This article presents a rhetorical analysis of the "pro-choice" and "pro-life" stances in the debate over abortion of anencephalic fetuses. Feminist Debora Diniz is regarded as a pro-choice" spokeswoman. She was the main political organizer of the lawsuit filed by the National Confederation of Health Workers resulting in the 2004 provisional court decision authorizing therapeutic advance delivery of anencephalic fetuses. Carlos Alberto Di Franco is the "pro-life" spokesman - the main representative of the interests of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. In Mrs. Diniz's discourse, the appeal for solidarity with the mothers of anencephalic fetuses played the rhetorical role of emphasizing the value of women's lives and make them a victim of the suffering of carrying unviable fetuses. Mr. Di Franco established a strategy of affirming the responsibility of the State in managing citizens's lives, positioning himself morally as the advocate of the status of the fetus as a person.
abortion; anencephaly; rhetoric; media