These days I find myself being more and more afraid of leaving my house and walking somewhere. Being a teenage girl seems to automatically put me in the position of being kidnaped and raped. Every time you turn on the news or read the paper you hear about another girl being kidnaped and/or raped, and in some rare cases, found alive from those predicaments. The fact is, this was happening just as much as before as it is now, it's just the media seems to be stressing on it more. The most televised cases right now seems to be Elizabeth Smart, Samantha Runnion, and Danielle Van Dam. But if it happened just as much as before, why is it getting so much media attention right now? Emotions sells. Violence sells. Sex sells. That's why.
"Emotions sells, violence sells, sex sells" - I put that rather crudely, but it's reality. Do people want to hear about a new library or the brutal murder of some young girl? Sure the library could be interesting, but how in-depth can you get with a story like that? When you get to report on a murder you can describe violent acts or rapes. In the media sex, violence, and emotion seem to interest people more. People will watch a gore movie and that�s fine and interesting. So these murdered girls aren't any different. Media makes it that way. And yes, girls being kidnaped or killed is sad, but only families and friends of the people who get kidnaped and killed seem to feel the effects.
Don't get me wrong, I like that the kidnapings and such are in the media more. Not because I like hearing about it, but because it makes some people aware of what's in the world and that it could happen to anyone. The only advice I can give to anyone is be cautious. Don't walk alone and get the license plate number.
If you are interested further in the subject of missing, abducted, or murdered children here are some websites to get more information:
AMBER Alert - a project to help find missing children by way of law and community.
+ Klaas Kids' site
+ NCMEC's site
Global Position Systems - a sneaker or a wrist watch could be the next big thing in the technology of finding missing children.
>Operation Lacto-Ovo by cera
Date: 6.1.02
Time: 11:30:35
Lacto-ovo vegetarianism- no meat. Milk and eggs are allowed (lacto= milk, ovo= eggs.)
For years, I've aspired to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian. Two years ago, I took my first step towards it and became a semivegetarian (no beef or pork, but chicken, turkey, and fish are within its limits. Most people don't consider it truly vegetarian.) That transition was easy, just a matter of buying a few TV dinners for when the family was having steaks.
Then, five days ago, I took the final step and became a lacto-ovo vegetarian, but only experimentally. This would last only the five days, longer only if I wished to do so. I learned some surprising things:
+tofu should never be poked. This reveals its less appetizing spongy side.
+the food, especially the meatless burgers, is actually really good.
Unfortunately, at this point in my life, lacto-ovo vegetarianism is next to impossible. The meals require thought, planning, and cooking- three things I can barely find time for. Plus, as I live with four omnivores, I have to read the labels for virtually everything (beef and chicken are often used to flavor things like rice, even if it's not a major part of the dish), and the temptation is everywhere.
To make things easier for the people who actually have the time and willpower, I think food packaging should contain a label saying what level of vegetarianism it is. If they put "Sodium Free!" or "Dolphin Safe!" on a label, why can't they put "Vegan Friendly!" and the like as well?
I'm half an hour from the completeion of this project. It was fun, but difficult to make sure I got enough nutrients. Do I plan to continue with lacto-ovo vegetarianism? Maybe someday, but I can only see being what I was before- semi. What I'd like to do is eat meat only on special occasions, and then only poultry. Unfortunately, today I have some chicken fried rice in my fridge, and we're both waiting for 12:01.
-cera
PS- to confront the question that always arises when I discuss vegetarianism ("Why bother? It's not like the cow will be saved just because one person doesn't eat it!"), my reasons for supporting a vegetarian lifestyle are based on the health benefits, not just the animal rights business (but if it works, that's good too.)
The Prison Life by Jan
The title of this article may throw you off. No, I'm not some badass person who spends time behind bars, I'm very far from it. Actually, I'm talking about school, ironically enough. At the beginning of August students received a stapled letter in the mail. It was stating the usual code of health messages, the syllabi information, a message from the new vice principal, and the principal's note.
But in the principal's note, something stood out in my mind. We�ve had school IDs for years now, and we're supposed to have them with us all them time, which I'm sure not everyone does. But this year, we have IDs with a bar code. When I think of bar codes I think of being a prisoner of war or something. In history that's how it was. In wars sometimes a bar code was tattooed to a prisoner. And now it's like that's how school will be too. So I'm just number 10040 by a code or something fictional like that. I'm guessing by what I read in the letter, we have to have it on us at all time, and it will be used in the cafeteria (why, I'm not sure yet), and in the media center and library. I just have my doubts about how this is any better than a prison. School seems to be pretty safe, but yes, anything could happen. I just feel that, after putting in the cage wall near the lobby when school is closed, and with the doorbell for entrance, maybe they're making the atmosphere of school too... prison like.
