This essay summarizes and analyzes Richard Selzer's personal account of witnessing an abortion for the first time as a doctor. The essay describes Selzer's observations of the abortion procedure and his reaction to seeing the fetus struggle against the needle, which he found unexpectedly disturbing. The essay provides context about Selzer's background and qualifications and sets up his first-hand experience witnessing the abortion as the focus of the piece.

1. 1
Figure 1 Picture of Richard Selzer
Richard Selzer
What I Saw at the Abortion
I am a surgeon. Sick flesh is everyday news. Escaping blood, all
the outpourings of
disease, meaty tumors that terrify–I touch these to destroy them.
But I do not make symbols of
them.
What I am saying is that I have seen and I am used to seeing. I
am a man who has a
trade, who has practiced it long enough to see no news in any of
it. Picture me, then. A
professional in his forties, three children, living in a university
town—so, necessarily, well—
enlightened? Enough, anyhow. Successful in my work, yes. No
overriding religious posture.
Nothing special, then, your routine fellow, trying to do his work
and doing it well enough. Picture
me, this professional, a sort of scientist, if you please, in
possession of the standard admirable
opinions, positions, convictions, and so on–on this and that
matter–on abortion, for example.
All right. Now listen.

2. It is the western wing of the fourth floor of a great university
hospital. I am present
because I asked to be present. I wanted to see what I had never
seen: an abortion.
The patient is Jamaican. She lies on the table in that state of
notable submissiveness I
have always seen in patients. Now and then she smiles at one of
the nurses as though
acknowledging a secret.
A nurse draws down the sheet, lays bare the abdomen. The belly
mounds gently in the
twenty-fourth week of pregnancy. The chief surgeon paints it
with a sponge soaked in red
antiseptic. He does this three times, each time a fresh sponge.
He covers the area with a sterile
sheet, an aperture in its center. He is a kindly man who teaches
as he works, who pauses to
reassure the woman.
He begins.
“A little pinprick,” he says to the woman. He inserts the point
of a tiny needle at the
midline of the lower portion of her abdomen, on the downslope.
He infiltrates local anesthetic into
the skin, where it forms a small white bubble.
The woman grimaces. “That is all you will feel,” the doctor
says, “except for a little
pressure. But no more pain.” She smiles again. She seems to
relax. She settles comfortably on
the table. The worst is over.
The doctor selects a three-and-one-half-inch needle bearing a
central stylet. He places
the point at the site of the previous injection. He aims it straight

3. up and down, perpendicular.
Next he takes hold of her abdomen with his left hand, palming
the womb, steadying it. He thrusts
with his right hand. The needle sinks into the abdominal wall.
“Oh,” says the woman quietly.
But I guess it is not pain she feels. It is more a recognition that
the deed is being done. Another
thrust and he has speared the uterus.
“We are in,” he says. He has felt the muscular wall of the
organ gripping the shaft of his
needle. A further slight pressure on the needle advances it a bit
more. He takes his left hand
2
from the woman’s abdomen. He retracts the filament of the
stylet from the barrel of the needle. A
small geyser of pale yellow fluid erupts.
We are in the right place, says the doctor. “Are you feeling
any pain?” he asks. She
smiles, shakes her head. She gazes at the ceiling. In the room
we are six: two physicians, two
nurses, the patient, and me.
The participants are busy, very attentive. I am not at all busy –
but I am no less attentive.
I want to see.
I see something!
It is unexpected, utterly unexpected, like a disturbance in the
earth, a tumultuous jarring.
I see something other than what I expected here. I see a

