A Discourse Analysis of the Abortion Debate in Turkey and the United States

Abstract

Bu tezin yazilis amaci Kurtaj meselesinin Amerika ve Turkiye'deki durumunu din ahlak ekonomi sosyal normlar kadin haklari gibi farkli yazili ve sozlu soylemleri kullanarak gozlemleme ve analiz etme yoluyla bu iki kulturu kiyaslamaktir. Turk toplumunun kurtaja bakis acisinin anlatildigi bolumde: ulkedeki hakim din olan Ýslamiyet ve din olgusunun getirdigi yaptirimlar odak noktasi olmustur. cunku din olgusu toplumun gelenek-gorenek inanc ve tutumlarini olusturmada kacinilmaz bir etkiye sahiptir.

The aim of this thesis is to observe and analyze abortion issue in the contexts of Turkey and America via various written and spoken discourses such as; religion, ethic, economy, social norms and women's rights and thus comparing these two countries. Throughout the representation of Turkish society's view on abortion, the predominant religion of the country; Islam and its regulations have been the main focus as they are the inevitable parts of forming the traditions, beliefs and behaviors of the society and thus affecting people's discourses on the cores of abortion issue which are mainly sexuality, virginity, honor killing and social codes. In the second part of the study, American people's views on the abortion debate have been examined through the opposing discourses of pro-life and pro-choice supporters who make abortion a hot issue throughout the country, which influences even the politics. This study does not mean to be a discourse analysis but an overview of the abortion debate in Turkey and America by means of various discourses prevalent in both countries. By this way, the main aim was to unearth what people mean by their individual utterances; how they reflect their behaviors and whether they live as the way they take a stand towards the issue of abortion. Despite all the differences American and Turkish people have, this thesis shows that, these two societies have similar discourses in the issue of abortion.