Original Advertisement:
Yousif, N. (2019, May 28). Anti-abortion group takes Lethbridge to court over refusal to run ads. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2019/05/28/anti-abortion-group-takes-lethbridge-to-court-over-refusal-to-run-ads.html.
Ad Deconstruction:
This Pro-life advertisement, alongside an image of an infant, seemingly still in utero, states that “Preborn Babies Feel Pain”. This is an appeal to emotion, using pathos to garner the audience’s sympathy. The target audience, anyone, is expected to view the advertisement, then consider abortions to be acts which inflict pain onto unborn babies. This is an extension of the moral belief that every person has a right to life, and that no one should kill another person. Finally, it states “Say NO to Abortion”. Instead of insinuating or implying their message, they have chosen to openly put forth their goal: to convince the viewer to be against abortions.
The issue is that this advertisement disregards the mother’s life. It disregards her right to choose whether or not she wishes to have a child. It does not acknowledge how childbirth is one of the most dangerous actions for women. It is a long and painful process which places innumerable restrictions on a woman’s life. She is required to change her lifestyle and endure pain from organ shifts, added weight and pressure from the fetus, and body aches among other challenges. She must halt her career. She must go through childbirth. However, women do it because they want to bring the child into the world. They are willing to endure and suffer the pains and difficulties of pregnancy because having the child is their reward and incentive.
If we now consider an unwilling mother, we can see that they do not have the same incentives. Unwilling mothers, regardless of whether the pregnancy was a result of carelessness, rape, accident or otherwise, should not be forced to endure the struggles of pregnancy without the reward. She has a right to choose what her body experiences. She feels pain too. If giving birth to the, unfortunately possibly, unwanted or unloved child will inflict severe physical and mental harm on the unwilling mother, then both the child and the mother will suffering. As such, I will be jamming the message to instead bring attention to the mother’s right to choice.
Jammed Advertisement:
Jamming Philosophy:
In jamming the advertisement, I changed the words of “Preborn Babies Feel Pain” to “[Unwilling Mothers] Feel Pain”. This change highlights that, as much as the unborn child, the unwilling mother is in pain. The mother suffers from the mental anguish of having to make the decision to end the child’s life. They know that by having an abortion, they are not allowing this child to enter the world, but at the same time, the mother also has a reason for being unable to birth the child. It could be that the mother’s body cannot handle childbirth, or the mother cannot afford to raise a child, and does not want the child to grow up parentless. It could be that the child is a product of rape, and the mother knows that the child will never receive the love it deserves. It can be any reason, but the mother has to make a difficult choice of uncertainty, anguish, and immense stress. The mother is in pain. My rewording of this message draws focus to the life that needs to be considered, the life that could be in danger from the childbirth, the life that is just as valuable, if not more, than the life that has yet to be born.
Note that I do not use “she” to describe the mother as we cannot know whether the mother identifies as a “she”. It could just as well be a trans man who is experiencing an unwanted pregnancy.
Likewise, I change the message of “Say NO to Abortion” to “Say [YES] to [Choice]”. This is meant to be an openly straightforward message. It conveys the point of importance: choice. The goal now is for the audience to see the advertisement and recognize that the most important factor in abortion is choice. The mother’s choice must be respected.
Naturally, I believe that the abortion should be disallowed once the abortion procedures could put the mother’s life in danger. Prior to that, however, the mother should not have to be forced to birth a child that she does not wish to have.
References:
Yousif, N. (2019, May 28). Anti-abortion group takes Lethbridge to court over refusal to run ads. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2019/05/28/anti-abortion-group-takes-lethbridge-to-court-over-refusal-to-run-ads.html.
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