4. movement—a small one. But I have
seen it.
And then I see it again. And now I see that it is the hub of the
needle in the woman’s
belly that has jerked. First to one side. Then to the other side.
Once more it wobbles, is tugged,
like a fishing line nibbled by a sunfish.
Again! And I know!
It is the fetus that worries thus. It is the fetus struggling
against the needle. Struggling?
How can that be? I think: That cannot be. I think: The fetus
feels no pain, cannot feel fear, has no
motivation. It is merely reflex.
I point to the needle. “It is a reflex,” says the doctor.
By the end of the fifth month, the fetus weighs about one
pound, is about twelve inches
long. Hair is on the head. There are eyebrows, eyelashes. Pale
pink nipples show on the chest.
Nails are present, at the fingertips, at the toes. At the beginning
of the sixth month, the fetus can
cry, can suck, can make a fist. He kicks, he punches. The
mother can feel this, can see this.
His eyelids, until now closed, can open. He may look up, down,
sideways. His grip is very strong.
He could support his weight by holding with one hand.
A reflex, the doctor says. I hear him. But I saw something. I
saw something in that mass
of cells understand that it must bob and butt. And I see it again!
I have an impulse to shove to the
table—it is just a step—seize that needle, pull it out.
We are not six, I think. I think we are seven.
Something strangles there. An effort, its effort, binds me to it.

5. I do not shove to the table. I take no little step. It would be . . .
well, madness. Everyone
here wants the needle where it is. Six do. No, five do.
I close my eyes. I see the inside of the uterus. It is bathed in
ruby gloom. I see the
creature curled upon itself. Its knees are flexed. Its head is bent
upon its chest. It is in fluid and
gently rocks to the rhythm of the distant heartbeat.
It resembles a sleeping infant. Its place is entered by something.
It is sudden. A point
coming. A needle! A spike of daylight pierces the chamber.
Now the light is extinguished. The
needle comes closer in the pool. The point grazes the thigh, and
I stir. Perhaps I wake from
dozing. The light is there again. I twist and straighten. My arms
and legs push. My hand finds the
shaft—grabs! I grab. I bend the needle this way and that. The
point probes, touches on my belly.
My mouth opens. Could I cry out? All is a commotion and a
churning. There is a presence in the
pool. An activity! The pool colors, reddens, darkens.
I open my eyes to see the doctor feeling a small plastic tube
through the barrel of the
needle in the uterus. Drops of pink fluid overrun the rim and
spill onto the sheet. He withdraws
the needle from around the plastic tubing. Now only the little
tube protrudes from the woman’s
3

6. body. A nurse hands the physician a syringe loaded with a
colorless liquid. He attaches it to the
end of the tubing and injects it.
“Prostaglandin,” he says. Ah, well, prostaglandin, a substance
found normally in the
body. When given in concentrated dosage, it throws the uterus
into vigorous contraction. In eight
to twelve hours, the woman will expel the fetus.
The doctor detaches the syringe but does not remove the tubing.
“In case we must do it
over,” he says. He takes away the sheet. He places gauze pads
over the tubing. Over this he
applies adhesive tape.
I know. We cannot feed the great numbers. There is no more
room. I know, I know. It is
woman’s right to refuse the risk, to decline the pain of
childbirth. And an unwanted child is a very
great burden. An unwanted child is a burden to himself. I know
And yet there is the flick of that needle. I saw it. I saw . . . I felt
– in that room, a pace
away, life prodded, life fending off. I saw life avulsed—swept
by flood, blackening—then out.
“There,” says the doctor. “It’s all over. It wasn’t too bad, was
it?” he asks the woman.
She smiles. It is all over. Oh, yes.
And who would care to imagine that from a moist and dark
commencement six months
before there would ripen the cluster and globule, the sprout and

