“SHOULD ABORTION BE LEGAL?”:
A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE ABORTION DEBATE ON PROCON.ORG
Jennifer Knecht
SOC 352, Qualitative Methods
Dr. Lee Vigilant
6 May 2013
Abstract
In the past two years, the number of abortion laws introduced in state legislatures has increased
at a fast pace, and abortion is an emotional issue for people on both sides of the debate. A
content analysis was conducted on responses to the question "Should Abortion Be Legal?" at the
website ProCon.org to see what commonalities exist, if any, between the two groups and
between members of the same group. The results showed that anti-abortion commenters used
more personal and emotive language in responding to the question, while pro-choice commenters
used language that was more distancing and objective. Language usage was more complex on
the pro-choice side, with fewer errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Anti-abortion
advocates, on the other hand, were more likely to have misspellings, misused or absent
punctuation, and less complex language. Both pro- and anti-abortion commenters are highly
invested in the issue and finding common ground between the two is unlikely.
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Introduction
In the United States, roughly 48% of women will experience an unplanned pregnancy by
the time they reach middle age (Ellison, 2003). One in three women will have an abortion by the
age of 45, roughly 1.3 million per year, and these numbers have remained nearly unchanged in
the four decades since Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court (Bazelon, 2010) or in the
years before legalization (Cates & Rochat, 1976).
Abortion has always been an issue of intense debate, but in recent years the debate has
moved from the court of public opinion to the legislative chambers. In just the past two years, the
number of abortion laws introduced in state legislatures has increased at an exponential pace. In
2011, over 1,100 bills restricting reproductive rights were introduced in state houses across the
country, with 135 provisions enacted (Guttmacher, 2012), an increase from 89 provisions
enacted in 2010. Over 800 bills were introduced in 2012 and 122 enacted (Guttmacher, 2013).
There are four main intentions behind these bills: to challenge Roe v. Wade, to act an as
immediate ban on abortion in their state in the event Roe is overturned, to restrict access by
limiting both the time frame and the types of care available to women seeking abortion, and to
create onerous regulations through the use of Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider (TRAP)
laws to effectively close abortion clinics (Guttmacher, 2012; 2013). These provisions and laws
are driven by public opinion about the legality and morality of abortion.
The issue is an emotional one for people on both sides, and almost no discussion of the
topic can be conducted rationally and objectively. ProCon.org is the website of a:
“…nonprofit public charity that has no government affiliations of any kind.
Our purpose is to provide resources for critical thinking and to educate without
bias. We do not express opinions on our research projects ("issue websites").”
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The goal of ProCon.org is to present both sides of an issue in a factual and objective
manner along with statements from known supporters of each side and then allow readers to
have their say. For this analysis, I examined the responses generated by the topic “Should
Abortion Be Legal?” (ProCon.org)
Reflexivity Statement
It is my belief that all women deserve the right to make the choice that best suits their
lives and circumstances and feel that neither government nor strangers should interfere with
complex and highly personal medical decisions; these are best left to the woman, her physician,
and whatever support network she chooses. As a pro-choice advocate, I have worked with clinics
as a volunteer escort, as a donor and fundraiser, and lobbied my Congressional and state
legislative representatives.
In order to be as objective as possible, my content analysis focused only on key words
and phrases used by commenters, their use of language (spelling, punctuation, etc.), and the
overall tone of their comments, rather than the specifics. However, my findings cannot be called
truly objective as my own thoughts and opinions on the issue will have colored my coding and
my interpretations of the results.
Objective
The objective of this analysis is to examine the beliefs of those who commented on
“Should Abortion Be Legal?” and what themes are present in the rhetoric of the two sides, as
well as the commonalities they may share with other members of their group and with those on
the other side.
Ethics
As a public forum which encourages its readers to express their opinion, there is no
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expectation of privacy and commenters are aware their words are available to the general public.
Therefore there were no ethical issues requiring approval from the Institutional Review Board
(IRB).
Literature Review
Previous research has demonstrated a link between education, socioeconomic status,
religion as well as a correlation between these three variables and support for abortion. Prochoice women were more likely to be highly educated with higher incomes while women in the
pro-life movement were likely to have less education and lower incomes (Luker, 1984).
