Rhetoric and Ideology Paper Since it became an option, there has been an undeniable and definite argument regarding abortions and birth control in the United States and the rest of the world. However, as women we hold a common value and necessity, which is that we have the unwavering right to educate ourselves in order to make the most well informed and best decision for ourselves. As humans, we have the responsibility to care for each and every person including women that have intentionally, accidentally, forcibly or in any other way become pregnant, and to support and to educate them on their journey making decisions that will impact them, and the future of our world. Many women believe that it is their right as individuals to decide what they can do to their body including whether or not they carry out a pregnancy. This is a completely fair argument. It can be frustrating and seemingly unfair when others are making decisions for you that quite literally can be the difference between keeping a life or not. After speaking with a peer, I was able to empathize with them and their struggle to come to a definite and satisfying answer as to whether or not they would receive an abortion at their young age if they happened to become pregnant. Many girls my age in high school are sexually active, and have had to consider what they would do for themselves in this case. For the majority of them, abortion seems to be the only plausible and realistic option. Having a pregnancy in high school is one of the worst things many girls could dream of. Another woman I spoke to actually did have an abortion. She explained that when she was 30, she was an alcoholic and was dealing with some addictions. One night at a party she was sexually assaulted and a month later found out she was pregnant. Between the night of concievment and her abortion 5 months later and yet afterward, she compartmentalized the rape out of shame and fear. Even her boyfriend wasn’t aware of the assault. However he agreed that with her circumstances it would be the best option for her to receive an abortion. In this case, the woman was unhealthy physically and mentally in several different regards. In addition, she was worried for the outcome of the baby and if it would suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome or mental handicaps from her conditions. She is glad that she made the choice she did over ten years later while she lives with her husband and 3 year old son- drug and alcohol free and able to address her traumatic past. However this is not the case for everyone. My grandma a faithful Christian, created a foundation 46 years ago where she works side by side with women who are pregnant to pay bills, feed and clothe themselves and their babies, council and provide therapy (including for women who have had abortions) and help to find jobs and much more. According to her, many women suffer mentally from the loss of their potential baby when it was in the womb years down the road after having an abortion. She also made the point that if women and girls took advantage of their access to contraceptives and birth control in order to prevent the need to decide to have an abortion in the first place. While these are not always 100% effective, they are a much better alternative to having to deal with the consequences of being sexually active when not wanting a pregnancy. She also brought up the point that society is not forgiving and accepting of girls my age who are pregnant, and women who are out of wedlock. Instead of stigmatizing these pregnancies, we need to open our arms to them and learn to accept that we will have our differences no matter what because in the end, the decision to keep a life is not made by society; It’s made by the mother. I spoke with another peer who had become pregnant in the Fall semester of her senior year as a result of not using precautions against it while being sexually active in a committed relationship with her boyfriend. She has been raised in a very conservative and per say “pro-life” family who disapproved of the use of even contraceptives. In addition, she had never attended a health class, let alone sex education class which is where many teens my age gain information around sexual health and precautions. This mix of lack of education, access to contraceptives that many girls my age have and pressure from her family resulted in her going through with the pregnancy and raising a beautiful young girl. She is very happy with her decision to keep the pregnancy and has been working to earn money towards community college in the spring so that she might be able to raise a family with a stronger sense of stability. However despite her upbringing and personal experience, she considers herself to be pro-choice as she sees the views of other girls and doesn’t feel that it’s right to force them into a box that they don’t fit in. Personally, I come from an unusual perspective since I was adopted. I do not believe that the “abortion issue” is completely a black and white or one or the other issue. Bringing a life into the world in high school does not necessarily mean that it has to take over the life of its mother. In the US we are privileged enough to be so developed that families are on waiting lists to adopt children. The adoption system is not perfect, but the hearts of the families in the US are full and welcoming to adversity. Furthermore, I believe that if more girls considered this as an alternative to having an abortion, it would become more normalized, and seen as an issue with necessary improvement; meaning the adoption system at least in the US would be improved further. As for normalization, after speaking to my peer about her experience with being pregnant, it doesn’t sound as terrifying and horrible as I would have imagined. It certainly is not the ideal situation most girls my age would want to be in, however it truly is not as horrible of a fate as it is made out to be. The more accepting we become of the reality regardless of push back and advice from others that high schoolers likely will be having sex, the better we will be able to educate and prepare them for making the difficult decisions that could come up as a result. Regardless of the different experiences and views on abortions and pregnancies, it is clear that the importance of educating women is a noncontroversial issue. By making information more accessible to women; especially high school girls, we would know to use contraceptives if choosing to be sexually active, and would have a better idea of what the best decision would be for ourselves if it came to the choice between having an abortion or going through with a pregnancy. The situation and reasoning is different for each young woman which is why it’s so critical that they have the baseline knowledge to make the most educated decision for themselves so that they can move forward with their lives without guilt or regret. It is the responsibility of all of us to come together to create a more educated and welcoming world for new lives to be brought into.
