Nursing [AT] Homes

 

 

Baby boomers are growing older, and the younger generations are forced to find ways to help pay to send their grandmas and grandpas to nursing homes. In 2005 it cost America 5.6 million dollars to pay for long-term health care, in 2050 it is predicted to rise to a ridiculous number of 20.9 million. We’re already complaining the elderly nursing homes are too expensive as it is, but in 2050? How are we going to afford it then, with even less of a work force that we have now?

But is that what we should be doing? Should we send our elders off to unfamiliar homes where they have no control over their lives? Where, in some homes, they are disrespected and even abused?

In 2005, a study of Japan’s nursing homes revealed that 500 elderly people were abused. 190 patients were psychologically abused (caretakers ignored the elderly or used foul language out of irritation and anger), 130 patients were abused physically, and 110 were actually restrained, some even tied to a bed! (reuters) Is that how you want your dear old grandma to be treated? How awful! We should keep our elderly at home where they belong and we can keep a watch over them.

Already more than half of American elderly are taken care of by their friends and family, sometimes this voluntary care is over-stretched and unwelcome because of the high price of personal health bills. (forbes) However, if the government switched the funding from nursing homes to personal home care, not only would we be saving the nation money, but we’d also be making the elders happier! For the amount of money it costs to keep one person in a nursing home, it can pay for two people living at home!

In Psychology, a theorist did an experiment that involved patients in a nursing home. He predicted that having a choice over even the smallest matters (which side of the room you slept on, what your meals were for the week, which day you watched a movie, how many cookies you received) made the elderly patient happier and healthier. What he did not prophesize was the significance. In his experiment there was the control group (patients treated the normal way without any choice in their daily doings) and the variable group (patients who were given options to choose from). After the study was finished, the variable group lived ten years longer than the control group. That’s amazing! Imagine how much longer those patients could have lived if they were at home, cleaning their own laundry, making their own meals, and reading whichever book they chose. Nursing homes provide a very controlled environment, which causes patients to feel helpless and insignificant. (milforddailynews)

“At present, more than half the people in residential care are taken [to nursing homes] directly from a hospital ward and are given little choice.” (guardian) It’s unfair to force a person into a foreign environment, especially a scary and uncomfortable one. We should let the elderly decide where they want to live their last days. Who wants to die away from home, the place they’ve lived the majority of their lives, where their memories, comfort, family, friends, and love are?

“In Milwaukee, blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to live in a nursing home with inspection deficiencies, substantial staffing shortages, and financial problems.” (boston) Not only are some nursing homes inefficient, dirty, and unsafe, they’re also racist! Doesn’t that just add more to the growing problem?

Ask most any elderly, their response will most likely be a desire to live at home. I say let Grandma bake her cookies in her own dang oven!

 

 

 

http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1775726724

 

http://www.forbes.com/home/business/2007/07/19/longterm-health-care-biz-cx_0720oxford.html

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007/jul/29/uk.longtermcare

 

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/09/12/study_sees_segregation_in_nursing_home_care/

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUST27029220071204?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt

 

What Have Our Prisons Come To?

       In today’s world we seem to overlook the fact that the people in our prison systems are not being cared for properly. Just because they happen to be criminals or just regular people who have falsely been accused of a crime, does not give us  as Americans the excuse to not care for them enough to make sure they are not enduring any bodily harm. Take as an example the prison systems of Guantanamo Bay and the prison systems of Nigeria.       In Guantanamo Bay there have been reports of suicidal attempts, in some cases successful, and even reports of guards of the prison being attacked. It’s not only Guantanamo Bay, there have been reports of prisoners starving in Africa as well as being held in the prison for no reason.  Is this the way we intended for our prison systems to operate? Do we as a world purposely want our prisons to be viewed as “concentration camps”?

       The patient (’Mr H’) is a national guardsman in his early 40s who was sent to Guantánamo in the first months of its operation, when prisoners captured in Afghanistan were beginning to flood into the camp. Mr H reported that he found conditions at the camp extremely disturbing. For example, in the first month two detainees and two prison guards committed suicide.

