Abortion should not be legalized

Abortion is the worst thing a woman can do against human dignity. It is a crime against life. No woman has the right to kill a new living being. Many countries ban abortion and many institutions fight against it. Abortion is immoral and it should not be legalized.

Abortion is also a threat to the mother's health. A woman can suffer an infection or internal bleeding. She could also become sterilized, the permanent inhability to bear a child. Abortion not only kills the baby but may kill the mother too. During an abortion, despite the use of local anesthesia, 97% of the women report severe pain, and if a more powerful drug is used she could suffer dangerous side effects. Many complications are common after an abortion, like inflammation of the reproductive organs. As well, there is strong evidence that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. Women that abort increase their chances of getting breast cancer by 50%, and teenagers with no previous pregnancies that abort after the 8th week increase their probability by 800%. Unicef states that 250,000 women die every year because of legal and illegal abortions: 75,000 of them die of self-inflicted abortions; 75,000 die of convulsions; and the other 100,000 die of blood poisoning caused by an infection of the uterus.  Therefore, if abortion is legalized there will be not only more fetal murders but also more mothers will die.

None of the methods women use to abort are completly safe. One of the most common methods used is Suction Aspiration. The doctor uses a special tool to suck the baby into a collection bottle. Great care must be taken to prevent the uterus from being damaged, which would cause hemorrhage. A woman with hemorrhage will need a blood transfusion that could cause her AIDS. Also infection may easily occur if fetal tissue is left behind in the uterus. Another method used for babies as old as twenty four weeks, is the Dilation and Evacuation. Sharp jaws are used to grasp different parts of the unborn baby which are then torn away. The skull of the baby must be crushed to facilitate the procedure. Another technique used by a lot of pregnant women is the RU486. The RU486 are pills used to abort the undesired child. These pills have very dangerous side effects. They could cause severe bleeding, nausea, vomiting, pain, and even death. In France a woman died because of this drug while others suffered life threatning heart attacks. Also RU486 can cause severe malformations in later pregnancies. Therefore the baby is not the only one that is endangered.

The baby's mother not only has to deal with physical consequences, but also psychological problems that could last for a lifetime. Women that abort usually suffer  severe traumas. Once, a woman was rapped by five men. She didn't want to have the child, but her pain and embarrasment were so great that she couldn't abort until the last month. She is still in psychological treatment.  Psychologist Wanda Franz states, "Women feel worthless because they failed at the most natural of human activities, the role of being a mother." Women report horrible nightmares of children calling them from a trash can full of body parts and blood. Surgical abortions aren't as traumatic as chemical abortions. Women having chemical abortions often see the complete tiny bodies of their babies and are even able to distinguish the developing hands and eyes. So traumatic is this for some future mothers that it is recommended that women that are not prepared for this, do not take the drug. Researchers call these phychological problems the Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS). Women that suffer from PAS experience drug and alcohol abuse, personal relationship problems, repeated abortions, and even suicide. Of all the women that abort, 56% feel guilty  and suffer PAS.  In the United States there are over 3000 Pregnancy Crisis  Centers which help women that are facing unplanned pregnancies. They make the future mothers realize that her baby deserves to have the chance of living. They tell them that if they can't support the baby then she could give it up for adoption but not kill him.

Do women have the right to steal the life of a new living being? Killing a person is illegal, so why should a fetal murder be legal? You have to ask yourself these questions and realize that when a woman aborts, she is acting like any other murderer. Researchers have discovered that life begins at the moment of conception in the mother's uterus, therefore abortion ends a human life and should be punishable by law. As well, nine short months of pregnancy is a small cost for a life without physical and health problems,

think about it.

A Murders Journey Through works of Dostoyevsky and Poe

Some people believe that most murderers have a mental illness which causes them to commit their crime.  This belief is strongly disagreed with  by the authors Edgar Allan Poe and Fyodor Dostoevsky.  Crime and Punishment, "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Black Cat",and "The Cask of Amontillado" are very similar in this contradiction.  Each murderer takes a specific journey that has been illustrated in each case.  The psychological make-up of each murderer shows that he is a normal person up to the point at which something compels him to commit this horrible crime, and after that his conscience usually leads to his own downfall.

