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Malorie Waldrup

Connie Douglas

UWRT 1104

6 February 2017

Rights in Question

Abortion is a very controversial topic in Modern American and was first introduced in

1962. Abortion can be defined as the deliberate determination of a pregnancy, although in some

cases aborted babies have not been deliberately terminated but are rather still born or miscarried.

Lloyd Campbell addresses the issue in his article titled Abortion which he wrote to be utilized in

a classroom setting. Malcolm Potts, along with many others, also wrote an article on abortion

and titled it Abortion Perspectives which is centered mostly towards the female population.

Campbell uses a more logical approach than Potts who has poor utilization of ethos due personal

bias, ultimately making Campbells the superior article.

Campbell wrote the article Abortion in 1977, but it wasnt published on the internet until

2015. Throughout his piece one can find where logos, ethos, and pathos are used to appeal to the

reader. One instance is found in the opening line, abortion, a social problem that intersects

with medicine, law, religion, morality, and the question of the individuals rights against the

rights of society., here he is appealing to ethos by making the reader stop and think about

abortion, who it affects, and why it is such a big issue (Campbell 120). In doing so, he ensures

that his audience is so captured by the subject that they will continue reading. He later goes on to

say that, The issue of abortion was openly thrust upon the American society in 1962 which

is a demonstration of Socrates pathos (Campbell 120). This line emphasizes that abortion is not
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something that is just talked about but is happening here in the United States, years after other

countries in Europe had successfully been performing it for years. The way Campbell approaches

the topic of abortion can just make the readers jaw drop, it is easy to tell that everything is said

with a tone so distinct it would be hard to miss. It is almost possible to hear the piece spoken

with strength and awe as one is reading the passage. Yet the author never makes his opinions on

the situation truly known, rather he simply eludes to what he is thinking on the matter without

actually saying so.

Lloyd Campbell chose to use the poem An Unfinished Diary as a topic for discussion

which could be viewed as inappropriate or upsetting, especially in the school setting which this is

intended for (Campbell, 121). The reason he uses such strong topics of discussion is to appeal

to pathos (Campbell,122). Campbell does not use false statistics or ideas in his writing that could

cause ones judgement to be impaired, rather he makes the reader think for themselves; This

coupled with his article being peer reviewed and giving proper citations for his sources makes

his article valid and respectable. For these reasons, his article is the better of the two that I chose

to compare as his is backed by facts and reasoning, and yet still has a touch of creative writing. It

is truly a beautifully written piece and is easy to distinguish that it is an informative article rather

than one meant to persuade.

At first glance, one may think an article titled Abortion Perspectives would be an article

in which multiple sides of the issue would be shown; This assumption is clearly misguided as

Malcolm Potts article definitely proves itself to be one sided. It is not only shifted towards

women having access to legal and safe abortions, it almost feels as if the author is trying to force

his opinions on his audience when he states, I see medical abortion as the last step in liberating
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women from the male drive to control female reproduction. (Potts 159). This may have been an

attempt to appeal to pathos, however it is very strongly worded and full of opinions as the author

uses the word, I, and has no facts to back up such a negatively charged sentence. There are

many other places throughout the piece where Potts uses the pronoun in an empty sentence as if

trying to fill up the space on the pages. Lacking in facts, and sounding forceful and at times

muddled to an audience is not something a writer should strive for and ultimately that is how this

piece appeared which is why it is not an exceptional article.

Where Potts fails, Campbell succeeds: Abortion Perspectives fails to show more than one

side of the issue, while Abortion succeeds in depicting an unbiased opinion. Campbell makes the

audience feel open to forming their own opinions on such a controversial subject whereas Potts

seems to be forcing his thoughts on abortion upon his readers. Potts using his own opinions in

the article could cause negative effects, just as Campbell having topics for discussion that go

against what a large portion of society believes could cause backlash. However, Campbell

chooses to remain neutral focused on the goal of introducing a topic to a class while Potts strays

from the original neutrality in the beginning of the piece to giving his opinions more than freely.

Lloyd Campbell has a more unbiased and logical approach towards abortion, whereas

Malcolm Potts meaning for the piece gets muddled, ultimately making Campbells the better

written article. He does an excellent job of making the reader reflect on their own opinions of

such a controversial issue using logos, ethos, and pathos. Throughout the article, it is in no way

obvious that the author is supportive of either side due to the nature of how well it was written.

Rather than introducing his own or anothers subjective opinions on abortion, he brings up the

issue very subtly by saying that it is a topic that will inevitably be discussed in a classroom

setting. He opens the gate for the train of thought to enter ones mind and help them decide how
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they feel on an issue. Potts article comes across as negative and does not do such a convincing

job that people should be allowed to have their own thoughts. The strong, opinionated view

found in this article is much like how people are treated today. In our current culture in America,

we are supposed to have the right to freedom of speech, along with the right of peaceful protest.

However, recent light shown on the topic of abortion has now caused these two essential rights

in America to be called into question.

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References

Campbell, Lloyd P. Abortion. The Social Studies. 68.3 (2015): 120-123. Print.

Potts, Malcolm. Abortion Perspectives. The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive

Health Care. 15.3 (2010): 157-159. Print.

Wanlund W. (2014, March 21). Abortion Debates. CQ Researcher, 24, 265-288. Print.