However, Peterson (2001) found that higher levels of religiosity and denominational
affilation reduced the stronger support for abortion usually associated with higher education
levels. Jelen and Wilcox’s review of empirical research (2003) noted a decline in the correlation
between education and support for abortion, and found that attitudes toward gender roles were
less likely to be an influence among the “non-activist public” (494). This is confirmed by a 2010
Gallup study showing that, while educational attainment remains a predictor for support, there
has been a decline in that support (Sand, 2010).
Support for gender equality, living in an urban or suburban area, and age were predictors
of support for abortion, with college-age respondents more supportive, while religiosity was a
less powerful predictor of opposition than attitudes toward sexuality and a belief in the sanctity
of life. (Stickler & Danigelis, 2002).
Wang (2004) found that while attitudes toward abortion changed over time, attitudes
toward traditional gender roles, educational attainment, fundamentalist beliefs, and personal
motivation to bear children were important predictors of abortion attitudes.
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This reflects the change in framing made by anti-abortion forces during the 1980’s
(Staggenborg, 1988). Switching their focus from legislative efforts to changing public opinion,
the pro-life movement redefined abortion from a women’s issue to one of fetal rights
(Staggenborg, 2011).
Use of emotionally-charged language and images worked to shock the public and
successfully equate abortion with child-murder. Carol Maxwell (1995) found the pro-life
movement’s images and rhetoric serve to create an emotional reaction and encourage a sense of
anguish in anti-abortion activists who had “[l]ived, observed, and imagined experiences of
death” (439) and encouraged them to “personalize the ‘children’ they understood to have been
killed and to perceive their deaths as tragic losses” (442). As a result, anti-abortion activists were
likely to project their own experiences and to imagine their own suffering was shared by both the
women who terminate a pregnancy and their fetuses.
Methodology
This is an unobtrusive content analysis in which I am a complete observer and do not
interact with any of the commenters. To begin my analysis, I used Microsoft Excel to create two
lists of words and variants commonly used in statements by organizations supporting and
opposing legal abortion, as provided on the ProCon website. There was a fair amount of overlap
between the two lists, but difference between the two groups was the context in which the words
were used (Table 1). I then used the search feature of Microsoft Word to count the number of
instances in which a word was used.
From this word list, I created the first set of codes with which to analyze the 281 antichoice comments and 199 pro-choice comments. As my analysis continued, I added codes and
refined or combined others as themes began to emerge (Table 2). Although the codes were used
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to analyze both sets of comments, it became obvious that the themes (Table 3) were reflective of
the polarized nature of the debate, showing distinct differences between the two groups. There
were three shared commonalities among pro-choice and anti-choice commenters: the use of ALL
CAPS for emphasis, the use of the words “baby” or “child,” and a lack of support for “abortion
as birth control,” both of which will be discussed later in this paper. The language usage of the
comments was also analyzed (Table 4) and showed distinct differences between the two groups.
Limitations
This is a self-selected sample. As with any online discussion, the comments are made by
hard-core supporters of one side or the other, who are highly invested in the issue and feel
passionate enough to take the time and energy to make a comment. While there were 480
comments in total, in most cases it is impossible to tell if commenters with the same name, such
as the generic “Anonymous,” are in fact one person. Therefore, the total number of comments is
not reflective of the total number of commenters.
Findings
Emotion and objectivity
Those against abortion tend to use more emotive language, such as “feeling” words like
“angry,” “disgusting,” “sad,” “murder” and “kill” (or “killing”) and almost always referred to a
“baby” or “babies.” Anti-choice commenters were more likely to frame their arguments around
the idea that, from the moment of conception, the fetus is a fully-human organism equal to a
newborn infant. Emotive commenters were also more likely to use large numbers of exclamation
points.
Chelsey: “It is disgusting to think that just because the baby is not born yet,
people are trying to justify killing it.”
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Laurel Rose Miller: "its killing an innocent child that did nothing wrong to
anyone or anything."
Brandy: "It angers me alot. I get sick everytime I hear that women get these
abortions!! Make them Illegal!!!!"
Diamond: "Cuz it's murder.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!“
Hank: “…babys deserve more then what parents give them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The pro-choice commenters were more objective and less emotional in their comments.
They rarely used “feeling” words except in instances where they were trying to evoke empathy
for women facing the decision to terminate. Their comments indicate that they do not see
abortion as an emotional issue, except to the woman involved.
Lola: “It is a decision to be made by the female and anyone they wish to
include, not people who will never met the person or the possible child or aid
in its upbringing.”
