Friday, January 13, 2012
Aristotle Classification of Life
The Case of Terri Schiavo
Hello travelers, I bring a riddle to all of you. Well, it is more of an ethical dilemma. It is known as the Terri Schiavo case. I recently, learned about it in my G+T class. For those who are not aware of this case, continue reading. For those who want to know my opinion and evidence, skip this paragraph to the next one. In 1990, Terri Schiavo was a married woman at age 26 who suffered from cardiac arrest. She was also bulimic. On February 25, Terri collasped on the floor at 4:00 a.m. from her heart stopping. In November 1992, the husband of Terri Schiavo, Michael, wins a case against doctors that misdiagnosed her. The real reason for her cardiac arrest was because she had a potassium deficiency from her bulimic habits. She received $700,000 for her care and $300,000 for her husband. In May 1998, Mr. Schiavo files to remove Terri's feeding tube; thus, cutting her off from life. The Schindlers, Terri's family, fight to keep the feeding tube connected to Terri. The feeding tube is removed on April 24, 2001, but it is reinserted on the 26th of the same month. November 22 2002, Judge Greer rules that there is no evidence for possible recovery for Ms. Schiavo. August 26 2003, Jeb Bush, govenor of Florida, asks the court to appoint a new guardian for Terri, but the court does not act. October 21 2003, Jeb Bush passes "Terri's Law" which makes doctors reinsert the tube that feeds her. September 23 2004, Florida's Supreme Court removes Terri's Law, and declares it unconstitutional. The tube still remains of controversy of whether or not to be removed, kept in, or reinserted. March 18 2005, the tube is removed. March 21 2005, President Bush signs into law demanding a review for the case. Judges, state and federal, reject parents' appeals and keep the tube out. March 31 2005, the Schindler's announec Terri's death. An autopsy was performed on her brain to assess the damage. Throughout the entire 15 years of this case, the U.S. Supreme refused to be involved. They refused 6 times. There have been rumors that Terri has been abused by her husband who dated another woman during Terri's absence.
As for my opinions of this case, I think the decision to remove the tube was justified. Before you start to call me a heartless meanie, hear my reasons out. First of all, Terri was bulimic, which is what caused her heart to stop. Bulimia is something people do to themselves. Obviously, Terri was not happy with herself. As a matter of fact, there is evidence proving that bulimia does come from emotional distress. In the article, it says that bulimia can arise from poor self-image and low self-esteem. Hypothetically speaking, if Terri could have recovered, how do we know if she would want to recover. For all we know, Terri could have been suicidal. Her bulimia was her way to express that. She may have figured that she will either get thin or die trying. She did become thin, no more than 120 pounds; yet, she continued her bulimic habits. The only option left for her was death. Ms. Schiavo may not have wanted life support because she would not have wanted to continue living. Remember, her husband saw Terri for who she was. The Schindlers probably only saw her as the little girl they raised. Terri's family may not have been able to comprehend Terri's negative outlook on her life. How easy is it to think that a family member who you grew up with is emotionally disturbed? Not easy, which is why Mr. Schiavo may have been able to spot it instead of her family. Another important thing to consider was the fact this was a decision to end a human's life. I think her human life ended as soon as her heart stopped. When she was in her coma, there is evidence proving she had no chance of recovery. She was completely in a vegetative state with no chance to recover. Her brain was half the weight of an average human's. She could not think, feel, see, or interact with her environment in any way. You could not even classify her as a human. Remember, it was her own habits of bulimia that caused her heart to stop. I will include in my next blog post about Aristotle's Classification of Life and how it relates to this. Also, the article said that there is no evidence that Terri has been abused by her husband. Her husband wanted what was best for her. People may point out that Mr. Schiavo was an adulterer for dating another woman while Terri was in her coma. However, we must remember that Mr. Schiavo, who never abused his wife, knew Terri best. He was determined to give her what she wanted. In doing so, he accepted the fact that his wife was basically dead. He no longer had a marriage with Terri because she was dead; therefore, it was fine for him to pursue other interests. With no chance of recovering and the probability that she wanted it this way, it seems that this was the right decision. However, you may feel free to disagree in the comments. Just do not write any nasty comments. Have a nice day.