       Prison Conditions of Nigeria seem to have taken a different toll. Some prisoners have been held behind bars 1/3 of there lives awaiting a single trial. Some have even been held there just because of the simple fact that the Nigerian police have lost there files. Some of which are being held behind bars for not committing a crime at all.

       If you look back upon the Holocaust, the Nazis held the jews in concentration camps in which the jews were embarrased and striped of self respect. Not to mention the fact that some of them died because of starvation and spreading diseases. This sounds alot like the cases we are enduring as a world today.

       I think that we (as a world) should come together and prevent these occurances from occuring. However, I am not saying that the prisoners who have been convicted of a crime should not face punishments, but basically killing the ones who killed our loved ones doesn’t make us heroes. In the eyes of me it makes us look like murderers.

       Works Cited

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/feb/25/guantanamo.guards

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802260129.html

Genocide

     Genocide. What is it? How does it begin? Why does it begin? Will it ever end? How long will it continue until it is officially put to an end? So many questions and so little answer is what I believe the problem is. Have you ever stopped to think about-all of the children, mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers that have been brutally killed because of this? I have, and as a result of that– We get this.

      You see, many people seem to think that genocide is only occurring in Africa, but the truth is it’s not! Genocide is occurring all over the world in more that three different continents! But have you ever took the time to think about what it really is? Genocide is the systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group.  Do you know what that means? It means that thousands even millions of people are being killed by one, two, maybethree ethnic groups! For what reason, to torture people, and watch them suffer? Genocide is utterly despicable if you ask me!

     According to the International Rescue Committee, who have sent out a report, state that, ” The death toll in the African country of Congo, has surprisingly risen at an alarming rate of some 45,000 people die there each monthfrom violence ( genocide ), and even disease such as malaria.” In the last decade, about 5.4 million people have died in the country of Tanzania– more that five time the number of people killed in the Darfur region of Sudan! The ever popular mini-magazine “Parade” calls this the worst loss of life since World War II!

     So how long has genocide been going on? According to the Sikh Sangat News, in 1984 the Sikh genocide occurred in India and is just now being talked about! There, in India, an accused 25 police officers were indicted for torture and compensation was paid by the then Barnala government. How come it took 24 years to accuse them of this? After the genocide in Pakistan, ethnic cleansing, and a war in which India was involved. Pakistan split in two, with Bangladesh in the east, and Pakistan to the west, says Sify News.

    So can evil and violence be tolerated? According to President George W. Bush it can’t, The North Dakota News has recently quoted Mr. Bush on Rwanda’s genocide that occurred in 1994, as he stated that “evil cannot be tolerated in the world.” In Rwanda, that year roughly 800,000 people were killed in ethnic fighting in over 100 days in 1994! Just think, 800,000 people in over 100 days! That is roughly 8000 people killed a day!

    What about the genocide in Darfur, one of the most talked about topics in the press right now? According to Genocideindarfur.net, more than 400,00 people have been killed, and 2.5 million people have sadly been displaced from their homes. And to think that the Darfur region of Sudan in the size of Texas, and has killed that many people, and displaced many people! Is it really necessary?

     When will the genocide end? No one really knows but people are trying to help stop genocide all over the world, by donating money to shelters in Africa where displaced people have gone. Just talking about genocide and how terrible it is shows substantial evidence that you care, and are concerned about the people involved in genocide. So while your thinking about the war in Iraq, the flu virus here in America, Malaria in Africa, elections in Pakistan and even here in America, take the time to think about genocide, that is going on all over the world!

                                         Works Cited:

www.genocideindarfur.net

i”Parade”

http://www.kxmc.com/News/210811.asp

http://www.sikhsangat.org/news/publish/asia_news/1984_Sikh_Genocide_a_blot_on_India231.shtml

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14609613

Rights of Incarcerated Girls

The ACLU has called upon the UN to introduce three provisions aimed at ending discrimination and violence against incarcerated young girls. According to the ACLU, “incarcerated girls are particularly vulnerable and subject to violence, abuse and neglect.”