Zoe: “You have no idea what they've been through or the situation they are
going through. What is she was raped? What is she can't afford a child? Isn't it
better for a woman to know she can't have the child instead of risking its life
and having it live in poverty?“
Gabriel: “The notion that abortion is equal to murder is false. […] If abortion
is a type of murder, then by that train of thought, a miscarriage is a type of
manslaughter.“
Personalization and Privacy
Those who support the pro-life position were much more likely see abortion as an issue
which affected them personally and directly, and which should also affect others personally. The
question “What if it were you?” or comments expressing the belief that pro-choice supporters
would not have the same opinion if they thought their own mothers had or would have
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considered abortion were used frequently. There were also a number of comments expressing the
belief that they had been “spared” from abortion.
Samalia: “If your mom was considering abortion when she found out she was
going to have you, what would you want her to do?”
Survivor: "I was supposed to be aborted … so any so called pro choice
supporter look into my eyes and tell me its right.
Ashley Williams: “What if your mother did that!? You would never see your
friends! You wouldn't even exist!”
the kid you killed: “…if abortion had not been around i wouldve had a 15
year old brother… “
These comments offer a sense that those who oppose abortion do so from a sense of
existential insecurity. Consistent with Maxwell’s (1995) findings on grief and mourning in the
anti-abortion movement, they identify very strongly with the fetus and their comments indicate
that their empathy for the fetus extends to imagining themselves (their current selves) in the
same position of “facing death” and imbuing the fetus with all the properties of sentience and
awareness that they themselves have. To quote commenter GABY: “it is a person like you and me.”
catie: "the baby is alive and even though it's tiny and can't really comprehend
what is going on the baby loves you and it's looking forward to being here in
this world, so why would you deny this human being the right to live”
This is consistent with Maxwell’s findings on the effect of anti-abortion rhetoric on
activists, creating and encouraging a sense of identification with, and mourning for, not just the
unborn but themselves and those they have lost in the past or fear losing in the future.
Pro-choice commenters, on the other hand, were more likely to use distancing and
objective language and did not see abortion as a personal and direct threat, nor did they see the
fetus as a separate and sentient human being. They were more likely to express the belief that
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abortion is a highly personal and extremely private decision affecting only the individual women
involved and should not be subject to government or religious interference.
Tabjazzy64: “To obtain a better future, we each must be free to make
profoundly personal decisions about our reproductive lives…”
Blonda: “I believe that as a woman, I should have every right to make my own
decisions what happens to my body. Why should tax payers make that
decision? They didn't raise me.”
Sofht27: “I believe that abortion is a human right that should not be limited or
regulated by government or religious authority.”
Stephanie: “Every woman has a right to make decisions about her body
without government interference.”
For pro-choice commenters who identified as female (or used typical female names), the
only emotional response to the issue was to the potential loss of the right to make their own
choices.
Irresponsibility and Responsibility
One of the most interesting findings was the frequent assumption made by anti-abortion
commenters that those who seek abortion are irresponsible, having sex without using some form
of birth control and seeking to “escape” the consequences. There was also the common belief
that women who choose abortion are “selfish” and thinking only of themselves.
Doreen: “[…] i just dont understand why people think its okai to kill a
baby...and i agree with alot of people ...USE PROTECTION...go on birth
control...be smart enough to AVOID making a choice like this […]”
Nikki: “I mean if you didnt want a baby, next time use all the precautions that
man kind has created for this purpose of preventing fertalation. Condoms AND
birthcontrol were invented for a reason , HELL they even created easier
birthcontrol from pills and also more pleasuristic condoms.”
Ashlie: “[…] You made the choice to not use birth control or condoms so
you're asking to have a baby. People who have abortion are committing a
crime to an innocent person. Babies don't ask to be brought into this world so
you should take it out of this world because of your poor choices."
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kaitlynn: “[…] you decided to go have sex so take responsibilitys for your
actions and come on use precautions condoms and birthcontrol will help and if
it doesnt again you caused this too happen everything happens for a reason
Alejandra: The majority of reasons why women get abortions are selfish.
They include: [edited for space—jk] not being financially able, wanting to
avoid shame at being pregnant, too many children to handle another one, too
young, will ruin education and career, etc. These reasons are only thinking
about the woman.
It was also common for commenters to suggest that consent to sex equals consent to bear
a child, therefore women should not engage in sexual activities unless they expect and are
willing to become pregnant.
