My Thoughts on Comments: Planned Parenthood

Reading through online comments from CBS’s article on Planned Parenthood and fetal tissue sales was not easy for me.  I am a feminist and strong pro-choice believer, and disagree vehemently with many of the arguments against abortion and Planned Parenthood.  However, as I was reading I had to keep my temper in check, and logically work through each argument presented.  I found the amount of not credible comments outnumber the amount of credible ones.  Here are a couple examples of each.

CREDIBLE COMMENTS

Ossanna, Lia. "Screenshot of Georgex9 comment."
8/28/15 via http://www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-health-services-beyond-abortion/

Georgex9 does not exude extreme fear or anxiety, beyond wishing for Planned Parenthood to remain open.  S/he supports the health services the organization provides, believing they are necessary and should be available to everyone.  Georgex9’s beliefs are more prominent, revolving mainly around secular values.  This is obvious from the Secular Coalition for America quote at the end.  S/he also refers to abortions as “medical knowledge”, a positive and praising term.

The introduction of the comment, beginning with explaining the circumstances of Biblical times, shows Georgex9 understands the religious side’s argument.  S/he then goes onto refute their position, explaining how “tribal mentality” is no longer relevant today.  The sequence of the argument is clear.  Georgex9 was not inflammatory or belligerent.  Closing with a quote from the Secular Coalition for America strengthened his/her position, and gave the comment validity.

Ossanna, Lia. "Screenshot of Some Stuff comment."

8/28/15 viahttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-health-services-beyond-abortion/

Some Stuff mostly wishes for aborted fetuses to get the respect s/he believes they deserve, rather than be discarded casually into general medical waste dumps.  Some Stuff is pro-life, believing Planned Parenthood workers have a “cavalier attitude” towards abortions, which is “sickening.”  S/he also believes that women who choose to have an abortion simply because they do not want the baby, and refers to abortions as “killing.”  This implies condescending disrespect for women who choose to have abortions.

While Some Stuff is more flippant than Georgex9, s/he does bring up a fair point: if not tissue sales to researches, where is the fetal tissue disposed?  Those who are against tissue sales have not provided a strong argument for an alternative of what to do with the tissue after an abortion.  Some Stuff’s argument that tissue sales at least provide some knowledge and opportunity is rational.  Although Some Stuff does have a clear opinion on abortion, s/he seems more open minded about reaching resolution than some raging commenters.

NOT CREDIBLE COMMENTS

Ossanna, Lia. "Screenshot of Stepfordfox comment."

8/28/15 viahttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-health-services-beyond-abortion/

Stepfordfox is afraid of people (or of him/herself) losing their rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  S/he desires for everyone to have someone to turn to for support when considering abortion (presumably, the comment was not clear).  The angry tone of the second paragraph emanates severer anxiety than either of Some Stuff or Georgex9.  

In addition to valuing patriotism and individual rights, Stepfordfox places a high emphasis on patriarchal values.  S/he believes if a pregnant woman has a man’s support, she will not seek an abortion.  This rings strongly of family values, and the idea that women depend heavily on men.  Also, Stepfordfox endorses the idea a married man and woman are best suited to raise a child.

Mainly this comment lacks credibility because it’s so ambiguous.  The concept of abortion or fetal tissue was not even mentioned – I merely inferred the comment was about abortion.  The implication that women who seek abortions are too alone or afraid to either make a serious decision, or raise a child, is not supported.  It is a broad statement about all women and abortions, when in reality each situation is unique and complex.  Stepfordfox’s last note about taking away rights is also unclear.  Whose rights are being taken away?  The unborn fetus?  The pregnant woman?  Stepfordfox’s comment is so vague it’s nonsensical.

Ossanna, Lia. "Screenshot of Connman250 comment."

8/28/15 viahttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-health-services-beyond-abortion/

Connman260 wishes abortion not to be legal, expressing outrage over the fact it is.  S/he is obviously pro-life, viewing abortion as murder.  The description of “chopping a human life to pieces” is intentionally grotesque and provocative.  Connman260 also values following the law, and laws were focused more on things like preserving human life, instead of trivial things like touching bird nests.

The comment is very sparse in substance and lacks a sufficient argument.  Connman260 has equated abortion to “chopping a human life to pieces” without any evidence, which is a pretty drastic claim to not have support for.  The comparison to being forbidden to touch a bird’s nest is also unsupported, vague, and not relevant.  Connman260 failed to address the topics brought up in the article, such as fetal tissue sales, or the other services Planned Parenthood provides.


REFLECTION
The comments Gabee and Bailey found credible were generally longer, which makes sense because those were were credible explained themselves in greater detail than those who just made blanket statements.  I also found this to be true.  We all seemed to favor comments that were moderate, rather than overly inflammatory.  Those with calmer tones generally seem to automatically sound more reasonable, and therefore credible.  We also all seemed to agree comments that don't relate to the subject of the article, or make statements without support are usually not credible.

However, I think I was more picky about which comments were credible.  Part of that might have been because comments of the highest credibility were not available/did not exist for their articles; I know it was hard for me to find comments of any credibility.  From both blogs, I found one of their credible comments actually didn't make as much sense to me as I would want a credible comment to.