John Morin

English 102-111

4 April 2012

Letter to Spencer Kiessling, Draft 1

Peer Review Letter to Spencer Kiessling for Essay 3

Dear Spencer,

            I enjoyed reading your essay on animal rights in the United States and the role PETA has in crusading for more awareness of the issue. It is a well-informed essay that, while informative, is easy to follow and understand. You clearly cover four distinct, independent perspectives that all have well-documented opinions on the issue, which helps the reader develop their own stance on the extreme measures PETA has taken.

There is little improvement that you can do in terms of the purpose of your essay. The prompt (Identify the individuals or groups of people interested in this issue, with a brief introduction to their positions. Describe at least four different positions on the issue, say who holds them, and give some of their reasons for holding them) is satisfied in full. The essay has solid transitions that do not inhibit the reader’s attention span, and it is brief enough (but not too brief) so that it is not overwhelming.

            I do have a few things I would like to bring up. Make sure for your information in the top left hand corner of the essay you change English 101 to English 102, which was most likely a slip up when you typed. I am not sure if there is a bibliography, or if it is just not included in what I was sent, but make sure that you have one. If you have information directly taken from sources, please cite them in your essay. Although I know that with these papers, where much of the essay is mere summary, citations aren’t always necessary.

EC for SWA#23

EXTRA CREDIT: In a separate document/blog post develop one of the main points from your outline into a paragraph using the sentence from the outline as the topic sentence for the paragraph. Include evidence from your sources. Post on your blog AND bring a hard copy to class!!!


II. One perspective of the issue is that the Catholic Church unanimously opposes the medical procedure of IVF because of various reasons.


     The Catholic Church is the most well-populated group of individuals that is officially against In Vitro Fertilization. While non-clergy members within the Church may have variations in their opinion on IVF, the clergy (individuals who are in charge of the Church), as well as the actual doctrine of the Church, does not give support. This is mainly for two reasons. The first reason is that they firmly believe humans should be conceived primarily through sex. While fertility drugs that can improve chances of becoming pregnant are generally supported, the actual act of IVF is a violation of the ethical standards of the Church. IVF, in their terms," dissociates the sexual act from the procreative act. The act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that "entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person," (Catechism of the Catholic Church). In essence, sex unifies a couple (presumably married) in both a procreative and physically fulfilling practice. If one side of the equation is taken away, then humans are engaging in ill-moral behavior. This is not only seen with IVF (taking physical satisfaction out of the act), but with using contraceptives during sex (removing the procreative aspect of sex). As such, In Vitro Fertilization does not unify man and woman- it gives science the power to unify a couple, not the God-given right to have sex. 

SWA #23

Assignment:

 Thesis: While the Catholic Church is completely against the practice of In Vitro Fertilization, bringing new children into the world is ultimately a good thing, regardless of some of the problems that the Church has with it.

 I. In Vitro Fertilization is a medical procedure that can impregnate a woman without sexual intercourse.
      A. In Vitro Fertilization uses sperm from a male and eggs from a female in the process. The the egg is fertilized by the sperm outside of the body.
     B. Sexual intercourse is not necessary for IVF because the woman is implanted with the embryo (combination of sperm and egg), whereas the natural method uses sexual intercourse to deposit sperm in the female's vagina, giving the female body a chance to fertilize the egg and create an embryo.
     C. In Vitro Fertilization is most often used for those who cannot conceive naturally: men and women who have fertility issues/defects that inhibit them from conceiving a child.

II. One perspective of the issue is that the Catholic Church unanimously opposes the medical procedure of IVF because of various reasons.
     A. Church doctrine teaches that sexual intercourse between a heterosexual married couple is done to bring the two together intimately, as well as to create children (note, the Catholic Church is against recreational sex; sex should be for procreative purposes only).
     B. Embryos (in Catholicism) are living beings: IVF practices have few restrictions in the preservation of embryos. IVF preparation often creates many embryos and only implants a few at a time, so that if a couple's pregnancy does not follow through until birth or the couple wants to have children after the first one, then they will have backup embryos.
     C. Once a couple either has the number of children they want, the unused embryos can be donated for research, or destroyed. Both of these choices are heavily opposed by the Church, as doing either method typically ends in the death of an embryo (in extension, this is the death of a human).

III. Regardless of the judgement the Catholic Church passes, IVF is a life-bringing process that should not be condemned. 
     A. IVF helps to bring joy and happiness to parents in a safe, legal manner.
     B. While people of all faiths or backgrounds may think drugs and alcohol abuse are evil, the Catholic Church is the only religious organization that openly criticizes IVF entirely.
     C. Other religions openly support IVF as a procreative and beneficial process that improves the lives of parents. Catholicism decrees that, while the children born from the process are not "evil" (as in the children are not unwanted creations), parents should avoid IVF because it takes away from sexual intercourse.