123: “[…] If you didnt want the baby in the first place, why did you even have
sex, if you knew the outcomes."
A.J.: “Sex is a choice. If you do not want the chance at a child, don't start the
process of having one.”
Melissa: "if the woman doesnt want the child then why do they have sex?
DONT HAVE SEX if you dont want a child"
Cameron: "This wouldn't be a problem if you would have just kept your legs
closed or used protection"
Pro-choice commenters were more likely to argue against the idea of pregnancy being a
result of irresponsibility and to point out the contradiction in the argument that “irresponsible”
people should become parents.
Zoei: "Most of the Con arguments are that people aren't being responsible and
they aren't using condoms or birth control so they have to face their
consequences. But condoms and birth control are not 100% affective. And in
the case that people are raped, they have no choice but to be pregnant.
Pregnancy isn't always a choice. And if a woman, young or old, knows they
are not responsible enough to deal with pregnancy, let alone a child, they
deserve every right to abort.”
anon: “A woman who isn't ready for a baby will not be a good mother.
Children deserve mothers who are financially, emotionally and physically
stable.
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They were also more likely to point out the lack of sex education and the difficulties
women face in obtaining birth control that contribute to lower rates of birth control use and
higher rates of unintended pregnancy (Ellison, 2003), as well as lack of a strong social safety net
for low-income women who carry a pregnancy to term, regardless of their ability to provide for
the child that results, and the stigmatization of mothers on welfare.
Greta: We would have fewer abortions if access to birth control and sex
education classes talked about birth control. It is interesting how the states
which have the largest percentages of people who oppose abortion also oppose
anything other than abstinence only education...they also have the highest
abortion rates and highest poverty rates.
Samantha: “I thought of an interesting contradiction that I have seen in the
public debate. Often, I find that the same groups who oppose a woman's right
to terminate an unwanted pregnancy also oppose effective sex education in
schools, access to health care for poor women and children, 'entitlements' such
as WIC, food stamps, Medicaid, and welfare, and Social Security. These
groups also seem to support the death penalty more often than not. In other
words, they want all precious babies to be born, however once they are here,
they don't want to spend tax payer money on feeding, educating, or providing
essential services for the child or her family.”
Priorizing fetus versus prioritizing women
In my analysis of the comments it became clear that pro-life and pro-choice supporters
have two distinctly different views of abortion. For the pro-life side, abortion is an issue in which
there are two lives to be considered, but the fetus is most important. On the pro-choice side there
is only one life in consideration and that is the life of the woman.
Comments on the anti-choice side show a distinct lack of empathy for women who face
the decision to abort. This lack of empathy extended to a surprising lack of support for
exceptions in cases of rape.
Christian: "I understand that rape and the mother's life are problems. Morally
I still believe you should not do it in these cases.”
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Aloneintheworld: “they say mothers die from back alley abortions you
deserve your punishment of death if you are trying to abort Gods gift to you.”
anastasia: “if you were raped did you file a police report maybe that would
help you calm down before you go make a rash decision…”
GABY: “If you were raped then why would you want to ruin someone's life
after someone just ruined yours. do't blame your baby for something they
didn't do. It's not there fault so why should they be punished? If you think it is
too complicated to take care of this baby then put it up for adoption or just
leave it in front of a fire station at LEAST.”
Pro-choice commenters, on the other hand, take a holistic view, that is, to look at the
whole picture surrounding the reasons women might choose abortion, such as rape and incest,
birth control failure, financial or emotional difficulties. They were also more likely to express
understanding of the physical and psychological aspects of forcing women to carry pregnancies
to term, particularly in cases of rape or where the fetus has serious physical defects. They were
also more likely to consider needs of mother and child after it is born.
Greta: “I am for abortion remaining legal because our society fails to provide
and protect unwanted children. These children grow up in poverty and are
more likely to end up in the penal system.
Other genetic conditions not covered, such as Tay-sacs guarantee that the child
will die within three years of an excruciating death. There is no cure. To force
a child to bear that horror while their family looks on is unconscionable. It isn't
just parents avoiding mentally retarded children. […]
I am also pro-choice because rape or incest is horrific enough; imagine the
psychological trauma of being forced to endure a pregnancy which is a daily
physical reminder of that trauma.”
