Mother

Kaley Ganey and Allie Linaugh October 15, 2012 Stuart Harmening APUSH The Republican Motherhood and Education for Women The republican motherhood was essentially the beginning of the new era for women. Before, women were not allowed to go to school, and we not educated as they were thought to belong in the home. Before the late eighteenth century, their role was to God and the care of the home and their children.

However, Enlightened thinkers knew that it was the role of the mother to make sure her sons morals and values were in pace, and also they knew the future of the United States was dependent on mothers. For these reasons, the education of women became more important and more accepted. Women were responsible for instilling proper values, and an education in the principles of liberty and government into their sons. What didn’t make sense was, women were not educated well enough, sometimes they were able to write their names, and read small stories, but not all the time.

During the late eighteenth century, the idea of educating women became more and more practical. If a woman were to educate their children, the future leaders and government officials of America, shouldn’t the woman be well educated themselves? After much thought and consideration, it was believed that women should be taught to read, write, do simple math, and also should be knowledgeable about the English language.

With their education, women were better able to educate their sons, which was better for the country in the long run. People justified the education of women by saying that it was a woman’s duty to her country to educate her sons; therefore she should be educated as well. Putting the responsibilities of children in the hands of the women essentially put the future of America in their hands. The women were the ones filling the heads of children with knowledge, and teaching them how to better serve their country.

A Deeper Look into Ethics and Laws Regarding Surrogacy HCA 322: Health Care Ethics and Medical Law A Deeper Look into Ethics and Laws Regarding Surrogacy When one or more persons contract with a woman to gestate a child than relinquish that child after birth to the person or couple is known as surrogacy. It is a course of action that goes outside of natural reproduction. For some, it is the only method of having children, extending family. Surrogacy has been stirring up many controversies over the years. Ethics, morals, laws, religious views, etc. ave played a major role in the issues that follow the topic of surrogacy. Laws and regulations pertaining to surrogacy vary from state to state. Some states have no enforceable laws towards surrogacy, while others only permit surrogacy contracts that are uncompensated arrangements and gestational agreements (Trimarchi, 2011). Some states prohibit same sex couples from entering into any form of surrogacy contracts. In this paper, I will be address the legal and ethical issues involved and other aspects of surrogacy. History of Surrogacy and Case Study Surrogacy was assumed to have been around since the Babylonian times.

Alternatively, the most credible records to date allocate managing legal passivity and the public responses during the middle of the 20th century. Surrogacy did not become public in 1976, when Attorney Noel Keane negotiated the first ever surrogacy agreement (“History of surrogacy,” 2011). Attorney Noel Keane and Dr. Ringold created the first ever fertility clinic (surrogacy clinic) in the United States. Many laws and regulations were not implemented until the case of Elizabeth Kane and the case of Baby M. Elizabeth Kane was the first woman to enter into a compensated surrogacy agreement in 1980.

She was to be compensated with $10,000. She, however, was unwilling to leave the surrogacy agreement without the baby. It was the decision of the court to not grant custody of the child to Elizabeth Kane due to her signing a legal contract. This is the case known for starting the implementation of some laws in some states. In 1986, Mary Beth Whitehead (surrogate mother) and the Stern family entered into a surrogacy agreement. This is the notorious case of ‘Baby M. ‘ It was agreed that Whitehead would receive $10,000 if the child were born healthy, and the surrogate maintained the guidelines and restrictions stated in the contract.

However, if there was a case of miscarriage or still born, Whitehead would only receive $1,000. Also, once the child was born Mrs. Stern could legally adopt the child. Once the child was born, Whitehead decided she did not want to give custody of the child to the Sterns. She fled the state and was soon taken into custody. Judge Sorkow, ruled that custody of Baby M would be given to the Stern family, enforcing the surrogacy contract. Whitehead was also deemed an unfit mother. Mrs. Stern was given permission to adopt Baby M. Whitehead appealed the court’s decision.

New Jersey’s Supreme Court overturned Judge Sorkow’s ruling, invalidating commercial surrogacy contracts as a disguised form of baby-selling (Tong, 2011). Whitehead was granted visitation to baby M. Cases like ‘Baby M’ assisted in triggering some but not many regulations on surrogacy. Ethics and morals, and forms of discrimination against women arose after the case of ‘Baby M. ‘ Some believed that the ruling was justified, whereas others felt that it exploited financially unstable, young, minority women searching for an easy way to earn cash (Tong, 2011). The case of ‘Baby M,’ had some thinking that if Mrs.

