Allowed to Change: Jane Roe is Pro-Life

http://youtu.be/T_MUUvcvjEg

For those who have no idea who the woman in the video is or just can't remember learning about it during high school history, this is Norma McCorvey, also known as Jane Roe, from the Roe vs Wade case of the 1970's. This case is what legalized abortions in America. When taught this case in school, you were probably told that a woman named Jan Roe challenged the abortion laws in her hometown and the case, being so controversial, was sent up to the supreme court where the justices on trial gave a verdict in agreement with the plaintiff. I know my history professor did not get into many details about Jane Roe and focused only on the historical significance of the case.

That is probably because Norma McCorvey was not involved in the case at all. Besides signing a few papers and being the anonymous plaintiff "Jane Roe", McCorvey had no first-hand association with the case. She was never present in the courtroom when it was in her hometown, nor did she attend the trials once it was taking to the supreme court. She confesses all this in a book she wrote called "I Am Roe". 

After reading the book it became very apparent that she was nothing more than a young woman in a horrible predicament that she wanted out of. McCorvey claims in the book and in an interview called "Reversing Roe: The Norma McCorvey Story" that she had no idea as to what an abortion was. All she understood was that her unwanted baby would be gone.

As passive and ignorant as she might have been in the entire situation, McCorvey did sign those papers and, knowingly or unknowingly, she did get the ball rolling toward the legalization of abortion in America.

In the video above though, is Norma McCorvey stating her stand as a believer of Pro-life. When I first seen this video, which was after I read her book, my initial reaction was "Is she serious?" I mean, years ago McCorvey would have done anything to get rid of her baby and now she is against abortions. In the Reversing Roe interview she states that she did not know she was going to be responsible for the generations of babies after her that were not going to be born because of what she did. And I thought, she didn't really DO anything. But after I had more time to consider McCorvey's understanding of abortion before and after the case, I realized her desperateness, and not her own personal beliefs, is what led her to sign those papers so many years ago. 

Everyone has at least one regret. And most of them stem from things we have done when our emotions were in control and our options were scarce. McCovery was probably always anti-abortion, she just did not have the knowledge back then to develop such an opinion. As much hypocrisy that is highlighted by her Pro-life stance, she is entitled to change her mind and stand by her opinion. And just because she was the historic icon Jane Roe, does not mean she should be held responsible for all abortions that followed her trial. 

McCorvey is not the pioneer of abortions or the killer of babies in America. Norma McCorvey was a young hopeless woman who had no comprehension of how to get her life on the right track. If it was not her name, Jane Roe, as the plaintiff, it would have been another woman in a similar situation, where she was way above her head. The legalization of Abortions was inevitable because it was only a matter of time before people realized it does not matter whether you are for or against abortions. What matter is that a woman's decision to have an abortion is the woman's decision alone. 

Stereotypes Disguised as Truths

How many times have you tried to live up to a life-long expectation? You had no idea where it stemmed from or why that trait was even associated with you. Even worse are the time you try to break away from illogical assumptions. Everyone has experienced being placed within a stereotype. And even though some stereotypes have good intentions, being forced under one is never fun.
Last week I attended Paolo Corso's reading. Corso is a local New England author who focuses most of her of her work on Italian culture. In one story, she discusses how she is an Italian woman that cannot cook. She reveals the pressures of growing up with this burden in a family of female chefs.
Although people might not recognize it, what Corso described is a stereotype. Google defines a stereotype as any oversimplified idea or statement geared towards a specific kind of person or group of people.   During the reading Corso stated how many people associated being an Italian woman with the ability to cook well. For her and other Italian women, this was not necessarily true. Although her work is written in a very humorous and witty way, it still reveals the pressures this "myth" brings fourth.

There are two ideas that everyone should realize. One is that whether a stereotype is positive or negative, it is still a stereotype. Some might not understanding why Corso was so affected by the belief that all Italian women are good cooks. Since this is a positive association, there appears to be no harm in such a statement. But there is an underlying pressure that any stereotype can cause. A person who is placed under a stereotype either has to try to live up to it if it is positive or try not to fit into it if it is a negative one.
For me, being an African-American female, I know exactly how she feels. I am exposed to both positive and negative stereotypes about African-Americans and women. Every day I try to prove that gender nor race can tell what a person is about. As nice as it would be to fit into all the positive stereotypes, such as I have rhythm because I am African-American, or I am kind and gentle because I am a woman, I just cannot do that. The fact that I am an African-American woman means close to nothing; they are just demographics, physical features, and facts used to categorize people. But it cannot in anyway reveal the personality or skills a person possesses.
The second idea is that we are all undefinable individuals. How simple the world would be if we could take the physical traits of a person and develop a summary of who they were. "Oh, this little boy has big ears and long fingers, he will grow up to be a great listener and play the piano." It is impossible to pinpoint what a person can do and who they are by how they look or where they are from.

Image Taken From Google.com

Let's See How You Feel After Starring at This for a Few Hours

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/08/texas.sonogram/index.html?hpt=T2

The above article discusses a bill that was passed in Texas that forces mothers seeking abortions to look at an ultrasound of their unborn child before they can make the final decision to have an abortion.

This is just wrong. I imagine most women that go in to have an abortion are there because they have no other options. They see an abortion as the best decision they could make for their fetus and for their self. To force them to look at an ultrasound and listen to a description is like adding guilt to a woman that probably already feels terrible.