Pro-choice commenters were also more likely to consider the effects a ban on abortion
would have and believed it would not mean abortions would end. Unlike anti-abortion
commenter Annie, who said, “Im 100% sure that women would be much careful if abortion didnt
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exist [sic]" they argued that women who do not wish to be pregnant would risk their health and
lives by attempting to self-abort or by seeking out unsafe care and practitioners, as they did in
times past.
Diane: "Making it illegal simply means that middle class and poor women
have no access to safe methods, but will do it anyway through illegal and
dangerous methods. The wealthy can always find a method (pay a doctor,
travel to another country) to get an abortion.
‘…’: “People will get abortions regardless of wether or not it's legal, and so
making it legal and having procedures done by professionals is safer.
C0D3: “All of you pro-life people aren't thinking of the child AFTER its birth.
If the mother didn't want it, but she was FORCED to have it, would you be
willing to take care of it?”
Katie: "I am pro-choice for the women who are seriously injured or lose their
life in "back ally" abortion clinics. Women should be provided the medical
care necessary for a safe abortion. Whether right or wrong, legal or illegal,
abortion will never cease to exist. That is the reality here. And few choose to
accept it. You can either help these women or let them die in underground
clinics.”
Religious sentiment
As previous research indicates, pro-life advocates are more likely to be religious than
pro-choice supporters. From the belief that life begins at conception to the belief that abortion is
the murder of a separate living person, the Christian religion plays a large role in the comments
of those who oppose abortion.
Anthony P.: "its is not right kill a human being like The Holy Bible says in
Exodus 20:13 God Says Thou Shall Not Kill....no its should not be legalized it
is not right to kill a human being that is meant to live like us."
Joseph: "The moment of conception, the God given soul has entered the fetus.
To abort the fetus is killing the pure soul which God has given...how sad :("
alan Mitchell: "The baby is a gift from God and who are we to deny a life? In
most cases if there is an unwanted pregnancy it could of been avoided in the
first place; contraceptive or even abstinence. In rare and brutal cases, there are
other options besides taking innocent lives. Remember, its all part of Gods
will!"
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ginny: Just my opinion I believe God knits a child in the womb during
conception creating mind body & spirit God has a program to follow weather
you like it or not If not Then evil follows evil \Abortion is to unravel Gods
creation
Pro-choice advocates, on the other hand, were less likely to use religious sentiment and
those who did either stated that abortion was a decision of conscience or used the Bible to bolster
their opinion. They were more likely to point out that not everyone shares the same belief
systems or to argue that the state should not legislate morality.
Anonymous: “If one says we are breaking a law of God, are you saying that
we must all follow ONE religion's way? Some people do not believe in God.
This is a country where all beliefs are welcomed.”
Lois Manning: “Even the Old Testament argues that people don't exist until
birth (Job 10:18-19: Why then have you brought me out of the womb? Oh, that
I had perished and no eye had seen me! I would have been as though I had not
been." Note Job did NOT say, "Why then have you brought me INTO the
womb?" Abraham's god clearly teaches that existence begins with birth, NOT
conception (which, by the way, was not discovered until after the microscope
was invented."
Michael: "i think you should be able to have abotions and if someone says it
is not right because they are religious then what about people who have other
religions and the people who don't belive in god. Any ways there is a
seperation of the church and the state so god doesn't matter there anyways."
Shaming of women who abort
Given the more religious nature of the pro-life movement, it is not surprising that many
comments by those who oppose abortion often vilified women who terminate their pregnancies.
Ellison (2003) found that women who chose abortion did so privately for fear of the social
stigma of being an unwed mother, and most were afraid of being judged “selfish” because of
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their decision. This is consistent with Luker’s (1984) finding that pro-life ideology of
motherhood as a natural ascribed role stigmatizes women who terminate.
Anonymous: "If a person kills a pregnant lady the murderer is charged with 2
counts of murder, so why shouldnt the pregnant mother having the abortion be
convicted of murder?
Christian: “[…] Also, if you have already had an abortion, you should
probably find the best way to confess that sin to God. If you are not a
Christian, I would still suggest this. It is in the Scriptures that if you fail to
warn someone, you are accountable for their sins. Here is your warning. If you
do not repent and be baptized into the Christian faith, you will most likely go
to Hell when you die. I'm so sorry
Garantula4: “I believe the only reason EVER to get an abortion is: rape,incest
or if the birth will kill the mother. If you killed your baby and it had nothing to
do with these reasons you may consider yourself a cold blooded murderer,
enjoy living with yourself."
