Kelsee's Analysis of "We Do Abortions Here"

Kelsee Jackson
October 15, 2011
Dr. Kerry Spencer
Honors Writing 150
The Complexity of the Issue Surrounding Abortion

Abortion is a common subject for many debates in the political, ethical and moral world today. This dispute is argued now just has it has been discussed in the past and will continue to be a subject of disagreement in the future. Since there are many opposing opinions and backgrounds of this issue, it is natural that any laws that have been and will be established are bound to please some while highly disappointing others. In her article “We Do Abortions Here: A Nurse’s Story,” Sallie Tisdale effectively appeals to her audience by means of pathos and using literary devices such as amplification, imagery and personal anecdote to show that when it comes to abortion, there is just no easily justified, simple conclusion.

The author makes extensive use of amplification to show the audience the overwhelming emotional quality of what she does at the abortion clinic. When describing the process of discarding a fetus, instead of stating the smell to be rich and humid, she tells of a “…rich and humid smell, hot, earthy, and moldering”. (188) By doing this, the author is giving her audience more information to create an image emphasizing elements of the story that stood out to her. In one passage she explains: “Women have abortions because they are too old, and too young, too poor and too rich, too stupid and too smart.” (187) Instead of just saying that women have abortions for various reasons, Tisdale uses amplification to give this line a particular feel and give the audience added information. These are small examples of the many times the author emphasizes experiences by adding further, often times quite graphic, information in order to have them stand out in the reader’s mind. The author’s use of amplification in this text creates a more detailed knowledge of how she felt about the work she did. Perhaps even more importantly, it appeals to the reader’s emotions, whether they be in disgust, pity, or something else entirely. This manner of using amplification is also necessary in helping to establish the author’s use of imagery in the text.

The author branches from amplification to imagery in order to serve her purposes. The additional information given allows the audience to use imagery to picture the events in more detail. She often emphasizes in detail the youthfulness of many of the girls she has worked with, using descriptions such as, “They come so young, snapping gum, sockless and sneakered, and their shakily applied eyeliner smears when they cry,” (188) and, “A sleepy-eyed girl, just 14, watched me with a slight and goofy smile…” (185). The author uses imagery like this to her advantage. By using detailed descriptions to create an image, the stories she tells become more effecting to the reader and creating an emotional tie to the text. These sentences, like so many others, serve the purpose of evoking emotion by displaying an image of the young girls that is easily connected with. The audience can clearly tell that these girls are not only young but very much like a teenager they may have known. With such emotional ties, Tisdale continues her emphasis on imagery throughout the text, painting a picture in the heads of her readers, which in turn helps her audience understand that there may not be a clear answer to this problem.

In a third instance, and perhaps the most obvious of them, the author comprehensively uses personal anecdote in appealing to the emotions of her audience. As a matter of fact, most of her article is written like a story, telling of her first-hand experiences in the clinic and explaining about both the procedural processes and the people who come in for abortions. One more personal example of this is the recalling of her dreams. “I have fetus dreams, we all do here,” (188) she explains, before shaping her story with elaborate detail. Her personal stories and experiences are always used to prove a point. In this illustration of the dream, her point to show the violence in abortions is effectively portrayed in her account, bringing to light one of the many complexities of this situation.

When it comes to abortion, there are many complexities. It not only impacts physically the people involved, but affects them emotionally as well. Although Tisdale’s article shows the emotional characteristics of abortion, she doesn’t take a definite side on the issue. Instead, she focuses on the density of the subject, making it clear this is a difficult concern to give a specific answer to. Using emotional aspects, she successfully employs amplification, imagery, and personal anecdote to show her audience that argument concerning abortion is, in fact, an extremely difficult and complex one; one without a definite solution.