IV.  Arguments against the Church's Stance
     A. The Church believes that conception without sex does not leave the fate of a child with God; instead, a child's life from conception is controlled by science and doctors. However, I believe that God acts through everything (as does the Christian faith) and as a result, if He did not want IVF to be a medical procedure, He would not make it happen.
     B. Sex, the Church argues, brings two people together, whereas IVF does not. Yet if every person is created and has God-given flaws, infertility can be considered such a flaw. So, if God made it that these individuals cannot have sex in a procreative and unifying manner, IVF answers the prayers of those who want children yet cannot conceive naturally.
     C. Catholics argue that IVF is not necessarily a loving act such as sex. Although this may be true in an immediate physical aspect ( IVF does not simulate the hormonal and physical feelings that sex does), one can argue that going through a much more difficult and painful process such as IVF to achieve the same result is an equal act of love.
     D. As the old saying goes, "God works in mysterious ways," it is impossible to know the ultimate intentions of a deity. Despite the fact that the Catholic Church represents the will of the Lord, the people of the Church are not perfect. They are unable to completely know the Lord's will (something they admit to themselves), so it stands to be seen whether IVF is as condemnable as they say.
     E. Despite the inherent risks that IVF has for embryos that do not survive the procedure, I believe that giving the ability for people to have babies when they cannot otherwise is an incredible act of love that many of the clergy (who have willingly given up the right to have babies) may not fully understand. The desire for children, as it has been shown, can bring a person to conflict with their own faith and beliefs, yet people go ahead and do it in hopes of creating new joy in the world through children.

V. Solution
      A. Those who do IVF should not be discriminated against, nor should their children be considered "unwanted" babies. The Church should support the children produced by IVF because their doctrine is completely about loving all peoples, regardless of any social stigma.
      B. IVF should be more heavily regulated so that people can restricted from the act. More specifically, the elderly and those who cannot support children should have strict criteria placed around them so that they cannot create children. This is because the elderly will not be able to help children develop into adulthood (as they would have health issues/death to prevent them), and those who cannot support children (such as the financially poor or those with criminal records) may bring more burden into their lives.

SWA #22

• SWA #22: PRE-WORKSHEET for Essay 4. Post on your blog AND bring TWO hard copies to class!!!
• • (A) Prepare a paragraph or two describing a problem to be solved by the policy/proposal you are going to develop in essay 4. 
  • (B) Prepare a working thesis for Essay 4. 
  
  A) The problem of In Vitro Fertilization that I will attempt to find a solution to relates to IVF's most prominent opponent, the Catholic Church. Under Catholic Doctrine, those Catholics who do IVF, as well as other fertility medicines, are violating the "sanctity" of sexual intercourse. In Donum Vitae, the Church's official statement on IVF, sex is clearly defined as a procreative act intended to bring together man and wife. Nevertheless, one could argue that, because of the sincere love that exists between an infertile man and wife (or vice versa), it is as equally an act of love to struggle and try and have a child against what society may say, against what their family may say, and even against what their own religious doctrine may say. Despite being considered an "unnatural" act by many, In Vitro Fertilization is a procreative process that should be supported and nurtured as a way of bringing new joy into the world, regardless of whether sex is an aspect of it.
  
  B) Despite being considered an "unnatural" act by many, In Vitro Fertilization is a procreative process that should be supported and nurtured as a way of bringing new joy into the world, regardless of whether sex is an aspect of it.
  

SWA #21

Read: 

• CR: “How Much Are We Willing to Share?” Monica Potts
• CR: “Wall of Sound,” Nikil Saval

Assignment:

• SWA #21: Read one of the three student essays (see above and the Exploratory Paper folder) and answer the following questions on your blog:

1Q: What is the issue? Is its importance explained?
1A: " The main message involves the fact that the “1%”—the wealthiest Business owners and Government officials of America possess roughly half of America’s wealth, while many of the “99%” go jobless and often starve." The issue is clearly stated above, where the wealth of America is considered improperly distributed across the population. Nevertheless, the exact importance of the issue is not explained clearly, as the author assumes that the reader is one of those 99% who knows people who are jobless, who often starve, etc.

2Q:  Are four distinct perspectives easily identifiable? What are they? Is the thesis informative and concise?
2A: The four distinct perspectives are active protesters of the Occupy Movement, outside sympathizers of the movement that are not directly involved, political figures that oppose the movement, and concerned citizens that are directly affected by the movement. The thesis is a bit difficult (for myself) to find, but I think that the thesis examines the various sides of the issue to take a stance on why the Occupy Movement is a positive one for society.


3Q: Do the introduction and conclusion offer effective leads to and out of the argument? How do you know?
3A: Both the introduction and the conclusions offer effective transitions into the argument, but the conclusion lacks a sense of finale. It mirrors the overall introduction, and in my opinion, could almost serve as a better first paragraph than the introduction itself serves. The essay overall lacks a defining statement about the issue, as to whether it is good or bad, but I think that the author is taking the stance of Occupy as something good.                                                                                                                                           

4Q: Is the essay effective? Explain? What would you have suggested to the student writer if you had been partnered for peer review?