M0Ni: “…people who abort there child are murderers and will go to hell."
Language
The pro-choice supporters were more likely on the whole to use make longer comments,
and use complete sentences, proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and use more complex
language. Anti-choice advocates, on the other hand, were more likely make shorter comments
and to have misspellings, misused or absent punctuation, and use less complex language.
Forty-one anti-abortion comments, or 15% percent, were six lines in length or more, 184
(65%) were three lines or less, and 19% were between three and six lines. In contrast, 37% of
pro-choice comments (74 of 199) were six lines in length or more, 39% were three lines in length
or less, and 24% were between three and six lines in length. I also found that 15% of anti-choice
comments were likely to have major errors in language usage and 34% were likely to have minor
errors, compared to 2.5% and 14%, respectively, of pro-choice comments. This is consistent with
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previous research findings on the correlation between lower educational attainment and
opposition to abortion.
Nikki: "im Con because no one should kill there child. It is there fault if they
chose NOT to use protection. Its your responisbility. I mean if you didnt want
a baby, next time use all the precautions that man kind has created for this
purpose of preventing fertalation. Condoms AND birthcontrol were invented
for a reason , HELL they even created easier birthcontrol from pills and also
more pleasuristic condoms .
Kaila Justine Zahyn: "Abortion should not be aloud anywhere in the world
even 8if the woman that has this baby in her whom. You would be breaking
the fifth comandment "You shall not murder". You may think think that your
not committing murder4 bu8t you realy are.
darby: “its a womans choice to have an abortion. i terminated my pregnancy
because i was raped. i didnt want to have this child because it was never ment
to be, i wasnt willing to have sex.. i was forced under my consent. i also did
not want this child to resemble the man that forced him self in me. all in all
abortion should be legal"
Khamiya: "im for abortion women should be able to choose what they want or
not and yes it is terminating something but its done when the baby is still an
embryo its murder when it becomes a fetus and people should be able to have
options and regardless if there are people waiting to get children that are
adopting if the woman doesnt want to carry the child and give it away she
dosent have to she should be able to decide and so what she wants"
Use of all-capitals for emphasis was used by many commenters, likely because the ProCon.org website does not allow other means, such as bold or italics hyper-text markup language
(HTML). However, pro-choice commenters used them less frequently and often only to
emphasize a single word.
Alejandra: “It grows IN the body but IS NOT an actual part.”
Chelsey: That child did absolutly NOTHING wrong, and therefore should
NOT be treated as just a peice of tissue.
Sonia 555: “All I'm saying is if you want ur baby out you can have it out. GET
RELIGION OUT OF MY LIFE AND FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST GET
THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF MY VAGINA!!!!!"
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Rose: “We as women should be uniting and helping each other; you don't have
to agree with our decisions, just be a kindhearted human being and help your
fellow woman against the government that debate about OUR bodies.
Commonalities
Two distinct commonalities emerged in the comments. First, while many commenters on
the anti-choice side frequently accused the pro-choice side of seeing the fetus as only “a piece of
tissue [sic],” both sides used the words “baby” or “child” frequently in their comments. While
the rhetoric used by pro-choice organizations uses technical terms or simply elides over the
existence of the fetus to focus on the right of women to make decisions for themselves, it is clear
that this particular group, if not most pro-choice supporters, recognize the potential that exists in
each pregnancy and the complex, individualized nature of abortion. “Sometimes it’s a child and a
choice,” to quote the title of Jeannie Ludlow’s paper on the necessity of ending the dichotomy of
“woman versus child” of the current debate on abortion.
The second was repeated use of the phrase “abortion as birth control” by both sides. Prolife commenters were more likely to believe most women were choosing abortion as a form of
post-sex birth control, which was not unexpected. The number of pro-choice commenters who
argued that while they supported abortion, they did not support “abortion as birth control” was
surprising. I would argue this is an example of the successful efforts by the pro-life movement to
change the way the public views abortion and stigmatize women who terminate, despite the fact
that few women use abortion as a birth control measure. According to the National Abortion
Federation:
“If abortion were used as a primary method of birth control, a typical woman would have
at least two or three pregnancies per year - 30 or more during her lifetime. In fact, most
women who have abortions have had no previous abortions (52%) or only one previous
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abortion (26%). Considering that most women are fertile for over 30 years, and that birth
control is not perfect, the likelihood of having one or two unintended pregnancies is very
high.”