This initiative builds upon a 2006 report conducted by the ACLU and Human Rights Watch which revealed abuses against girls in New York State juvenile facilities, most notably asserting that staff would “frequently restrain girls violently, seizing them from behind and pushing them to the floor, then pulling their arms up behind them to hold or handcuff.” This face-down restraint technique resulted in rugburns, cuts, bruises, concussions, and broken limbs. Further, this technique was not used only to restrain unruly girls, but “for such infractions as not making a bed properly or not raising one’s hand before speaking.”

We cannot assume that because these girls have landed themselves in detention that they are then capable of defending and taking care of themselves, or even more unfairly, that they in any way deserve to be mistreated. Their presence in the juvenile justice system is their punishment as well as their chance to be rehabilitated – any physical abuse beyond the steps recommended by law is only detrimental to their situation, as well as an obvious violation of their human rights. As one ex-inmate says, “Most people who want to be tough on crime don’t care what happens to inmates. But they should care, because 95 percent of all prisoners are eventually released back into society, indelibly marked by the violence they have seen or experienced.”

In all juvenile justice facilities, there is also an apparent disparity between the treatment of girls and boys. Incarcerated girls are far more likely to be victims of sexual abuse than their male counterparts – according to the Juvenile Offenders and Victims 2006 National report, girls constituted only 11% of the total incarcerated population, but 34% of substantiated sexual abuse cases.

Staff can also victimize girls in less apparent ways than outright assault, such as performing frequent unnecessary strip searches and body cavity examinations. In the New York facilities investigated in the ACLU/Human Rights Watch report, girls described being strip searched every time they returned from outside the facility, and anytime something “like a pencil or a knitting needle” went missing. International human rights law does not prohibit strip searches “when there is a legitimate security need to search for weapons or contraband that cannot be met through other means.” But even if a pencil or knitting needle could possibly qualify as “weapons or contraband,” surely there are ways to go about this that are less humiliating and degrading to young girls.

How can we help alleviate these situations? The troubling factor here is that this abuse and neglect takes place in near secrecy, within institutions isolated from society where the guards and officials often do not need to answer to anyone. There needs to be a third party present at all times, an independent supervisor who will monitor the treatment of detainees, ensure no unnecessary force is used, and advocate fair-minded policies.

While all prisoners’ human rights need to be protected, it is especially important to protect those of the world’s greatest resource: our children. Incarcerated youth have greater opportunities to be rehabilitated and released as productive and beneficial members of society than their older and less impressionable counterparts – but conversely, their drive to change may be easily broken by continued abuse, neglect, and violence which reinforces ideas of worthlessness and powerlessness. I believe it is imperative that this issue be addressed: with over one million children and adolescents in confinement worldwide, there must at least be provisions in place to protect these youth from unrighteous harm. If the UN body on Women’s Issues addresses the rights of incarcerated girls, it will be one more step towards implementing such necessary provisions.

Sources:

ACLU: “Top U.N. Body on Women’s Issues Must Address Rights of Incarcerated Girls, Says ACLU”
ACLU: “Custody and Control: Conditions of Confinement in New York’s Juvenile Prisons for Girls”
Physicians for Human Rights: “Unique Needs of Girls in the Juvenile Justice System”
New York Times: “In New York, a Report Details Abuse and Neglect at 2 State-Run Centers for Girls”

Water boarding

There has been much debate lately over the “enhanced interrogation technique” called water boarding. Water boarding is a technique that has been used three times, and all three successful, according to the attorney General. Even though I believe this is an outright fabrication, I think water boarding has been used much more than three times, and even though I believe water boarding is just the tip of the iceberg, that there are other, more heinous torture techniques being used, we will go with this number since it is what has been proven.

