Abortion in the South

By:Sebastian Alvarez

Throughout the history of the United States, the debate about Abortion has been a long fight between Pro-Choice and Pro-Life. Almost every state in the United States had an abortion law by the 1900. Many states have had different laws regulating the laws, but no law was ever put by the federal government until the supreme court case Roe vs. Wade.[1]  What led to the federal government to allow abortions in the United States was in 1969 when a woman by the name Norma L. McCorvey tried to get an legal abortion by lying that she had been raped which would entitle her a legal abortion under Texas law. After finding out that her abortion would not be eligible due to the police having no report about her rape.  After her failed attempt at obtaining an abortion she turned to two attorneys that would bring the case to the supreme court which would make abortion legal and a stating the state's interest had no say in woman's choice to obtain an abortion in 1973.

To this day abortion is still legal in the United States, but still well regulated in many southern states. Many states have made it their purpose to shut down many abortion clinics such as the Women's Health Clinic in Jackson, Mississippi which is being shutdown because of the new regulation laws passed in the state. Mississippi Governor Phillips Bryant stated that his mission is to make his state abortion-free.[2] Many other southern states such as Georgia and Florida have passed new regulations to halt the availability of abortions in the south. An example is the Florida House of Representatives passing a law making women wait twenty four hours in order to seek an abortion.[3] This has created a huge problem for women in the South that want to have the option to end their pregnancy. The inability for women to have an abortion may also lead to an unsafe number of abortions which would lead to many deaths, infections, and female mutilation. Another factor that has affected many abortion clinics is the threatening to doctors and nurses which work there and their safety being continually questioned.  Though the South has been tied with being part of the Bible Belt the ability for a woman to have a choice to end her pregnancy should not be tied with state's interest. Many churches opposed women to have abortion due to the strong religion beliefs that are practiced in the South. All of the many controversies have caused many problems in the South. My stance opinion is that all women should have the choice to obtain an abortion, no person may have a say when it comes to her termination of her child neither their interest should be involved when her decision is made. In a country where liberty is pride for the ability for someone to have say on their body is vital.

[1] National Abortion Federation, 1986. s.v. "History of Abortion." http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html (accessed January 31, 2014).

[2] Camron, Irin, ed. Salon , 2012. s.v. "Abortion options fade in South." http://www.salon.com/2012/04/12/abortion_options_fade_in_south/ (accessed January 31, 2014).

[3] France-Presse, Agence, ed. The Raw Story, 2012. s.v. "Anti-abortion initiatives inch forward in southern U.S.." http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/02/pro-life-initiatives-inch-forward-in-southern-u-s/ (accessed January 31, 2014).

Circumcision on Women

By: Sebastian Alvarez

In many African countries there's mutilation practice which has been known for generations in their culture.  This horrible practice is known as Female Circumcision it's the removal of a women's external genitalia. In many culture's this is view as a normal norm in their society or my mean the passage of a girl into womanhood. The main point in Female Circumcision is the removal a woman's pleasure feeling factor out of her sex life so that her only purpose is to reproduce.  The number of women that are thought to have undergone the removal of their external genitalia is thought to be 140 million.[1] The procedure is mostly known to be done without any anesthesia and thought to be done with a razor blade or a non-medical cutting device.  This women are thought to have been mutilated during her childhood. This practice has been done for thousands years in Africa and has spread around the globe to many parts of the world such as Indonesia, Yemen, Iran. This practice sometimes thought to be alike male circumcision, but does not bring any positive aspects to a women who has this procedure. 

Though the practice is seem to many to be normal in many cultures , many studies have proven to shown that Female Circumcision is a horrible practice to be done in a woman and may cause severe pain, shock, bleeding, urine infractions, or infections.[2] This procedure was not known much to the Western Civilization until the 1980's where many organizations started to oppose the Female Circumcision which was being done under horrible procedures.[3] The opposition against Female Circumcision has rose over the years as its been noted as mutilation by many doctors and experts.  Over the years many countries have passed laws to outlaw the practice of Female Circumcision, but still have many problems in preventing it.  In my opinion, Female Circumcision is horrible act of mutilation against women and should not only be outlawed, but should be punished. Though there's a big movement against Female Circumcision it is still not seen as a criminal act, but it is only seen as a mistake in many cultures. Though the practice is being stopped in many parts of the world, the mutilation of women is starting to stop and becoming a strange practice of circumcision around the world.  This is my stance about Female Circumcision being done around the world. 

[1] Gulf News, 2014. s.v. "Man charged over genital mutilation of baby." http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/man-charged-over-genital-mutilation-of-baby-1.1283306 (accessed January 31, 2014).

[2] World Health Organization, 1986. s.v. "Health complications of female genital mutilation." http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/health_consequences_fgm/en/ (accessed January 31, 2014).

[3] Althaus, Frances, ed. Guttmacher Institute, 1997. s.v. "Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage Or Violation of Rights?." https://guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2313097.html (accessed January 31, 2014).

