our daughter Margaret was born, since she opened her big blue eyes and we got our first inkling that there was a full-fledged person behind them." This was a very strong appeal to ethics she was pretty much saying that a mother loves their child no matter what a human is human. Bauer expresses her unconditional love for her daughter and thats something any mother can relate to. Another piece of her article that hit pretty hard was the way others view her daughter, Bauer stated," To them, Margaret falls into the category of avoidable human suffering. At best, a tragic mistake. At worst, a living embodiment of the pro-life movement. Less than human. A drain on society. That someone I love is regarded this way is unspeakably painful to me." The way Bauer states how others view her daughter is heart breaking it makes the audience ask themselves who is anyone to judge and decide someones life is not worth living? Bauer's fantastic use of pathos made a strong appeal to the readers emotions and brought the article to life and gave the audience something to think about.

Bauer's credibility is something that cannot be questioned. Having a daughter with a mental disability is perhaps as close to being an expert as one can get. Bauer's article is all about her experiences and how they have impacted her opinions. The only problem with her argument is that