In the article, "Safe and Legal Abortion Is a Human Right" Thompson discusses the controversial topic of abortion and argues how it is a fundamental right for every woman. Thompson discusses how the availability of abortion allows women the right to health, equality, and reproductive self  -- determination. She explicitly makes this argument by using the three literary appeals. Although Thompson briefly uses pathos and ethos in her article, she focuses mostly on logos by providing data and statistics. By concentrating on this appeal, Thompson is giving her audience an accurate perspective on the issue, as they can respond to reliable information rather than merely emotion alone. Through Thompson's use of logical reasoning she clearly makes a strong stance for the side of pro-choice. 

Tamara Thompson's article informs the audience about the details regarding abortion in the United States and internationally, which is significant as it shows that this issue is prevalent globally. The article's central argument is that women should be able to have an abortion and it is their fundamental right to have this opportunity no matter where they are located. Thompson discusses that abortion is very complicated and that women must have access to proper healthcare for this this procedure. This argument is made explicitly and is exemplified by Thompson outlining her article by breaking it down into a women's right to life, health, and reproductive self-determination. She also goes on to say how safe abortion protects women and that denying women an abortion is a form of gender discrimination. In each of these subcategories Thompson manages to use all three literary appeals. For instance, she uses ethos and logos together by citing credible sources (such as the World Heath Organization) when she states facts on how many women have suffered illegal abortions due to it being inaccessible. She also touches on pathos by arguing that the denial of abortion is gender discrimination, which draws on the emotions of readers to feel sympathy for these women. All of these different aspects come together to strengthen her overall argument that abortion is a fundamental human right. 

Thompson uses a significant amount of evidence and data to support her argument because she believes this is the best way to appeal to her audience. For example, instead of saying that there were many unintended pregnancies she says, "In 2008, an estimated 86 million women had unintended pregnancies" (Thompson). By stating these large numbers, Thompson is showing her audience how common unintended pregnancies actually are and how many of these women need to seek an abortion. She then backs that statistic up by listing possible factors for these unintended pregnancies. These factors include: woman's health, relationships, economic resources, and availability of proper medical care. By appealing to logic, Thompson is strengthening her argument as well as elaborating on unplanned pregnancies. The author then branches off from this one point and states that of these 87 million pregnancies about 46 million end up in abortion (Thompson). These facts put her argument into perspective. The audience can see how prevalent abortion is, as more than half of women who have an unintended pregnancy end up having an abortion. Thompson uses this point to transition into discussing why the government should support abortion. 

Thompson also uses logos when she discusses the effects of medical versus surgical abortion and how all women deserve the right to benefit from this scientific progress. As a nursing student I have not heard about this so I found it interesting. Many people actually do not know there are two forms of abortion  --  surgical abortion is the in-clinic removal of the fetus while the medical abortion terminates the pregnancy through the use of two medications. Medical abortion is a safer alternative to surgical abortion that is effective, low-cost, and has significantly reduced morality rates. Thompson backs up this claim that medical abortion is better by stating, "The most common regimen calls for an oral dose of Mifepristone, followed by a dose of Misoprostol up to 48 hours later. This regimen, which can be initiated as soon as pregnancy is confirmed, is approximately 95% effective" (Thompson). Thompson is drawing her statistics from the World Health Organization, which strengthens her argument, as they are a very well known and trusted organization. This gives the audience a proven percentage to go with the claim, thus making her argument more logical and realistic.  

Although Thompson primarily uses logos, she also uses all three appeals in tandem. This is very effective as it draws on every aspect of the reader. It allows them to trust where the information is coming from, appeal to the logic, and feel emotion towards it. For example, Thompson states: "According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 21.6 million women had unsafe abortions in 2008. These unsafe abortions were responsible for the deaths of nearly 47,000 women. The incidence of unsafe abortion is closely associated with high maternal mortality rates" (Thompson). This segment establishes a situated ethos by stating the World Health Organization as the source of information. Thompson then uses logos in this by providing statistics on the amount of unsafe abortions and consequently, how many of those unsafe abortions ended up in deaths. Finally, she continues by using pathos to appeal to people's emotions by talking about how many deaths occur due to unsafe abortions, leading readers to feel sympathy for those women affected. On the other hand, Thompson also uses pathos and ethos not in conjunction with logos. An example of this is when Thompson discusses a women's right to life. She states, "Several United Nations (UN) human rights bodies have framed maternal deaths due to unsafe abortion as a violation of women's right to life" (Thompson). The author is using ethos by citing a credible source, United Nations, an organization that so many people are familiar with. Now it is a credible source backing up this information, rather than just the author herself. A specific example of pathos would be when the author discusses a women's right to health. She taps into pathos by stating "[A]ppropriate measures to authorize abortion "in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, and where the continued pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or the fetus" (Thompson). This is pathos as the author is showing her audience specific examples where a woman feels an abortion is necessary, and under these circumstances the readers feel sympathy for the woman in question. Although, using pathos and ethos are strong alone Thompson uses all three appeals in tandem to achieve getting through to every type of person. By doing this Thompson is not leaving anything open to being questioned. Readers know exactly where the information is coming from, the data along with it, and the feelings that come associated with it. 

By analyzing Tamara Thompson's article "Safe and Legal Abortion Is a Human Right," we see that authors often employ one or all three appeals, ethos, logos, and pathos, in tandem to create and support a strong argument. Her use of logos has led to her audience being properly educated on this highly controversial topic. If Thompson had not used logos in her article, it would have been simply an opinionated paper with no strong evidence backing up her claims that abortion is a fundamental right. Statistics and data strengthened this paper and provided a realistic perspective on the matter. Also, by writing this paper, Thompson is perfectly using kairos, as it is the right time to be discussing this issue in light of the upcoming elections. It is being discussed along with Planned Parenthood, debating what the regulations and rules concerning this topic should be. Perhaps, by writing this article Thompson's audience will be swayed into taking action, working towards pro-abortion laws as well as improving the social image of abortions.