As for my opinions of this case, I think the decision to remove the tube was justified. Before you start to call me a heartless meanie, hear my reasons out. First of all, Terri was bulimic, which is what caused her heart to stop. Bulimia is something people do to themselves. Obviously, Terri was not happy with herself. As a matter of fact, there is evidence proving that bulimia does come from emotional distress. In the article, it says that bulimia can arise from poor self-image and low self-esteem. Hypothetically speaking, if Terri could have recovered, how do we know if she would want to recover. For all we know, Terri could have been suicidal. Her bulimia was her way to express that. She may have figured that she will either get thin or die trying. She did become thin, no more than 120 pounds; yet, she continued her bulimic habits. The only option left for her was death. Ms. Schiavo may not have wanted life support because she would not have wanted to continue living. Remember, her husband saw Terri for who she was. The Schindlers probably only saw her as the little girl they raised. Terri's family may not have been able to comprehend Terri's negative outlook on her life. How easy is it to think that a family member who you grew up with is emotionally disturbed? Not easy, which is why Mr. Schiavo may have been able to spot it instead of her family. Another important thing to consider was the fact this was a decision to end a human's life. I think her human life ended as soon as her heart stopped. When she was in her coma, there is evidence proving she had no chance of recovery. She was completely in a vegetative state with no chance to recover. Her brain was half the weight of an average human's. She could not think, feel, see, or interact with her environment in any way. You could not even classify her as a human. Remember, it was her own habits of bulimia that caused her heart to stop. I will include in my next blog post about Aristotle's Classification of Life and how it relates to this. Also, the article said that there is no evidence that Terri has been abused by her husband. Her husband wanted what was best for her. People may point out that Mr. Schiavo was an adulterer for dating another woman while Terri was in her coma. However, we must remember that Mr. Schiavo, who never abused his wife, knew Terri best. He was determined to give her what she wanted. In doing so, he accepted the fact that his wife was basically dead. He no longer had a marriage with Terri because she was dead; therefore, it was fine for him to pursue other interests. With no chance of recovering and the probability that she wanted it this way, it seems that this was the right decision. However, you may feel free to disagree in the comments. Just do not write any nasty comments. Have a nice day.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Gattaca and Natal Spectrum Opinions
Hello world. In my Gifted and Talented class, my class viewed the movie Gattaca. Basically, the movie took place in a futuristic world where parents can artificially enhance there children's genes. The main character, Vincent, was naturally born; so, he was considered inferior due to his randomly selected natural genes. In order to fulfill his dream to travel through space, he posed as Gerome, an artificial gene selected fellow who was crippled from the waist down. Vincent made his way as an elite worker at Gattaca spaceport, but a murder within the port caused trouble for Vincent. Crime investigators were practically crawling around the area, and it put Vincent's false identity at risk. In the end, Vincent was caught, but allowed to board the rocket. Gerome killed himself in the end, as well. Throughout the film, Vincent suffered from emotional abuse from his younger artificial brother, Anton. As children, they would swim in the ocean and see who could go farther out without turning back. It was called Chicken, and Anton would always win until they were young adults. Finally, Vincent beat Anton, but Vincent moved out of his parents' house to where he would then work at the spaceport as a janitor. Later, he agreed with Gerome to pose as him. Due to Gerome's crippled legs, he could no longer do anything except help Vincent. Near the end of the film, Vincent and Anton play chicken one last time. Vincent won, again.
Honestly, I enjoyed this movie. I think the message behind it was you can do anything you put your mind to. All of the genetically enhanced people had the capabilities to do anything they wanted, but they never had any real dreams. They were spoiled with being so talented. Vincent, on the other hand, had a real dream, and he put his mind to his dream. As a brief example, Vincent finally beat Anton swimming because Vincent put all of his energy into the swim out and did not save any for the return back to shore. Vincent wanted to win at all costs, but Anton did not. In addition to this example, Gerome told Vincent that he gave Vincent his body, but Vincent gave him Vincent's dream. It became Gerome's mission to help Vincent achieve his dream. Once Vincent had achieved his dream of boarding the rocket, Gerome killed himself. Gerome no longer had any reason to continue his own life. His mission was complete, and he had nothing else to do to fulfill himself. To put this lengthy opinion to an end, this movie emphasized the importance of dreams, and how you can accomplish those dreams from dedication.
Now! As you, the reader, have probably noticed, the other portion of the title is Natal Spectrum. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!!! Well, it deals with bioethical issues involving birth and selection of traits, similiar to Gattaca. Right now, I am going to list nine bioethical issues in order of controversy from least controversial to most controversial.
1. Natural Reproduction
2. Carrier Testing: Genetic tests of parents that show the risk of passing on genetic disorders
3. Prenatal Testing: Genetic screening of fetus for genes that cause disorders
4. Fertility Drugs: Prescription drugs which increase a woman's chances of becoming pregnant
5. Artificial Insemination: Insertion of sperm into female reproductive tract by syringe in a doctor's office
6. In Vitro Fertilization: Fertilization of sperm and egg in petri dish. Viable embyros are chosen and inserted into the female reproductive tract via a syringe in a doctor's office
7. Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis for Diseases: Fertilization of sperm and egg in a petri dish. Embryos are screened for a certain genetic disorder. Those without the defective gene are inserted into the female reproductive tract via a syringe in a doctor's office.
8. Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis for Non-deletrious Traits: Fertilization of sperm and egg in a Petri dish. Embryos are screened for non-deletrious traits ( such as hair color, height, sex ). Those with desired genes are inserted into the female reproductive tract via a syringe in a doctor's office.
9. Cloning: The creation of an organism that is the exact genetic copy of another.
Whoa! That stuff seems to get pretty controversial. Now here are my reasons for why I put them in that particular order. Natural reproduction is first because without it, humans would cease to exist, period. Carrier testing is ranked higher than that because carrier testing is not necessary to human existance. The point is: you can debate about carrier testing, but you cannot debate about not having natural reproduction without sounding insane. We need natural reproduction. Carrier testing, itself, is not so contraversial; so, it is next to the least contraversial. Prenatal testing is ranked higher than that because prenatal testing may lead to an abortion, which is VERY contraversial. If a parent knows that the child WILL (the "will" is what separates prenatal from carrier testing) have a genetic disorder, the parent may opt for an abortion. However, I believe that most parents would love their child no matter what; so, an abortion is an unlikely option. The fact that a parent could opt for an abortion (other than not having a child altogether) is the reason why it is ranked higher than carrier testing. Furthermore, fertility drugs are ranked 4th because I think the side-effects of the drugs would be much more common than a parent getting an abortion for their child. Remember, the side effects can take effect on both the parent and the child. Even more controversial than that would be artificial insemination. One side could argue that it can give a couple, who cannot reproduce naturally, the chance to experience the miracle of birth. Another side could easily argue that this way is not the way Nature intended it to be. Also, this is not some pill; it is a full-blown syringe! Something can always go wrong during the insemination process, even worse than a fertility drug. I find that In Vitro fertilization is even more controversial than artificial insemination only because now the doctor is taking both sperm and an egg out of their natural places, which increases the risk of error or hazard. Alright, I have the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for disease next because it contains all of the risks of the previous method of reproduction in addition to the controversy of whether or not we should control birth. All I mean by that is "Would you rather control what makes up your child or love him/her no matter what?" Now, getting rid of genetic disorders is an appealing option to most (if not all) parents, but it boils down to if those parents really love their child (no matter whaat he/she turns out to be) or if that child was a biological success. Also, rascism can arise. People with genetic disorders will be bullied based on not only their disorder, but also their wealth. Most likely, poor families will not be able to afford this diagnosis. Next, there is the option to choose your child's traits. Basically, this is what happened in Gattaca. People who are not genetically superior will be pushed around and denied luxuries such as decent jobs. (Vincent was janitor. Vincent posing as Gerome was astronaut.) On the other hand, there are people out there are people out there who would love to choose their child and give them the "superior" genes. Lastly, cloning is the most controversial issue. Do not get me going on how much I am against this. Yet, there are people who are for cloning. Yes, it may seem "cool" to have a copy of yourself (for the first 10 seconds), but what does cloning really accomplish? Congratulations, you took away someone's individuality. What do you even plan on doing with a clone? Put them (against their will) in the army because they are copies? That is SICK! Clones would be people, too. All that has really been done is a greater population with less individuality of the people.
Think I'm done yet with my opinions? Nope. Now, I would like to address where we, as humans, should stop at. I think we should stop at In Vitro fertilization. This option is only really controversial between the parents. If they want to have a baby but cannot naturally, they should be able to have a baby. They could have fine parenting skills; so, the process of actually getting the baby is not that significant. The risks involved in doing this only apply to the parents. The Pre-implantation of genes can affect more than just the parents because racism between the natural-born and selected-born will arise. So, 1 through 6 are O.K. for me to happen, but 7 through 9 disturb me. Thanks for your time, and I hope this got you thinking about your own philosophy.
Honestly, I enjoyed this movie. I think the message behind it was you can do anything you put your mind to. All of the genetically enhanced people had the capabilities to do anything they wanted, but they never had any real dreams. They were spoiled with being so talented. Vincent, on the other hand, had a real dream, and he put his mind to his dream. As a brief example, Vincent finally beat Anton swimming because Vincent put all of his energy into the swim out and did not save any for the return back to shore. Vincent wanted to win at all costs, but Anton did not. In addition to this example, Gerome told Vincent that he gave Vincent his body, but Vincent gave him Vincent's dream. It became Gerome's mission to help Vincent achieve his dream. Once Vincent had achieved his dream of boarding the rocket, Gerome killed himself. Gerome no longer had any reason to continue his own life. His mission was complete, and he had nothing else to do to fulfill himself. To put this lengthy opinion to an end, this movie emphasized the importance of dreams, and how you can accomplish those dreams from dedication.