Whitehead were financially stable, like the Stern Family, she would’ve been granted full custody of the child. On the other hand, those favoring the decision stated that most surrogacy advocates chose women who are 20-30 and have had a child. They also noted that majority of surrogates chosen are Caucasian women. Surrogate agencies now seek women who are unselfish and are financially ready to be the role of a surrogate. Legal Issues A contract is considered to be an agreement, written or verbal, outlining terms and conditions (legally binding obligations) between two parties.

Contracts are legally enforceable. In regards to surrogacy, contracts are drawn up with terms and conditions for the surrogate as well as the intended parents. While a majority of the population feels this is a legally enforceable contracts others see the contract as null and void. Due to the close resemblance of ‘baby selling,’ which is illegal in every state, there has been, and still is a bit of a divide on decisions in legislation in regards to surrogacy. “Court decisions and legislation in the United States are split on the issue of whether or not to prohibit surrogacy contracts” (Pozgar, 2012).

The surrogacy field has some regulations, such as the use of contracts, which are considered to be law binding, as of right now. The topic of surrogacy is a topic, with much needed deliberation. Before any couple may move forward with the surrogacy process, there are certain factors that must be considered. This includes: Is surrogacy permitted in the state? Are surrogacy contracts permitted? Is there the option to transfer parental rights (adoption)? Once one has these questions answered, they have to determine other factors.

Such as: costs for both surrogate (if any) as well as intended parents, contract agreement, testing procedures, medical expenses for the surrogate, etc (“What are the,” n. d. ). If an agreement has been reached, and all aspects of the surrogacy are agreed to, a surrogacy contract can be entered into without any issues developing. However, this does not mean no issues will arise later in the surrogacy. Some aspects may have been over looked, or the surrogate could develop issues once the child is born, hence the case of ‘Baby M. ‘

There is nothing in federal legislation in regards to surrogacy. Laws regarding surrogacy vary from state to state. As of this moment, several states prohibit acts of assisted reproductive technologies. In those states any surrogacy contracts are unenforceable, proclaiming all contracts void (Hansen, 2011). Some of these states consider acts of surrogacy a crime, punishable by law. While some states allow surrogacy by only to married couples or to couples where one of the intended parents is related to the child. A majority of the states allow surrogacy to take place.

In fact they have allowed the surrogacy field to prosper (Hansen, 2011). These states do not have any regulations on surrogacy. Surrogacy contracts are binding just as any other drawn up contract. When entering into such a potentially controversial contract, lawyers should be present to discuss any issues, and to witness the agreement. All parties involved in surrogacy have legal rights. Ones that should not be over looked. For instance, all parties involved in surrogacy have a right to confidentiality. The right to privacy and confidentiality should be underlined in the contract drawn.

The intended parents of the child as well as the surrogate mother must keep all information private. While information between the surrogate and the intended parents may be shared, a third party (surrogacy agency) tries to keep all information to a need to know basis. For example, the intended parents may want to know of any mental or physical issues of the surrogate. Otherwise, all information should be kept private. Both parties in the surrogacy contract have the right to an attorney. Due to high risks of controversies, all parties should have legal representation.

Lawyers can assist in explaining the contract. They can also give legal advice if the other party has a ‘change of heart. ‘ With legal representation comes attorney-client confidentiality. The attorney hired must keep all information private. Ethics & Morals Surrogacy raises many ethical issues. All too which must be evaluated before entering into a surrogacy contract. The biggest ethical issue pertaining to surrogacy is the mental and physical displacement the surrogate mother endures. The surrogate mother must be capable of releasing the child once she has completed labor. In a surrogate situation, the gestational mother is the woman who carries the baby to term. This can be a very taxing process both physically and emotionally – and unique in that after the surrogate mother physically carries the baby throughout the pregnancy, she needs to physically and emotionally detach herself from the child once it is born” (The ethical issues,” n. d. ). For some women this issue is effortless, they simply see their body as a temporary home for the child, a ‘womb for rent’. While others form an attachment with the child while in the gestational period.

This attachment presents difficulty for the surrogate mother once the child is born. “After the child is taken, the surrogate mother may be negatively impacted as her feeling of isolation is felt along with the reality of the sale of her body ” (Pozgar, 2012). This, in the long run, could cause more negative impact for the surrogate mother than positive. Women’s values in liberty and autonomy need to be weighed against other values like exploitation, health and welfare. When entering into a drastic contract, the fear of infidelity weighs heavy on all parties.