4A: I would consider the essay to be an effective one because the essay satisfies the prompt. Nevertheless, the author's work is weak grammatically and suffers from punctuation errors often. The introduction and conclusion paragraphs do lead onto the essay's main body (analyzing different groups' views on the subject), but the author fails to suggest a real claim about the movement. In addition, the author does not suggest counter-opinions from those who are against the Occupy movement, something that could help his essay.

SWA #20

John Morin

Professor Mikhaylova

English 102-111

21 March 2012

In Vitro Fertilization: An Ethical Debate Regarding

The Moral Justifications of the Practice:

An Annotated Bibliography

Schwartz, Lisa, Annie Chiu, Marcy Courtney, Lewis Krey, and Cecilia Schmidt-Sarosi. The Embryo versus     Endometrium Controversy Revisited as It Relates to Predicting Pregnancy Outcome in In-Vitro Fertilization–Embryo Transfer Cycles. Http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org. The Oxford Journal. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/12/1/45.full.pdf+html>.

 This experiment evaluates various embryonic and endometrial (variables involving the inner   membrane of the uterus) factors in relation to the success of pregnancies. Using various control groups, it is proven that the most powerful factor that attributes to a successful pregnancy (defined as a standard nine month period of carrying the baby, as well as a healthy birth for both parent and child) is the quality of the embryo. Specifically, it was suggested that IVF is a practical procedure to cause pregnancy, as the quality of embryos is observed and researched heavily during the process. In turn, IVF is seen by many as a successful practice for a couple to have a baby safely and successfully.

 Hope, Tony, Gill Lockwood, and Ryan Lockwood. Education and Debate An Ethical Debate: Should Older  Women Be Offered In Vitro Fertilisation? The Interests of the Potential Child. British MEdical Journal. British Medical Journal. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bmj.com/content/310/6992/1455.full>.

     The article discusses the pros and cons of offering older women (defined as forty years old and up) the option to have children via IVF. Morally, adoption vs. conception is evaluated, where the benefits of an older woman being offered a chance to have a baby is acceptable when statistically, "older" women have diminished chances of success in successfully carrying and delivering a child. Older women, in turn, will be in the life of the child less than a younger parent, which could have negative impacts on the child. In addition, a younger parent may be offered IVF more frequently than an older parent, so the bias is there.  

 "In Vitro Fertilization" Promoting Pregnancy Wellness : American Pregnancy Association. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. http://www.americanpregnancy.org/infertility/ivf.html.

     A basic summary of the process of In Vitro Fertilization, the website examines the steps and drugs used in IVF. In addition, the website argues for In Vitro Fertilization as a process that helps couples that cannot have babies, have babies.

 "Government Funding of IVF." PBS. PBS. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/babies-government-funding/.

     This article discusses and analyzes the history of U.S. support of In Vitro Fertilization. The reasons and motives for spending money on IVF, as well as the delays, hearings, and consequences of the acceptance of IVF.

 Van Voorhis, Bradley, MD. "In Vitro Fertilization."  New England Journal of Medicine, January 25, 2007.

     

     The article discusses the basic practices, ethical standards, and reasons for the medical practice, as well as the complications that are involved. Risks, areas of uncertainty, and strategies for the procedure are examined. Dr. Van Voorhis assumes that the reader has a basic understanding of the female pregnancy cycle, the fertilization process, and medical terms that, for the common person, are relatively simple to understand. He assumes no bias in his article (the article does not favor or condemn IVF). In addition, Dr. Van Voorhis gives data supporting his credibility within his article, as well as sources for his work.

 "In Vitro Fertilization." How-to-concieve.org. September 6, 2010

     This website is a guide for couples on how to conceive a child; the website's section of IVF is a summary of the practice of IVF, as well as a real-life story on a couple who conceived children via this process. The article goes into detail about the legal aspects of the practice-how embryos not used in the medical procedure are often thrown away or used for research, a practice that violates the moral codes of many religious and ethical groups (I.E. the Catholic Church). The costs for both the couple and the government are discussed, as well as the different regulations IVF faces in the US and in Europe.

Shea, John B. "Catholic Insight : Vatican : The Moral Status of in Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Biology and Method." Catholic Insight. Feb. 2003. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://catholicinsight.com/online/church/vatican/article_475.shtml>.

            A summary of the Catholic Church’s stance on IVF; the reasons for the Catholic Church’s adamant refusal to acknowledge that In Vitro Fertilization is a justifiable medical procedure that benefits the lives of God’s children. In essence, the Catholic Church condones both the doctors and the people trying to conceive children via IVF, as they willingly and fully consider the possibility of destroying excess embryos that are not fertilized within the uterus. In short, those who do IVF commit a mortal sin by killing a human being (for the Church, a zygote) when IVF is finished.