Source-Based Essay on Abortion Laws

Throughout the world, the question of “Pro-Life” or “Pro-Choice” is debated daily. This relates to abortions, the act of terminating a pregnancy by the removal of an embryo. Abortions are debated throughout the world because people either agree with the act (Pro-Choice) or disagree(Pro-Life). Most recently, in the United States, the supreme court has passed a law to ban abortions in the state of Texas known as the “Heart-Beat Bill”. This is sparking issues in the United States because some Americans feel as if the law violates the right of a woman to choose if she can get an abortion or not which is protected by the constitution, while others do not. The articles used are published by credible authors who want to educate people on the ban or discuss their opinion. The audience for these sources is young women or men who are opposed to the law or want to know more about the law.

In the “Associated Press” news article “EXPLAINER: What to know about the new Texas abortion law” Paul J. Webber and David A. Lieb explain to its audience what the law means and does to the women in the state of Texas. The audience is women or men in America who want more information on the “Heart-Beat Bill”, I know this because the source only gave facts on the law. The genre of this source is a news article. Paul J. Webber is currently a reporter for Associated Press who has worked for popular news companies like Forbes, ABC News, and The Washington Post. Webber has over 10,000 articles and a majority of the articles are to inform the average person on current events. David A. Lieb is a political reporter for the Associated Press and has worked with ABC News, Fox News, and MSN. Lieb has over 20,000 articles with a focus on U.S. politics.  The purpose of this article was to educate the average American about the law and what it means. The law does not allow women over 6 weeks to get an abortion even if the woman was raped or in cases of incest. The law also allows the citizens of Texas to sue a doctor that performs an abortion or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion up to $10,000, but the woman who gets the abortion herself cannot be sued. The audience of this source is The tone of this article was formal and informative. I believe the tone was formal and informative because Associated Press is a non-profit news agency company that informs its audience about world news with facts. The author’s stance on Texas abortion is not stated, the article was for facts not opinions, the authors only gave the information that people needed.

The magazine article “Courting Trouble; Abortion in America” by The Economist is a source that is opinionated with facts. The economist is an international digital magazine that publishes weekly with a focus on current affairs, politics, and technology. This makes the genre of this source a magazine. The author has a clear distaste for the law while educating readers on the law and who it affects, for example, “The Texas law is ingeniously awful.” The author believes that the law is horrible for women because even though women who get the abortion aren’t allowed to get sued the law still has its effects. It is clear to see the author’s stance on this law is against it and is “Pro-Choice”. While expressing their feelings the author explains possible outcomes if the Supreme Court were to go against the law for the reason of it being unconstitutional. The tone of this source was bitter and critical, I know this because of the words they chose discussing their hatred of the law. The purpose of this article was to openly critique the lawmakers while educating people about the law. The audience of this source is people who are “Pro-Choice” and are openly against the law because the author was opinionated about it.

The peer-reviewed journal “Impact of abortion law reforms on women’s health services and outcomes: a systematic review protocol” by Foluso Ishola, Arijit Nandi, and Vivian Ukah. was used to collect information on the impact abortion laws have on women’s health services. The genre of this source is a scholarly source. Foluso Ishola is a Ph.D. candidate from McGill University in the Department of Epidemiology. Some of her research topics are reproductive health, maternal and child health, and health assessment and surveillance. She is supervised by Arijit Nandi. Arijit Nandi is an Associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, and Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University with a hold on a Canadian research chair in the political economy of global health. His research focuses on the impact social or economic factors have on population health. Vivian Ukah is a Ph.D. student at Cystic Fibrosis Research Institute with a BS and Masters degree in Public Health. Her interests are maternal and diabetes research but she is currently researching Pre-eclampsia. The journal discusses the rates of unsafe abortions across the world and how limited safe abortions are. For example, “An estimated 25*1 million unsafe abortions occur each year, with 97% of these in developing countries [1-3]. Despite its frequency, unsafe abortion remains a major global public health challenge.” The entry also explains how many areas have reformed their abortion laws but there are still places throughout the world where women cannot get abortions, no exceptions. The author’s audience for this source is other P.h.D students or professors who study public health, women’s health services, or the social impacts on health. I believe that because the authors of the journal are credible professionals who studied this topic and want to educate possibly other students or professors about the impact of abortion laws, the journal is not for the average person to read. The tone of the journal is Objective, I believe the tone is objective because the journal is factual. When reading the journal I was presented with nothing but facts about the impact of the laws and what they might mean for women’s health. The purpose of this source was to educate fellow students or professionals on abortion laws and the outcomes the ban has. I know because after reading the journal I have learned more about abortion laws and their effects than what I started with. The author’s stance on the abortion law is not stated because facts were only mentioned not opinions.

My last source is a social media post, “How Texas’ anti-abortion law is having long term impacts on women” from the NBC News youtube channel and the genre is a web source. NBC News is an American television broadcasting network. NBC News reports breaking news all over the world digitally either on their website, Instagram, Twitter, or Youtube daily. The youtube video shows NBC’s digital news reporter Chloe Atkins discusses how the law impacts the mental and physical health of women. Chloe Atkins is a journalist at NBC News with a focus on gender or social justice issues. In the video Atkins discusses how some women of texas are traveling to other states to get abortions, women who will have to carry full term can suffer economic issues, and the physical and mental health issues for women who are now forced to carry full term can range from “post-partum depression, gestational diabetes, and even hypertension.” The audience of the video is the average person who is against the law and wants to learn the impacts it has on women. I know this because since the video is on a social media platform it tells me the video is for anyone to watch. The tone of the video was Cautionary and Formal, I believe this because as Atkins was speaking she spread awareness to the mental and physical health issues the women face while spreading the information in a respectful manner. The purpose of the video was to inform people what the law and its effects on women it is clear to see that the purpose because that is what Watkin discusses throughout the video. The stance Atkins had clear, she was against the law and thinks it has a negative impact on women but she still gave the audience facts.

Each of the four sources I have listed is different in genres, authors, and purposes. The first source and the third sources were a news article and a peer-reviewed journal that left their opinions off the page and gave its readers facts. However, the second and last sources were very opinionated on the law while giving its audience the facts. The similarities between the sources are that all of them discuss the Texas abortion law, what it means, and the effects it has on the women of Texas. Even though, the “Heart-Beat Bill” is only enforced in Texas other states may follow and pass the same if not similar bill. The abortion bill is still a debated topic with many either disagreeing or agreeing throughout the world even though half of the world are women.

Works Cited

Weber, Paul J., and Lieb David A. “EXPLAINER: What to Know about the New Texas Abortion Law.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 2 Sept. 2021, apnews.com/article/health-texas-us-supreme-court-laws-gun-politics-15b5ade8ad341cd7f9e61da10a994c43.

“How Texas’ Anti-Abortion Law Is Having Long-Term Impacts on Women.” YouTube, NBC News, 13 Sept. 2021,  youtu.be/CnU3JwZiv8c.

Ishola, Foluso, Ukah,Vivian U., and Nandi Arijit. “Impact of abortion law reforms on women’s health services and outcomes: a systematic review protocol.” Systematic Reviews, vol. 10, no. 1, 28 June 2021, p. NA. Gale OneFile: Nursing and Allied Health, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A666717289/PPNU?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-PPNU&xid=99d5a9eb. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

“Courting trouble; Abortion in America.” The Economist, 11 Sept. 2021, p. 14(US). Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A674823076/STND?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=642ea8dc. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.