The abortion debate Essay Example for Free

The abortion debate Essay Abortion, the premature expulsing of an unborn child from the womb, is one of the most hotly debated issues of our time. On one side of the argument there is the pro-choice community who believe that abortion should be available to all women, and on the other there is the pro-life community who believe that it is the murder of an innocent human. Deciding what side is correct depends on an individual’s religious, scientific and ethical views. Key issues include the moral status of the unborn child, and whether its rights outweigh the mother’s. In examining this multifaceted debate, a good place to start is the Christian perspective. Many of the early church fathers had an existentialist view, where the foetus progressively becomes a person over time. Some are influenced by St Thomas Aquinas who identified the moment of ‘quickening’ as the decision point of development. This key moment is also significant for the formation of the brain and the first appearance of the ‘human icon’, when the foetus begins to look like a human being. Personhood is the main issue here. Humans are beings with human tissue, but persons must have moral status. For example, a baby without a brain could be regarded as a human but not a person. The question of whether or not abortion is murder depends on your definition of personhood. With today’s scientific advancements most Christians no longer accept the views of Aquinas and Aristotle on abortion. Dr. Landrum Shettles, sometimes called the father of In Vitro Fertilization, wrote, â€Å"Conception confers life and makes that life one of a kind.† As with all issues, Christian turn to the Bible to defend their position. Christians believe in the sanctity of life, meaning that all human life is created in God’s image and has intrinsic worth. The most important verse they turn to is part of the Decalogue: do not kill. At face value this may include abortion, but on the other hand, it doesn’t cover the killing of animals or killing in battle. It may not be as absolute as Christians make out. Other verses include an instance in Luke when John the Baptist recognised the presence of Jesus before he was born; this suggests that unborn children are alive and have a degree of awareness before they are born. To quote John Calvin, â€Å"If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house, then in a field†¦it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a foetus in the womb before it has come to light.† Christian opinion is divided between liberal and conservative perspectives. Conservative churches such as the Roman Catholic Church and the Free Presbyterian Church are against abortion. They believe abortion is murder of the innocent and have respect for human life right from conception. The Catholic Church has an essentialist view of abortion that does not allow for exceptional circumstances, even rape. In the Humanae Vitae of 1968 Pope Pius VI said, â€Å"human life is sacred.† This was followed up with the Declaration on Procured Abortion, 1974, where it states that women’s rights, though good in themselves, cannot be an excuse for abortion when it denies another person the fundamental right to life. On the other hand, some churches have more liberal views. The Methodist Church of Ireland released a document in 2012 that outlines their support for abortion in some circumstances: when the mother’s life is at risk; when her mental or physical health is at risk; in cases of rape and incest and fatal foetal abnormalities. They believe that their view is the most compassionate towards both the mother and child. They do, however, emphasise that they are against abortion on demand. The crux of the document is that while Christians may not agree with abortion, we should respect the separation of church and state when it comes to abortion law. Moving on, abortion is a situation of conflicting rights – many that are pro-choice believe that the rights of the mother are more important than the rights of the child. Proponents of situation ethics would believe that we should look at the circumstances behind an abortion, not the morality of the act. The Church of Englands position that abortion is evil but may be the lesser of two evils is consistent with a situationist approach. Difficult circumstances include when a woman has been raped. There are traumatic and involuntary circumstances surrounding the conception and the continuance of this unwanted pregnancy may well continue the trauma for the mother and her existing family. The foetus should have no claim on the woman unless the woman has consented fully to being pregnant. Another circumstance where a proponent of situation ethics would support abortion is if the mother’s life is at risk – surely it is better to save one life than lose two. Natural law would generally prohibit abortion. Supporters of this theory see the act of sexual intercourse as an efficient cause that brings about the final cause of the production of a human being. Abortion prevents the final cause from being achieved and is therefore immoral. However, there is the doctrine of double effect. While it may be morally permissible to perform a good action that may have a bad outcome, it is morally impermissible to perform a bad action with a good outcome. The theory of natural law states that you are only responsible for the immediate consequences of your actions, but not for secondary or unintended effects of your action. An example of this could be abortion: it may permit indirect therapeutic abortion (such as treating cancer, which may cause death of the foetus) but not direct therapeutic abortion. Prolife Christians often use the acronym SLED when arguing against abortion. This stands for size, level of development, environment and dependency. Starting with size, pro-lifers argue that it is wrong to discriminate against the unborn due to their size. Level of development means that the only difference between the unborn and us is that they are not as developed, but the toddler is not as developed as the adult. This does not mean the toddler is any less. Environment refers to the fact that just because the unborn is within the uterus, that does not mean it has no rights. Why should a 7-inch journey down the birth canal make a difference? Finally, dependency means that just because the unborn is dependent on its mother, it does not imply it should be allowed to be killed. A disabled person may be dependent on others but this does not mean we have the right to kill them. Abortion is much more likely to be supported within the secular realm. Ethicists such as Singer have a utilitarian view of abortion. Singer hold to Preference Utilitarianism which promotes that the preferences of individuals are taken into account except where they come into direct conflict with the preferences of others. For example, if the foetus was diagnosed with a fatal abnormality abortion may be the option that would cause the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people. If the parents go through with the pregnancy they will have to suffer the trauma of watching their infant die, or go through a stillbirth. Feminists are usually on the front line in the fight for reproductive rights. They believe women and men are not truly equal until a woman has access to abortion on demand. Some would even support viewing abortion as little more than a method of contraception. A notable feminist is Judith Thomson, author of â€Å"A Defence of Abortion†, uses abstract analogies to promote abortion. One of these is the violinist scenario. In this scenario a woman finds herself involuntarily chained to a famous violinist in a hospital. The violinist is dying and the woman was discovered to have the correct blood type to save him. Therefore she was kidnapped and is now acting as a life support. Thomson asserts that the woman has no moral obligation to remain connected to the violinist, and if she did it would be an extraordinary act of kindness. However, Singer claims that a utilitarian outlook would imply that one is morally obliged to stay connected to the violinist. Ultimately, in countries where abortion is legal abortion should be the choice of the mother. However, abortion is not without its dangers, such as damage to the uterus as well as depression and guilt. With this in mind, abortion may not be as safe as many believe.