7. pouch of man?
And who would care to imagine that trapped within the laked
pearl and a dowry of yolk
would lie the earliest stuff of dream and memory?
It is a persona carried here as well as person, I think. I think it
is a signed piece,
engraved with a hieroglyph of human genes.
I did not think this until I saw the flick, the fending off.
We leave the room, the three of us, the doctors.
“Routine procedure,” the chief surgeon says.
“All right,” I say.
“Scrub nurse says first time you’ve seen one, Dick. First look
at a purge?” the surgeon
says.
“That’s right,” I say. “First look.”
“Oh, well,” he says, “I guess you’ve seen everything else.”
“Pretty much,” I say.
“I’m not prying, Doctor,” he says, “but was there something
on your mind? I’d be
delighted to field any questions….”
“No,” I say. “No, thanks. Just simple curiosity.”
“Okay,” he says, and we all shake hands, scrub, change, and
go to our calls.
I know, I know. The thing is normally done at sixteen weeks.
Well, I’ve since seen it
performed at that stage, too. And seen…the flick. But I also
know that in the sovereign state of
my residence it is hospital policy to warrant the procedure at
twenty-four weeks. And that in the
great state that is adjacent, policy is enlarged to twenty-eight
weeks.

8. Does this sound like argument? I hope not. I am not trying to
argue. I am only saying I’ve
seen. The flick. Whatever else may be said in abortion’s
defense, the vision of that other defense
will not vanish from my eyes.
What I saw I saw as that: a defense, a motion from, and effort
away. And it has
happened that you cannot reason with me now. For what can
language do against the truth of
what I saw?
. . . . .
Cite this essay in Works Cited like this: Selzer, Richard. “What
I Saw at the Abortion.” Esquire
Magazine. Jan. 1976
This essay has been slightly edited for use in college
classrooms.
4
Objective: Justify whether or not social media has benefited
society.
Write an essay of at least 800 words using MLA format,
justifying whether or not social media has benefited society. Be
sure to:

9. A) Either choose a type of social media or a part of society as
the focus of your paper. As I stated before, you might want to
focus on one kind of social media (such as Pinterest, Twitter,
YouTube, TikTok, or any other social media). In the alternative,
you might want to focus generally on social media and detail
how it impacts politics, or relationships, or news delivery,
business, or another relevant topic.
B) Pick topics that have some relevance to you and relate them
to your own life. (This means that first person is OK for partof
the paper.)
C) Cite sources when you use them using MLA. (Note: Inserting
a URL in the text is not a correct citation, and including a
bibliography isn't the same as citing sources. Please seek
assistance if you don't understand the difference.)
D) Write a persuasive essay that is assertive and convincing.
Granger 1
Granger 1
Granger 1
Hermione Granger
Professor Oak
English 1 / Essay 2
20 September 2017
In his essay, “What I Saw at the Abortion,” Dr. Richard
Selzer writes about his experience
witnessing an abortion for the first time. Selzer begins . . . [This
section has been removed so students can do their own thinking
and analysis of Selzer’s essay].
What to Do About Abortions
Abortion. That one word alone can silence any room that it
is spoken into. It has always been an awkward, uncomfortable
subject to talk about. Abortion poses a lot of questions for us as

10. individuals, and seems to divide us as a nation. Pro-choice and
pro-life are labels that define us in our society. No matter
which category you fall under, you will be faced by scrutiny.
You are a conservative, misogynist that wants to take the rights
of women if you are pro-life. If you are prochoice, you condone
murder of an innocent life. Both stereotypes seem to be
misconceptions that fail to truly represent the beliefs of each
side. To get a clear understanding on both perspectives, we
must look at the reasoning behind the opposing views. Getting
to know the core values of each stance will help us decide
whether abortion should be legal in the United States.
It is a common belief among those who consider
themselves pro-choice that giving a woman the option of
abortion will prevent self-inflicted harm on expectant mothers.
Sandra Kay, a pro-choice advocate, explains in her blog post,
“A Pro Choice Perspective,” that “without access to legal
abortions, suicides will increase and women will resort to
dangerous, life-threatening, selfinflicted abortions.” Pregnancy
and motherhood is a life-changing event that some women do
not want to experience. For pregnant teens, they are most likely
left unfit to care for a human life when they have never
independently taken care of themselves. Putting expectant
women and teens in a situation that may seem life ending will
make them lose hope and give up. Taking away their option to
choose will do more harm than good.
A woman’s mental health, along with her physical health,
is at risk when she is stripped of her option to choose abortion.
Corinne H. Rocca and Katrina Kimport, researchers that explore
the emotions felt by women affected by abortion, explain that
“the mental health of women who received abortions to women
denied abortions found that women who were denied abortions
felt more regret and anger and less relief and happiness than
women who had abortions.” Women who are denied abortions
are forced to live their lives in a way they did not want nor
chose. They are only left with resentment when they are left to
take care of an unwanted child that is holding them back from

