An Open Letter to Planned Parenthood, Essay Example

Introduction

The below review will focus on one particular magazine article published on the popular internet portal: Elephant Journal, titled: “An  Open Letter to Planned Parenthood” on the 8^th of October, 2015 (Johnson). The author of the below critique would like to examine the rhetoric features of the article.

Thesis

The article is attempting to influence the reader to seek help from health professionals who understand their concerns related to their reproductive health, and allow them to make their own choices and decisions.

Publication details

The Elephant Journal is an extremely popular magazine, aimed at urban, upmarket females who take responsibility for their own health, lifestyle, and finances. The website has been around since 2002, and has its own internet talk show that discusses current issues related to health, wellness, relationships, and art. It has a “diverse community of sixteen million readers” (Editor’s Note). While the Elephant Journal does not clearly state that it is a feminist magazine, it certainly has some authors who promote feminist approaches.

The magazine features editorial and user-generated content, on various topics. Johnson is a contributor to the magazine, and has several publications about women’s life, mostly based on personal experiences. The above article is also related to her personal experience with Planned Parenthood, healthcare in general, and being a woman, making decisions about one’s sexual life, contraception, and lifestyle. The Elephant Journal does not have a political standing, however, the author clearly expresses her opinion on the current state of health care system, stating that “the doctor spent 70% of my consultation complaining about the expenses of running a private clinic, even moving himself to tears while defending the high prices of his treatments” (Johnson, para 6) . The article is an Op-Ed piece, which means that in the blurb the editor highlights the fact that the below piece expresses an opinion, with which the reader can agree or disagree.

Text analysis

The title  indicates that the piece would be written about women’s choices on their reproductive health. However, the real topic is the praise of a clinic that offers friendly services, called “Planned Parenthood”. The title clearly states that the article is an open letter, and this means that it is based on personal experience. Selzer (286) describes this approach of persuasion as “deliberative rhetoric”.

In the beginning, the reader would not be able to tell what the real message of the article is, as the author simply describes a  negative experience with the health care system and one particular doctor who did not care about patient confidentiality and did not respect individuals. There is no stated thesis, however, the rhetoric tools applied by the author (repetition of “thank you” in the beginning of the paragraph) suggest that the simple aim of the article is to show the author’s appreciation of the service received. That stated, the text can be described as a “Thank you” letter: just what the title suggests. The thesis is certainly deductive, as the author carries on proving her point by adding more details to the argument.

The tone of the article is conversational and this results in the sentences being short and simple. Just like the following sentence, all of them are designed to add more information to the argument and make the thesis/point stronger: “There was something really touching about that”(Johnson, para 8), and |I get tears in my eyes” (Johnson, para 23) . The author is speaking to a general audience, those who also go to visit family planning clinics, therefore, she avoids using complicated sentences and jargon. The target audience of the article is women who are – just like the author – disappointed in the health care system, and are looking for alternatives.

Words analysis

The language is not neutral, and the author utilizes “ethos” as a rhetoric tool, clearly expressing her emotions and opinion. She starts a  paragraph with “I felt”, and this indicates that the article has a strong emotional charge. When describing the service received from Planned Parenthood, the author uses words like “emotional intelligence” and  “listening thoughtfully”. The words used are emotionally charged, but easy to understand. All words have a clear role in the text.

There are no misleading words in the text, however, some descriptions of the writer’s experience are emotionally charged, and seem to be one-sided. Given the fact that the article is an opinion writing, this is allowed. Describing personal opinion and experiences, the author states that not everybody would agree with her opinion. Indeed, some women might be simply happy with the service offered through the U.S. health care system, and just because one particular doctor was less considerate than one would expect them to be, this cannot be viewed as a general trend. Just like it is possible that other patients had bad experiences with the services received from “Planned Parenthood”.

Conclusion

The above analyzed article is clearly  delivering the initial promise, and fits in the writing style and format of writing. It is focused on describing the writer’s experience with “Planned Parenthood”, and comparing it with the service offered through traditional channels. It has the ability to persuade the reader to use or support the organization.

Works Cited

Johnson, Erin. “An Open Letter to Planned Parenthood” Elephant Journal. 2015. Web.

Selzer, Jack. “Rhetorical analysis: Understanding how texts persuade readers.” What writing does and how it does it: An introduction to analyzing texts and textual practices (2004): 279-307.

Elephant Journal. “Editor’s Note”. 2015. Web.