Abortion: Fallacies in the battle for Choice “Choice” is capitalized because it’s a common motif/symbol in debates over abortion. It kind of assumes the role of a proper noun in that it symbolizes an entire debate. Anne Reynolds

*Abortion and terrorism are not actually similar. Terrorism is usually a politically motivated act of hate, while abortion is the personal decision to terminate a pregnancy. It does not directly affect society, as terrorism does. Apples to Oranges The * indicates the explanation for why the chosen ad is the stated fallacy. In an “Apples to Oranges” fallacy, two things and/or concepts are compared to each other when they are actually nothing alike.

Apples to Oranges Target Audience: Pregnant Women, Expecting couples, Parents. Message: Abortion is evil, as it results in the mass killing of fetuses. Persuasion: This ad persuades its audience by comparing abortion to terrorism, an idea/act that most Americans hate and fear.

Continued This ad reveals that the particular targeted group in society is sensitive to the issue of terrorism. They are likely to oppose any act that is in any way like terrorism.

Continued (one more time) Strengths Weaknesses This ad succeeds in that it… a.) utilizes terrorism, a universally-hated act, in its comparison. b.) provides a graphic illustration of the “terrorist,” an abortion doctor. However, this ad fails in that… a.) the ad is rather small. b.) at first glance, it is not clear the man on the ad is an abortion doctor.

Overall… This advertisement broadcasts a message that abortion is evil. The advertisement implies that abortion is an evil act of terrorism. Babies that “face the knife” are innocent targets that should be protected.

Either/Or (False dichotomy) This fallacy assumes that there are only two options to resolving a given situation, when there may actually be many.

Either/Or However, it is not true that one must choose between being Catholic and being Pro-Choice. One can be both, although many Catholics are Pro-Life.

Either/Or Audience: Pro- Choice Catholics (or, Catholics in general) Message: A Catholic cannot be pro- choice, because it is against religious beliefs. This ad aims to persuade the target audience by demanding that they choose religion or choice. The audience is pressured into a decision.

Either/Or This ad is successful in that… Strengths Weaknesses This ad is successful in that… It pressures its targeted audience into making a decision instead of wavering in the “gray” area. This ad fails in that… It is plain and slightly unattractive. It is only convincing Catholics (most of whom are already pro- life) that abortion is unacceptable. .

In Conclusion… This advertisement says that the target group, Catholics, are expected by their religion to be Pro-Life. In conclusion, the overall message of this advertisement is that Catholics cannot be Pro-Choice because it is against their belief system.

False Analogy Two ideas/items are compared. They are not completely unalike; instead, the analogy is kind of a “half-truth.” Babies are compared to Endangered Animals. Both are killed – the animals hunted, the babies are aborted. However, this analogy is incorrect in that babies are not a species and are not in danger of extinction, as the animals are.

False Analogy Message: Babies (specifically African- American) are aborted too often and are becoming “rare.”. Audience: African- Americans, specifically. This advertisement aims to stem the growing number of abortions from African-American mothers by guilt- tripping them. It draws attention to the fact that many black fetuses are aborted.

False Analogy This advertisement succeeds in that… Strengths Weaknesses This advertisement succeeds in that… It convinces the audience that black children are aborted too often. This advertisement fails in that… It only targets one race, and does not address the plethora of abortions by the other races.

In Conclusion… This advertisement says that the targeted audience, Black mothers/parents, abort too many children. Overall, this advertisement portrays the message that African-American children are becoming rare because too many are aborted. The advertisement takes a Pro-Life stance in discouraging abortion.

Appeal to Authority

An “Appeal to Authority” fallacy is when… --Person A is (claimed to be) an authority on subject S. --Person A makes claim C about subject S. --Therefore, C is true.

In this specific advertisement, the Bible is quoted as being an authority or expert on abortion. Therefore, any claim that is made by using or quoting the Bible must be true.

Appeal to Authority Audience: Christians (parents, couples, mothers, etc) Message: The Bible, and therefore God, opposes abortion. Life is sacred. This advertisement is meant to persuade its audience by relying upon the ethos appeal of a religious authority, such as the Bible/God.

Appeal to Authority This advertisement succeeds in that… Strengths Weaknesses This advertisement succeeds in that… It successfully employs religious ethos in order to inspire its audience to oppose abortion. This advertisement fails in that… It targets only one religious group. The Christian ethos evident in this ad would not persuade, say, Muslims.

In conclusion… This advertisement implies that its targeted audience in society, Christians, should oppose abortion. It also implies that many Christians would immediately accept the Bible’s authority on the issue of abortion. Overall, this advertisement conveys the message that the Bible, an authority by nature of religion, opposes abortion. God knit together life in the womb, so it is sacred. Therefore, Christians should oppose abortion.

Slippery Slope A Slippery Slope fallacy occurs when an advertisement predicts that a series of disastrous events will occur if the first stated step is taken.

Slippery Slope This advertisement utilizes Slippery Slope in that it is predicted that women will become criminals and serve jail sentences if abortion becomes illegal. The outcome of making abortion illegal is therefore disastrous.

Slippery Slope Audience: This advertisement targets Pro-Life advocates and women. Message: Making abortion illegal will harm many women, potentially resulting in jail time. This advertisement persuades its audience by making Pro-Choice advocates feel guilty about potentially jailing women. It influences women by inciting anger over being criminalized for having an abortion.

Slippery Slope This advertisement succeeds in that… Strengths Weaknesses This advertisement succeeds in that… It makes the audience genuinely fear the consequences of making abortion illegal – i.e., jail time for women. This advertisement fails in that… It does not address the issue central to abortion – the fetus that is killed.

In Conclusion… This advertisement implies that the targeted audience in society, women, will continue to have abortions even if abortion becomes illegal. It also implies that if they do so, they will be jailed. Overall, this advertisement delivers the message that abortion should not be made illegal, as many women will still continue to have abortions even though they may be arrested. Abortion, therefore, may not be “stoppable.”

Pro-Life or Pro-Choice?? You decide… \