11. their original goals and aspirations.
The physical health of the fetus is also a major cause for
concern. The pro-life standpoint believes the fetus may suffer in
the process of the abortion. Dr. Fisk, a former president of
theInternational Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society, addresses
this concern when he says,
“neurological research has convinced him that pain is not
possible at all before 24 weeks” (Belluck). Considering that
most abortions are performed prior to the 24-week mark, we
must conclude that the fetus will not endure any pain during the
process of abortion.
A lot of the blame is placed on the expectant mother
because people feel the desire for an abortion could have been
avoided altogether with the help of contraception or abstinence.
A study done by the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists shows that over fifty percent of women who had
an abortion became pregnant due to contraceptive failure
(“Abortion”). It is unfair for society to accuse these women of
putting the burden of pregnancy on themselves. These women
were responsible and took the precautions needed to prevent
getting pregnant. It is not their fault that the contraceptives they
used were unsuccessful. If anyone is to blame, it is the
companies that sell the different forms of birth control that
failed to protect these women from pregnancy.
This blame also cannot be placed on women that have been
victims of rape. They had no option in staying abstinent and can
only rely on their sexual assailant with the means of
contraception. These women fell victim to a traumatic,
egregious experience that, with the utmost certainty, will affect
them for the rest of their lives. To expect a victim to care for
and love a child that was given to her by an act of evil is unfair
and unrealistic. She would most likely be stuck with reliving the
painful memory every time she looks into the child’s eyes. This
can only be harmful for the mental stability of the mother and
can very likely lead to maltreatment of the child.
After exploring the both sides of the argument, it is clear

12. that abortion should remain legal in the United States. Saying
yes to abortions does not mean you have no morals and do not
care about a fetus’s life; it is giving a woman the ability to
make a safe, rational decision for her and the child’s wellbeing.
Taking away the option for women is stripping them of their
rights as citizens. Women should be able to choose what they
want to do with their bodies in order to make the best decision
for themselves, as well as the fetus’s. Pregnant teens and
women will find a way to abort their child by any means
necessary if the legal and safe option ceases to exist. Keeping
abortions legal in the United States will ensure the continued
physical and mental health of all women in this nation.
Works Cited
“Abortion - Reasons Women Choose Abortion.” WebMD,
WebMD,
www.webmd.com/women/tc/abortion-reasons-women-choose-
abortion.
Belluck, Pam. “Complex Science at Issue in Politics of Fetal
Pain.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Sept.
2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/health/complex-scienceat-
issue-in-politics-of-fetal-pain.html?mcubz=1.
Kay, Sandra. “A Pro-Choice Perspective.”
Shesayswithasmile.blogspot.com. Web. 4 March
2008.
Rocca, Corrine H., and Katrina Kimport, et al., "Women's
Emotions One Week after Receiving or Being Denied an
Abortion in the United States," Perspectives on Sexual and
Reproductive Health, Sep. 2013

13. Essay Checklist
Instructor Checklist
Please follow the guidelines below
Follows MLA formatting, double-spaced, 12 point font (Times
New Roman or Arial), left-justified only, heading listed in
proper order
Essay’s content and argument fulfills the assignment and
reflects critical thinking and a depth of thought that makes
reading the essay worthwhile for the reader
Essay is well-organized, easy to follow, and seeks to prove the
thesis
Essay’s spelling, punctuation, and grammar are error-free (no
comma splices, fragments, run-ons, etc.) Commas and semi-