In water boarding, according to the first article, there are three positions, or three techniques. In the first, a prisoner may be blindfolded and bound face up and water dripped into a wet cloth or a bag over his face. As the saturation of the cloth increases, the suspect feels more and more as if he is drowning. In another variation, the prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet higher than the head. Plastic is wrapped over the blindfolded prisoner’s face and cold water is poured over him. A terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt. In still another variation, the prisoner is blindfolded and bound to a board that pivots much like a teeter-totter and the subject’s head is then tilted down into a pool or tank until the head is submerged.

In the article advocating the use of water boarding, it is stated that,

“But theirs is a misguided stance, since careful consideration shows that water boarding is in fact one of the least injurious among interrogation techniques. To see why this is so, it is enough to contrast it with the most common approach which involves a combination of sleep deprivation and cold exposure. Frequently requiring days and even weeks to break the captive’s spirit, it carries a real possibility of long-term physical and psychological damage.”

The writer attempts to show that water boarding isn’t so bad, by comparing it to other forms of torture. To me this is a ridiculous comparison. Ripping out someone’s toe nails might not be as bad as filleting them alive then dunking them in salt water, but it’s still torture, that fact does not change. That is why I feel his comparison is irrelevant.

Another point that the advocate for water boarding attempts to make is that water boarding isn’t torture since it doesn’t follow the Geneva convention standards of inflicting “severe pain or suffering”. He then says there is no sever pain caused, but ignores the “suffering” part. I would argue that there is ample pain, the pain of choking for one. However, what is very prominent would be the suffering of knowing you are going to die by drowning. The intense suffering making you think you only have a few moments left to live. This, to me, clearly shows that water boarding is torture. Allowing any form of “minor torture” is a slope so slippery that I’d rather stay away from it. The best course of action would be to completely ban water boarding and launch a full investigation in to its use by the CIA.

Water boarding is a torture technique currently being employed by the Central Intelligence Agency. It has been admitted to being used three times on terror suspects. Water boarding needs to be stopped immediately as it is torture, and torture is illegal. The attorney general has said “War boarding is not torture because water boarding is not illegal, and torturing is illegal.” This is so ridiculous it blows my mind. Congress has stated it will not pass a law banning water boarding until the attorney general and president agree with it. So the very man saying “its not torture because its not illegal” is the one stopping it from being illegal.

What a world we live in.

 

Works cited:

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080211/NEWS/364010672/1027/EDITORIAL

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=AF5C06FC-2E52-4508-9C51-5589751B501C +

 

Tibetan Religion in Exile.

.
In 1949, the Communist Party of China declared that Tibet was a part of Chinese territory, and that its people were hungry for liberation from what they called “imperialist forces”. Within a year, the Chinese government saw fit to action, and on 6 October, 1950, Tibet had been invaded by 40,000 members of the People’s Liberation Army, and Tibet, having an army of a mere 5,000, was forced to surrender.

After ten years of confusing decisions and attempts to make peace with the Chinese government, the Tibetans mounted a National Uprising, which did naught but fail miserably and leave 87,000 to a staggering 430,000 dead, depending on whom you ask (China-owned Radio Lhasa & Tibetan exiles, respectively). In fear for their lives, a further 10,000 fled the country, headed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the religious and former political leader of the region, and moved into neighbouring countries, with the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama found in Dharamsala, India.

The History of The Suppression

Beginning in 1954, China began to rigidly control religious activities, which are generally found to be distasteful under communist regimes, and within two years 80% of Tibet’s monasteries had been destroyed, along with over 100,000 monks and nuns. During this time, all religious activity was banned, and the government razed religious institutions and many of the remaining monks and nuns endured torture followed by death. By the late 1970s, a mere 8 monasteries of 2,700 were left standing. Only 970 monks and nuns were. (“Control”.)

In the 1980s, government funds were designated for the rebuilding of monasteries, but the victory for Tibetan rights was a short-lived ones, and religious figures were expelled from Lhasa, the capital, and surrounding areas.