Trapped in the Friendzone

by Sam Ackels

The dreaded “friend zone.” This word is like a curse for many guys. I guarantee every guy has been friend zoned at some point in their lives. If you haven’t, you are extremely lucky and should be awarded. Friend zoning even happens to some unlucky girls as well, all through it significantly happens to more guys. Before I can explain more, I must properly define the friend zone. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the friend zone is “a situation in which a friendship exists between two people, one of whom has an unrequited romantic or sexual interest in the other." [1]. This can be extremely stressful for some people and may leave them extremely depressed. Let's face it, we've all been turned down by someone we thought was the one for us. It feels horrible and no one enjoys it. I have actually been turned down by every single girl I have been interested in. I have never even kissed a girl. Because of my previous experiences, my self confidence has completely depleted. I am now extremely reserved and shy when talking to a girl I am interested in. I greatly fear rejection because of my past experiences with girls. I do not know why I get consistently rejected by girls, but at this point I just do not really care anymore. I have just decided to give up on girls because something is obviously going wrong every time I talk to a girl. It is also commonly known that it is impossible to escape once you have been friend zoned. This is mainly due to the guys fault of doing many things such as trying to buy their way into a relationship, trying to show that they are a dominant manly-man, or as I am extremely guilty of, being too nice [2]. 

As stressed out as I have been about being friend zoned, I realize that I am not entitled to sex or a relationship. No one is. This is something that you have to work out on your own. I may have had bad experiences with every girl I've ever been interested in, but I have to keep trying if I want to get anywhere.  I do not know how long it will take to find a girl who will not reject me. It is very annoying but hopefully the next girl I'll talk to won't reject me. My chances can only go up with every rejection I receive. Being friend zoned is not a fun experience and I don't wish it on anyone.

References

[1] - Oxford Dictionary, friend zone, Accessed Jan. 22, 2014,

[2] -  Dr. Alex Benzer (April 2, 2009).

Law is Law, No Matter

By: Zach Agovino

Kaitlyn Hunt is a 19-year-old from Florida who is being charged with two counts of felony lewd and lascivious battery in a relationship involving her underage 14-year-old partner. (1) Cases such as this are usually cut and dry. Under Florida State law, one who conducts sexual activity with someone at least 16 years of age and less than 18 years of age can be charged for both offenses. (3) So why is this case the center of public outrage and Internet activism? It is because the relationship involves a lesbian couple, and they are pulling the gay card big time.

 The case is drawing much unnecessary attention. Hunt committed all of the acts that justify her charges, therefore she should deal with the consequences. Sexuality never was an issue, and never should have brought this case attention in the first place.

On the online petitioning website Change.org, 150,000 people signed an online petition trying to stop the persecution of Hunt. (2) This would not be a problem if it targeted changing the law, however the official letter sent to the State Attorney specifically states that they are wanting to stop the prosecution of a girl in a same-sex relationship. There is absolutely no reason to bring up that it is a same-sex relationship, and it is obvious that it was only done for the attention and publicity.

As Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar said, “If this was an 18-year-old male and that was a 14-year-old girl, it would have been prosecuted the same way.” (2) Hunt accepted a plea deal in which she will plead no contest to five separate charges. She was given the charges of misdemeanor contributing to the dependency of a child, and two counts each of felony interference with child custody and misdemeanor battery. (1)

Actually listing out the charges shines another light. The felony charges came from different times in which Hunt picked up the 14-year-old girl against the wishes of her parents. Even if the two do find themselves in a relationship, 14 years old is just far too young, regardless of sex, and the fact that it was consensual. Hunt should have known better than picking up a minor against the wishes of the parents. (2)

Do not get me wrong, I am not trying to be completely ill-tempered towards Hunt. I completely feel for her being scared about losing her life, and I cannot even imagine what it must be like to be in a situation like that. Unfortunately though, it is the law. As disagreeable as it may seem, she can’t get a free ride just by yelling discrimination.

Endnotes:

1.       Ganim, Sara. "Gay Florida teen accepts plea deal, prosecutor says." CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/02/justice/florida-gay-teen-kaitlyn-hunt-case/ (accessed January 31, 2014).

2.       Hunt, Steven. "Stop the prosecution of an 18 year old girl in a same-sex relationship." Change.org. http://www.change.org/petitions/assistant-state-attorney-brian-workman-stop-the-prosecution-of-an-18-year-old-girl-in-a-same-sex-relationship (accessed January 31, 2014).

3.       Payne, Ed. "Sheriff to young woman's supporters: Teen sex case is about age, not gay rights." CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/23/justice/florida-teen-sex-case/index.html (accessed January 31, 2014).

4.       Human Services Policy. "State Laws." Statutory Rape: A Guide to and Reporting Requirements. http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/sr/statelaws/statelaws.shtml#Florida (accessed January 31, 2014).