      Before the murder has been committed the character is a regular human being.  In most cases the characters that end up carrying through with this crime are above average people.  Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment is "... quite an extraordinarily handsome young man..." (Crime and Punishment, pg.21)  Raskolnikov is a very gifted university student, with a very good talent for figuring people out. Raskolinikov takes great pride and care for his family.  On receiving a letter from his mother

      ...he quickly raised the letter to his lips and kissed it; then he spent a long time poring  over the handwriting on the envelope, over the small, slanting handwriting, so familiar and dear to him, of his mother who had once taught him to read and write. (Crime and Punishment, pg.47)

Raskolnikov's mother, who taught him how to read and write did this job quite well.  This resulted in a very gifted and brilliant university student.  This point is illustrated throughout the novel from the planning and carrying out of the murder, to interactions with the police.

       The narrator from the short story "The Black Cat" describes his "tenderness of heart was even so conspicuous as to make me the jest of his companions." ("The Black Cat", pg.390) He is quite a regular human being who is "...especially fond of animals..." ("The Black Cat", pg.390)  The narrator also has a great wife whom he describes as being quite similar to himself, which shows that he must be quite normal if a good woman chooses to marry him.  Much alike is the narrator from the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart".  Again this character is full of love.  The victim of his crime had done no wrong and for that the narrator "...loved the old man." ("The Tell-Tale Heart", pg.384)  The narrator shows the same brilliance in planning the crime that Raskolnikov exhibits.  People with great intelligence, great lives, possessions and friends must be normal people.  This seems to hold true in the short story "The Cask of Amontillado".  The narrator is a man with great wealth.  He has many friends which would signify that he is quite a normal character.  He lives in a nice house with servants and fine wine.  This all seems to show that his mind is intact, if he obtains and keeps these symbols of success.  It seems as if each and every character discussed is quite a normal human being.  In most cases the wealth, knowledge, or love of others is far above average than most other human beings.

      The normal psychological make-up of a murderer has to

change before the crime is committed.  Something must happen

in the character's life that causes them to alter their

reasoning ability into something that maybe considered as

insanity.  It is seen quite clear that the loving character

from "The Black Cat" "experienced a radical alteration for

the worse." ("The Black Cat", pg.391) The turning point in

his mind was explained by the narrator.  "But my disease

grew upon me - for what disease is like Alcohol!"      

("The Black Cat, pg.392) This problem with alcohol is

clearly the point at which the reasoning of the character

changes.

      In Raskolnikov's case this change is also quite

clear.  For an above average university student it would be

devastating to see education slip through his fingers

beyond control.  "He was crushed by poverty, but even

straitened circumstances had ceased to worry him lately."

(Crime and Punishment, pg.19)  The poverty causes

Raskolnikov to leave university. Upon leaving university he

is left alone with his thoughts. "At that moment he was

fully aware that his thoughts were at times confused and

that he was very weak: for two days now he had had hardly

anything to eat." (Crime and Punishment, pg.20)  Poverty is

clearly what changes Raskolnikov's psyche. 

      The narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" has a bizarre

reason for this change to occur.   

     

      He had never wronged me. He had never given me

      insult.  For his gold I had no desire.  I think it was his eye!  yes, it was this!  He had the eye of a vulture - a pale blue eye with a film over it. ("The Tell-Tale Heart", pg.384)

This figurative meaning of the old man's eye can be

interpreted in the broad view that the narrator dislikes the

old man's personality. The narrators change stems from the

selfishness and uncaring of the old man.  The narrator of

"The Cask of Amontillado" takes a change that occurs for the

plain reason of revenge.  it is evident that the character

has passed a certain point at which his thoughts have

changed as to compel him to carry through with this crime.

      In each work the murder has been committed it certainly

takes a great psychological effect on each character.  The

narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" experiences this as he is

conversing with the police.

     

      "The ringing became more distinct: - it continued and became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definitiveness - until, at length , I found that the noise was not within my ears." ("The Tell-Tale Heart", pg.389)

It is shown that the narrator's conscience is ringing

and it is driving him insane.  He gets more insane as time

passes "It grew louder - louder - louder!" ("The Tell-Tale

Heart, pg.389) This seems to be how his mind alters and is

being punished for this alteration for the worse. 

The sound imagery is also used within the story "The Black

Cat".  After the first murder of his cat, the narrator's

feeling of guilt grows with every passing day.  "...I longed

to destroy it with one blow, I was yet withheld from doing

so, partly by a memory of my former crime." ("The Black

Cat", pg.396) It seems as if his conscience of his former

crime is restricting him from choices he once might have

made.  The narrator's feeling of guilt is eased by the

discovery of a new cat.  This turns out to be too much for

him to take.  As the narrator is trying

to kill the second cat, his wife gets in the way and he

kills her instead of the cat. After this happens his guilt

is very unnoticeable.  A cry is heard as the police are

searching hi house and eventually reach the tomb in which

his wife is hidden.  It was "Quickly swelling into one long

, loud, and continuous scream... a wailing shriek, half

horror and half triumph..." ("The Black Cat", pg.400) Again

this scream signifies the triumph of the conscience or of

good over the evil deed that the character has attempted to

conceal. 

