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Critical Thinking and the Wider Web

Critical Thinking and the Wider Web. Unit 2 Gauging and Examining Popular Opinion Abortion. Abortion - Overview. Usually refers to the deliberate termination of a pregnancy before the foetus is able to survive independently

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Critical Thinking and the Wider Web

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  1. Critical Thinking and the Wider Web Unit 2 Gauging and Examining Popular Opinion Abortion

  2. Abortion - Overview • Usually refers to the deliberate termination of a pregnancy before the foetus is able to survive independently • Legal in Great Britain up to the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy, or later for urgent medical reasons

  3. Abortion • Find and browse websites that address this issue • Note the range of views you encounter, and the key site(s) for each view • Note how prevalent each view is

  4. Abortion – Key Views • Pro-life – abortion is equivalent to murder, and should never or almost never be permitted • Intermediate – abortion should be permitted in certain circumstances • Pro-choice – women should always have the right to choose to have an abortion

  5. Abortion – Key Sites • The BBC Religion and Ethics section on abortion provides an overview of key issues • The BMA website provides a medical perspective, outlines the legal position, and considers the ethical issues for doctors asked to perform abortions

  6. Abortion – Key Sites • Pro-life interest groups: • Society for the Protection of Unborn Children • LIFE • Pro-choice interest groups: • Pro-Choice Forum • Abortion Rights

  7. Abortion – Key Sites • Feminist perspectives: • Pro-choice: Abortion: Still a Feminist Issue • Pro-life: Women Deserve Better than Abortion (PDF)

  8. Abortion – Key Sites • GravityTeen’s Quotes from the Pros section includes a highly selective collection of quotations from professionals involved with performing or organising abortions

  9. Abortion – Key Sites • The Abortion is Murder website uses graphic images of aborted foetuses to make its point (Warning: some people may find these images distressing)

  10. Abortion – Discussion Questions • Which views are most widespread? • How significant is this? • Are there any discernable patterns in who holds each view? • Among experts and lay people? • In the UK and elsewhere in the world? • Among religious and secular groups?

  11. Abortion – Discussion Questions • How representative do you think the views you encountered are of wider society? • What might make people more or less likely to express their views publicly? • What might make them more or less likely to do so online?

  12. Abortion – Examining the Sites • Look at some of the websites again, and consider: • How various views are expressed • What techniques sites use to promote their views • What you find persuasive – and why

  13. Abortion – Discussion Questions • What techniques are used to promote each view? • Are arguments given? Do they work? • Is evidence presented? Is it convincing? • Are appeals to emotion or shock tactics used? Are these effective?

  14. Abortion – Discussion Questions • Do any of the sites examined feature: • Evidence of bias or prejudice? • Ad hominem arguments? • Sweeping generalisations about opponents or opposing views? • Statements you know to be false? • How does this affect your reaction?

  15. Abortion – Discussion Questions • What do you personally find persuasive? Why is this? • Was there anything you found off-putting, or that had the opposite effect from that intended by the author? • Did anything cause you to question views you’d held previously?

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