Anti-semitism :: essays research papers

Antisemitism â€Å"If the Anti-Semites want to hate, let them hate, and let them all go to hell† -David Ben-Gurion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anti-Semitism in the Encarta dictionary is defined has a behavior discriminating against Jewish people that harm or discriminate against Jewish people. This definition does not even scrap the surface of what the word Anti-Semitism means to you if you are Jewish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anti-Semitism’s major part was to give Jews a bad reputation of being subhuman and threatening the purity of the German master race. The Nazis also propagated false claims such as the supposed role of Jews in the â€Å"stab in the back,† betrayal of Germany’s Army that led the Versailles Treaty with its loss territory and large reparation payments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the postwar years, Germans suffered runaway inflation and massive unemployment. The National Socialist Workers (Nazi) Party was just one of the many racist groups that sprang up. Hitler soon became most effective anti-Jewish leader. His anti-Semitic blueprint was set out in the book Mein Kampf, and after he assumed power in the 1930's it became official policy. Although opposed to Christianity, Hitler used it in his antisemitic message. He wrote: â€Å"If... the Jew is victorious over the peoples of the world, his crown will be the funeral wreath of humanity and this planet will, as it did thousands of years ago, move through the ether devoid of men. Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the creator: By defining myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With writings like this and speeches with mass crowds Hitler gave, it is no wonder the majority of Europeans accepted Hitler’s views. If he did not brainwash his followers, he scared them to death to go against him. Hitler would have his soldiers come into your home and demolish it if they thought you were against them or were hiding Jewish families.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The result of Europeans acceptance (or better called brainwash) to the brutality of the Jews caused the mass murders of millions of innocent Jews. The were not only were Jews murdered but they were tortured, beaten, and humiliated before death. We all know the stories of the Jews and it will and can never be forgotten.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe similar attitudes exist in our society today. (Read Letter attached). It is a follower of Hitler today expressing is hatred towards Jews.

