Theodore Gracyk
Philosophy 110: Practical Reasoning


Sample Portfolio Page: Causal Argument

This page has all four elements of a correct page:

 

  1. At the top, it labels the category of argument. 
  2. It documents the source. (Provide the same sort of documentation that would be used for a citation in a college research paper.)
  3. It identifies the issue in the form of a question. 
  4. It reconstructs the argument in standard form, then evaluates its soundness. (For the fallacies, we skip the standard form reconstruction but explain how the fallacy occurs in the example.) It explicitly states whether the argument is sound or unsound.

 

           Causal Argument 

 

March 7, 2003

Abortion - Breast Cancer Link Deemed Untrue

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 11:56 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- There is no evidence that having an abortion increases the risk of getting breast cancer later in life, say scientific advisers to the National Cancer Institute.

Now the question is whether, and when, the NCI will update its Internet ``fact sheet'' for women on the topic, which currently says the evidence isn't clear.

Until last year, that fact sheet said there appeared to be no link between abortion and breast cancer. But in November, after complaints from abortion opponents and members of Congress, the NCI replaced its patient information with the current statement suggesting confusion -- and called in outside experts to review the data.

Earlier this week, the NCI quietly posted the conclusion of those experts on its Web site: ``Induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk,'' says the report. Neither is a miscarriage, it adds.

The issue arose because a few studies in the early 1990s suggested there might be a link. But the NCI advisers examined later studies, from 1995 to the present, that found no link, and pointed to flaws in the earlier research, said NCI's Dr. Robert Hoover.

Among the best evidence is landmark Danish research that used computerized medical records to compare women who had had abortions with that country's cancer registry -- and found no higher cancer rate, he said.

The body reacts to an interrupted pregnancy the same way whether it was an induced abortion or a miscarriage; the new report cites no risk from either.

 

Source: The Fargo Forum, 2 Dec. 2002, page A2.    

Issue: Is induced abortion a cause of breast cancer? 

Standard Form:  

  1. Induced abortion is not correlated with breast cancer.
  2. The evidence is from an uncontrolled study.

        Induced abortion is probably not a cause of breast cancer.

Evaluation:  

Sound. While we do not know much about the Danish research from this newspaper article, the research was done by legitimate researchers (The National Cancer Institute). There is no reason to think that any of the causal fallacies took place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to Practical
Reasoning Home Page		 Return to 
Theodore Gracyk's
Homepage      		   

 

Last updated May 1, 2003