"“No shame in aborting unborn life” Susie O’Brien. Herald Sun. October 19 2010

Essay by Jadees129High School, 11th grade August 2014

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"No shame in aborting unborn life"

Susie O'Brien. Herald Sun. October 19 2010

"No Shame in aborting unborn life", written by Susie O'Brien, is an opinionated article published in the Herald Sun on October 19, 2010. Assertive and challenging in tone, the article clearly contends the writer's strong opinions towards abortion and how it is wrongly perceived in this society.

The article begins in a confronting manner and initially supports the idea of a challenging and confronting tone. By stressing the word "choosing" and focusing on the idea that women abort because "they care so much" for their unborn child, O'Brien clearly states that abortion is very serious and this issue should not be swept over. Capitalising "CHOOSING" adds emphasis and we are left in no doubt, that deciding to abort a pregnancy is the sensible option in comparison to ending up as a "bad mother who hurts or neglects her kids".

This is an influential statement that captures reader's attention as well as states the contention clearly and abruptly within the first brief sentence, so that the writer's point is specified unquestionably. The writer also uses opinions from experts to show that the opinion is shared by someone of expert knowledge.

By including the "startling findings" from "new Victorian research", about abortion, the writer uses the persuasive technique of appealing to authority. This positions the reader to view the writer's argument as more convincing because it appears to be objective. This specific quote is in favour of the writer's opinion in contrast to the generalisations she then goes on to make about what society labels the women who choose to have abortions as; stating that they are "blithely ending a life", "selfishly putting [themselves] before the needs of [their] unborn babies" and "abortion is said to be a...