Abortion vs. Adoption

Monday in class we talked about abortion and adoption.  One question that was asked was which one of these would cause you the most regret.  For me, I think that abortion would cause me the most regret.  At least with an adoption I would know my child was getting a chance at a good life, but with an abortion they would not get this chance. How do you guys feel about it?

                                                 

We also talked about the restrictions on abortion and if they are too strict or if they are fine how they are. I see both sides of this argument.  On one hand I think a parent should know about the abortion so they are able to educate their children and help support their child, but on the other hand I do not think they should be able to make the decision for their child.  This is an important decision in a mothers life and they need to make that decision for themselves because it is their body and their life. 

In addition, we talked about different ways to get an abortion.  I did not really understand how abortions were done before now.  And the abortion pill was something new to me.  I have heard about the Plan B pill, but I had not heard about the abortion pill.  This website has more information about the abortion pill.  http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/medical-ab.htm

The topic of abortion and adoption is kind of confusing to me because there are so many options and rules that go with each that I am not completely aware of. 

Elaina Stansberry

Chasidy Allen

This week we've been focusing on choice and births in Africa. I decided to talk about the lack on knowledge in Africa. Something that really struck  me in class today was the realization that the women in Africa don't know that they're pregnant. I was shocked that the young girl didn't know she was with child. She told her mother that she had no clue how this could happen. This is so similar to what's going on in America. It's essential that parents educate their children about pregnancy. I know I've never spoke to my own mother about pregnancy I kind of looked to my friends and the people around me to know and learn more about the risk of having unprotected sex. But then again I was taught throughout school these risk.

I've posted a link that speaks more on "Teen Pregnancy on the Rise"
http://pregnancy.families.com/blog/teen-pregnancy-on-the-rise


This link talks about "Why Teen Pregnancy is a Poverty Problem"
http://news.change.org/stories/why-teen-pregnancy-is-a-poverty-problem

CHOICE (Ashlee Reece)

Ashlee Reece

Today (3/7) in class we discussed choice.  We also discussed how choice was represented in 16&Pregnant.  
In most of the episodes I viewed choice was under represented in the show.  Most of the times the choice was left up to the parents and the teen kind of went with the flow and rolled with the punches because they weren't seen to have any power. So the question that I pose to you is "why is it that the teen females are portrayed to be so powerless?"  I understand that being pregnant is not an easy "dilemma" and one would want to seek advice and guidance, but it's almost as if the mother's completely waive their rights as a mother/parent.  On this show the girls also depend a lot on others.  Not that they are in any position to be on their own, but it just surprises me that all of the shows are pretty much the same when it comes to portraying choice and independence.  The only episodes where i feel choice was exercised was with Farah, Markai, and Catelynn.  Farah choice came into play when she was deciding to date and find a father figure for Leah against her mother's wishes.  This is a common choice that single women are faced with after their have children because they want to fulfill that american dream.  Markai was faced with a choice to have an abortion which could be a choice for other women but is not portrayed and lastly Kaitlyn made a choice to give her child up for adoption against the wishes of her parents. Choices effect our everyday lifestyle's which is why they are so essential, but if teens didn't have any influence playing on their choices about being a parent how would those decisions change?http://nicedeb.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/abortion-rights.jpg

Sexual Violence

The topic of sexual violence against women is something that is not addressed in our schools. How are young people suppose to know what is appropriate and when to say no if they don't know what is right and wrong in the their relationships.

One in three teens experience some kind of abuse in their romantic relationships. I think it is very important to teach teens about statistics like these to help them realize that violence can happen to anyone and they should be prepared and know what to do if sexual violence does happen to them. We grow up in this society thinking that if something happens to us like rape then we're not suppose to talk about it like it is our fault. Women get asked the questions, "Well what were YOU doing out so late? What were YOU wearing that made him come onto you? What  did YOU do to deserve this?" How are we suppose to expect young girls to be honest and come forward if they were sexually violated when society throws the blame back on them. Adding this aspect into sexual education during schools should have happened already, teens need to know they have a safe place to go and talk if they are sexually abused.

Sexual Violence is a scary thing to talk about and I think that's why our society blows it off. It's almost taboo to talk about Teen Sexual Violence because adults or parents or the teens themselves don't want to admit that sexual violence is happening. Because our society does not place an importance on the education  of sexual violence people are ignoring it and letting it happen. I think it is very important for women to spread the word to their peers about what can happen and how to possibly prevent domestic violence.

At the beginning of the week there was a incident of Sexual Violence at Mizzou, its hard to come to realization that our campus isn't as pretty and care-free as we thought it was. I hope that the student body  understands that sexual violence is a serious issue, and can affect all of us.

Maggie Anderson