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Cesar Maradiaga
English 1010
Professor Saul
4 August 2011
Analysis of Sources
In the article “Finding Renewal” author James R. Kelly defends positions of a need for
consistency in what we define as “life”. Kelly states that one of the fundamental principles that
pro-lifers need to embrace is what he calls “consistent ethic of life;” or in other words as he
explains it, a need to value human life in every aspect. Kelly uses a combination of logos and
pathos to explain this idea, by having us use moral judgment and show that both deaths were
unnecessary and that killing in one way has the same result as killing a different way. Kelly
quotes Gordon Zahn who states, “It is not just a matter of consistency: in a very real sense it is
the choice between integrity and hypocrisy. No one who publicly mourns the senseless burning
of a napalmed child should be indifferent to the intentional killing of a living fetus in the
womb…”
Another argument that Kelly makes is how to plan for the future by going back to “our”
roots. He proposes that the pro-life movement needs to go back to its roots and at the same time
plan ahead by working the political scene. He explains in his own words:
“To unlink opposition to abortion from the center of the Republican Party establishment
would mean, among other things, that the pro-life movement would become freer to
renew its original moral intuition. In doing so, the movement would become more widely
recognized and morally respected as promoting a consistent ethic of life. Such an ethic,
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based on the biblical values of nonviolence and equality, challenges all major and minor
streams of American politics.”
Thus in his own words we see that Kelly believes that as the pro-life movement refocuses on its
strength, it will once again be a formidable force that can achieve its purpose. In this argument,
Kelly uses logos to explain rationally that the pro-life movement can make itself a renewed
entity by using an old system that worked before.
The article “The Stubborn Facts of Science” by authors Patrick Lee and Robert P. George
is an exposition on the fact that “Human embryos are (just as more mature human beings are)
whole human organisms, and, as such, living (albeit immature) members of the species homo
sapiens,” His argument is that we should treat those embryos for what they “are”, which are
developing human beings. George and Lee use logos to explain that since these organisms are
living, they are essentially already human beings and logically it would be wrong to terminate
them.
George and Lee further argue that we are physical organisms and that we came to be who
we are, and who we are came to be at conception. Others argue that a fetus, though human, are
not people, to this they argue: “That human being, given nothing more than an hospitable
environment, will actively develop itself from the embryonic through the fetal, infant, and
adolescent stages of his or her life and into adulthood with his or her unity and identity fully
intact.” George and Lee, once again using logos, explain that fetuses will certainly develop into
human beings under normal circumstances and sometimes even in extreme environments.
Chris Meyers’ “The Fetal Position”, is a work in which Meyers takes a philosophical
look at the moral issues of abortion. In chapter six of “The Fetal Position”, Meyers looks at
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several arguments that have to do with the “potentiality” argument. One such argument is “What
if the fetus to be aborted would have been the next Mozart?” he continues with other variations
“What if it grew up to be the next Einstein?” “…Mother Teresa?” Or “What if this fetus grew up
to cure cancer?” Meyers follows up this argument with “-then it would be wrong to kill the fetus
and deny the world the benefits of this future greatness.” We can see an example of logos, he
shows us that there is a risk in aborting the pregnancy and not allowing the person do his
intended service to society.
Another argument he analyses is that of “rights of potential persons.” In this argument
Meyer states, “the fetus has the same right to life as a fully developed person because the fetus is
potentially a fully developed person.” We could view this argument in two different ways. One
we could look at it as logos, people can only come into being if they pass through the embryonic
stage. Secondly we could look at this as pathos, it is very morally wrong to kill a person, and we
as people were once an embryo, therefore killing an embryo is just as wrong as killing a person.
“Is Abortion Bad?” by Katha Pollitt is an article that unlike the other articles mentioned
in this source analysis, argues in favor of abortion. One of the points that Pollitt makes is that in
some cases there is “an element of sexual pressure, if not coercion or rape;” in which we must
consider that sometimes the woman is either not entirely at fault, or not at all at fault that she
became pregnant. Pollitt uses pathos to make her point, some women are victims of sexual
crimes and are impregnated and then are forced to carry a child that they did not choose to have.
This comes off as unfair, thus Pollitt would have us do that which is fair, and give the woman her
life back.
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Pollitt makes another argument “Without abortion, women would be less healthy, less
educated, less able to realize their gifts and talents, less able to choose their mates; chidren would
be cared for worse and provided for less well;”, thus she is attacking the life style an unwanted
child would live. One could say this is an example of pathos. What kind of life would that
unwanted, unplanned child live. Pollitt claims that any child who was born in such a situation
would live a very unhappy and unsuccessful life. Why would we let a child live in such a way?
Michelle Goldberg wrote an article called “Policing Pregnancy” in which she talks about
certain legal injustices that are brought upon those that aren’t necessarily guilty. She discusses
one particular case with a 22-year-old mother of 2, “[she] was arrested for attempted feticide
after falling down the stairs.” Taylor confided with a nurse saying that had contemplated an
abortion. The nurse informed the doctors, who in turn informed police. She could not be charged
because she “was in her second trimester, not her third, when criminal penalties could apply.”
This point that Goldberg brings up is an example of pathos, Taylor clearly tripped, and is being
charged with attempted feticide. Goldberg would have us believe that this notion is outrageous.
This mother who was caring for two children on her own was being prosecuted for a crime she
did not commit.
Another point that Goldberg makes is at times certain women can have mental health and
are not competent to become mothers, one such case is when she summarizes the story of Jessica
Clyburn. She was “eight months pregnant, tried to kill herself by jumping out a fifth-story
window. She survived, but her fetus didn’t, and she was charged with homicide (she pleaded
guilty to manslaughter). Goldberg used logos in this point. This woman was not in a healthy state
of mind; her purpose was to specifically kill herself, she clearly wasn’t thinking about killing an
unborn child while attempting to take her own life. She clearly needs psychiatric help.
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