Timed Writing

In Campbell’s hero’s journey, there are three main steps that include 5-6 main features. The first is the Departure, which incorporates the call to adventure, refusal of the call, supernatural aid, crossing of the first threshold, and the belly of the whale. The premise of this section is the initial leaving process of the journey. The second main step is the Initiation. The initiation incorporates the road of trials, meeting with the goddess, woman as temptress, atonement with the father, apotheosis, and the ultimate boon. The initiation represents the bulk of the journey, it contains the hardest tests the hero will go through and is usually the reason the journey was started. The final step is the return, which includes refusal of return, the magic flight, rescue from without, the crossing of the return threshold, master of the two worlds and freedom to life. This final step demonstrates the hero gaining a sense of peace about his journey. He is able to juggle both worlds and live in peace, learning in many ways about his journey and his decision to return to the normal world.

My favorite reading from this class was Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway, mostly just because I really enjoy reading Hemingway. This story incorporates all the elements of Campbell’s hero’s journey. The departure is the least evident section in this work, but can be identified with the refusal of the call. The refusal of the call in this piece is the reluctance to obtain the abortion. The initiation is identified with the road of trials mainly, which is all the conversation they’re having, specifically when the man says “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s not really an operation at all,” which represents not only a path of decisions, but also the atonement with the father. The return is when they get back onto the train, and although the story ends without them doing so, it is implied that they do.

Another reading that exhibits Campbell’s hero’s journey is The Shadow of the Wind. The departure starts when the boy finds the book. The book represents the call to adventure, because it makes the boy want to read more of the author’s work and thus starts of his quest. The crossing of the first threshold is evident when the boy gets pretentious Barcelo to take him somewhat seriously and invites him to his bookstore. The road of trials represents the measures taken to achieve not only the invite to the bookstore, but the measures taken to attain respect from Barcelo. The meeting with the goddess is when the boy meets Clara, Barcelo’s blind niece. She represents the woman as temptress as well, since she has the information the boy wants. The atonement with the father takes place a few times in the first chapter, as the boy and the father are part of a team. The return is not clearly defined in the boy’s story, but rather in the story of Monsieur Roquefort. His return is the passing on of knowledge to Clara and her sister. His refusal is demonstrated in the way he refuses to give up searching for the writer and for other books written by Carax. He seemingly never fully achieves mastering both worlds or freedom.

My journey for Project 3 started off with the departure, which was leaving class and starting my paper. The call to adventure could be seen as the introduction of the assignment as it was then that I realized I would have to create this project. The crossing of the first threshold for my project would be when I found my sources that I would write letters to. As for the Initiation, I started with the road of trials, which was sending out letters to the various organizations. This was a trial because it was hard to find contact information. The Ultimate boon relates to this timed write, because it is the final aspect of my project that needs to be completed. The return has not yet occurred in this project, it will be the final grade. I see the refusal of return as my refusal to give up in this class. I’m trying to re-write anything I can for that A. In order to achieve that A, I need a rescue from without, from the professor. Only then will I have freedom to live, which in my life translates to freedom to transfer to USF.

Project 3

Issues/sources:
Federal Abortion Ban/Planned Parenthood - http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/abortion/case-14347.htm

Parental Consent Law/Texas Alliance for Life - http://www.texasallianceforlife.org/legislation_main.htm

Unequal Access to Abortion/National Abortion Federation - http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/access/index.html


Annotated Bibs:

"Unequal Access to Abortion." National Abortion Federation (2003) 01 MAY 2008 .

Summary: This article directly pertains to my research paper because it deals with access to abortion. It discusses how many women, even in the U.S., do not have access to abortions. Some of these women are held back because of location, but many are held back because of lack of information. In Canada, the main problem preventing women from getting abortions is the lack of providers. The National Abortion Federation is in the process of increasing availability to abortions across the U.S. and Canada through their Access Initiative Program. The National Abortion Federation is also working hard to prevent hospitals, such as the hospital at New Brusnwick, from terminating their abortion services by writing letters of protest.

