Not All Abortions are Equal

Brittany Liebenow
Op-Ed Response Two
June 15 2009

In “Not All Abortions are Equal,” Ross Douthat explains that extreme cases, such as the murder of Dr. George Tiller, are calling for more compromising decisions regarding abortion. Dr. George Tiller operated on women that most doctors would not consider for abortions because he respected that giving birth could be fatal for these women. Someone murdered Dr. Tiller in his own church because of the controversy of his work. Douthat identifies this murder as only one of many uprisings and incidents that occur due to the touchy issue of abortion. Douthat also recommends a straightforward way to end these incidents, compromise. Although this is what needs to take place regarding abortion, discussing abortion is a dangerous and controversial thing to do that most people try to avoid. Ross Douthat acknowledges the depth and difficulty of compromising on abortion but sticks strongly to the idea that, at all costs, America must deal with abortion. He also proposes a sensible compromise, returning abortion to the fair and reliable democratic process. With this compromise, few, if anyone, will be able to abuse abortion, and those who need to abort due to medical risks will have the fair ability to do so. Although this plan sounds foolproof, abortion is still a very controversial topic. The probability of a plan like this coming into play soon, although America needs it, is very unlikely.

Ross Douthat does an excellent job of both supporting his arguments and crafting them. Because abortion-related medical terms fill the article, Douthat’s word choice is not too advanced but still scholarly. Douthat starts his article with more generally lengthy paragraphs but ends the article with more short ones. Like most advanced authors, Ross Douthat uses a variety of both short and long sentences. Douthat also supports his arguments with a blunt yet sympathetic tone. Supporting the bluntness of his tone are straightforward comments that address abortion freely even if it is controversial. Douthat draws the outside story of Dr. George Tiller into his essay to let the reader know that the topic he is addressing, abortion, is a very real and very dangerous topic. Ending his article with a reminder of Dr. George Tiller, Douthat does an excellent job ending his argument regarding Dr. Tiller by mentioning it in the last sentence, so it can burn in the readers’ minds. Because he addresses both sides of the abortion argument and even supports a compromise, Douthat opens up his opinions to all types of readers and is not offensive despite the fact he is addressing a very touchy subject.