Rhetorical Analysis Of Donald Trump’s Speech On The March For Pro Life

The Anti-abortion movement or Pro-life movement is against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many protests are held for this specific movement, most commonly, the March for Life rally. This movement attends the March for Life rally every year in Washington D.C. It consists of people from all over the world, and they come together to advocate Pro-life. In January 2018, a memorable speech was made when Donald Trump was the first president to address the crowd at the March for Life rally with the support of mostly pathos.

March for Life began in 1973 when the settlement of legalizing Roe vs Wade was made in the Supreme Court. This decision ruled that the constitution of the United States safeguards a pregnant woman's ability to have an abortion without limitation. March for Life was founded in 1974 by a woman named Nellie Jane Gray. In January of 1974, many pro-lifers took part in the first March for Life rally. After this march, it was realized that the congressional salvation of an unborn baby was not being taken care of so, Nellie decided that March For Life would happen every year until Roe v. Wade was overturned. As a result of this, the march became a non-profit organization. Nellies actions created growth and development in this rally. For the past forty years, March for Life has been a moving experience to others, especially women. Until this day, the Roe v. Wade law has not been overturned, but people all over the world continue to March for Life.

On January 19th, 2018 at 12:30 P.M in the Rose Garden, President Donald Trump impacted pro-lifers through of his moving speech. In his speech, Trump points out that he is Pro-life. For example, he explains how The March for Life movement is 'born out of love'. He also states that we only get to live once, so life is, 'a precious gift from God”. He also speaks about accomplishments he has made during his presidency such as the growth in our economy, more jobs, and lower unemployment rate for African Americans. Moreover, President Trump provided a new proposal protecting the rights and religious beliefs of doctors, nurses, and other professionals in the medical field and made a reversal on the policy that limited states' achievements to Medicate funding apart from abortion provisions that are against the law. Towards the end of the speech, Trump speaks about a woman named Marianne who was pregnant as a teenager and chose to give her baby life. Marianne had the support of her family and her husband and was grateful for that. Trump also mentions that Marianne started a maternity home to take care of homeless woman who are pregnant. Because of this many women have been taken care of but most of all, 'it has given them hope.' Hope has led women to believe that they are always important and that they are surrounded by people who will help them with their needs. This gift of hope is what unites us in every relationship. These are the reasons as to why these people march.

I believe ethos, pathos, and logos are all being used in this speech. When love is mentioned in the first section of the second paragraph, we can see the use of pathos because love signifies unity. Through the combination of love and unity, everyone and everything that we care about leads us to know how important and sacred a life is according to how love is being defined in the speech. When Trump speaks about how life is “a precious gift from God,” it immediately connects to all three uses of rhetoric. We see ethos because Trump is emphasizing the protection of a life and its importance. With that, he builds credibility because those who may not support trump but have a strong belief in pro-life, see a positive outlook in him. He also builds logos because it is seen through a religious lens. We relate this to the bible and those who read such as Catholics and Christians. To them, this is the word of law so when they hear this, they quickly relate to what Trump is saying but more specifically the words that are part of their daily lives. Overall, we mostly see the use of pathos because he attempts to appeal to different audiences so that hopefully they can agree with what he is saying but most likely agree with the pro-life movement and March for Life. These positive strategies is what catches the attention of others.

In conclusion, the Pro-life movement has done everything possible to overturn the Roe v. Wade law, and continue to do so. They are continuing to fight for what they believe in every year by attending the March for Life rally. President Trump saying his speech and expressing his beliefs to others gives pro-lifers a bigger voice. The accomplishments of this movement, and Donald Trump’s speech have grabbed my attention because of how powerful their voices are. I have learned that rhetoric is a very powerful tool that is part of our daily lives. We are always analyzing posters or a famous speech through its details which are what appeals to us. As a pro-lifer myself, I have learned that life is precious. To believe that someone has the capability to kill a human life is ungrateful. There are many options you can have when saving a life rather than ending it. A life is something we can never take back and is only given to us once. It is something special that we receive and something we should always be thankful for.