Literal translation Essay

Domestication and foreignization are strategies in translation, regarding the degree to which translators make a text conform to the target culture. Domestication is the strategy of making text closely conform to the culture of the language being translated to, which may involve the loss of information from the source text. Foreignization is the strategy of retaining information from the source text, and involves deliberately breaking the conventions of the target language to preserve its meaning. [1] These strategies have been debated for hundreds of years, but the first person to formulate them in their modern sense was Lawrence Venuti, who introduced them to the field of translation studies in 1995 with his book The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation. [1][2] Venuti’s innovation to the field was his view that the dichotomy between domestication and foreignization was an ideological one; he views foreignization as the ethical choice for translators to make. [1] Theory [edit] In his 1998 book The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference, Venuti states that â€Å"Domestication and foreignization deal with ‘the question of how much a translation assimilates a foreign text to the translating language and culture, and how much it rather signals the differences of that text'†. According to Lawrence Venuti, every translator should look at the translation process through the prism of culture which refracts the source language cultural norms and it is the translator’s task to convey them, preserving their meaning and their foreignness, to the target-language text. Every step in the translation process—from the selection of foreign texts to the implementation of translation strategies to the editing, reviewing, and reading of translations—is mediated by the diverse cultural values that circulate in the target language. He estimates that the theory and practice of English-language translation has been dominated by submission, by fluent domestication. He strictly criticized the translators who in order to minimize the foreignness of the target text reduce the foreign cultural norms to target-language cultural values. According to Venuti, the domesticating strategy â€Å"violently† erases the cultural values and thus creates a text which as if had been written in the target language and which follows the cultural norms of the target reader. He strongly advocates the foreignization strategy, considering it to be â€Å"an ethnodeviant pressure on [target-language cultural] values to register the linguistic and cultural difference of the foreign text, sending the reader abroad. † Thus an adequate translation would be the one that would highlight the foreignness of the source text and instead of allowing the dominant target culture to assimilate the differences of the source culture, it should rather signal these differences. [3]