Bibliography Bodewes, Carolyn. “Personal Interview.” 2020. Council, Family Research. “Abortion.” Family Research Council, 2020, www.frc.org/abortion. Francis, Christin. 2020. Personal interview “Laws & Policy.” NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.prochoiceamerica.org/laws-policy/. Mick, Annabelle. “Personal Interview.” 2020. Source, Anonymous. “Anonymous Interview.” 2020.
Reflection My project was an investigation of the issue regarding abortions, access to contraceptives, adoptions and stigmas around teen pregnancies. My final project was an essay discussing two sides of the issue; “pro-life” and “pro-choice”. I also included four different interviews I conducted to more effectively collect information and research.
Since the beginning of this project, I knew I was going to have some major inner conflicts. At first I was simply worried about going against the Liberal leaning “pro-choice” normality of my class. In fact my parents advised me against doing a project on this subject. However as I began organizing meetings with people who have had first hand experience either speaking with thousands of women throughout the past 46 years about their issues around pregnancies, abortions, and everything in between, trying to find an accessible contraceptive at age 16, dealing with a pregnancy at age 17, or having an abortion, I began to realize there was so much more meaning beneath the titles of “pro-life” and “pro-choice”. Everyone has their own situation and experience and story which is unique and equally important. However the strongest and most impactful realization I took from the research was that “information is power”. I have heard this quote on many occasions, however it wasn’t until I spoke with each of these women about their experiences that I truly discovered the importance behind those words. Even after formulating an idea and value of my own around the “abortion issue”, I know I will continue to hold those words close to my heart. I plan to continue to educate myself about this issue, and many more that consume our world today.
Throughout this project I have learned that rhetoric is an absolutely critical part of the way we function as a society. Rhetoric creates an idea, and creates a bias behind it. It’s seen in absolutely everything we see and do no matter when or where we are. Ideas are where the stems and fruit of a strong social structure take root in. Rogerian argumentation attempts to deplete the bias from the ideas in order to allow more perspectives to take into account the true motives behind it which are often similar despite what side of the spectrum someone might be on. However, we cannot always count on rogerian rhetoric to create peace between the different sides of a controversial issue. It’s our responsibility as individual and independent thinkers to both share our ideas and opinions with each other and to listen to one another's even if it contradicts ours. We have to be “willing to be disturbed” if we ever plan to make strides forward in our world. We have to confront and talk about the tough issues and be willing to have our thoughts and feelings challenged. That is the only way we can ever expect to make impactful and lasting changes in our world.