Conclusion
The general themes that emerged in this analysis show a marked difference between prochoice and anti-abortion supporters. Anti-choice advocates are, in general, more emotive and
religious, more likely to personalize or identify with the fetus, and less likely to display empathy
for women facing the decision to terminate their pregnancies.
Pro-choice advocates are, in general, more objective and less religious, more likely to
take individual circumstances into account and more likely to believe abortion is a personal and
private matter that should not be subject to religious or government intrusions. They also display
a greater empathy for women, particularly concern for risks women may take if abortion is
criminalized, and greater concern for the long-term futures of children. Consistent with previous
findings, commenters who oppose abortion appear to have less education and higher religiosity
while those who support the right to choose.
As the examples show, the abortion debate is polarized and unlikely to be resolved,
regardless of whether or not Roe v. Wade is overturned and abortion is criminalized once again,
but future research might be undertaken to discover how personal background leads supporters
and opponents to their position on the issue.
Knecht
Table 1. Word List
Pro-choice
Anti-abortion
free/freedom
sex
choice/choose
legal
medical/health
welfare
rape/raped
religion
control
pro-[choice/abortion/side
birth control
pain
education
Jesus/God/god/Lord
unborn
Bible
personal
killing/murder
family
anti(s)
conception
life/live/lived
fetus
pro life/pro-life
baby/babies
child/children/kid/kids
human/human being
mother/father/parent
woman/women/girl/girls
safe/safety/safely
rape/raped
sex
baby/babies
pain
unborn
choice/choose
family
pro-life/pro life
fetus
illegal
conception
save
life/live/lived
welfare
death/dead
religion
birth control
Bible
woman/women/girl/girls
anti(s)
mother/father/parent
child/children/kid/kids
human/human being
free/freedom
killing/murder/murdered
Jesus/God/god/Lord
abortionist/abortionists
pro-[choice/abortion/side]
Table 2. Codes
Use of “feeling” words, such as “angry”
“sick,” “mad” “hate” “disgusted”
“scares”
Excessive punctuation
Baby/babies
“it could have been you” (or variants)
Right to life/live
Don’t have sex
Use birth control
Selfish
Unborn equal to already born
Unborn as separate person
No exception for rape
Considering woman’s personal
circumstances = selfishness
Adoption
“Thou shalt not kill”
Bible as authority
Jesus/God/gods/Lord
General religious sentiment
Killing/murder
Deserve death/consequences
“Murderer”
Focus on late-term abortions
Abortion as birth control
Distancing/impersonal language
Lack of “feeling” words
Personal choice
Privacy
No religious interference
No government interference
Personal choice/decision
Improve life circumstances/future
Difficulty obtaining birth control
Lack of education
Already born human vs. potential human
Exceptions for rape, incest, health/safety of
mother
Life of poverty
Risk of abuse/neglect for unwanted child
Health issues affecting fetus/woman
Adoption/birth poses physical/emotional
risks
Return to “back-alley abortions
19
Knecht
Table 3. Themes
Anti-abortion
Emotion
Personalization
Irresponsibility/consequences
Prioritizes fetus
Religious sentiment
Shaming
Abortion as birth control
Pro-choice
Objectivity
Freedom
Circumstances
Prioritizes woman/lack of safety
net/prevent current & future suffering
Health/safety
Abortion as birth control
Table 4. Language Codes
Complex language
Simple language
Complete sentences
Incomplete sentences
Short comment
less than 3 lines
Medium comment
more than 3 lines, less than 5
Long comment
more than 6 lines
Minor misspellings
less than two misspellings per line
some lack of appropriate capitalization
Major misspellings
more than two misspellings per line
frequent lack of appropriate capitalization
Minor punctuation errors
less than two missing/misused punctuation marks per comment
Major punctuation errors
more than four missing/misused punctuation marks per comment
lack of punctuation
Excessive punctuation
more than 4 punctuation marks in a row
Grammatical errors
subject/verb tense
lack of coherency
misused words (ie: incident instead of accident)
incorrect homonym usage (ie: “their” for “there”),
incorrect plurals/possessives (ie: “babys” for “babies” or “babies” for
“baby’s”)
Invented words
ie: “pleasuristic”
ALL CAPS for emphasis
20
Knecht
21
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