February Response (1-1) -- Rick Santorum, Meet My Son

Article: Rick Santorum, Meet My Son
Author: Emily Rapp

Central Argument: Emily Rapp argues that abortions should be legalized based on information from prenatal tests and on the fact that women should have rights over their body and the pain they suffer through it.

                Abortion and prenatal tests, which are considered immoral and thus illegal in several countries, seize the rights that woman should have over their own bodies. Since this method is seen to be a way of taking the life of a child, it is frowned upon by society. Although it may seem as if it should be an obvious choice, it is still a large ethical issue that is being debated upon. Even though some have good reasons to argue why abortion can be a terrible act, it’s quite often leads to a much better life for the parents.

                In my opinion, woman should be allowed to make the decision for their unborn child. Emily Rapp, the writer of “Rick Santorum, Meet my son”, would agree on this situation. Rapp was born with a lot of problems, and as a child, growing up wasn’t easy for her. After her birth, the doctors had predicted that it was highly likely that Emily would turn out to be mentally incapable and probably her walking was out of the option. With advancements in technology, all these facts can be figured out before the birth and the child, and can be terminated through a less painful way – abortion. Yes, this does kill the child, but it also avoids all suffering for child and parents. Rapp explains her son’s situation – who is blind, paralyzed and almost non-responsive – and compared it to her own. Rapp went through a lot of suffering over a period of her life time, whereas this kid has only started his life and it all seems useless.

                Emily Rapp argues, or rather sends a message toward Rick Santorum, who, from my point of view, sounds like a politician of some sort. Rapp attempts to change his views by arguing otherwise. With her use of pathos, she conveys her opinion on why a woman should be giving rights to her own body. With a complicated issue as such, there isn’t much one can do to resolve it when morality is at hand.

                An ethical issue such as abortion comes with several factors that can contradict one’s opinion on this situation. We can never have a Utopian society where everyone is perfect and there’s no reason for problems as such as health related. For example, as Louis Lowry explain in his book, “The Giver”, a perfect society cannot exist due to all the contradicting ideas. The book describes how everyone is perfect, ideally at least. To maintain this perfect society, people are tested genetically before they have children to avoid defects completely. Children are tested before birth and aren’t allowed to live if similar defects are found in them. That, however, may not be possible in a world today, but there is still hope. This small step can lead to a future where parents like Emily Rapp may not have to suffer and live a hopeless life.

                When it comes to an issue as such as abortion, changes cannot simply be made. Emily Rapp chooses to argue about the fact that if she had the choice, she wouldn’t have allowed the birth of her child, to a pain-free life for both, Ronan and herself. This topic later leads to morality based questions and soon to deciding whether this change will be drastic or not. Legalization of abortion, as Emily Rapp would argue, would create a radical change; a positive one.