Personal Connection Essay Almost every good friend I have right now has asked me at some point since they’ve known me if I’m a Russian spy. And of course I always answer by saying “duh why else would I be here?” But the truth is there’s a lot more to my story than being one lucky kid that got adopted from Russia. I was adopted before international adoptions became banned in Russia. And I was three years old when my parents were finally able to bring me home to my fresh beautiful new life. I wasn’t brought home when I was three because my parents wanted to adopt an older child. That’s just when the judge finally allowed them to; after two and a half years of trying to adopt me. Two- and- a -half- years. That’s how long my parents dedicated and worked to bring me home to their family. Nearly three times as long as it takes to create and bring a baby into the world on your own. Because of my parent’s’ unwavering determination to have me become a part of their family. There are many problems in today’s society, but one important one is that people have the misconception that there aren’t more parents like mine in the world. The other issue is that we’re having the wrong conversations. They aren’t conversations; they’re endless debates full of pain, anger, sadness and past experiences that only one side has been a part of. We aren’t listening, let alone hearing one another. If we gave each other a fraction of the time we spend arguing our own side to really listen and allow ourselves to feel and understand the other point of view, I believe we would be enlightened and have the ability to move forward with this issue in a more productive and united manner One of the biggest arguments I have heard regarding adoptions is that girls don’t want to go through the pregnancy process at their age. Their decisions about their body belong to them as does their future. This is a completely respectable and legitimate argument. However I, along with many pro- life activists can see issues with this. While I personally would hate to go through with a pregnancy at the age I am at and my future to look forward to, I can’t help being reminded of how incredibly lucky I was to be given the opportunity to live. I’m not here to tell anyone they are right or wrong to have an abortion. I’m trying to help both sides to read the words which they refuse to listen to. I think the biggest issue in America at this very moment ties in and impacts our perception of pregnancies, which is the way in which media and social standards and expectations are presented to the generation of teenagers today. I am one of the guiltiest of any teenage girl my age of giving into the social pressures of my peers through the media, texts and information I consume on a daily basis. This is a problem. In today’s day and age it’s impossible to meet the standards of social media because it’s constantly evolving and escalating to meet a new ideal in the minds of society. The way that the media twists the perception of girls who are pregnant is absolutely horrific. As a society, we have come to the conclusion that being pregnant at a young age is from a result of being a/n (insert crude and inappropriate, yet overused words.) It’s not anyone’s fault directly that this is the perception. Teenagers are the victims of a failed experiment and system that makes money off of our drive as humans to fit in. The first step to reversing this issue is to first identify it, and then talk about it. Another issue that comes up regarding the decision to have a baby is what happens to it after it’s born. Many people seem to believe that they have to raise their child on their own and be completely responsible for it. Others look at the foster care crisis happening in America and use it to rationalize why they wouldn’t give their child up for adoption. I am living proof from one of the poorest orphanages in Russia that this is not always or remotely often the case. However, I realize that the adoption system in America is not perfect, and is far from it. That’s not even to mention the so-called “Planned Parenthood” which I personally have no experience or education on. It’s yet another topic which we have the privilege and responsibility to discuss. I want to make it clear however that even though our system absolutely needs refinement and changes, at least it gives a child an opportunity to live. It gives them the chance to be whatever and whoever they want to be. I think that’s a beautiful thing. I know it’s hard. I know it’s sad. I know it’s one of the most difficult decisions a girl or woman (or anyone who can become pregnant) will ever make, but it’s crucial to critically consider every possible option and outcome before making it. Finally, but nowhere near lastly, girls simply do not have the ideal access to resources such as birth control, protection and information about sexual health, taking precautions and even healthy relationships. I will forever hold the quote “information is power” close to my heart. Information and education is the greatest gift anyone could possibly give. The problem is that girls and boys are not receiving the education about sex, starting families and staying safe and healthy throughout the process of being a teenager, parent or romantic partner. When I was a freshman in Durango High school, a boy and I wanted to take things further in our toxic relationship than what was appropriate and what I was ready for at my age. Regardless, I had taken health class and had a very basic education on sex and taking precautions. Being proactive as I was, I went to the health department and signed up to receive a depo shot as a form of birth control. I forged my parents signature, and in a week I had been injected and within a month I would be “okay” to proceed in those activities. (To be clear, and to my relief nothing ended up happening.) However, more recently I have been looking into ways of receiving birth control without the consent of parents and found that it’s actually very difficult to come by. Sure, the school counselor at almost every school has a basket of condoms and a few words of greatly appreciated advice, but the education isn’t. I have taken one health class that was one semester long my entire life, and only one 30 minute sex ed class. We need to be talking about it. We need to be asking the hard and embarrassing questions. We need to be learning and making decisions based on the facts that we know rather than our impulses and even many of our past experiences. There are so many things to consider when deciding where we stand on the issue of abortions, adoptions and standing on the lines of pro life and pro choice. I can’t say that there is one answer and resolution to these problems. However we can come closer to one if we start talking to each other in a civil and empathetic manner while considering every side, view, perspective and piece of evidence that we can utilize. People are angry and emotional, and that’s completely okay and understandable. What’s not okay is how we have been dealing with it. As humans, we have the responsibility to care for each and every person including women that have intentionally, accidentally, forcibly or in any other way become pregnant, and to support them on their journey making decisions that will impact them, and the future of our world. All we have to do is talk. We have to tell our stories and our histories, even if it means exposing our secret of being an undercover Russian spy. I think it’s worth the risk if we can help to make the world a little better, one story at a time.