Sadly, there is a second part to the bill that makes the situation worse. The video stated, "The House measure requires 24 hours to pass after the ultrasound before a woman can have an abortion, while senate version allows just two hours." Either way, this new bill will only hurt the woman seeking an immediate abortion. These lawmakers obviously want the ultrasound picture to marinate in the mind of the woman, in the hope that it will change it.

A lot of people are unaware of the situation that many women find themselves in. Some women who seek abortions have been victims of rape. Some are too young to even support their self, let alone a baby. But people are so concerned with decreasing the rate of abortion, they can't see how in some cases it might be the only option.

I am aware that some people are uneducated about what an abortion actually is and does to the fetus. In that case, those people should be taught the facts, procedure, and possible consequences of having an abortion. It is wrong to scare woman with fear tactics and guilt trips.

A Different Perspective: The Baptist Church in Need of New Eyes and Ethics

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010/10/07/am.seg.snyder.funeral.protest.cnn

I watched this video twice and both times there was one quote that stood out to me. It was given by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and it stated, "the protesters weren't breaking any laws."

Thinking about it legally, she is right. The protesters did not legally do anything wrong. It was in their rights to be at the funeral and express how they felt about American soldiers going to war. The father of the victim even stated, the protesters that were there in favor of the United States Army were welcomed, but the ones opposed to it, should have stayed away.

I don't think this is a question of what is legal or illegal. This is a question of what is ethical and unethical. And it was unethical for the members of the Westboro Baptist Church to stand outside of a funeral for a U.S. Solider, holding up signs that said "God hates America" and "America is doomed".

No matter what the law says we, as members of the same society have an obligation to respect the privacy and feelings of other Americans, especially in times of grievance. Margie Phelps, Atternory for the Baptist Church, Said, "When you have a public funeral and you broadcast to the nation that that dead solider is a hero, and that God is blessing America, we will be there and tell you, God is cursing America. It is a curse for your young men and women to be coming home in body bags. And if you want that to stop, stop sinning."

As entitled as she is to her opinion, I cannot agree with it. To think that because it was a public funeral the members of Westboro Baptist Church had the right to interfere with the services is an absurd thought.

I understand it is hard to step into someone else's shoes, especially when strong beliefs are the underlying factor causing actions. But imagine if this was a public funeral for a member of the Westboro Baptist Church and as the services were happening, an Atheist ran into the church and shouted, "This man is lying. There is no heaven," with a sign that said "Six Feet is as deep as it gets." Everyone would find this act to be inhumane.  

If I was the father or mother of the young solider that died, I would definitely seek justice for what occured at the funeral. It is not about freedom of speech. It is about crossing a line, and allowing yourself to interupt such a sacred ritual with negativity. And as members of a religious group, the Westboro Baptist Church should have understood this.

I'm Going on my Cellphone Break

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lVHZZG5qvw

A few months ago, I went without a cell phone for almost a half of a year. During that time I felt detached from everything and everyone in my life. Because of that feeling, I spent much more time on the Internet trying to find any way to stay connected.

In today's society, technology seems to be everything. I cannot imagine living in a world without my iPhone, Kindle, or laptop. I rely on these gadgets to help me fall asleep, wake up in the morning, remember important dates, and everything in between.

Photo Taken From Google.com

I would have to agree with the above video and say it is an addiction. In several psychology classes that I enrolled in, an addiction was defined as anything that delayed or prevented a person from partaking in necessary every day activities. As mentioned earlier, I can no longer even fall asleep without the use of some technology. Even worse, before I can make any purchase I must search the web for reviews to ensure that I am making the right decision.

Outside of my own personal experiences with technology, any where you turn you can see someone driving and texting or a student paying more attention to their phone than class discussions. These are definite signs of an addiction. There are times it seem as though what is happening on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or Instagram is more important that what is occurring right in front of us.

Photo Taken from Google.com

It becomes reason to worry when  people can sit in the same room together and be more preoccupied with handheld devices than the other people in the room. Conversations circle around when a text is received or a notification is delivered. During that time the room is almost completely silent, except for the periodic beeps of a new message.

There should be a day in which everyone turn their cellphones off and leave all their devices at home. We need to relearn the basic concepts of face-to-face communication. The only way to stop an addiction, is to realize that one is present. This is my realization point. 

She Died From a Broken Heart

http://www.wfsb.com/local-video/index.html?grabnetworks_video_id=4540269

The above link takes you to the WFSB website, where they discuss a new medical term called "Broken Heart Syndrome" (BHS).

This is not the first time I heard about BHS. There is a podcast segment called "Stuff Mom Never Told You", which discusses an array of topics pertaining to women. There was one episode entitled "Can you Die of a Broken Heart" which discusses the causes and signs of BHS.

When I first heard of the syndrome, I thought it was a hoax. There was no way you could die of a broken heart. Millions of people suffer from sadness that stems from an array of things. The causes of such sadness range from the end of a relationship to the lost of a loved one. So I would expect more hundreds, even thousands of people, to suffer from BHS at least once in their life. 

But BHS, medically referred to as stress cardiomyopathy, goes way beyond sadness. It stems from a physiological change triggered by stressful events. In the podcast mentioned above, she refers to BHS as "Trauma of the heart" comparing it to head force trauma.

There are also many similarities between an heart attack and Broken Heart syndrome, which makes it difficult to tell which of the two occurred. The most obvious difference is that you will most likely not find clogged arteries in someone suffering from Broken Heart Syndrome.

So many times I have thought someone must be exaggerating when they describe excruciating pain over a break-up or stress. Now, if my friends tell me of any discomfort they feel, especially during a time when they are experiencing increased sadness that can "break your heart"  or stress, I will wonder, "Should I call the hospital?"