Response to Brittany's Blog

                After reading Brittany’s blog post talking about ethics and medicine, I would partially agree with her view on abortion. When given the choice of pro-life vs. pro-choice, Brittany chose the side of pro-choice.  Her man agreement is that if a person was raped then they should have the choice whether to abort or keep the unborn child. I would have to agree 100% with her on that topic of pro-choice.

                In the blog, there is a point brought up about favoring both sides of abortion. Many people believe that it is not possible to favor both sides. I would have to say that I am one of those people who do agree with both sides of pro-life or pro-choice. I believe that circumstances will dictate as to whether abortion should be allowed or not. In Brittany’s example above, I would agree that a raped victim should not be responsible for raising a child, because she was the victim of a crime and she had no say in the matter.  However, if a couple accidently gets pregnant, with or without the use of protection, they both consented to sexual intercourse and they should be held accountable for their actions.

 As stated in my previous blog post, people don’t learn from their errors if they just “abort” the problem and go on living with their lives. They will not learn anything and will most likely accidently get pregnant again. The process will keep repeating, because they think that creating, and then taking away life, is no big deal. I am not saying that having a child should be a punishment. I am trying to convey an important message: if you make the choice to have sexual intercourse, and get by chance get pregnant, then it is time to learn from this moment and grow up to become competent, mature, adults. It’s not the end of the world, but it does mean that you need to mature faster than your peers.

http://bmammermanlsc100f10.blogspot.com

Ethics in Medicine

There are multiple ethical conflicts in medicine today. One highly publicized topic is abortion. Many people believe that abortion is the killing of an innocent life.  The article, Against Abortion: The Main Arguments, by Freeda Poux, states that deciding to take a life is going against God’s will, and they assume the role of God when taking a life. Their belief is that: killing a child, because of unplanned pregnancy, should be a crime, and is not “the easy way out” for lack of self control when it comes to sex.  If couples’ do not want the risk of a pregnancy, there are birth control pills, and condoms that can be used to reduce the risk of unplanned pregnancy.

                There are, however, people who support abortions. These people believe that unplanned parenthood can lead to multiple problems. Bringing a child into a young couples lives with little income will lead to maltreatment of the child’s life. Poverty, malnourishment, and neglect are some of the effects on a child that is raised by parents who are not “fit” or too young to raise a child. These supporters would also argue that it helps keep the population in control.  A person’s right as to whether he/she wants to keep the child is also a factor that plays into the support for abortion. The article, By Their Fruits: Eugenics, Population Control, and the Abortion Campaign, by Dr. Joy Riley, supports the Abortion Campaign across the United States. Dr. Riley funds the organization, because she believes in population control. She believes that: “medicine should help resolve the dangerous situation [over population] this has caused.” To be honest I really don’t agree with Dr. Riley.

                I believe that people need to take responsibility for their own actions. Humans won’t learn from their errors if they can simply with “abort” the problem and continue on with their daily lives.  There are birth control methods that can be used to reduce the risk of pregnancy and people need to take those precautions if they want to reduce the likelihood of being parents.

http://www.articleclick.com/Article/Against-Abortion--The-Main-Arguments/1043920

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4004/is_201010/ai_n55485043/?tag=content;col1

Respone: How to Invest Stock

     In response to Greg's post, I would have to agree with Greg’s opinion. Stock is a very important part of someone’s life. Without investing, almost everyone will not be able to retire when they reach the appropriate age. People must invest if they hope to reach financial stability and eventually retire. The big problem is, as Greg points out, most people do not know the first step in making an appropriate investment. I happen to be one of those individuals. Investing in stock is not an easy process, and requires a lot of knowledge. The video states that you should not trust your money just someone who claims that they “know” how the stock market works. I agree with Greg, in that you should invest your money with a stockbroker. They know enough to make smart decisions on where to invest your money.
     The video also states that someone who decides to invest should know what their budget looks like. It would not be smart to invest all of your money in the stock market in hopes to “win big.” This a bad idea, because the chances of a person making a lot of money right away is not really going to happen. Investments take time, so it would be smart not to put your entire life savings into some aggressive stock that will not make a profit for the next 2 years. I agree with Greg, in that before investing into the stock market, people need to know their budget.
     There are a lot of great points that are made in the video. Having investment goals and a well drawn out budget are key steps in investing in stock. Greg states that, in the video, the speaker talks with a “monotone” style of voice. Because of the tone of voice the listeners could lose interest. I would have to agree. I almost lost interest in the speech, because of the tone in his voice. Overall, the video was very informative.