Now! As you, the reader, have probably noticed, the other portion of the title is Natal Spectrum. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!!! Well, it deals with bioethical issues involving birth and selection of traits, similiar to Gattaca. Right now, I am going to list nine bioethical issues in order of controversy from least controversial to most controversial.
1. Natural Reproduction
2. Carrier Testing: Genetic tests of parents that show the risk of passing on genetic disorders
3. Prenatal Testing: Genetic screening of fetus for genes that cause disorders
4. Fertility Drugs: Prescription drugs which increase a woman's chances of becoming pregnant
5. Artificial Insemination: Insertion of sperm into female reproductive tract by syringe in a doctor's office
6. In Vitro Fertilization: Fertilization of sperm and egg in petri dish. Viable embyros are chosen and inserted into the female reproductive tract via a syringe in a doctor's office
7. Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis for Diseases: Fertilization of sperm and egg in a petri dish. Embryos are screened for a certain genetic disorder. Those without the defective gene are inserted into the female reproductive tract via a syringe in a doctor's office.
8. Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis for Non-deletrious Traits: Fertilization of sperm and egg in a Petri dish. Embryos are screened for non-deletrious traits ( such as hair color, height, sex ). Those with desired genes are inserted into the female reproductive tract via a syringe in a doctor's office.
9. Cloning: The creation of an organism that is the exact genetic copy of another.
Whoa! That stuff seems to get pretty controversial. Now here are my reasons for why I put them in that particular order. Natural reproduction is first because without it, humans would cease to exist, period. Carrier testing is ranked higher than that because carrier testing is not necessary to human existance. The point is: you can debate about carrier testing, but you cannot debate about not having natural reproduction without sounding insane. We need natural reproduction. Carrier testing, itself, is not so contraversial; so, it is next to the least contraversial. Prenatal testing is ranked higher than that because prenatal testing may lead to an abortion, which is VERY contraversial. If a parent knows that the child WILL (the "will" is what separates prenatal from carrier testing) have a genetic disorder, the parent may opt for an abortion. However, I believe that most parents would love their child no matter what; so, an abortion is an unlikely option. The fact that a parent could opt for an abortion (other than not having a child altogether) is the reason why it is ranked higher than carrier testing. Furthermore, fertility drugs are ranked 4th because I think the side-effects of the drugs would be much more common than a parent getting an abortion for their child. Remember, the side effects can take effect on both the parent and the child. Even more controversial than that would be artificial insemination. One side could argue that it can give a couple, who cannot reproduce naturally, the chance to experience the miracle of birth. Another side could easily argue that this way is not the way Nature intended it to be. Also, this is not some pill; it is a full-blown syringe! Something can always go wrong during the insemination process, even worse than a fertility drug. I find that In Vitro fertilization is even more controversial than artificial insemination only because now the doctor is taking both sperm and an egg out of their natural places, which increases the risk of error or hazard. Alright, I have the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for disease next because it contains all of the risks of the previous method of reproduction in addition to the controversy of whether or not we should control birth. All I mean by that is "Would you rather control what makes up your child or love him/her no matter what?" Now, getting rid of genetic disorders is an appealing option to most (if not all) parents, but it boils down to if those parents really love their child (no matter whaat he/she turns out to be) or if that child was a biological success. Also, rascism can arise. People with genetic disorders will be bullied based on not only their disorder, but also their wealth. Most likely, poor families will not be able to afford this diagnosis. Next, there is the option to choose your child's traits. Basically, this is what happened in Gattaca. People who are not genetically superior will be pushed around and denied luxuries such as decent jobs. (Vincent was janitor. Vincent posing as Gerome was astronaut.) On the other hand, there are people out there are people out there who would love to choose their child and give them the "superior" genes. Lastly, cloning is the most controversial issue. Do not get me going on how much I am against this. Yet, there are people who are for cloning. Yes, it may seem "cool" to have a copy of yourself (for the first 10 seconds), but what does cloning really accomplish? Congratulations, you took away someone's individuality. What do you even plan on doing with a clone? Put them (against their will) in the army because they are copies? That is SICK! Clones would be people, too. All that has really been done is a greater population with less individuality of the people.
Think I'm done yet with my opinions? Nope. Now, I would like to address where we, as humans, should stop at. I think we should stop at In Vitro fertilization. This option is only really controversial between the parents. If they want to have a baby but cannot naturally, they should be able to have a baby. They could have fine parenting skills; so, the process of actually getting the baby is not that significant. The risks involved in doing this only apply to the parents. The Pre-implantation of genes can affect more than just the parents because racism between the natural-born and selected-born will arise. So, 1 through 6 are O.K. for me to happen, but 7 through 9 disturb me. Thanks for your time, and I hope this got you thinking about your own philosophy.
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