Almost every one of my friends are on "the pill." It's kinda funny, actually. It makes us girls look like we're always slutting it up or something. We're not. But it's just gotten so common for our generation and the ones coming. It's almost as common as taking a multi-vitamin.
Another common aspect of our generation and the ones coming up is population and global warming problems.
The government is not suggesting that by combining these two commonalities, our problems can be solved.
They're suggesting that women in developing countries be given prescriptions of birth control in order to slow the population rate. According to an article in the Associated Press, "more than 200 million women worldwide want contraceptives, but don't have access to them... [resulting] in 76 million unintended pregnancies every year.("Birth Control could Help Combat Climate Change" - AP)
76 million unintended pregnancies?!
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This is kinda weird to me. I don't know if it's ethical to give out birth control to everyone in a country in order to slow the population. I mean, it sounds worse than it actually is I guess. But I just don't get a good vibe from this approach.
What is taking it to far in journalism? Decades ago, people would never dare to step into the private life of athletes and celebrities but times have changed. People will do whatever it takes to get the breaking story. You have some news stations that simply sit and brainstorm and make up stories. I recently talked to a top journalism at NBC New York. She is a very talented journalism with strong morals. She went on to tell me, she feels terrible writing dirt about celebrities and athletes but she has to. She knows she will lose her job if she does not listen to her editor. It is not so much the writer as the pushy editor. The sad thing is though that its goes beyond the editor. Companies like New York Times who keep honest are failing in a tough economy like this. The editors have to keep up and to do that, they need the dirt and they have to destroy peoples lives but that does not make it morally right.
Another big thing that gets to me is putting Athletes up on pedestals. I know the Michael Phelps thing was much talked about with the picture of him smoking the bong but it is a perfect example. The kid is a pro. He also has to enjoy himself. We are so obsessed with the lives of athletes we take the small thing and turn them into a headline on every main news source. How would you feel if your life was in constant scrutiny? We should let the people live their lives. I understand hypocrisy in sports and I am against that but thats for a future blog. It is not like Michael took performance enhancing drugs and then told kids hard work got you to the top. He smoked a little bit of weed to let of some pressure. These athletes are put under so much pressure by we the fans. Maybe we should focus on our on lives and really put that under a microscope rather than criticizing Michael for going to a college party. That is what really needs to happen. Take a good look at your life and make some change to that instead of criticizing other's lives. The athletes are their for our entertainment. Your life without sports would be terrible for most of you, so why put this pressure on the athletes.
I am all too aware that it's a rough economy right now. Friends are getting laid off left and right, my savings account interest rate went from 5 percent down to practically nothing and most people I know are looking for creative ways to make money and save for the future.
Here's one unconventional option: don't get a second job; sell your eggs. I got into a half-joking, half-oh-my-god-you-can-really-sell-those-things conversation with a girlfriend of mine the other day on the topic. Apparently, fertility clinics and brokers will pay young women anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 to donate their eggs to couples who are unable to have children. The more desirable your traits are-- high SAT scores, athletic ability, stunning good looks-- the more marketable your potential offspring are.
It's a tempting prospect. I'm 25, I'm healthy, I may be biased, but I think I have some pretty fabulous genetics to offer... how much would my eggs go for on this fertility market? $10,000? Do I hear $15,000? $17,000? Going once, going twice, SOLD for $17,000! It's not as if I'm using the little guys for anything right now. They might as well go to a good home. I know couples who have struggled with fertility, and it's a frustrating and expensive process to try to get pregnant. I could help out deserving people who would be great parents, and I certainly wouldn't hate having an extra few thousand dollars in the bank.
On the other hand, selling eggs that will eventually become babies seems a little morally questionable. We can't legally sell babies, so should we be able to sell eggs? The American Society for Reproductive Medicine thinks it is inappropriate for egg donors to be compensated more than $10,000, but "elite" egg donor facilities argue that it's acceptable to bring in the specific donors their wealthy clients are looking for.
Plus, to be an egg donor, you have to run a pretty intense physical gauntlet-- from medical and psychiatric evaluations to fertility drug injections-- that can be risky or even fatal in rare cases. And, health risks aside, how would I feel knowing that some mini-me was running around out there somewhere? Would I be able to view them just as eggs, or would I want to know what happens to them as children? And what if they ended up going to someone crazy, like the Octomom?
I still haven't decided what I think about the egg sales business. It's a fine line between helping out people who desperately wanting children and exploiting their desperation for an exorbitant fee. What do you think? Is it morally and ethically acceptable to sell eggs to the highest bidder? Would you ever consider doing it?
