Abstract
This essay employs Kenneth Burke's cycle of terms for Order in a “logological” analysis of anti‐abortion rhetoric. It argues that this discourse is informed by a descent‐ascent metaphor which derives its persuasive power from Christian theology and deontological ethics, each of which is a symbolic analogue of the dramatistic descent from Guilt, through Victimage, to the ascent of Redemption. Anti‐abortion rhetoric manifests two forms of Guilt, victimizes women, and makes childbearing and anti‐abortion legislation the twin paths to Redemption. The essay concludes speculatively, suggesting that this rhetoric appeals by enabling one to recapture lost innocence.
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