Trust in one another is a major characteristic that must be displayed. “It is easy to praise a successful arrangement in retrospect, but the danger always exists that an arrangement one is planning would cause moral harm to the surrogate and/or the commissioning parents” (van Niekerk ; van Zyl, 1995). If the surrogate mother were to change her mind after the child were born, it could cause an emotional impact on all parties, including the child. In the case of ‘Baby M,’ Whitehead grew attached to the child. At first, she was considered to be unfit as a mother and lost all rights.

However, she continued her efforts to custody of the child. After two years, she was awarded visitation to the child, and the intended mother was unable to adopt the child. The emotional devastation felt had to have been overwhelming. The child was subject to the custody battle and confusion of ‘who is my mommy? ‘ While the Stern family (intended family) had to endure in sharing a child too which they would have full custody. What about the rights of the child? This is a question stirring around controversy. The child is usually never considered when people decide assisted reproduction technologies.

The child is not given the option of knowing his/her gestational mother, or of any other details pertaining to her (unless otherwise stated, like in the case of ‘Baby M’). The child is also denied the ability to know if his/her biological parents (if sperm donation and/or egg donation is used). “Transferring the duties of parenthood from the birthing mother to a contracting couple denies the child any claim to its “gestational carrier” and to its biological parents if the egg and/or sperm is/are not that of the contracting parents” (“Surrogacy: A 21st,” ).

Also, the baby may have identity issues upon being informed of the nature of his birth, that is if the intended parents decide to disclose this information to the child. Awkwardly, there has been deliberation that surrogacy is close to resembling prostitution. Commercial surrogacy (paying a surrogate mother for gestation of a child) is said to be considered a form of prostitution because the woman is selling her body for someone else’s contentment. Although surrogacy is not for intimate purposes, people feel it is the same concept.

They feel it is immoral. However, those favoring surrogacy argue that ‘we live in a society where physical labor is compensated with money or material items. ‘ They feel that this argument is invalid (van Niekerk & van Zyl, 1995). . Lastly, ‘baby-selling’ is the issue surrounding surrogacy. Selling a child is illegal and unethical in any state. Infertility clinics and surrogacy agencies are growing more popular in the United States. These clinics and agencies do take a portion of the money involved in the surrogacy.

This little fact gives more power to the argument of ‘baby-selling. The agency or clinic is considered to be the third party in the process, assisting with finding probable surrogates for intended families, drawing up a contract, what each party is responsible for throughout the gestation period of the child. An infertile couple pays an agency $10,000 to find a surrogate, and another $10,000 to the surrogate for any expenses she made covered while carrying the child. The infertile couple also pays the medical expenses, prenatal and postnatal care.

So some like the state of Michigan, this is unethical and illegal. It is classified as ‘baby-selling. ‘ However, if a woman who bears a child gives the child to a infertile couple for free, this is completely legal and ethical. In my opinion/ Conclusion In the future, the topic of surrogacy will still be controversial. However, with technology becoming so advance, I foresee a solution to infertility for couples coming to an end. States have their different opinions on the subject, and because of those opinions laws and regulations have been placed on surrogacy.

Some states laws will change, as the issue of surrogacy arises. ” As surrogate/contract parenting arrangements are normalized and routinized, the U. S. public will probably press federal and state authorities to pass clear legislation governing surrogacy” (Tong, 2011). Woman are given the gift to bare children. However, some are incapable due to some form of medical issue. If a family wants to extend their family by having children (legally) that is their given right. Of course this varies from state to state. Surrogacy does cause many ethical and legal issues.

However, these are issues that all surrogate mothers and intended families take into close consideration before pursuing. It is important that all parties involved weigh in liberty, autonomy, fidelity, ethical and moral values against all other standards and values. Many issues are bound to arise when entering into such a highly drastic contract, but with close monitoring, fidelity and understanding, the contract should be capable of being carried out with no issues. References Hansen, M. (2011, March 01). As surrogacy becomes more popular, legal problems proliferate.