In 1994, China’s policies shifted yet again, and were this time aimed at the active suppression of religion. In this time, China has sought to discredit His Holiness as a religious leader, and have put out propaganda that declares that he has instigated bombings and other disruptive behaviour in China, and as such it is currently illegal to possess a picture of His Holiness, and all monks and nuns (who are state regulated) must denounce him. (“Abuse”.)

Suppression in Action

Chinese authorities should immediately release Ronggyal Adrak, a Tibetan nomad who publicly called for religious freedoms and a visit to Tibet by the Dalai Lama, Human Rights Watch said today. The People’s Court in Dartsedo (Chinese: Kangding, Ganzi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province) found Adrak guilty of subversion and “inciting separatism” on October 29.Adrak’s sentence, which is expected later this week, could range from three years to life imprisonment. “China: Tibetan Faces Baseless Subversion Charges.” (“China”.)

Adrak got 10 years for shouting “Long live the Dalai Lama!”. “Inciting separatism”? Hardly. This is merely China flexing its muscles against an impoverished nomad who wants his holy leader back, along with most of the Tibetan population who remain in the historical region, and it seems that the Chinese government cannot handle the fact that a single man can present such a threat to their stability within the Tibetan region. This is a prime example of the disgusting abuses of power and showing a blatant disregard for human rights that the Communist Party of China is continuously guilty of, and the sort that they have been getting away with, with little more than a slap on the wrist, if that.

The Future for Tibet

“’I am not seeking separation or independence of Tibet from the People’s Republic of China. All I want is a genuine self-rule for Tibet within China. This is my “middle way” approach,’ the Dalai Lama said.
According to his ‘middle way’ proposal, the Chinese Government would handle Tibet’s foreign affairs and defence, while Tibetans would have full responsibility for education, trade, environment, religion and other domestic briefs. (Lifen)

His Holiness had originally had the desire that he wished for Tibet to be fully free of China’s rule, as he anticipated that China would relinquish control over the territory. When he saw that this was not coming to fruition, he realised that a “middle-ground” was the best option rather than making what he saw as grand demands upon China. One must keep in mind that this man is the embodiment of Buddhist philosophies, and does not want to cause any harm nor inconvenience to anyone, not even those who are the cause of oppression.

I think it’s beyond tragic that His Holiness has stopped hoping for total freedom for a land that had been free for a thousand years prior to China’s foolish takeover. It is definitely the most realistic of the views that he could have, but the fact that this hope has to be diminished is truly, truly upsetting. More attention has been placed upon China is light of the upcoming Olympic games, but even His Holiness admits that the government crackdown since their announcement has been significantly worse, although he still holds out hope that he will set foot in Tibet again. Hopefully, in the very near future, China will either undergo some grand change to allow basic human rights, or some outside intervention can properly free the stolen land, and that this gross abuse of humanity will be put to an end.

Works Cited

“Control of Religion.” Free Tibet Campaign . 2007. Free Tibet Campaign . 21 Feb. 2008 <http://www.freetibet.org/info/facts/fact4.html>.

“Abuse of Religious Freedoms in Tibet.” Tibet Onlibe. 2008. Tibet Support Group UK. 21 Feb. 2008 <http://www.tibet.org/Activism/Rights/religion.html>.

“China: Tibetan Faces Baseless Subversion Charges.” Human Rights News. 9 Nov. 2007. Human Rights Watch. 21 Feb. 2008 <http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/11/08/china17292.htm>.”

Lifen, Zhang. “Dalai Lama: Holding Out Hope.” BBC News. 4 Feb. 2003. BBC. 21 Feb. 2008 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/asia-pacific/2723395.stm>.

Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment is when a person is executed by the state or country as a punishment for committing a heinous crime. This is also known as the death penalty. Many people think that Capital Punishment should be banished because it violates the rights of the people but others think that it should be executed as long as the crime is fits the punishment. In my opinion, I think that Capital Punishment should be used as long as the crime is horrible enough.