      The novel Crime and Punishment deals with this same

idea of the role that guilt plays in the downfall of a

murder.  Raskolnikov begins his dealings with his conscience

very soon after the crime.  Raskolnikov leaves clues around

"...because all his mental faculties were weakened and

shaken - his mind was clouded." (Crime and Punishment,

pg.109) This cloud of judgment causes Raskolnikov to attempt

to avoid his conscience.  He explains "What is it?  Am I

still delirious or is it all real?  I think it's real?... oh

I remember now I must run." (Crime and Punishment, pg.146)

Raskolnikov continues to sway back and forth between

admitting his guilt, and trying to escape it.  It is shown

through several events that Raskolnikov's crime has led him

to the solitude of delirium and it gradually eats him away

inside.  The realization is finally made that he is not the

extraordinary man that he thought he was.  He states,

     

     

     

      I am a louse', he added, grinding his teeth, "because I myself am perhaps worse and nastier than the louse I killed, and I knew beforehand that I would say that after killing her!" (Crime and Punishment, pg.292)

     

As the Raskolnikov's deterioration continues, he finally

comes to the realization that his conscience cannot deal

with this any longer.  "It was I who killed the old woman

money-lender and her sister Lisaveta with a hatchet and

robbed them." (Crime and Punishment, pg.542) The confession

given at to end his ordeal is a direct relation

to his conscience. 

      This is much like "The Tell-Tale Heart" in which the

narrator also confesses, ""Villians!" I shrieked, "dissemble

no more!  I admit the deed - tear up the planks! - here,

here! - it is the beating of his hideous heart!" ("The

Tell-Tale Heart", pg.389) It is not stated that the narrator

admits his guilt but is certainly is symbolized by the

scream.  This also leads to the downfall of this character,

much like the others. It is truly obvious that each

characters conscience leads them to insanity which in turn

leads to their own downfall.

     

      A murderer's journey includes several distinct stages. 

These stages:  being a normal human being, taking a turning

point to cause the murder, and dealing with his conscience

are all followed in each and every case of study.  The

character that has committed the murder travels through this

process.  This journey is a process that is happening in

everyday society, and is clearly illustrated through each

piece of literature.

Bibliography

Dostoevsky, Fyodor Milchailovich. Crime and Punishment. Markham: Penguin Classics, 1983.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat". Great Short Works of Edgar-Allan Poe. G. R. Thompson. New York. Perennial Library, 1970. 390-401.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado". Great Short Works of Edgar-Allan Poe. G. R. Thompson. New York. Perennial Library, 1970. 496-503.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart". Great Short Works of Edgar-Allan Poe. G. R. Thompson. New York. Perennial Library, 1970. 384-390.

a modest essay

ESSAY: IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

A meaningjull Ghost story

The short story  "A Haunted House" is story with meaning, by portraying to us the treasure of life.  When two ghosts are searching through their old house, looking for their "Treasure", the treasure  or meaning is revealed to us.  The joy and love shared between two people is the treasure, the treasure of life.   By using irony and stream of consciousness Virginia Woolf is able to reveal the meaning of the story.

     Virginia Woolf uses a style called the "Stream of Consciousness", revealing the lives of her characters by revealing their thoughts and associations.   We learn about the ghosts past by seeing what they thoughts and associated with there pasts.    For example when they were discussing death she put  " "Here we slept," she said. And he adds, "Kisses without number." "Waking in the morning_" "Silver between the trees." "Upstairs-" "In the garden-" "When summer came-" "In the winter snowtime-" "( A Haunted House Pg. 321). This quote shows us what places and actions the ghosts associate with  there joy and love.  Using stream of consciousness gives us a better feeling of what the characters are going through, which in turn gives us a better understanding of the meaning.

       We also see the use of irony, using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or normal meaning.  The irony is that the story is titled "A Haunted  House" which made us think that the house was an evil place.  The house ends up being where every thing good happens.  The ghosts did not haunt the people , instead they make them realize the treasure they have.  By seeing how much the ghosts valued finding their treasure it makes the people take a harder look at what their treasure is, the love and joy they share.  It is very evident when she says " Now they found it, one would be certain, stopping the pencil on the margin. And then, tired of reading, one might rise and see for one self"(A Haunted House Pg. 321).   The irony draws use in by making us think that we are about read a trivial ghost story, but instead, gives us a deeper and more meaningful interpretation of ones life.