Retrieved from http://www. abajournal. com/magazine/article/as_surrogacy_becomes_more_popular_legal_problems_proliferate/ History of surrogacy. (2011). Retrieved from http://www. findsurrogatemother. com/surrogacy/information/history Pozgar, G. (2012). Legal and Ethical Issues for Health Professionals (3rd ed). Jones ; Bartlett Publishers. Retrieved from http://online. vitalsource. com/books/9781449685065/id/ch02lev1sec10 Surrogacy: A 21st century human rights challenge. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. cbc-network. org/issues/making-life/surrogacy/ The ethical issues of surrogacy. n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. modernfamilysurrogacy. com/page/surrogacy_ethical_issues Tong, R. (2011). Surrogate parenting. Retrieved from http://www. iep. utm. edu/surr-par/#H4 Trimarchi, M. (2011). Surrogacy overview. Retrieved from http://health. howstuffworks. com/pregnancy-and-parenting/pregnancy/fertility/surrogacy3. htm van Niekerk, A. , ; van Zyl, L. (1995). The ethics of surrogacy: Women’s reproductive labour. Journal of Medical Ethics, 21(6), 345-345. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/216336102? accountid=32521 What are the

A Mother’s Day Kiss Off In the Article, Leslie Bennetts talks about women who have been given the wrong impression of life. The impression of life being a fairy-tale, in which the man is the breadwinner and the wife stays home and tends to the house and the children. She also talks about, the so called fairy-tale crashing when the prince leaves for good. The gender roles in the home are women being taken advantage of. Marriage in the American society has had clearly defined gender roles in the past.

The husband’s role of the house is to be the breadwinner. The wife’s carries the role of being the caregiver. Three main phases of American economy, how family lived and made money to support the family, have influenced the gender roles of the household. As economy changed to a wages of family economy the gender roles became more defined. Women have a lot of tasks to do in the household. The men worked outside of the home and women were restricted to the home to provide childcare and attend to household duties.

Most men still have the mindset that cleaning up around the house and tending to the children are the part of women’s work. When emotional support, social and intellectual development for the child is needed the mother/ woman of the house is the sole provider. It’s not necessarily a disadvantage for the women but it is an added task for them to provide, even though it’s a form of nursing the children. It especially becomes useful if the man of the house is absent due to work, death or has abandoned the household, for the children already look to her to tend to their needs.

Some women take on the role of being a stay at home mom instead of working in a field where they would happy this can lead to feeling resentful for some. Women who have had careers have quit their jobs to take on the role as house wife are upset as well. Women can grow angry if they feel left behind to do everything as far as taking care of the children, household and now take care of the finances due to the absence of the breadwinner for various reasons. Women prefer to manage their marital status simultaneously with their career.

The ability of a woman to do well lies in the perception that she can handle household duties and other tasks with strength. They have worked hard to get the education. If possible women should chose to work because if she were to remain at home she would be wasting all the knowledge she got through education during the early years of her life. It would be a “waste of human resources” if she does not work no matter if her husband has a well paying job or is rich enough to support her and the entire family.

In the short story “Two Kinds”, Amy Tan uses the narrator’s point of view to share a mother’s attempt to control her daughter’s dreams and ambitions. Tan`s short story is an example of how differing personalities cause struggles between a parent and child. Children often fall victim to a parent trying too hard or expectations being too high, and in the case of “Two Kinds,” we see Jing Mei’s mother trying to live her life through that of Jing Mei. The outcome of her mother’s actions soon leads the narrator into feeling tension within herself, and between herself and her mother.

In the beginning, we find Jing-Mei’s mother convincing her that she “can be prodigy…” (Tan 346) and that she “can be best anything. ” (Tan 346). The way in which her mother portrays becoming a prodigy as such a wonderful thing for their family, Jing Mei quickly falls into her trap. At first Jing-Mei is, “just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so. ” (Tan 347). The fact that Jing Mei is feeling “just as excited as her mother”; allows her mother to have a better opportunity to create the ideal identity for her daughter.

At first Jing Mei is very willing to cooperate in what her mother wants her to do, but soon it gets too much for her to handle. The expectations get higher, and Jing Mei becomes resentful and unwilling. This is a very crucial point in the story because this is when Jing Mei figures out that it’s her life, and not her mothers. She thinks to herself, “I won’t be what I’m not. ” (Tan 348). Even though Jing Mei begins to rebel against her mother’s wishes, this doesn’t change the fact that her mother keeps on pushing her to become something’s she is not.

This is when the piano gets introduced into the story. Jing Mei’s mother gives all her time and effort into being able to provide for her daughter. She exchanges cleaning services in return for piano lessons, so that hopefully her daughter will make her proud one day. The same outcome is received from the piano lessons. Jing Mei refuses to put her best foot forward and to try something new, even though her mother has given up so much just so her daughter could succeed.