If bar codes make us more safe, then I'm all for it. I'd just like to see how.
The Right To Choose or Not To Choose?
by cera
On January 22, 1973, The Supreme Court made a ruling in the case of Roe vs. Wade that would cause much controversy. In this case, a 7-2 vote legalized abortion. Prior to this ruling, between 200,000 and 1.2 million illegal abortions occurred yearly in the U.S., and there were 5000 to 10000 deaths as a result.
The ruling in Roe vs. Wade held few restrictions, mostly concerning when the baby was considered alive. The Court implemented a trimester system to determine when the fetus was viable (capable of life outside the womb) and thus illegal to abort unless the continuation of the pregnancy was a threat to the mother�s well-being.
In a 1979 case, the Court enacted a parental consent law that most still use today. Under this law, states can require both parents� consent, although most require the consent of only one. All states with a parental consent law have a judicial bypass system in which the minor goes before a judge to prove she is mature enough to handle an abortion. Some states have parental notification laws, and a very few have no parental consent or notification laws. Massachusetts requires the consent of at least one parent.
Recently, a document called the Child Custody Protection Act has made it illegal to bring a minor over state lines to obtain an abortion and avoid parental consent/notification laws. Many feel that there are occasions where the mother would be more at risk under a parental consent or notification law: In a 1991 study, only 39% of minors had not told a parent about their abortion, and of these, 30% had a history of violence in their families, were afraid violence would occur, or were afraid they would be forced to leave home.
The restrictions on abortion are obviously getting tighter and tighter, much to the dismay of pro-choicers. And they may get even tighter very soon.
The Supreme Court is made up of nine justices chosen by the president and approved by the Senate. Appointments to the Court are until voluntary retirement or death. Currently, there are three pro-life justices, three pro-choice justices, and three that are "on the fence". Two are over 80, and others are approaching or ill, and President George W. Bush has a possible 6 years left. Bush would be the one to appoint the justices and he has made his stance clear on the abortion issue: He is adamantly pro-life. If he were to appoint even one justice, it could reverse the Roe ruling.
COMMON METHODS
There are at least four common types of abortion currently available; both surgical and medical.
Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) is the emptying of the uterus via the suction of a handheld syringe up to ten weeks of pregnancy.
Dialation and Suction Cutterage (D&C) empties the uterus with a suction device anywhere from 6-14 weeks.
Dialation and Evacuation (D&E) is usually performed after 24 weeks of pregnancy (after the fetus is considered viable) and is thus usually only performed if the mother�s health is in jeopardy.
Medical Abortion is when medicines, rather than surgery, are used to terminate the pregnancy. This is possible up to 49 days, and usually requires 3 visits to the clinic. In the first visit, either methotrexate or mifepristone are administered, both end the pregnancy. A second medication may be taken at home or on a return visit to the clinic, this is misoprostol, which causes the uterus to contract and empty. In the final visit, the doctor makes sure the abortion is complete. Medical abortion is 90 to 95% effective, depending on which drug was used in the first visit.
so what do you think?
reader's opinions: please note that any facts presented in these statements have not been verified. If anyone can find us links where they can, please do so. Also, these are opinions, meaning there will be ideas reflected here that don't necessarily reflect your views, or even mine. If you want your ideas here, email us your thoughts on abortion at [email protected].
"It seems like every magazine I've been sorting through lately has some article about abortion in it. It can really get you thinking. I beleive in abortion, and I always have. I know maybe that most of you won't agree, and I respect that opinion. I've recently read a story about a girl, who I think was 16 or 17 years old, who died because of an illegal abortion. She went to a clinic where she was denied the abortion because she was under the age of 18, and in fear of telling her parents she was pregnant, she went to a place that did it illegaly and half-assed. She ended up bleeding to death in the end. Now what does this have to do with being pro abortion? Nothing really. After reading that story you'd probably be anti-abortion. How can you take care of a baby being 16, 17, or even 18 years old? Some people will, and some just can't, therefore having an option of getting an abortion is easier. If abortion was totally illegal, then a lot more people would have a harder life and the world would be even more over populated. A woman's
body is her own body, and nobody else's, so nobody should make that choice
for us to have an abortion or not."