     By Virginia Woolf's use of, streaming consciousness and irony she is rather dramatically able to portray her thoughts on the meaning of "A Haunted House". That the joy and love shared between two people is the treasure of life.

A Meaningful Ghost Story

Trevor Wood

Mr. Thompson

English OA1

2 Feb. 1997

A Cloned Chop

Cloning opens many doors of opportunities in the agricultural aspect of the United States of America.  It has already been a major factor in saving the lives of many humans.  I feel the society as a whole can not and should not degrade this scientifical finding.  I feel that human cloning should not be done and that this subject raises too many ethical questions.  I would like to focus on an agricultural aspect if I may.  People raised hell when animal parts were put into humans to save lives and today it is an accepted part of medicinal science.  I feel that cloning in an agricultural and medicinal aspect will become the same as transplanted animal parts.  It will go through much debate, but ten years from now it will be accepted scientifically, socially, and morally.  In an article in Newsweek called A Cloned Chop, Anyone?  They take a somewhat neutral, but also somewhat negative viewpoint of cloning in an agricultural and medicinal sense.  They admit some good aspects of this genetic engineering, but they still seem pessimistic of the future of cloning in animals excluding humans.

      The first thing the article states is the Wall Street opportunities for the biotech field.  Instead of phone calls from eager investors only phone calls from reporters were coming in asking about this market.  I feel that now would be a great time to invest in biotechnical companies specializing in agricultural and medicinal cloning.  This article says nothing about the great potentials of long term investment.  Long term investment especially in the medicinal field is incredibly profitable.  Just as in other controversial investing opportunities I feel that investors will find they could have made a lot of money if they invested in this area.  Ten to fifteen years from now this agricultural cloning will be a commonly routine thing and price wars will begin for the products produced by them which means many great investment opportunities will be available.  But one must remember that Wall Street is extremely short term investing so this is a good explanation for not many investors being interested in this because it is still many years before tangible and profitable products are made from cloning.

      The article goes on to say the Scottish scientists have a lot of good ideas, but they seem to be only a sci-fi adventure.  Once again I disagree.  Scottish scientists are trying to help the human race, not be lucrative mad scientists looking for another way to manipulate the human race.  The following are some things that have already been done with genetic engineering and they are helpful to us, the human race.  They plan on genetically engineering cows that produce altered milk formulas for premature infants.  This is great I do not know how anyone can go against this because if their infant's life were on the line they would do everything in their power to save their child's life.  Also they are genetically engineering animal organs to be more similar to those of humans.  So just like we have been trying to do we can take organs from animals and successfully transplant them into humans.  Again this will save many lives of people with terminal diseases that can be saved by organ transplant.  

      Cloning is referred in the genetics area as transgenics.  Some companies have been altering genes of animals with genes of humans to produce proteins needed to fight cancer and other diseases.  Cloning may further enhance this procedure witch will help catalyst this treatment easily past the human testing stage into curing these horrible diseases.  One company has already bred cows that may produce milk containing a protein essential for infants who can not nurse.  Again I see no down side to this product and cloning will help speed this research along so we can save lives.

      The article next talks about some positives.  It tells how sheep with proteins necessary for saving human lives can be breed more efficiently with cloning.  Right now only one or two out of every ten sheep produce the proteins needed.  However with cloning these "good" sheep can be cloned.  Then they breed with other clones to make a whole generation of sheep with the desired protein.  One company in the biotech field PPL is hoping to genetically engineer animals that will produce a tissue glue for use in surgery and a drug for cystic fibrosis.

      Finally the article states at the end that does anyone want to eat a cloned chop.  Well the major restaurant chains did not seem interested.  But first off only one sheep has been produced.  I am sure they are not going to butcher the only clone to see how it tastes.  I do not feel people should disclaim cloned meat.  If an extremely good beef generation was produced they could be cloned.  This would give excellent beef all year round and year after year.  Of course cloning should not over take natural breeding, because through natural breeding we find more and better varieties of livestock.  I am sure that the meat would be very tasty and palatable.  The same goes true for grains, corn, and other plants.  A superior seed may be available for worldwide use through cloning.  

Overall there are many possible positive benefits of cloning in an agricultural and medicinal aspects.  As of now no one has the authority or right to belittle cloning.  Besides there is not even scientific evidence to support any refutations to go against any cases about cloning that may appear in a court of law.  We must be patient as a world community to see what develops of this subject.  But it is years away from hitting the market; all we can do is hope and wait that someday cloning will better the human race and ourselves.