Since Bihr is a microbiologist and a recognized immunization action coordinator from Colorado, this rhetoric is the preferred representation of her work experience and rhetorical output. Bihr’s rhetoric is also chosen for its application of the distinctiveness principle, because Bihr was personally afflicted by the polio epidemic of 1952; she also elaborates on unique topics of ethical regulations and family values that support her rhetoric (Bihr, 2015, p. 1). The topics in Bihr’s rhetoric set it aside from standard news and journal articles that only find the quantitative evidence of whether vaccines are beneficial, which makes this rhetoric distinct from other articles of the same …show more content…
Two sources give evidence for these attitudes: Lillvis, Kirkland, & Frick (2014) in Power and persuasion in the vaccine debates state, “…once parents have established a decision not to vaccinate, they are unlikely to be persuaded to change their decision…” (Lillvis, Kirkland, & Frick, 2014, p. 192); while the Pew Research Center (2015) reports in 83% Say measles vaccine is safe for healthy children the common audience personal evaluations states, “Some are skeptical about the effectiveness of vaccines, while others question why healthy children should be given the vaccines” (Doherty, Motel, & Weisel, 2015, p. 4). In other words, Bihr faces an attitude barrier that would make it harder for her to convince the audience to vaccinate their children, given that these articles show that families who decide not to vaccinate have permanent emotional