Abortion Should Not Be Banned

Abortion is a widely debated topic that has been conflicting politicians and women around the world. Abaluck’s article, â€Å"Late-Term Abortion Should Not Be Banned† did not provide half as many sources or facts as Boland’s article, â€Å"Second Trimester Abortion Laws Globally. † Boland provided more statistics and alternant resources for the reader. It can look impressive if an author throws in an extensive reference list, but if he does not persuade you in an argument, all he has done is give you a history lesson. This is a perfect example of what Boland did in his essay. Of the two articles I researched, Abaluck’s article was more argumentative and forced me to question my own morals and view-points on abortion. Abaluck stated his opinion immediately by having his argument presented in his title. I loved this about his article because when I am reading something, it is hard for me to follow only numbers. I do not want a math lesson; I want my brain and beliefs to be challenged. I believe Abaluck’s article provides the necessary evidentiary support to persuade the audience to have mutual feelings about his stance on late-term abortion. There are two completely different vibes given off in each article. Abaluck’s article, â€Å"Late-Term Abortion Should Not Be Banned† was definitely my favorite because he gave an actual argument. With all of the facts he provided, he seems to know a significant amount of information about abortion and acts so passionate about it. However, Boland’s piece is the polar opposite of an argumentative article. This is one of the most informative pieces I have ever read and I feel much more aware of how other countries view abortion. I know this is the effect Boland was going for, and the article succeeded its purpose. Boland’s article was just straight facts and kind of boring. Although I was given more information in Boland’s article, I was not persuaded either way on the argument. The credibility of each author is high, but when it comes down to who I would want on my side in an argument, it would be Abaluck. Both authors work for Harvard in different areas. Jason Abaluck is the president of the Harvard Liberal Monthly Magazine and Reed Boland is a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health. This spikes heir credibility through the roof and gives me no doubt that they know what they are talking about when it comes to research. Since Abaluck writes for a liberal magazine, I am sure his argument is a little biased considering his political views, but unlike Boland, he actually has an opinion. I am more apt to be pulled towards something with a little bit of passion and heart. Part of human nature is forming an opinion by listening to, reading, or watching someone else’s opinion and deciding if you agree or disagree depending on your moral beliefs. I believe late-term abortion should not be banned. A woman’s health should always be taken into consideration especially when there are expected complications. During a second trimester check up, you are likely to be able to see any abnormalities developing in your child. This is the time where it is not only crucial to be able to ensure your baby’s life is developing correctly, but also that the woman is remaining healthy. Most late-term abortions are not done just because a woman changes her mind about having a child. These abortions should not be banned because a lot of times, it is crucial to the woman’s life to have this done. Not only does this affect her physical well-being, it also affects her mentally. For the rest of any woman’s life, she will remember and think about the baby she â€Å"almost† had and she will likely require therapy. Yes, there is always the chance a woman is not having an abortion for all the right reasons, but the attachment that forms between a mother and child cannot be torn so easily. If late-term abortion were to be made illegal, a woman would have no choice but to have a child and risk her own life due to the known abnormalities of her child. The claim in Boland’s article is strictly informative. His article not only provides multiple, if not too many, statistics but also gives a table showing every country’s abortion laws. Maybe his intended audience was for people who were visiting the United States and wanted to see how their country lined up next to others. Most likely, he was writing this article just to inform whoever wanted to know about all the abortion laws worldwide. Regardless of who his audience is, he provides no information on what his personal view of abortion is. This fact made it hard for me to assess which article is better all around. I decided against Boland’s article because with all of the numbers and statistics, it was hard for me to follow along. If Boland had provided a little of his own opinion to spice things up, I would have gladly and openly considered his stance. The claim in Abaluck’s article was argumentative in that he gave his opinion and allowed no room for the other option. I liked that Abaluck’s article was argumentative rather than being strictly factual because he states his opinion, but was not pushy about it. Granted he does not acknowledge the other stand-point, he does not really make it seem like you should believe his argument. It is hard for an author to persuade their point without seemingly throwing it in your face, and I believe Abaluck demonstrated this perfectly. I was definitely persuaded by his article and took all of his ideas into consideration and even adjusted my view on the idea of late-term abortion. When beginning this assignment of researching my selected topic, I was completely against all types of abortion. Now, I realize there are a couple of reasons to reconsider this because you must always take the woman’s health into consideration. By including three personal stories in his article, I was forced to put myself in another person’s shoes and asked myself, â€Å"What would I do if this were me? † During the last few months of pregnancy, if the baby shows many signs of abnormalities or is going to threaten the life of the mother, late-term abortion should definitely be considered. If the unborn child stands little to no chance of survival, is it worth putting the woman’s life at risk? If Abaluck were to read Boland’s article, I believe it would only reinforce his viewpoint by giving him more reason to pull for not banning abortion. Since Boland does not provide an argument, it is easy to state that there is no disagreement shown when comparing the articles. If I were to sit down with both authors, I would first ask both of them to state their opinions and hopefully allow them to hash it out. It would not be difficult for me to assume that it would be an interesting debate knowing both writers know so much about the topic. Not knowing Boland’s stance makes it hard to assume that the two authors would argue, however I would love to assume there are at least a few differences in their beliefs. With Abaluck being a liberal, I am sure they would disagree on something. Or else, I hope they would because that would make sitting down with both of them way more entertaining. â€Å"When asked whether abortion should be legal, 80 percent of Americans say yes. When asked the same question about so-called ‘partial-birth’ abortion, 20 percent said yes. (Abaluck, 2007) Seeing this statistic, it is proven that terminology is crucial when presenting an argument. This proves that regardless of your argument, it would be easy to persuade an audience using harsh language like â€Å"partial-birth†. Even when I read an article against abortion, they used harsh terms like this and it made me resent people who would even consider having an abortion. However, once I learned the facts, I became aware that the language you use in an article is crucial to how you may persuade your audience. Abaluck brings this quote to your attention in the first paragraph of his article and clarifies the difference between real and harsh accusations against late-term abortion. By clarifying how to identify faulty terminology, Abaluck brings it to your attention that it is easy to sway people in your favor. I would undoubtedly say that Abaluck’s article was way better in not only getting a specific point across, but also persuading me and challenging my beliefs and morals. Being informed and having an opinion always go hand in hand and Abaluck’s article depicts this fact perfectly. On the other hand, Boland’s article was informative but very boring. To keep my attention, it is important to incorporate your opinion in order to challenge my beliefs. Although I was educated thoroughly on the topic of late-term abortion, I was not able to form an accurate argument after reading Boland’s article. He did not attempt to persuade me in either direction on the topic, so it was easy for me to determine the better of the articles.