Digital Media & Literacy Assignment 1
- FOO MING LI
- Jun 2, 2019
- 7 min read
BBC (Alabama passes bill banning abortion)
Based on the news article from BBC, the news organisations have shown to support on legalising abortion with the fifth paragraph of the article stating the Alabama’s 35-seat Senate is majority men supporting the abortion ban while the four women in the Senates are against it. The videos used in the article are neutral as BBC made an explanation video at the top of the article and the news organisation also have a video on interviewing women in Alabama why they should have the right to have abortion.
Moreover, the images in the article is on the pro-life support which BBC have screenshot tweets from activist Simran Jeet Singh tweeting about the people who vote to pass the abortion ban law and the similarity, and US Senator Kamala Harris stating the abortion ban law limits women in Louisiana, Alabama, and Missouri to have access to safe and legal abortion.
In addition, the language used in the article and the headline are neutral due to the news article is focusing on explaining and delivering facts about a new law which is going to be implement in six months. BBC quoted Dr Yashica Robinson, a doctor who specialise in abortion in Alabama on BBC Radio Four PM programme as she told BBC she will continue to provide the healthcare service even if the new abortion ban law is making things complicated for women to have an abortion in Alabama. The quote from the doctor is a space for women to voice out why they do want to have a need of getting abortion or why abortion should be legal in Alabama.
BBC shown to take abortion seriously by put abortion tag below the article to link the readers on abortion covering news about Disney, Netflix, and WarnerMedia boycott to stop all production in Georgia as it is one of the US states other than Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas, and North Dakota to pass the abortion ban law in each respectively states. At the first half of the article, BBC focuses on why Disney, Netflix, and WarnerMedia stop its production in Georgia due to the abortion ban law followed by some quotes from Disney CEO Bob Iger. The article in the second half states which Hollywood celebrities are stopping their production in Georgia because the abortion ban law discriminates women’s right
The news organisation interviewed Dina Zirlott, a rape victim from Alabama stating giving birth to her child a rapist brings griefs to herself and other women facing similar issue as her. This further shows that BBC supports women having an abortion under certain condition as the news organisation took the initiative to interviewed a rape victim on her thoughts of the Alabama abortion ban law could limit the Alabama's women access to having an abortion.
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The Guardian (Alabama abortion ban: Republican state senate passes most restrictive law in US)
The article of the Alabama abortion ban law from The Guardian is shown to be against the abortion ban law with phrase like “democratic leaders reacted with outrage, and pledged to fight for abortion rights” and “chaos erupted on the floor of the Alabama state senate when Republican leaders stripped out the rape exception without a rollcall vote”.
Furthermore, the videos used by The Guardian in their Alabama abortion ban law, the thumbnail of the video is a woman holding a “GET OUT OF MY UTERUS” sign outside the Alabama senate building, female senators explaining why abortion ban law should not be passed, and a short video of pro-life supporters protest against the abortion ban law further show the readers that the news organisations support gender equality and support women’s rights.
The language used in the article is showing the support to repeal the abortion law with the third paragraph of the article already stating Alabama’s Republican Governor, Kay Ivey pass the abortion ban law. Under the headline, The Guardian immediately put a hyperlink to an article of the 25 Republicans who are all white men vote to pass the abortion law. This can be seen as a slight hate towards the Republican members for voting to have the abortion ban law in Alabama. In addition to that, The Guardian also put a hyperlink to a timeline-based article for readers to read about abortion ban law from the beginning until the latest update.
Jessica Glenza, a health journalist from The Guardian US have shown to used neutral language in her article apart from the Alabama abortion ban law which she wrote it along with other two journalist. Based on the article Glenza wrote about Missouri could become the first US state without an abortion clinic, the language in the article is neutral as it is more focus on how do the abortion ban law affects the abortion clinic in Missouri with interview and qiotes from Planned Parenthood President Dr Lena Wen.
The Guardian also wrote an article on the same story on Disney may stop its production in Georgia due to the abortion ban law just like BBC did. After comparing the article from both news organisations, The Guardian wrote their article from the angle of Disney CEO Bob Iger as he is the only interviewee to be found in the article while BBC use multiple sources like screenshot tweet from Alyssa Milano, and information and quotes from CNN to lengthen their news article instead of writing the article solely relying on Disney CEO Bob Iger’s quotes.