Executions in the United States have been dropping constantly due to the legal battles regarding whether Capital Punishment is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment which states that it is against cruel and unusual punishment. Also the numbers of executions have been dropping because lethal injections, which is one of the two most common ways of being executed, were being applied improperly. Convict Angel Nieves Diaz was executed on December 13, 2006 by the lethal injection. These injections were applied improperly so they had to do it twice, which witness say caused him pain. Due to this act of cruelty and negligence, Florida governor Jeb Bush halted legal injections in the state of Florida.

More than a thousand inmates have been executed by Capital Punishment since it was reinstated in 1976. Only 38 states in the United States use the death penalty. The other 12 states have abolished Capital Punishment because it is unconstitutional. The states that do apply the death penalty follow the guidelines for putting an inmate on death row. Usually, criminals that commit first-degree murder are put on death row. People who are against the death penalty state that the odds of executing an innocent person should stop them from using the death penalty. They also question the fairness on how Capital Punishment is applied.

In 2007 42 inmates were executed, which was 11 less than the year before. All of those 42 inmates were male. 41 of those executions were done by the lethal injection and one was done by electrocution. Out of those 42 inmates, 28 were white and 14 were black.

Capital Punishment has been applied ever since ancient times. In England in the 1500, Capital Punishment was used only for major crimes like treason, murder, larceny, burglary rape and arson. In the 1750′s philosophers began to argue against Capital Punishment saying that it was cruel and sometimes was wrong because the wrong person was executed. This arguing started take effect in the 1850′s because Venezuela and Portugal abolished Capital Punishment altogether. Michigan was the first state to abolish it in 1847. Now a days, mostly all of western Europe and most of of Latin America has abolished Capital Punishment.

I personally think that Capital Punishment is correct to a certain extent. They should only use the death penalty if they are 100 percent sure that the person they are going to execute is guilty. so that they won’t be executing an innocent person. Also they should only use the death penalty on people who have committed grave crimes.

http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/January/20070103125318lhmnietsua0.7334558.html
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cp.htm
http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/thoughts.html

Abortion

Abortion. Is it murder? When does life begin? When can abortion legally be considered killing the baby? That’s the thing. No one knows for sure. There’s no definition, there’s no legal or natural law of when life begins. When you boil it down, the decision is entirely up to the woman having the baby.

Citizens can do whatever they want to prevent abortions. They can make movies showing happily-ever-afters for women who follow through with the unplanned pregnancy. The new hit movie Juno is a prime example. “Pro Life Pulse blogger Jill Stanek calls ‘the movie pro-aborts will hate.’” (CBS News) Antiabortion activists have actually gone as far as to name the unborn children of women who plan not to keep the kid. “They each pledged to ‘spiritually adopt’ a fetus developing in an unknown woman — to name it, love it from afar and above all, pray daily that the mother-to-be would not choose abortion.” (Los Angelos Times)

But here’s the thing — making abortion illegal, shaming the not-mother-to-bes, and praying to ultra beings will not stop abortion. Even an anti-abortionist can admit that. “Now an outspoken anti-abortion campaigner, King says the best way to reduce abortions among black women is to dissuade more of them from premarital sex.” (Retuers.com) And this woman had two abortions at one point in her life.

That’s exactly the key to help prevent abortions. “For example, more women and couples need access to resources and services that will help them to better plan when they want to have children and how to use contraceptive methods effectively until that time,” the report said.” (Reuters.com) Show them ways to help stop unintended pregnancies. Humans are humans, they make mistakes, they get excited and caught up in the moment. They have regrets, and they will have sex. Sure, abstinence is indeed the only 100% fool-proof birth control, but how fool-proof are the humans who rely on it? Hormones are very powerful. Don’t deny yourself that.

