Since ages, abortion has been a controversial and debatable topic in the country. Currently, the legal aspect of abortion has caused a stir in the masses. This matter can be discussed in the light of two opposing viewpoints professed by two personalities. For women, abortion is not as binary as it is considered and being pro-life or pro-choice is not a decision that anyone can make a certain set of principles which they have come to know of. This is exactly what TV show host and analyst, John Oliver discusses in a light-hearted manner on the show ‘Abortion Laws: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ featured 21st of Feb, 2016. The opposing view which states that abortion should be illegal is discussed by author Deion Kathawa in his article. While Oliver constructs his argument around a pro-choice stance with the use of logos and ethos, he appeals that abortion should be legal under certain crucial circumstances. On the contrary, Kathawa states his opposing view about abortion being illegal by stating his thoughts by using ethos and pathos to appeal to the masses. Therefore Oliver proposes that abortion legality is a matter of popular choice, whereas Kathawa states abortion as a moral issue and has no legal element; yet a more effective argument is spun by Oliver as he uses statistics and evidence to support his view that abortion should not be illegal whereas Kathawa is ineffective in proving his opinion about declaring abortion as illegal.
Analyzing ‘Abortion Laws: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,’ it can be seen that Oliver makes use of witty allusions and references which reflect what he thinks about the state laws regarding abortion, the people who believe in the illegality of abortion laws and those who support these state laws. He builds logos at first, which is the use of logic behind an argument, by making use of statistical data which shows how far the problem is solid and stretched in the United States. Since the topic is a controversial one, which many Americans tend to avoid, he makes a ribald statement by saying, ‘Tonight’s episode is about breast implants I mean abortions,” which leaves the audience in fits, which is effective because it shows that people are following his opinion. Respecting every side’s opinions yet advocating his personal opinions, Oliver refers to ethos in the argument that goes on to state that 36% of the individuals believe abortion should be legal in some cases, as per a survey in Gallop. 19% of Americans do not think it should be legal in any case. The statistics reveal that he has done his homework and is not merely stating his own opinion.
He moves in the direction of the logos element further since the topic is a sensitive one which should not be discussed in the light of emotions or personal opinion. He points towards four states which all have one abortion clinic. He adds the humor by saying “Mississippi has four times the amount of S’s than it has abortion clinics;” the use of humor as pathos here is done to display the facts without shifting the weight to the heavier side of emotions. He says that the current issue regarding abortion is not Rowe vs. Wade, but it is Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, which ruled that states can declare restrictions on abortion as long as they do not impose undue obstructions in the path of a woman needing an abortion. He ridicules the idea by saying that “women can jump through a few hoops which resemble that of a dog taking an agility course” (LastWeekTonight). This remark he makes reveals his opinions on the use of logos which induces humor and also reveals the absurdity of the laws.
Humor and reasoning go side by side as he progresses further by introducing more information. Oliver shows statistics that show 91% abortions occur in the first trimester, which do not require surgery and can occur with suction or pills. He then juxtaposes this idea with that of Viagra medication which does not need to be administered by getting admitted to a hospital, since taking this pill is a private matter. The purpose of using this analogy with abortion is to show how absurd it is that women seeking abortion need to get admitted for a pill, which is also a private matter and it can be done at home or elsewhere without getting admitted. Oliver also says that the chances of a woman dying from an abortion are 0.00073% whereas the rate of dying from a colonoscopy is 0.007% (LastWeekTonight). He humors the audience by saying it is more humiliating to die from a colonoscopy and there are worse ways to die as well.
He uses pathos to explain how a doctor at an abortion clinic is treated as a sex offender who cannot be within 2000 feet of a school. Oliver also exemplifies ethos by saying that victims of sexual assault may get pregnant without consent and not allowing them abortion is equal to “forcing a girl into womanhood just because there is no clinic in her state and she might have to spend five grand and travel 3000 miles” (LastWeekTonight). Another stance of pathos he gives is the example of a woman who asks “if there is anything she can use in her kitchen that might induce an abortion” (LastWeekTonight). These are effective examples because they show how abortion needs to be practiced under different circumstances and it is important that lawmakers realize the differences. It is quite convincing from these examples that abortion should be legal under certain conditions.