Smoking Banning Public Areas Yield Positive Effects For All

Smoking Bans in Public Areas Yield Positive Effects For All One of the major reasons for death and preventable diseases is tobacco use. Just in the United States of America, smoking has found to be the cause of â€Å"over 40,000 deaths due to heart disease and over 200,000 episodes of childhood asthma per year† (Naiman et al 1). Some of these cases could be specifically linked to secondhand smoke, â€Å"defined as an involuntary exposure to a combination of diluted cigarette side stream smoke and the exhaled smoke from smokers† (Naiman et al 1). Greenwald found that â€Å"by 2015, 36 states and 4,177 municipalities in the USA had enacted law that restricted where smoking was allowed† (101). Smoking in public places should not be allowed because†¦show more content†¦While at the same rate smokers who supported bans also reported having attempted to quit in the last twelve months than those who did not support any of the laws. The implication here is that if one is trying to quit smoking, attending bars, restaurant s, or other public areas that are smoke free have a positive effect on quitting by reducing exposure to the smell and other smokers which can increase the urge to smoke when trying to quit. However, certain studies have argued the opposite effect. Greenwald research found that, â€Å"smokers generally appeared to visit bars more often, stay at bars longer, and consume more drinks than their non-smoking counterparts† (103). At the same token this benefits non-smokers who also attend such venues because they are not exposed to secondhand smoke. Here we see that smoke bans are a win-win for those affected by smoking directly and indirectly. As a second point, to explore the benefits of smoking bans and the links to lower hospitalizations for heart attacks and lung disease. Vander Weg and her team recognized that, â€Å"exposure to secondhand smoke is recognized as an important contributor to premature morbidity and mortality† (2699). Among adults, secondhand smoke increases the risk for heart and lung disease while also highlighting possible causation for other respiratory health issues such as adult-onset asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This study â€Å"investigated the associationShow MoreRelatedShould Restrictive Policies On Smoking At Workplaces Be Punitive Or Supportive?1968 Words   |  8 Pages Should restrictive policies on smoking at workplaces be punitive or supportive? Venkata Sravani Reddy Seethi Western Kentucky Universityâ€Æ' Abstract Cigarette smoking has several adverse effects on an employee’s health, the productivity of the organization, and the overall economy of the nation. Several laws and policies have been initiated and implemented since the knowledge about the illness and deaths caused by smoking have been discovered. Different states have adopted theseRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?2331 Words   |  10 PagesSo you have heard the question â€Å"Should marijuana be legalized or stay illegal† many times already. This won’t be the last time you will hear it either. As it is illegal in most areas around the world, the places that have legalized marijuana has had a dramatic economic growth. People complain as to why marijuana should stay illegal, but they list facts that are incorrect. People discriminate the use of the drug which has actually benefited others dramatically rather than the uselessness of beer andRead MoreEnv Sci Help5447 Words   |  22 PagesA) sligh tly acidic. B) slightly basic. C) exactly neutral. D) strongly basic. E) not known. Answer: A Diff: 1 4) Acid precipitation A) is always limited to an area within a mile or so of the source of emissions. B) is generally limited to an area within a few (3 - 5) miles of the source of emissions. C) is generally limited to an area within several (6 - 15) miles from the source of emissions. D) may occur hundreds of miles from the source of emissions. E) affects the whole globe uniformly. Answer:Read MoreSmoking Cessation Of Pregnancy : Review Of Current Strategies9414 Words   |  38 Pages SMOKING CESSATION IN PREGNANCY: REVIEW OF CURRENT STRATEGIES Boitumelo A Nkoane-Kelaeng1, Claire M Lawley1,2, Gemma A Figtree1 Cardiovascular Research, Kolling Institute, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia Clinical Population Perinatal Health Research, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Corresponding Author: Professor Gemma A Figtree MBBS DPhil (Oxon) FRACP FAHA North Shore Heart Research Group Kolling Institute of Medical Research Royal NorthRead MoreCulture Change as a Universal Intervention of Behaviour Change in Tobacco and Alcohol Use and Suicide3267 Words   |  13 Pagespremature deaths (1). Impact of tobacco use and suicide is equally significant. Across the world five million people die every year due to tobacco smoking and 600,000 die due to second-hand smoke (2). One million die due to suicide every year (3). Alcohol and tobacco use and suicidal behaviour are three common health conditions for clinicians as well as public health professionals. Behaviour is fundamental in causation and in treatment of these conditions, compared to conditions such as pneumonia orRead MoreMacro Environment of Sony7795 Words   |  32 Pagesresides in the minds to consumers. A brand is a perceptual entity that is rooted in reality but reflects the perceptions and perhaps even the idiosyncrasies of consumers. Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand. Branding is all about creating differences. To brand a product, it is necessary to teach consumers â€Å" who† the product is- by giving it a name and using other brand elements to help identify it- as well as â€Å"what† the product does and â€Å"why† consumers should care. BrandingRead MoreLas 432 Research Paper: Gmos20901 Words   |  84 Pagesthat was once done naturally through nature and deliberate actions of farmers is now being taken to new levels with scientists in a controlled scientific environment. This innovative technology is not without its legal, political and social issues, all of which will be discussed in depth. Among other things, this report also addresses the environmental, economic and psychological impact that Genetically Modified Organisms and the science of them have on the world. Media influences and the culturalRead MoreDhjsj14297 Words   |  58 Pagesa major stock market crash, and the most sweeping securities market reforms since the 1930’s, one unexpected consequence of these events is an increased awareness that auditing â€Å"matters.† In particular, regulators, market participants, and the public all seem to have a greater appreciation for the critical role auditing plays in the successful functioning of the U.S. financial markets. Along with this greater appreciation, however, is also widespread criticism that many aspects of auditing areRead More_x000C_Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 PagesCorporation/Kendallville Compositor: Newgen–India Printer: Courier Corporation/Kendallville  © 2008, 2005 Duxbury, an imprint of Thomson Brooks/Cole, a part of The Thomson Corporation. Thomson, the Star logo, and Brooks/Cole are trademarks used herein under license. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution, information storage and retrievalRead MoreGp Essay Mainpoints24643 Words   |  99 Pages GP NOTES 2010 (ESSAY) Content Page 1. Media a. New vs. Traditional b. New: narcissistic? c. Government Censorship d. Profit-driven Media e. Advertising f. Private life of public figures g. Celebrity as a role model h. Blame media for our problems i. Power + Responsibility of Media j. Media ethics k. New Media and Democracy 2. Science/Tech a. Science and Ethics b. Government and scientist role in science c. Rely too much on technology? d. Nuclear technology