LegendaryLife Blog

Although this documentary was done in the early 1980s, the same issues are alive and well today. From forced abortions in China to fit the “one child policy” to mothers who aren’t ready for the burden of motherhood. Abortion isn’t an easy topic to tackle but this documentary does a fantastic job of outlining the situations real women face on a daily basis around the world.

Summary

• old seminary transformed into an abortion clinic
• pregnancy termination is a very complex issue and a very difficult situation for many woman to deal with even once they have entered the clinics wall
• Christian group try to trick woman away from their choice to have an abortion
• abortionist has no problem with this title but does have problem with being defined only as an abortionist when the doctor provides far more services to the woman then simply pregnancy termination services
• clinic offers counseling for each of the patients before and after the procedure
• Christians essentially equate a first term child with a fully developed human being but in a smaller form factor
• many of the woman seeking abortions do so because of financial and societal pressures that would adversely affect their life in a negative way
• woman seeking abortions seem to come from dysfunctional families on the lower side of the economical and educational ladder (at least in this documentary)
• abortion occurs in a very clinical setting by people who are professionals at dealing with the various issues associated with the procedure
• entire abortion takes only a few minutes to perform from start to finish and seems like a relatively painless procedure when compared to childbirth
• emotional impact doesn’t seem to hit the patient until after the procedure is completed
• first trimester material is mostly placental, not a fully formed small human being that Christians anti-abortionists claim
• abortionist admits that second term abortions can take their toll emotionally, hence, first term abortions are preferred (sooner is always better)
• anti-abortionists try to associate an emotional connection with their unborn child, giving it human traits such as ability to suck their thumb, heartbeat, brainwaves, bowel movements etc.
• interesting anti-abortionist quote: “it’s not whether to have a baby or not, the baby is already there, the question is what to do with the baby”
• anti-abortionists focus on the graphic nature of having an abortion performed instead of the emotional, lifelong toll of woman having children they cannot take care of
• dedication of both anti-abortionists and doctors performing abortions for their causes is admirable
• clinical counseling asks very tough questions to the soon to be potential patient and lets them know that alternatives are available
• anti-abortionists paint a rosy picture of what happens if they keep the baby no matter how bad their situation in life really is

Interesting Observations

I am sure that having an abortion is a very difficult decision for any woman to face no matter their socio-economical background but in this documentary, I am surprised at how down and out the woman really are. Their decisions are not based on the love for their child but on the burden it may have on them and their family. Another interesting observation is how the boyfriend during the two abortions performed on camera are nowhere to be seen and aren’t the most upstanding citizens to begin with. On a final note, if you take away the religious philosophies behind the anti-abortionists beliefs, their arguments have absolutely no legs to stand on.

The Bottom Line

Abortion should be a freely available option for any woman who thinks, justifiably or not, that she isn’t really for motherhood.

Buzzvia

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/twenty/watch/abortion.html

Being the eldest child, I find it interesting that a study by the Norway National Institute of Occupational Health along with the Norwegian Armed Forces Medical Services have reached a conclusion that I knew all along. First born children have a higher IQ then their siblings

Military Statistics

Based off over 240 thousand Norwegian men drafted in the arms forces during roughly a decade at about 18-19 years of age here is what they found.

• IQ of first born male was 103.2
• IQ of second born male was 101.2 (102.9 if first born brother died)
• IQ of third born male was 100 (103 if first two brothers died)

Why this makes sense

As this study proves my own bias, I am not going to be balanced. I believe this makes logical sense because the first born gets more attention then the subsequent siblings. I was the first to talk, the first to eat, the first to comb my hair and walk. By the time the second child comes along, the newness of this has faded slightly and so forth. What this means is that I, as a first born, got more attention (directly or indirectly) then the next ones in line. This extra attention lead to increases in intellectual stimulation, allowing me to develop quicker. In nature, this also makes sense as the first born may have to take care of the siblings in case the parents got eaten by a Saber Tooth Tiger. Higher IQ would allow me to outsmart the siblings and take care of them better to help pass on our collective genes. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but as this doesn’t prove my biased case, it will be ignored I am sure the same holds true to first born daughters as well.

The Bottom Line

First born are smarter… now we finally have proof!

References

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3302770

Each year, the United States Social Security Administration (USSSA) releases the top baby names for the previous year, with related statistics based on 4.2 million Social Security Card requests. I use to have a client that had 3 employees with the same name as mine so it was utter confusion when ever anybody wanted to ask a colleague a question… anyways, here are the results for last year!

Top 10 names

For ease, I have stuck a number beside each name to indicate that names position in 2005, I have added the origin and meaning of the name as well just to give you that much more irrelevant data for the day.

Boys

1. Jacob (1 / Hebrew meaning supplanter)
2. Michael (2 / Hebrew meaning who is like God)
3. Joshua (3 / Hebrew meaning Jehovah saves)
4. Ethan (5 / Hebrew meaning strong)
5. Matthew (4 / Hebrew meaning gift from God)
6. Daniel (7 / Hebrew meaning God is my judge)
7. Christopher (9 / Greek meaning Bearer of Christ)
8. Andrew (6 / English meaning Man or Warrior)
9. Anthony (8 / Latin without any special meaning)
10. William (11 / German meaning desire or will)

Girls

1. Emily (1 / German meaning industrious)
2. Emma (2 / Teutonic meaning universal)
3. Madison (3 / English meaning good)
4. Isabella (6 / Hebrew meaning My God is a vow)
5. Ava (9 / Afghan meaning voice)
6. Abigail (4 / Hebrew meaning Father in rejoicing)
7. Olivia (5 / Latin meaning olive)
8. Hannah (7 / Hebrew meaning grace or favor)
9. Sophia (11 / Greek meaning wisdom)
10. Samantha (8 / Aramaic meaning listener)

Interesting Observations

• top 3 names of 2005 happen to be the same as in 2006… In the exact same order!
• Biblical names are still en vogue with parents for guys while for girls, traditional were in
• if you are an Atheist and your name is Daniel, now you know why you where born with an internal conflict of interest
• parents act like Lemmings! Mom spends 9 months with a developing child inside of her and the best name parents can think of is the same as everybody else?

Name and Race

I read a while back in a magazine that a name actually shows a lot to others who have never seen you as to your background. For instance, if you had the name Alberto then many people would assume you are from an Italian ancestry while something like Malik would make others assume you are from an African (American) one. My suggestion is that, rightly or wrongly, your child will be judged based on their first and last name throughout their life… so why not come up with something that would give others either no clue or something spectacular. When I have children, if it’s a guy, it will probably be Matrix, Magnison and/or Excalibur while for gals it would be something like… well, I will let my partner at the time choose. I believe the name should be chosen by the parent who is of the same sex as the child, this way, the child always knows who to blame if they hate their name!

The Bottom Line

Each child is as unique as their fingerprint… please… PLEASE don’t burden them with one of these top 10 2006 names in 2007!

References

http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/baby-names2006-pr.htm