Recently, more states are attempting to pass stricter anti-abortion laws. Oklahoma Ninety-six percent of counties in Oklahoma do not have access to an abortion provider, and the state has not elected a pro-choice member of Congress in more than 14 years. Indiana is one of six states that banned abortions past 20 weeks in the pregnancy. South Carolina even has restrictions on how large the doors can be entering an abortion clinic (CBSNews). Women face a hard enough choice of whether or not they want to bring life into this world; they should not have to struggle to access safe abortions. Motivations can vary for a multitude of reasons such as unwanted pregnancy, financial burden, or simply poor timing. Despite all of these burdens women face
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Reardon’s piece “Forgotten Fathers and Their Unforgettable Children”, he depicts the men experiencing abortion as men who will never be able to be fathers. He uses words such as “emasculated, powerless, could-have-been dads” (Reardon), when describing men’s emotions during the process of an abortion. Most men never want to feel debilitated or helpless, therefore Reardon creates empathy through pathos for men in this position. If a man is a could-have-been father, one would assume he has lost a child, not immediately as a man who experienced an abortion with a partner. The wording “could-have-been” creates a sense that it was out of the man’s control to go through with the abortion, as if it was not his initial decision. This language continues to depict these men as having a minimal role in a couple’s decision to abort the pregnancy, even though Reardon’s main findings in his survey of 1000 men waiting in an abortion clinic showed that “The overwhelming majority, 83 percent, opposed any legal restrictions on abortion, and 45 percent stated that they had urged an abortion.” (Reardon). Reardon constantly contradicts himself with the language used to describe the average man’s freedom in abortion and his statistical findings. Readers are forced to create their own opinions on Reardon’s findings based on his facts and language. Do they side with pathos and empathize with men and their emotional hardship? Do they accept Reardon’s statistical evidence and believe men have no issues with abortion? Or do they disregard Reardon completely and believe that men’s involvement in abortion is irrelevant because it is ultimately a woman’s choice. Overall, Reardon’s attempt at manipulating language to depict men as the victims in abortion leaves the reader questioning his facts and authority, disproving him as a credible source. Additional critics agree that the use of over exaggerated emotional language tends to have an opposite effect on
Reardon’s piece “Forgotten Fathers and Their Unforgettable Children”, he depicts the men experiencing abortion as men who will never be able to be fathers. He uses words such as “emasculated, powerless, could-have-been dads” (Reardon), when describing men’s emotions during the process of an abortion. Most men never want to feel debilitated or helpless, therefore Reardon creates empathy through pathos for men in this position. If a man is a could-have-been father, one would assume he has lost a child, not immediately as a man who experienced an abortion with a partner. The wording “could-have-been” creates a sense that it was out of the man’s control to go through with the abortion, as if it was not his initial decision. This language continues to depict these men as having a minimal role in a couple’s decision to abort the pregnancy, even though Reardon’s main findings in his survey of 1000 men waiting in an abortion clinic showed that “The overwhelming majority, 83 percent, opposed any legal restrictions on abortion, and 45 percent stated that they had urged an abortion.” (Reardon). Reardon constantly contradicts himself with the language used to describe the average man’s freedom in abortion and his statistical findings. Readers are forced to create their own opinions on Reardon’s findings based on his facts and language. Do they side with pathos and empathize with men and their emotional hardship? Do they accept Reardon’s statistical evidence and believe men have no issues with abortion? Or do they disregard Reardon completely and believe that men’s involvement in abortion is irrelevant because it is ultimately a woman’s choice. Overall, Reardon’s attempt at manipulating language to depict men as the victims in abortion leaves the reader questioning his facts and authority, disproving him as a credible source. Additional critics agree that the use of over exaggerated emotional language tends to have an opposite effect on