14. colons are used correctly. Authors and other names that appear
are correctly spelled.
Essay cites at least three reliable sources, includes three direct
quotes, and in-text citations match the first words of sources as
listed in Works Cited.
Essay includes and properly cites quotations,
paraphrases, and sources of information not commonly known
Essay is approximately 3 pages (not counting Works Cited or
post-essay reflection)
Essay has creative title that fits with topic
Although you are arguing on behalf of a claim or thesis, your
essay avoids use of “I” and other overt references to yourself or
your opinion

15. Essay avoids slang, casual diction, and maintains a scholarly,
formal academic tone. Words such as "huge" and "big" are
replaced with words such as significant, essential, important,
critical.
Commas and periods are placed prior to closed quotation marks
(except periods that go after an in-text citation)
Once people are introduced with first and last names, the essay
uses last names only
News sources such as The New York Times, The Washington
Post, CNN, and others are italicized.
Article titles are placed in quotation marks.
Essay avoids dropped quotations by using signal phrases
Works Cited is properly formatted (using
Noodletools is recommended)
Post Essay Reflection included

16. Essay score – 120 points possible Total:
--
--
Target length: Approximately four pages
For this two-part essay, read the article titled “What I Saw at
the Abortion” by Dr. Richard Selzer, posted in Canvas
under Modules and Essay 2 – Analysis and Advocacy.
After you’ve read the essay, begin your own essay with this
sentence: In his essay, “What I Saw at the Abortion,” Dr.
Richard Selzer writes about his experience witnessing an
abortion for the first time.
You do not need a title for this first section of the essay.
In this first part, address these questions: Is Selzer writing from
an unbiased viewpoint or is he seeking to persuade us about the
issue of abortion? If he is trying to persuade us, does he do this
effectively? Is he fair to both sides of the abortion debate and
does he provide a balanced presentation of these sides? How
does he use language, style, tone, and other rhetorical tools to
achieve the objective of his essay? Give a few examples of
words and phrases he uses to support your analysis. Because
you are simply analyzing Selzer’s essay, you should not
indicate whether you agree or disagree with his objective. Most
students write about one page on this first part of the two-part
essay.
Once you’ve completed this first section of the assignment—the
analysis—you are now ready to tab down an extra double space
and begin the next part of this assignment, which is to write a
formal essay with a title, an introduction, thesis, body

17. paragraphs, and a conclusion. You do not need a transition
sentence from the analysis section to this essay.
Of course, before you begin writing the formal essay, you need
to do some research on the topic of abortion. You may already
have an opinion about this issue, but this assignment offers an
opportunity to review both sides of the debate. As you review
various sources about abortion, think about which perspective—
pro-life or pro-choice—seems most appropriate for citizens of
the United States. The view that seems most appropriate will
become your thesis. You must argue a position on this issue in a
logical and reasonable manner.
As such, your thesis should state whether or not abortion should
remain legal in the United States. (Note: abortion is current
legal in the United States, as decided by the 1973 Supreme
Court case Roe v. Wade.)
For your body paragraphs, use the 7-Step body structure and
introduce reliable sources to support your claim. Be wary of
what pops up online. Many pro-life sites include images of
fetuses designed to emotionally influence you against a
woman’s right to choose. Instead, look for reliable sites and
sources that discuss this topic from a balanced perspective.
Tips to a successful essay
After introducing Dr. Richard Selzer in your first sentence,
refer to him as “Selzer” in the remainder of the essay.
Do not write two separate essays. Just write one paper in two
parts.
When writing about Selzer’s article (and other sources), write in
the present tense. For example, write “Selzer describes an
abortion,” not “Selzer described an abortion.” Also, use a
formal style of writing. For example, instead of writing “Pro-
choice advocates feel it’s ok to have an abortion,” write instead
“pro-choice advocates believe it is acceptable for a woman to
choose….” Similarly, instead of writing “Abortion is a big
issue,” write “Abortion is a significant issue.” In formal
writing, the words “big” and “huge” describe physical size.
Another tip is to avoid using the word “you” in many instances.

