For my organization, I chose PROLIFE Across AMERICA, a non-profit organization that, according to their website, “is dedicated to changing hearts and saving babies’ lives” (PROLIFEAcrossAMERICA.org). Before continuing further, I wanted to establish that, while that I personally promote women retaining the right to have an abortion, I entirely respect and understand the logic of those who believe abortion is wrong. My goal isn’t to argue for or against abortion or to even scrutinize the morals or science behind either side, but to observe how the effectively PROLIFE Across AMERICA is able to present their own argument. That being said, I feel that my stance on the issue allowed me to take an analytical, objective stance when determining the logical appeals employed by the organization, as well as where those logical appeals fell short.
Since 1989, PROLIFE Across AMERICA (I am going to call it PAA) has been collecting funds through donations in order to produce anti-abortion billboard, radio, and newspaper ads. In fact, their website claims that more than 93% of donations are allocated for advertisements. Through these medians, the PAA hopes to reach out to pregnant people potentially considering abortion. Their website bases most of its argument around their particularly firm belief that life begins at contraception, therefore abortion would be murdering that baby (again, not taking a stance, just noting the definite stance the organization takes on the matter).
The PAA’s ideology is supplemented by both “Biblical principals” and (the website claims factual) scientific information about the development of fetuses. Although the website does not go into depth about the influence religion has on their cause, there is a noticeable underlying religious context for the information given. This is evident by the assertion that life begins at the moment of contraception, an idea that is historically divisive between pro-life and pro-choice groups. Because the organization appears to take religion as factual evidence, this belief concerning contraception is a logical appeal, though a weak one. The organization does not even attempt to communicate with people who might not share their strong religious beliefs, therefore ignoring what could potentially be a large part of their targeted audience. Additionally, this reliance on religion for their ideology could be considered an appeal to ethos, as the organization considers the teachings the Roman Catholic Church to be certain credibility.
The PAA’s website goes into far more depth about what they claim are the facts about abortion. They created a chronological timeline of the development of the fetus, such as when the cells first start dividing, when the fetus gets a heartbeat, and when certain organs and limbs develop. Assuming that this information is correct, this information is a moderately appealing argument. By referencing data that suggests life begins before live birth, the PAA makes a logical argument against terminating a pregnancy. Even if the information is not totally factual, by presenting the information as certain data, it is still appealing to the audience’s sense of logic.
The organization’s website additionally relies heavily on the employment of ethos. This could be assumed with any abortion related ideology, the topic is heavily based on personal morals and emotions. The use of emotional appeal is especially evident in the images used; there are many pictures of cute babies with captions such as “I could smile before I was born,” and “my heart beat 18 days from conception” (prolifeacrossamerica.org). Content such as this appeals to peoples’ compassion for babies, and their desire to protect them. By asserting that fetuses are living individuals, the PAA sought to convince their audience that it would be deeply immoral to end the life of (what they believe is) a baby by terminating the pregnancy.
The effectiveness of the PAA’s website is arguably determinant on the already established ideology of their audience, a characteristic that weakens the effectiveness of their cause. The information provided relies heavily on fundamental beliefs, and likely is unable to change the minds of those who are not religious, or those who do not consider conception to be the beginning of life. The website’s effectiveness is mostly carried by the appeal to emotion, because who doesn’t like cute babies?