Before her mother dies, Jing Mei is given the piano by her mother. She describes the piano as a “shiny trophy”. This metaphor clearly indicates her feelings about the piano and about the conflicts with her mother over her piano playing. Jing Mei takes the piano as a “shiny trophy” because in the end she has won it, on her own terms, and not by her mother’s high expectations. Jing-Mei’s mother has had an immensely difficult life, having lost her mother and father, her husband, and her two twin babies.

In this respect we as the reader see that she is worthy of sympathy. The fact that she has gone through so much in her life, it is natural that she would want to make up her losses through Jing-Mei. In the beginning we are given only an objective view of Jing Mei’s mother, however, it is near the end, where we see her deepest feelings described. We see that her breaking point is when Jing Mei shouts “I wish I were dead! Like them” (Tan 353). This is the breaking point because we finally she Jing Mei’s mother give up on her daughter.

It finally reaches the point where it does not matter how much her mother tries, in the end her daughter will never be who she has ideally portrayed her to be. At the end of Tan’s short story “Two Kinds”, we as the reader see that Jing-Mei’s mother is conveyed as somebody that will do anything for her daughter, whether it is working day and night in order to provide her daughter with as much tools to succeed in life, to telling her that she could have done anything she wanted if she had tried.

Jing-Mei characterizes her mother as an ideal parental figure by showing how much hope she has in her daughter. Her mother’s only wishes are to give her daughter more opportunities than she had growing up in China. And by doing this she shows that no matter how many conflicts there is between a mother and daughter, a mother will never give up hope on her daughter. She will cherish her for who she is in the end.

Caroline McCall Philosophy 211 Stephen Everett, Section 001 October, 12, 2012 License to Procreate The question “should people procreate” is a very opinionated one. There is no right or wrong answer just a personal opinion based on facts to support it, I happen to side with Hugh Lafollette in his essay “Licensing Parents”. I will argue that before people are allowed to procreate they should have to obtain a license which gives them the right to produce and raise children. Otherwise they should not be allowed any children until they have the license.

First I will look at it from the child’s point of view and explain how it is rational for them. Second I will look at the reasoning and policies of this theory. Finally I will discuss how it would change the modern today and how it would be implemented. The licensing idea came about to protect children from harm. When children are little they cannot defend themselves and have no one but their parents to depend on. “Each year more than half a million children are physically abused or neglected by their parents.

Many millions more are psychologically abused or neglected, not given love, respect, or a sense of self-worth” (Lafollette 438). Children need constant care and support, some people are just not suitable to give the attention and love that a baby requires. An analogy of this would be a small puppy. My roommates and I really wanted a puppy for our house this year and one of the girls volunteered for it to be mainly hers so she would take it home with her during breaks and continuously watch it.

When we went to the pet store they would not let us have a dog because we were college kids and they said we didn’t have the time that the puppy needed devoted to it. A couple weeks later we called and asked if there was any way we could get one still and they said we need to know your schedules, where it will at all times, who will be the main caregiver, and we need parental support. So in the end we ended up getting a five week old German Shepherd Lab mix, but only with the consent of someone who had accountable credibility.

When I think of this I think of how we had every right to get a dog if we wanted to but we needed to understand what getting a puppy entailed, just like how parents have rights to a child but they need to understand that they have to have accountable credibility to raise a child. “Both slander and human sacrifices are prohibited by law; both could result from the unrestricted exercise of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Thus, even if people have these rights, they may sometimes be limited in order to protect innocent people. ” (Lafollette 440).

Parents do have a right to bear children, but children have a right to a good and beneficial life. Are the parent’s rights more valuable or important than the child’s? Is it right to say that the parent is being selfish or self-centered if they bring a child into the world that they cannot securely support? I think so because it is the parent’s duty to provide their child with the best life possible and to make sure they succeed the best they can. Just like with adopting the puppy there are tons of qualifications that you have to meet when adopting a child.

My family adopted my sister when we were both six years old. I was very small but I can still remember some of the process that we had to go through. We had to go sign a ton of papers and then we had numerous interviews with both of the families. They wanted to make sure that we could afford another child so they looked at my parent’s incomes, their house, where we lived, how many kids they already had, how much time they could spend with the kids, etc. There were so many questions that we were asked just to make sure that she was going to be safe in our house.

My mother was a stay at home mom so she had plenty of time to spend with us and we were able to afford for Rachel, my sister, to be a part of our family. I know that if you are trying to adopt an infant the regulations are even tighter. Your house has to baby proofed and you have to have everything already ready for the baby when it comes home. If people have to go through those processes to get a puppy or even a child then why are we not requiring the biological families to do the same thing? Despite the trauma children often face before they are finally adopted, they are five times less likely to be abused than children reared by their biological parents. ” (Lafollette 446). When you adopt you have planned and dreamed of having this child instead of a mistake that you are now stuck with. When you plan on having a child and are expecting it or wanting it there would be less resentment or frustration towards that child. Having this process or program would definitely change the way the world is today. It would reduce or diminish the babies produced for welfare checks.

