TOW #7 - Nick Anderson Cartoon

Nick Anderson is a liberal cartoonist who focuses his drawings mainly on political and social issues within the U.S. The question as to whether abortion is moral or immoral is widely debated around the country. With that also comes the question as to when abortion should be illegal. In 2013, when this cartoon was made, most states had their own laws stating when abortion was illegal. The timeline spanned from after 12 weeks in some states to after 28 weeks in others; nine states had no laws restricting abortion. Also, with the U.S.’s federalist government, the Supreme Court can make final decisions and throw out state laws. In light of the controversy around abortion, Nick Anderson uses the woman’s facial expression and the phrases in the picture to say that a woman should have the final say, and not the federal government, when it comes to her having an abortion.

In the picture, a woman is in a clinic and the doctor is evaluating her body by looking at screen. The audience assumes that the doctor, a man with the words “Big Government” on his back, has some sort of apparatus hooked up to the woman in order to show information. Analyzing the picture all together allows for Americans to see Anderson’s purpose. The text “If you are reading this you are too far up my uterus” in addition to the woman’s facial expression, lets the audience understand that the woman is unhappy with the “big government’s” interference in her decision because she should have control over her body, not an outside party. Also considering that the doctor is a man and not a woman, Anderson presents the idea that a man does not understand what it takes from a woman to birth a child. Since he doesn’t know or understand, he should not be making decisions for her. Most government officials making decisions on abortion laws are men, so Anderson appeals to logos because it seems illogical for a man outside of the situation to make decisions for a woman and her body. She should have the right to make the ultimate decision concerning her body.