Hence the essay has begun on a light term and discussed a sensitive topic with the use of ethos and logos. Oliver has provided an abundance of examples, statistics and factual evidence which he has used to exemplify his opinion. He has meant to successfully prove a point without becoming overly emotional and has taken to emotions right at the end of the show, and yet he has overcome that by humor so that no offense is taken by any of the viewers. On the other hand, there are opinion-holders who believe abortion is a non-debatable issue and abortion should be illegal. Deion Kathawa, the author at the Michigan Review, is pro-life in his opinion regarding abortion laws and believes that abortion is supposed to be illegal since it is equivalent to murder. He writes in the article, ‘Abortion Debate Series: Abortion should not be legal” on November 28, 2016, that the United States needs to ban abortion as a ‘country’ and make it part of the constitution, moreover he says it should be done by ‘all’ countries, which he poses as a political statement in his opinion (Kathawa). His point throughout the article is to make the assertion that abortion has played a very crucial role in the system and it should be banned because it kills a fetus, irrespective of what trimester a woman is in. He argues that logic must not be defied in any case because even a matter like rape does not change the fact that the fetus is human and towards the end, he professes that a fetus is not a blob of cells which should be terminated.
The article is full of logos and pathos and very assertive sentences which are definitive and without ambiguity. The author has a red block with white text in it saying, “True equality allows all to be born,” which reveals he is pro-life all the way. As opposed to what John Oliver said about the rights of the democratic republic and the people to choose, he enforces his own opinion that it is not a woman’s right to choose. A woman cannot choose whether she has to kill a fetus which is life. Logos is employed thoroughly as he says that human life is curtailed even when the fetus is just conceived as it has DNA and cells which are all part of human embryology (Kathawa). This is ineffective as a logical statement because he has not used statistical evidence to show how his opinion is valid. There is pathos in these sentences as he appeals to the sentimental side of the issue that the fetus is also a human being and it attains that status once it is conceived. Hence to terminate its conception is cruel, moreover pointless. There are certain elements which might seem like his own opinion such as, “The State must protect individuals from physical aggression which also includes the fetus,” (Kathawa) and this is quite opposed to the logos used by Oliver where his own opinion was restricted, and he made use of authentic statistics and evidence to support his views.
Further, there is a great difference between the logos he professes and that which is professed by Oliver. Kathawa says that even a fetus born out of rape is an individual and cannot be aborted just because a woman does not wish to give birth to it. Oliver had supported the woman’s right to terminate if the pregnancy was caused by assault because it has psychological repercussions however Kathawa feels abortion ends life unreasonably (Kathawa). There are a lot of strong opinions mentioned in his arguments such as jailing mothers for abortion and the Roe vs. Wade argument. He attempts to refer to pathos in these examples because they are meant to intimidate mothers who are hoping to get an abortion. There is no statistical evidence mentioned in these examples, which makes them ineffectual. Lastly, his logos restrict him into saying that a fetus is not a ‘blob of cells’ and that makes it no reason to abort the pregnancy.
A rhetorical analysis of Oliver’s show and Kathawa’s article shows that while Oliver is pro- democracy in his opinion regarding abortion laws, Kathawa believes that there is no question of democracy and it should be illegal. Oliver gives less of his own opinions by referring to outside sources and defends his choice by logical rationale. Kathawa sticks to his own opinions and preferred choice, without providing authentic information from outside sources, and the article is devoid of statistical information. There are only logos and somewhat use of pathos in Kathawa’s opinions; on the other hand, Oliver employs humor to talk about a sensitive issue meanwhile supports the ideas with logic and statistics by authentic sources to back his opinion. Oliver’s show presents a more effective argument as his statements are backed by authentic data but Kathawa’s lacks any references supporting his stance. Oliver is upright in his statement and is more adamant in proving how abortion should not be illegal by employing logical references throughout his show.
Works Cited
Kathawa, Deion. “Critical issue.” Features. The Michigan Review, 28 Nov. 2016. Web.
15 Jan. 2017.
LastWeekTonight. “Abortion Laws: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
(HBO).” YouTube. YouTube, 21 Feb. 2016. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.
