Article Rebuttal

I came across an article on The Daily Caller’s Social Reader section that has left me at a crossroads. The article, Touré Thanks God for Abortion, is a rebuttal to a statement “The Cycle” cohost, Touré made on an episode that aired on Friday. In Friday’s episode of “The Cycle”, Touré celebrated the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade’s decision to legalize abortion and told a story about how he and an old girlfriend made the decision to get an abortion 15 years ago. Touré was quoted as saying: “I thank God and country that when I fell into a bad situation, abortion was there to save me and keep me on a path toward building a strong family I have now. And I pray that safety net stays in place” (Treacher, 2013).

The author of this article, Jim Treacher, goes on to mention how the only life Touré saved was his own. Says Treacher: “Did you catch that? He was in a ‘committed relationship’ that he knew he wasn’t going to be committed to for much longer, and he ‘fell into a bad situation’. He just slipped and fell and it went in, and next thing he knew, he was taking her to the clinic. Oh well” (Treacher, 2013).

The issue I take with Treacher’s statement is that he bases his opinion on a very common assumption about those who hold a pro-choice viewpoint: Women who have an abortion (and the romantic partner involved) are selfish and irresponsible. Treacher’s statement contained no facts, data, or statistics; it was nothing more than an overgeneralized sarcastic statement made by someone who obviously is not too keen on Touré.

Even though I am unsure of Touré’s true intentions behind his statement, I found it unfair how Treacher made snarky comments about an issue he did not bother to gain more information on. Treacher’s rebuttal could have used pro-life facts and statistics instead of using his personal views against a TV cohost to undermine a serious issue. Therefore, Touré did not