Living in a country where abortion is illegal will not make the problem go away. Cristian Mungiu actually directed a movie based on two women friends, one pregnant, who lived in a country where abortion was illegal. They had to bring their own supplies for the illegal procedure; hot water, cotton balls, bandages. The scary situation didn’t stop them, because they believed the alternative would be worse. The point is that they went through with it, illegal or not. Mungiu stated, also, that it was based on a true story and the details were not exaggerated at all, and scenes were not edited to spare the public, as most Hollywood films would be. (NPR)

Accept abortion as a necessary evil – and yes, that’s what it is. Anti-abortionists have this cruel idea that pro-choice people are pro-murder. But it‘s not true! “The Journal of Family Issues published a report earlier this month asserting that women often choose abortion because of their wish to be good parents.” (CBS News) Women who choose to get an abortion are actually thinking of the child, of their families, of their already born children. Adoption doesn’t always go well, look at all of the parentless children out there now. Consider the economically struggling families who have to support yet another child, along with a few others, when they can barely keep their heads above the water. Why sacrifice all of those lives for one, why bring that new baby into a family of misery, pain, and suffering? Think about unwanted children. Imagine the psychological pain that child must endure, growing up knowing he was a mistake. Mothers who are forced to live with something (or someone) they regret, and be reminded of it all the time, will sometimes grow to hate, abuse, or neglect whatever it is. No child deserves that. Isn’t it better to send them up to heaven early?

Unplanned pregnancies that end in abortions don’t always come from “slutty teenagers”. Pro-life people argue young teens shouldn’t sleep around until they’re ready for the responsibility. But, “half of the roughly 1.2 million U.S. women who have abortions each year are 25 or older. Only about 17 percent are teens. Sixty percent have given birth to least one child prior to getting an abortion.” (CBS News)

Pro-life activists claim the contraception pill and abortion are used as regular forms of birth control, and not for emergencies. “They’re giving kids a false sense of security for those who are potentially going to engage in risky sexual behavior,” Fichter, an anti-abortionist stated. (Chicago Tribune) Pro-choice activists, however, are not telling women to rely on abortions as a form of birth control. Instead they argue women should have the right to choice, weighing the pros and cons of having this unplanned child. What they ultimately decide is what they believe is right for the child. And, as the famous cliché goes, “The Mother knows best.

Works Cited

Associated Press, “Giveaway of emergency contraception angers anti-abortion group.” Chicago Tribune 17 Feb 2008 21 Feb 2008 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-ap-in-plannedparenthood,1,1380233.story.

The Huffington Post, “Kids: The New Voice In The Abortion Debate.” Los Angelos Times 22 Jan 2008 21 Feb 2008 http://frecklescassie.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/8th-graders-and-abortion/.

Movshovitz, Howie . “’4 Months’ Raises the Iron Curtain on Abortion.” NPR 24 Jan 2008 21 Feb 2008 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18384538&ft=1&f=1008.

“The Complex Face Of Abortion.” CBS News 20 Jan 2008 21 Feb 2008 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/20/health/main3733178.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3733178.

“U.S. abortion rate falls, study finds.” Reuters.com 17 Jan 2008 21 Feb 2008 http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN1722176020080117?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt&pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0.

“Making Room For Baby.” CBS News 11 Jan 2008 21 Feb 2008 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/11/opinion/main3699797.shtml?source=RSSattr=Opinion_3699797.

Welcome to Human Rights Today

Hello!

This blog is the collaborative effort of a group of high school students for a Modern Problems course.

It is intended to cover the broad topic of human rights on the global scene. More specifically, we hope to inform and reflect upon current issues relating to genocide, enhanced interrogation/torture, capital punishment, slavery, worker conditions, abortion, sex trade, prison conditions, civil rights, and more. These issues are some of the most pressing of our times, and thus it is equally pressing that the public remains aware and enlightened about them.

Information will be obtained through Google Reader, and sources will include mainly BBC, CNN, the New York Times, NPR, and a selection of international news outlets.  Contributors will include David, Cally, Leila, Barbara, Lisa, Alisa, and Dani. Each individual author will contribute a post three times throughout each marking period, so look for updates around Feb. 22, March 7, and March 21 to begin with.