http://gmacneilllsc100f10.blogspot.com/

Obesity Speech

      This speaker does a great job with his speech on obesity. He starts off by grabbing the audiences attention with some horrible, but true, statistics on obesity. He clearly states his intention of his speech and asks the audience some questions as to "why" are people not taking care of themselves. After his introduction, the speaker follows his speech with statistical facts of the early 1990's and compares them to current statistics. He uses percents to compare his statistical analysis. I really like how the speaker compares fast food items to portion sizes. He compares 4 slices of pizza from Pizza Hut, which totals 1700 calories, and how that much food can sustain a younger adult for the entire day. Phrases such as, “tip the scale” are used to describe food. This helps portray, to the audience, how huge the portion sizes are. The speaker, not only blames food for obesity, but also the lack of physical activity and the increase in the amount of time spent on playing video games. He does a great job by backing up his arguments with scholarly statistics. Health related diseases are also used in his speech to show that obesity is doing more damage than just “ruining someone’s physical appearance.” Finally, the speaker uses statistics to describe death in relation to obesity.
      I like how he saved the death statistics for the closing argument in his speech. By saving them until the end, the speaker was able to grab the audience’s attention and drive home his argument with statistics involving death. Death applies to everyone. By including a number of statistics that pertain to everyone, The speaker was able to keep the audience interested until the very end. Best of all, the speaker relates his own personal success story to the audience to show everyone that he has committed to a change and that there is no reason why everyone can’t start their success story.
      There are very few points that the speaker could do to improve on his speech. Overall, the speech was excellent! His voice was the same tone the entire speech. He also stumbled over a few words, but it wasn’t enough to take away from his presentation. His eye contact was great, and he spoke at a reasonable speed. The speaker did an amazing job on his speech.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPm9ZrJLJww

Technorati: Facets of Hunger in Childhood Obesity

      After using Technorati, I found a great blog on childhood obesity.  The Childhood Obesity Network is a blog that talks about different viewpoints on the primary causes and the multiple solutions to childhood obesity.  This particular blog, “Facets of Hunger in Childhood Obesity” by Pat Hartman, talks about how children are put into an environment that surrounds them with “cheap food drugs.” These "drugs" will be eaten by children to add to their enjoyment of a particular activity, or will just be eaten out of sheer boredom.  Pat Hartman writes a new blog on the topic of childhood obesity almost everyday.  Many hyperlinks are included in each blog post to give the readers more information about what he is trying to talk about.  Some of the topics that are hyperlinked are: “Overweight Kids? Feed Them Compassion and Mindfulness,” and “When There Is Nothing to Do but Eat.”  These hyperlinks bring the reader to other blogs supporting his statements, and professionally cited documents proving the points he is trying to make.  Pat Hartman also includes a photo for every one of his blog posts and also includes quotes from other blogs, or comments from other readers.  Overall, Pat Hartman is very involved in his blog posts and spends a lot of time putting these posts together.
      I would have to agree with Pat Hartman’s beliefs on childhood obesity.  This blog post was created on October 19, 2010.  Having cheap food that is at every social function, or form of entertainment, can be a bad idea.  Food makes social events or entertainment more enjoyable, but can also lead to over consumption.  Children will eat these highly accessible sugary, high fat, and cheap foods without knowing when they have eaten to much.  In agreement with Pat Hartman, you can do the right thing and bring sliced apples to a social function, but more than likely they will be overshadowed by the platter of colorfully decorated sugar cookies.  One area of interest that I believe is an important topic is elementary school lunches.  With low budgets, schools can only afford to bring cheap, unhealthy, and colorless food into our children’s lives.  I believe that Pat Hartman should look into this matter if he wants to find another cause of childhood obesity.  This would make another great topic for his blog posts.