-S
"Abortion is necessary for some people. However if a woman repeatedly gets pregnant 'by accident' she should not have an abortion if she simply does not want the baby, she should have to carry it to term and give it up for adoption if she then chooses to do so. But in some cases a woman will hide the fact that she is pregnant and then simply abandon the child after it's birth often causing it's death, I find abortion far more is humane than letting a newborn suffocate. On the flip side, I recently saw a movie on the lifetime channel about a pro-life woman with a heart condition who gets pregnant with her fourth child. The pregnancy may kill her and she will most likely lose the baby anyway. She ignores her doctor's advice to abort and attempts to have the baby. Her husband and sister end up bringing her to court to try to have a judge order her to have the abortion but they lose and the woman ends up falling ill, losing the baby and almost dying. There are so many different scenarios that coming down on one side of the issue is difficult. But in short I believe that abortion is a woman's right if she chooses to have one but the decision should have a good reason behind it." -anonymous
"I am for abortion rights. Being an agnostic, I don'thave any religous qualms or beliefs about the whole thing. Many extreme pro-lifers say that the would-be parents aren't thinking about the child, that everyone needs to think about the child. But what if that child would have been born into a family that's
abusive, poverty stricken, etc? If a would-be parent feels that they would be unable to take care of a child, I feel that having an abortion would be a responsible thing to do. In cases like this, the parent would definitely be thinking about the child.
Then, of course, there's the whole section of women who become impregnated after they were raped. Once again, another reason one might have an abortion.
Also, the world is overpopulated as it is. If the government were to ban abortion, our population would be so high that there'd be more poverty because there wouldn't be enough food or money for everyone. Not to mention that (theoretically) the majority of people would be packed into small aparment-like complexes built upon once beautiful forests/deserts/etc.
Still, I don't feel abortion should be taken lightly, or thought of as just another form of birth control. That's an insanely irresponsible way of looking at it (in my humble opinion). Abortions should be looked upon as last resorts, not just as an easy way out." -Bihn
"I think it is unfair to kill an innocent baby who did nothing wrong, they can't help being born. I know sometimes there are some circumstances where abortion seems like an option, like when a girl gets raped. I think that adoption would be a better option, because there isn't as much guilt on the person's hands. And if the person is getting an abortion because the child is going to have some birth defects or whatever, I still think abortion isn't going to be an answer. Just because the child might have some problems doesn't mean that he/she will not be able to overcome them, it is something like that that defines them as a person. I have some statistics on why women get abortions and it said, 75% said the baby would interfere with their lives, 66% said they couldn't afford a child, 50%didn't want to be a single parent or had problems in their current relatioship, 4% had a doctor who said their health condition would worsen, 1% had a fetal abnormality, 1% were victims of rape or incest (I know the numbers don't add up to 100%, I'm guessing they were able to choose several options) So according to this, 95% of abortions are for reasons of convenience, not rape, incest, or the mother's health. Another thing about abortion is that once a person does it they are likely to do it again. I went to this christioan youth conference a few months ago and one of the speakers was a woman who got an abortion. She went back three times and regretted it each and every single time. She went into a bout of depression for awhile after getting them done, so not only does the abortion kill an innocent child, it taints the person who does it, and it will haunt them for the rest of their life. Many women who get abortions regret it immediately afterward.Also, at the conference I got this pamplet that had a little comic in it. In the comic, the person was asking God where were the people who had a cure for cancer, AIDS, and such, and God replied "You aborted them." So these children who are being aborted could have done so much for the world we live in today, only they can't because one person decided they did not want to go through with it. Abortion is not an answer for anything, it only worsens the problem instead of helping it." -Stefani
"A woman should have the right to choose whether or not she wishes to
become a mother regardless of the circumstances. It's her body, it's
her life -- the "rights of the unborn child" are false and phony.
The "unborn child" is dependant on the mother for life and it is the
mother's right to decide whether she wants that dependant or not.
For my fellow males who object to these views, I feel you have no right
to even open your mouth against the subject. A man has no right to
condemn a woman for the choices she makes about her own body. A man
will never and could never be put into the situation that a woman who
chooses abortion is placed in. As sad and sick as it may be, men don't
have the same responsibilities in parenting as woman do. It's men who
run away from newborn babies, hit the road and leave town. And in the
wake, it is the woman who is stuck caring for the child -- this is why
it is her choice alone whether to have the baby or not."
-mathew