Seeing as how my sister was one of those babies its terrible for parents to be dependent on the welfare checks which is for the children but it doesn’t end up actually helping the children to an equal or successful life. This just goes to show an example of the parent that would not be given a license because they do not care about the child’s well-being they just want the money that keeps coming in as long as they keep having babies. If this program were to be implemented in order to get your license you would need to take classes and tests.

The classes would consist of nutritional information, hygiene information, health hazards, descriptions of behaviors and actions at certain ages, and basic needs for the child. I would also like to include a fake baby session where the couple or parent has to then take home a fake baby, one that can cry and be recorded so that the teacher can later look at the records and determine whether or not they are ready for their license. Some high school students do this experiment but I think it would be highly effective for adults to try as well.

After the classes I would like for some tests to be run on the potential parent or couple. A background check for previous violent or abusive records would obviously need to be looked into. Adults with an abusive or violent past from their parents or guardians are more likely to abuse their children than people who had a happy childhood. These adults are also less likely to be overall happy. After considering my third statement some might say that it intrudes on our constitutional rights. However, I do not agree with that because it’s just like having a driver’s license.

You have the right to drive a car if you would like to but because It can put someone else that is innocent in danger they make regulations that allow you to drive or not. These regulations are put in place to keep everyone safe and happy. So you may drive a car without a license but if you get pulled over there are going to be consequences because you may have put others’ lives in danger. Just like with having a child you have the right to have a child but because you are not licensed to have one you may be putting the innocent child’s life at risk and there will be punishments for it. The punishment for having an unlicensed child would e something like adoption. If for some reason you happen to get pregnant you can apply for the license as many times as you would like but if the infant is born without a license then it would be taken into the adoption agencies custody. It doesn’t violate your rights as an adult because that child has a right to fair and equal life just as you did when you were a child. An adult’s life’s choices or rights do not overcome a baby’s right. If you cannot provide the basics for a child then you should not be able to take it into a situation where it will never have an equal chance to succeed or be happy.

Overall I have argued that people should not be allowed to procreate unless licensed through a process of interviews, tests, and classes where they will be evaluated to whether or not they would be acceptable parents. The children have a right to a successful and happy life because they are innocent people that have to have someone responsible to rely on to help make that happen. If the parents take the classes which teach them about how to be a great parent and help the child there should be no reason for them to fail unless they did not try or had a violent or abusive past and/or present.

I couldn’t imagine not having my sister and I know that she would not be the person she is today had she not been adopted by my family. She has had a very successful past and has a very bright future. Situations like this definitely make modern day society better for children. This program would eventually shape this nation to where there would be less abuse and violence towards children and support happier adults in the long run. Sources Shafer-Landau, Russ. The Ethical Life: Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.

In the article “Does your mother tongue shape how you think” Guy Deutscher argues that our mother tongue does indeed shape our experiences of the world. However, it does not do so as Benjamin Lee Whorf’s theory suggests but rather because of what our mother tongue habitually obliges us to think. Guy Deutscher takes a claim made by Benjamin Lee Whorf, a chemical engineer, who essentially stated that our native language constrains our mind and we are unable to grasp concepts that are not given words to in our language.

He said that when a language does not have a particular word for a concept, the concept itself cannot be understood by the speaker. Deutscher argues that Whorf did not have any evidence to substantiate this theory and that his claim is wrong on many levels. He gives an example that although there isn’t an English word for Schadenfreude in German; it does not mean that an English speaker is unable to comprehend the concept of pleasure in someone else’s misery.

Whorf’s theory was “an alluring idea about language’s power over the mind, and his stirring prose seduced a whole generation into believing that our mother tongue restricts what we are able to think. ” Yet, due to the lack of evidence to back up his claim the theory crash landed. This is where Deutscher presents his argument that our mother tongue can influence and affect what it habitually obliges us to think about. He does so by presenting differences from language to language and explains the many tests that were conducted in recent years to back up his theory. i] Duetscher considers many different languages and compares the differences; such as in English we don’t have to say the gender of the person we are speaking about but in French and German we would be compelled to inform the listeners of the gender. However, in English we must speak of the timing of the event such as past, present or future but in Chinese there is one verb that represents the concept of time. When a language routinely obliges you to specify certain types of information, this makes people stay more attentive to the details.