Link:
http://childhoodobesitynews.com/2010/10/19/facets-of-hunger-in-childhood-obesity/
By Pat Hartman. (10/19/10)

Response: Organs for Sale?

      In response to this Blogger’s view on being able to sell organs, I would have to agree on his viewpoint.  I am in perfect agreement in that people should have the right to sell their organs if they want to.  The Blogger makes a great point instating that there is a short supply of organs.  Organs that are donated to the transplant committee primarily come from people who have died in an accident, or of natural causes.  People die everyday, but before their death they must have had previously given consent, in their medical record, in order for their organs to be donated.  Most people don’t put much thought into this process, and as a result, they don’t donate their organs.  This ultimately leads to a shortage of organs that could have been used to save other lives.  A possible solution to fix the problem would be to be able to sell your organs and receive payment for your services. Should people be paid for this service?  The Blogger and I believe that we should be compensated for selling our organs. After all, you own your body and it is your property.  Your organs belong to you.  The Blogger and I believe that you should have the right to sell something that you own.  However, there is one view that I do not agree with.
      I don’t believe that people should be able to choose who your organs go to.  The Blogger states that even though there is a priority list for organ donations, people should have the right to sell it to the highest bidder.  I believe it that there should be a flat rate for specific organs.  I also believe that the organs should follow a priority list unless they have immediate family who needs that specific organ at the same time.  People who choose to sell their organs should not be able to “reserve” their organs for specific people and have the organs stored for later use.  This will help prevent thousands of people selling their organs just to make money.  People will be more willing to hold onto them and save them for a family member in need, or to sell the organs to help another person in need.  Overall, I agree with most of the Blogger’s viewpoints on the issue.

Link:
http://jninnemanlsc100f10.blogspot.com/

Peer Review on Demonstration Speech

      After reviewing my demonstration speech, overall I believe I did very well.  I tried to make sure my voice was loud enough for the audience to here me.  My voice, on the recording, was very clear so I believe I did a great job in vocal presentation.  I tried to be creative in my introduction instead of just starting right into my speech.  I noticed that in a lot of speeches, their introductions and conclusions were very brief and almost nonexistent at times.  My introduction, at first, seemed a little off topic, but I think it tied quite well together in the end. I made sure to hold up all of the ingredients for my guacamole dip so the audience could see what I was talking about.  My steps to make my guacamole dip seemed well structured and was real smooth.  My conclusion was fast and short but I knew I had to end soon.  I was almost over on my time limit.  I did, however, remember to quickly restate my steps to make my guacamole dip, which I thought was necessary.  Those were some of the good points of my speech.
      I know my speech was not perfect because saw a lot of areas that I could improve on.  First, I remembered to list the ingredients, but I did not list the utensils and other equipment needed to make my dip.  I just included them in the steps of my speech.  Another point of improvement is that I would set the avocado down on the table and then realize that I was not done talking about it.  In result, I had to keep picking it pack up again.  My eye contact was great, but I kept looking at the item when I talked about it in order to stay on track.  This is just a classical trait of being nervous.  Overall, I believe I had a great first speech and I am looking forward to my second.