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The New York Times (Lawmakers Vote to Effectively Ban Abortion in Alabama)
The New York Times started out by writing an article of lawmakers in Alabama pass the abortion ban law then wrote another follow up news story with the headline titled “Alabama Governor Signs Abortion Bill. Here’s What Comes Next”. Both the main article and the follow up article are fairly neutral but have give a small space to Alabama Pro-Life Coalition President Eric Johnston who spent 30 years as president trying to ban abortion in the main article.
This shows that The New York Times is against the Alabama abortion ban law delivering the news in pro-life supporter angle. The images used in the two articles are identical with protestors holding signs to repeal the abortion ban law, and a portrait of Alabama Pro-Life Coalition President Eric Johnston was used in the first article.
Moreover, The New York Times have been writing about abortion law dated back on July 31, 1990 with an article titled “Tough Abortion Law at Issue”. The article is about Pennsylvania lawmakers signing to pass the abortion law. The overall article is again neutral with quotes from American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Kathryn Kolbert, and Women’s Health Services of Pittsburgh Dr Thomas Allen.
Alan Blinder is a The New York Times journalist who wrote both article on the Alabama abortion ban law mentioned above. Blinder is known for covering on issues like death penalty, mass shootings, elections, scandals, and trials about police misconduct, voting rights. Based on the article Louisiana abortion ban, Blinder uses neutral language to wrote the news article like the articles mentioned above while supporting women’s right or gender equality by reporting the news story.
The New York Times did write an opinion articles on abortion with headline “Pregnancy Kills. Abortion Saves Lives”. Based on the headline alone, The New York Times do genuinely show support towards women getting abortion albeit the strong language used in the headline. As for the language, the article can be a little harsh towards pregnancy because many people view pregnancy is a joyful occasion, but the article begin with the phrase “Pregnancy is a life-threatening condition. Women die from being pregnant. We have known that for thousands of years” and “Pregnancy is dangerous; abortion can be lifesaving” in the next following few paragraphs.
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Alabama abortion ban law greatly affects women's health and rights
by Foo Ming Li
Alabama’s Republican-controlled state senate has passed a near-total ban on abortion, making it a crime to perform the procedure at any stage of pregnancy.
The law includes a ban on abortion in cases of rape or incest.
The abortion ban is the strictest in the US, and allows an exception only when the woman’s health is at serious risk.
Alabama's 35-seat Senate is dominated by men, and none of its four female senators backed the ban. It was then signed by Alabama's Republican governor, Kay Ivey.
Civil rights groups have pledged to immediately challenge the ban in courts, which would mean abortion would remain legal in the state for now. But this sets up a fierce legal battle that anti-abortion campaigners hope will lead to the supreme court, and eventually result in overturning Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.
Democratic leaders reacted with outrage, and pledged to fight for abortion rights.
Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator and 2020 contender, tweeted: “This ban is dangerous and exceptionally cruel – and the bill’s authors want to use it to overturn Roe v Wade. I’ve lived in that America and let me tell you: we are not going back – not now, not ever. We will fight this. And we will win.”
The Alabama legislation, which passed by a vote of 25-6 on Tuesday night, makes it a class A felony for a doctor to perform an abortion in the state, punishable by 10 to 99 years in prison. Women would not face criminal penalties for getting an abortion.
The few women who spoke on the floor were quick to highlight a key fact: this decision about women's bodies was being made almost entirely by men.
As one female lawmaker introduced a sure-to-fail amendment to the bill to make it illegal for men to get vasectomies, the gallery and overflow watch room upstairs burst into laughter.
On the senate floor, when the amendment failed, the lawmaker made her point, saying: We have never policed men's bodies the way we do women's.
“We want abortions to be safe, and we want them to be few, but it should be legal, because there will be abortions,” said Senator Linda Coleman-Madison, a Democrat and one of the four women in the 35-member Senate.
“The people who have the wherewithal will fly out of state,” she added. “Not everyone can afford to do that.”
Just outside the stark white walls of the state legislature were still more pro-choice advocates, raising signs that called for women's equality, for protecting Planned Parenthood, for men to stay out of women's rights issues.
Dr Yashica Robinson, who is one of the few doctors left providing abortion in Alabama, told BBC Radio Four's PM programme that she would continue to do her job while fighting for women's access to abortion in the state.
"I will still be here taking care of women and doing the things I can legally do," she said. "Then, I will be helping women to the places they need to be in order to get the healthcare that they desire or need if they are going to make it difficult here."
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