But the little details can change from language to language and a major example is inanimate objects having a gender. There were various experiments done in recent years with German and Spanish speakers. The test was to see how each person responded to an object. When asked about a bridge the German speaker believed it to be feminine and the Spanish speaker believed it to be masculine. Another test had French and Spanish speakers asked to assign human voices to objects in cartoons.

When a fork was shown, the French speakers chose a woman’s voice but the Spanish speakers chose a man’s voice. This is due to how some languages have related many inanimate nouns with gender; which Deutscher believes does affect how people see different things in the world and how it will shape their experience of life. Deutscher uses the Australian aboriginal tongue, Guugu Yimithirr, as a great example to back up his theory because they use cardinal direction which allows them to see and speak of the world in a different way than English speakers or egocentric coordinate speakers.

While arguing his point he uses a good example of how these two languages can differ and shape your experience of the world with something as simple as the way you view a hotel. “One way of understanding this is to imagine that you are traveling with a speaker of such a language and staying in a large chain-style hotel, with corridor upon corridor of identical-looking doors. Your friend is staying in the room opposite yours, and when you go into his room, you’ll see an exact replica of yours…But when your friend comes into your room, he will see something quite different from this, because everything is reversed north-side-south.

In his room the bed was in the north, while in yours it is in the south; the telephone that in his room was in the west is now in the east, and so on. So while you will see and remember the same room twice, a speaker of a geographic language will see and remember two different rooms”. Deutscher uses this to simplify that our mother tongue does indeed shape our experiences of the world but not in the extreme sense of a “Prison House” as Benjamin Lee Whorf’s theory suggests.

Deutscher concludes that the impact of our mother tongue goes far beyond what has been experimentally demonstrated and is believed to have impacted beliefs, values and ideologies. With all this being said, Deutscher believes that the biggest step we can take toward understanding one another is the simplest step to take; which is to stop pretending we all think the same. ———————– [i] http://aafreenafzal. blogspot. com/2012/10/analysis-does-your-language-shape-how. html

Abortion is the deliberate ending of a pregnancy by removing the fetus from the mother’s uterus and should only be carried out by trained medical personnel. Abortion was introduced at a very early age in society. I believe people should choose their own path and their own future, right down to abortions. I believe in choice. Pro-choice. People’s lives and rights should not be interfered by the opinion of another. There are certain rights given to a person which cannot be removed or changed.

This gives the choice-maker the right to live with his/her own decision without the guilt or disturbance of a third party. Live your own lives. A body belongs to one soul, giving one soul the rules and rights over it. People tend to forget that. As in an economy, when something is in demand, legal or not, people will sell and buy it. But what about those people who feel guilt over something that shouldn’t pressure them? May it be abortion or not. Most people would like to live under the choices they make without the world pushing them over or religions battering them with stones.

With the evolving moral standards of society, abortions are becoming more and more justified. Abortions, the practice of removing a fertilized egg from a mother has become a controversial issue in American society, but should be generally supported because there are circumstances where the mother to be is unable to sustain a pregnancy safely. Young low income women and or girls who become mothers have grim prospects for the future and in the case of rape or incest, forcing a woman made pregnant by this violent act would cause further psychological harm to the victim.

In, “The Cost of Choice”, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood, among other pro-abortion advocacy groups and organizations, have formulated and published standards and guidelines for affiliated clinics and physicians. In fact, Planned Parenthood clinics, with few exceptions, must adhere to the operational standards and protocols mandated by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. State legislatures have obtained copies of these standards and protocols and have used them to formulate minimum health and safety standards for abortion care. Encounter Books, 2004. p 128. ) Those who are against legalizing abortion/pro-life believe that a fetus is a person and should be granted life just as every other living being on this earth. Imagine a mother and child falling into dangerous river rapids and a family member or bystander must decide who to save. It’s a terrible decision that must be made. Regardless of the decision, one life will be lost and one saved. This situation differs so fundamentally from abortion on demand, which is to kill the unborn baby for convenience, as opposed to choosing which life will be saved.

