viz.

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision to uphold a ban on "partial birth" abortions, I thought it would be worth mentioning how visual rhetoric is employed in the abortion debate, particularly by pro-life partisans. Anyone who has spent much time on a large university campus has likely seen the images of protest I'm referring to in demonstrations once or twice a year, protests often coordinated by off-campus religious groups. In their most confrontational manifestations, the groups frequently employ large signs depicting very, very graphic images that they claim show aborted fetuses. I don't have enough medical knowledge to evaluate whether or not such images depict the realities of abortion. But certainly such graphic depictions have an impact on passersby. And certainly visual depictions, whether photos or drawings, will influence how people feel about abortion.