Cochlear Argument Analysis

Within the Deaf Culture movement, there is ongoing controversy on whether or not a child should have their “deafness” surgically removed. Cochlear implant surgery is an ever progressing technological advancement, and while many parents of Deaf children oppose this surgery, there is talk of sueing those parents who deny cochlear implants for children that are appropriate candidates for the surgery. Throughout Adam B. Zimmerman’s “Do You Hear the People Sing? Balancing Parental Authority and a Child’s Right to Thrive: The Cochlear Implant Debate,” this issue of legally overriding parental authority is examined with the use of scholarly language and credibility as a writer for the “Journal of Health & Biomedical Sciences”, as well as various forms

The most common being argument by definition, comparison, and procedure. To get the audience to understand the point he is making, Zimmerman first needs to define what exactly a cochlear implant is and/or does. To introduce the purpose of cochlear implants Zimmerman states, “Cochlear implant surgery can significantly improve the hearing of prelingually deaf children. Cochlear implants are not a cure for deafness, they will not restore hearing to “normal” levels, but they can significantly improve the recipient’s quality of life” (309). To an audience that does not have background knowledge in Deaf Culture, comparisons need to be made in order to establish the significance of this issue. “Even the free exercise of religion,” according to Zimmerman, “may be limited if practices associated with that free exercise would cause significant harm to the child” (311). This quote shows an effective way to broaden the audience’s horizons, in order to convince them that in every way, the court is wanting to protect the child’s best interest. Zimmerman also uses an argument of procedure in order to convince the parents of children that are Deaf to give their children cochlear implants: “Because cochlear implants are still a relatively new technology there is, as of yet, no good measure of the unemployment rate among cochlear implant recipients; however, due to the increased communications skills gained via cochlear implants, it is reasonable to expect that the unemployment rate of cochlear implant recipients is lower than that of the larger deaf population” (Zimmerman 319-320). With the use of the unemployment rate, which is a recurring problem throughout the American population, Zimmerman could convince the audience to want their children to have cochlear