Speech Video Link:
http://sharing.theflip.com/session/978379c788c724b24677251febb290f0/video/23315841

Repsonse: Obstacles

     In his blog post, this person brings up some great points when talking about ethical issues that Henrietta Lacks faced. The Blogger makes a great point when talking about that: “If we receive treatment from a professional without gaining adequate information, we are risking our wellbeing.” A lot of people today don’t fully understand what bioethics are present in the medical field today. In agreeing with the blogger’s beliefs, I also think that people should ask questions whenever they receive medical treatment. Unless the patient is a doctor, chances are he or she doesn’t know what is going on when the doctor provides treatment or prescribes medicine. People need to ask questions so these ethical issues aren’t in question every time we visit the doctor.
     The Blogger also believes that the goal of the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, was to educate an audience. One big problem in writing a ethical book on medical science, is that a lot of medical terminology is used and that can be difficult for some readers. I agree with the Blogger in that the author, Rebecca Skloot, could not use a strict form of medical jargon in writing this book. She could however, still get the point across to her readers by explaining medical terminology and practices. In order to appeal to a wide range of audiences, Rebecca Skloot had to explain the medical terminology in the book so the readers’ could easily follow what was happening.
     The Blogger talks about some very interesting points about ethical issues in medical practice. I agree with all of his points on the issue. People need to ask questions and get involved in the treatment that they are being prescribed. Overall, this was a great blog post and I look forward to future posts.

Book Addressed:
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life OF Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publishers. 2010.

Blog:
http://sgrowlsc100f10.blogspot.com/

Organs for Sale?

     I believe an individual should have the right to sell his or her organs. Organs are needed, in large quantities, all around the world. If a person wants to sell his or her organ for money, I believe that should be their right. The specific organ that the individual is trying to sell is in demand all over the world. This is a prime example of supply and demand. The supply of organs is short and the demand will always be high. That being said, there are many circumstances that will effect if a person can even donate their organ. Above all else, the organ should be in a healthy condition. This means no prior drug abuse, smoking, or family history of any disease associated with their organ they are trying to donate. An individual should be over the age of 30. This age seems appropriate, because this will prevent young adults from selling their organs just to make money. The goal of selling an organ should be for the sake of helping people, and in return there would be compensation. If an individual is dying from natural causes, or any cause unrelated to the organ that would be donated, that individual should be able to donate the organ and the compensation would be received by a person that the donor selects. All of the above circumstances must be in place, and deeply addressed, in order to sell organs.
     After reading the BBC News editorial by Martin Wilkinson, I stand by the author’s opinion. The article states: “Permitting sale would mean more people could get the organs they need. People should not be stopped from selling their organs because they have a right to do what they want with their bodies when they would not be harming others.” I stand by that statement completely. You have the right to do what you want to do with your body. It should not be looked down upon in a society that desperately needs organs. I know that there are a lot of ethical and legal issues, and both issues would have to be addressed before proceeding with any sale of organs. No one should be turned away, or looked down upon, for trying to sell an organ to save a life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10786211

Obstacles in writing/reading TMLOHL

        After reading the synopsis of The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, I believe that it is an important story that should be heard the public. This story is an excellent example of the many legal issues associated in the medical field, and the rights of African Americans that were not given many years ago. I think the public should read this book to gain a better understanding of the issues stated above, and the importance of the need of informed consent. If informed consent is never given to patients, then samples of their own body tissues could be stolen from them. I believe they have the right to choose whether the contribute to scientific research or not.

        This book was written for all readers, and I believe that the author, Rebecca Skloot, faced some challenges while writing this book so a broad audience can understand what is going on in the story. For a medical audience, many diseases, medical procedures, and acronyms can be just stated in the book and that particular audience will be able to understand what is going on. For a broad audience however, many acronyms and medical terminology will have to be explained in a way that can be understood by everyone from different levels of education. Being able to do that effectively probably required research of many medical topics. Topics which the author may be unfamiliar with. This process could take a lot of time and must have been the most difficult task for Rebecca Skloot.

        There are some challenges that I will face while reading The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks. As of right now, I do not know if I believe that the Lacks family should be compensated for all of the discoveries made with her sample, or if the family should not be compensated for her sample because all Henrietta did was provide a sample and the scientists led to the cures of many diseases and the important advances in medical science. I do believe that Henrietta's sample was taken illegally and that procedure should never have taken place without consent, regardless of race. I am not sure however, if she should receive millions of dollars in compensation when she never performed any scientific tests for may years to achieve those scientific discoveries.


Sources: Synopsis from

Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life OF Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publishers. 2010.