Pro-life activist / believers think that abortion is murder, and that life begins at conception. “In biology and in medicine, it is an accepted fact that the life of any individual organism reproducing by sexual reproduction begins at conception (fertilization). ” “By all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception. ” “Human life begins at the time of conception. ” “Human life begins when after the ovum is fertilized the new combined cell mass begins to divide. “The beginning of a single human life is from a biological point of view a simple and straightforward matter – the beginning is conception. ”(Boonin, 2002, p. 21) Pro-choice believer think that Adoption is a viable alternative to abortion and accomplishes the same result, however statistics show that most women who carry a child do not give their child up for adoption. They might also believe that, an abortion can result in medical complications later in life; the risk of ectopic pregnancies double.

Abortion for medical reasons where the mother’s life is in jeopardy that should be left to the discretion of the mother, family, and doctor. It’s true, the mother and the unborn baby are still two separate individuals/entities, but under these difficult circumstances, it’s truly a personal decision for those directly involved. Abortion in cases of rape and/or incest should be treated the same as abortion for medical reasons. It should be up to the victim of the rape or incest what she wants to do in this rare and terrible situation.

Some countries now with moderately restrictive laws permit abortions to protect a women’s health, to end pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, to avoid genetic or other defects, or in response to social problems such as unmarried status or low income. Rape one of the top reasons why I believe that a woman should be able to have an abortion. Rape is the act of sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent or with a minor. Having a child resulting from the mother being rape causes many metal problems for the mother as the birth of the child could be a remembrance of what happen.

Incest is sexual intercourse between people who are of blood relations this is one of the reasons why abortion should be legal. It is believed that 50% of all incest cases happen to children fewer than 17 years of age. It has also been stated that children who are conceived by incest are more likely to the possibly leading to mental retardation Birth defects are any abnormalities in the structure or function of the fetus. About twenty percent or more of malformed fetuses are aborted; the rest results in a newborn baby with a birth defect.

Each type of birth defect is rare . All live births can cause increased percent of infant deaths in the period immediately after birth. Low income is when people have little or no money coming into the home. To care for a child is very expensive you need to buy pampers, milk, formula’s, clothes, powder, cream, soap, towels, cribs and if u are working u need to pay for ah baby sitter. It takes an average of $15000 a year to care of a child. There are now 1. 3 million surgical abortions per year in the United States. 0 The Alan Guttmacher Institute (the research arm of Planned Parenthood) reports that women have abortions for two primary reasons: lack of financial resources and lack of emotional support. .(Encounter Books, 2004. p 198. ) One needs to take into consideration the developmental stages of the fetal life p. Most abortions occur soon after the confirmation of pregnancy, (usually prior to 12 weeks gestation. ) The first twelve weeks is known as the first trimester or the embryonic phase. At this time the fetus is about 3-3. inches long having a weight of 15-20 grams. The neurological system is primitive at best, demonstrating only vague swimming motions. In the late 1880’s, The American Medical Association led the fight to criminalize all abortions. The campaign was a total success, with every state outlawing abortion. However, criminal prohibition did not stop women from obtaining illegal abortions, which sometimes resulted in severe medical problems. (Abortion, 2002, para. 8) I think this would cause more harm than good to make abortion illegal.

Every woman should have the right to make that decision without the government getting involved. I do not recommend abortion as a birth-control method of choice. I merely state that it is a fact the most important single method of birth-control in the world today, and to cut down on population growth we should make abortion easy and safe while we continue to develop other and more “satisfactory” methods of family limitation. In addition to the 5 million women in the U. S. without access to birth-control for whom abortion would seem a mater of right when they want t, there are the uncounted thousands who after conception suffer some diseases of discover some defect which makes the birth of a live healthy baby unlikely, and the many, too, whose contraceptive methods occasionally do not work. Today abortion under modern hospital conditions is safer than childbirth. Instead of making abortion more difficult and dangerous for women, lawmakers should promote policies that reduce the need for abortion. Almost 50 percent of all pregnancies in this country are unintended, including over 30 percent within marriage.

And over half of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion. In the Roe vs. Wade the Supreme Court ruled that a woman was allowed by the Constitution’s 14th Amendment to receive an abortion before the first trimester. It now appeared that the pro-choice advocates had won the political tug-o-war at last. However, violence continues between the two groups as the animosity and resentment has grown to new heights. The most important part of reproductive rights is the principle that a woman has the right to decide whether and when to have a child.

Religious beliefs, politics, incident of pregnancy, support, economy, long term consequences, such as regrets and depression, being able to take responsibility, and health issues are major factors that must be taken in consideration before resulting to abortion. For any pregnant woman, making a decision to abort her child is painful and ruthless, but under certain situation such as rape, young age and financial reasons, a woman should have the right to choose to terminate her pregnancy if she chooses to do so by aborting her unborn child.