18. For example, instead of writing “When you consider all the
options,” write intead “when we consider all the options.”
Similarly, some students describing a woman who is pregnant
have written “When you get pregnant,” which is quite odd to a
male reader. Write instead, “When a woman gets pregnant.”
Also, be careful when using the words woman and women. As
you know, “woman” is singular and “women” is plural. Last
semester a student incorrectly wrote, “The government should
not control what women do with her body.” Of course, the
sentence should read “The government should not control
what women do with their bodies” or “. . . what a woman does
with her body.”
More tips
In this essay, you want to demonstrate that you are a reasonable
and educated individual who has considered both sides of this
debate before coming to a conclusion. For this reason, unlike
the first essay we wrote where we may have omitted certain
truths to write about racism, you can refer to sources and views
that are opposed to your thesis. However, be careful not make
the opposing argument so compelling that it undermines your
essay’s perspective.
Another important tip is to avoid using “I" or “me” in keeping
with the objective tone. Writing “I believe” or “I think” or “I
feel” or “in my opinion” creates a biased and subjective tone
and can weaken an argument. Even though this essay might
express your actual opinion, do not refer to yourself in the
essay. Notice that instead of writing “I believe that…” you can
more powerfully argue that “As a nation, we should….”
Use the terms “pro-life” and “pro-choice,” not terms like “anti-
abortion” or “pro-abortion.” These terms are not capitalized if
they appear in the middle of a sentence. For example, you
would write “many pro-choice advocates” and not “many Pro-
choice advocates.”
Please do not base your argument on religious beliefs for this
essay. While you must take a stand in this essay, you do not
personally have to agree with the position. This assignment is

19. not designed to force you to reveal your personal or religious
points of view but is designed to assess how well you logically
and reasonably present a particular position about abortion
relative to ethics and morals in our society.
When answering the questions asked in this prompt regarding
Selzer’s essay, do not fall into the trap of only summarizing his
essay. Be sure to actually answer the questions.
Be sure to spell the name Selzer correctly. Students have
misspelled his name as Sezler, Seltzer and Zelser.
Be sure to look back at your last essay to avoid repeating errors
in this essay. Correct those errors so you are not repeating bad
habits.
Using sources to support your claim
In the second part of the essay, cite reliable sources to support
the position for which you’re arguing. Use either a quotation or
a paraphrase from the sources. Be sure to introduce your
sources with a signal phase. These sources can be Selzer’s
article, Sandra Kay’s blog post, an internet post, an online
article, a book, or similar sources. Guttmacher.org is a website
often cited by students in this essay.
Be sure to cite your sources and include a Works Cited page
according to MLA standards. A free online tool for creating a
Works Cited page is found by clicking on Noodle Tools
at https://www.noodletools.com/. Be sure to change the font of
the Works Cited page to match the font in the body of your
essay, and place the Works Cited page on a separate page (but
within the same document) at the end of your essay.
Here’s how to cite Richard Selzer’s essay and Sandra Kay’s
blog post (if you choose to refer to Kay) in your Works Cited
page:
Kay, Sandra. “A Pro-Choice
Perspective.” Shesayswithasmile.blogspot.com. Web. 4 March
2008.
Selzer, Richard. “What I Saw at the Abortion.” Esquire
Magazine. Jan. 1976
Correct formatting is important: Use the Essay Template posted

20. in here to ensure proper formatting. Just “save as” to create
your own essay, which is already formatted. The template has
the proper MLA heading, spacing, and Works Cited formatting.
It uses 12-point font for every text element of the essay, and the
spacing is set at zero for “before” and “after” spacing under
the paragraph tab in Microsoft Word. The essay is double-
spaced and includes one-inch margins. Sample MLA essays are
available online. A good resource is the OWL at Purdue
University.