Quotes:
1. "The most recent survey found that 87% of all U.S. counties have no identifiable abortion provider."
2. "State laws...make getting an abortion more complicated than is medically necessary, and fewer hospitals [are] providing abortion services."
3. "Women from diverse backgrounds face unique cultural and information barriers to obtaining information about pregnancy options and safe, high quality abortion care."


Pojman, Joe. "Statewide Pro-Life Organization to Push Adoption of Parental Consent for Abortion Bill." Texas Alliance for Life 16 DEC 2004 01 MAY 2008 .

Summary: This article is mainly about the laws in Texas that notify parents that their child is getting an abortion. Although these laws already exist, many conservatives in the state believe they are not enough. Currently, a parent is notified by phone and email, but the conservatives argue that this is not efficient enough. They are proposing a law that would require parents to submit a written affidavit of parental consent. This would require extensive time and also it would require the parents to visit a lawyer to obtain the document. Needless to say, I think this is absurd. My father is a lawyer so I understand the time that would go into obtaining an affidavit because I work for him during the summer.

Quotes:
1. "In Texas, parents have no right to intervene when a physician seeks to perform an abortion on their young daughter."
2. "Abortion is major surgery and parents are left in the dark. We want to restore parents’ rights to protect the health and well-being of their little girls."
3. "Texas law currently requires abortion providers to attempt to notifiy parents that their minor daughter seeks to have an abortion. However, the notification law is inadequate. Parental notifications by phone or mail may never reach a parent or guardian because messages can be left at the wrong phone number or wrong address."


"U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Federal Abortion Ban." Planned Parenthood 01 MAY 2008 .

Summary: This article is about the Federal Abortion Ban passed in 2003. It makes it a crime to obtain an abortion into and after the second trimester of pregnancy. Doctors say this is the healthiest time to get an abortion, not to mention it enables women to make educated, informed decisions on something that will greatly impact their life. Planned Parenthood is greatly opposed to this law, which attempts to take away from a woman's right to choose. The article is very against President Bush as he is a great pro-life supporter. It states that we have taken a step back since the time of roe v. wade, and that Planned Parenthood plans to do something about it.

Quotes:
1. "The ban criminalizes abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy that doctors say are often the safest and best to protect women's health."
2. "If President Bush were given a free hand to nominate ideological hardliners to the court, the U.S. Supreme Court would undermine protections for women's health and safety."
3. "The Supreme Court ruled that politicians now will be making medical decisions instead of women and doctors."

lesson plan project 3

title - making the right choices
Concept/Topic - Which choices are good choices
Standards - Phonics/Word Analysis, Reading Comprehension, Writing Process
General Goals - teach students they will be rewarded for good decisions and held back if they make bad choices.
specific objectives - they will know to go to class, to do homework, to not do drugs, to not eat bad food, to eat their vegetables, etc.
Required Materials - board, cards that go with it, one die, game pieces
Anticipatory set - talk about choices in life and how they can affect you negatively or positively.
Procedure:
1. Put students into groups (any size)
2. roll dice to see who goes first (highest)
3. roll to see how many spaces you go
4. whichever color the student lands on, they choose that color card and pick A B or C
5. a - move forward 2 spaces
b - move back 2 spaces
c - move forward 4 spaces
6. the first to reach the end wins.
Independent Practice - play the game on their own
Closure - ask a final set of choices
Assessment - whoever wins gets candy
Adaptations - none, its a simple game
Extensions - have to go around the board twice
Possible Connections - have to write out their answers to incorporate english and spelling

letter to planned parenthood

Alexa Battisti

4200 54th Avenue S.

Box 171

St. Petersburg, FL 33711

4/30/08

State Public Affairs Office: Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates

6623 Gateway Avenue, Unit A

Sarasota, FL 34231

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m at 19 year old student at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL.  I have been doing a paper on women’s health issues and my research constantly led me to your website.  I’m writing to you concerning your stance on the abortion debate.  Personally, I am pro-choice and support everything your organization is doing.  Do you believe that the abortion debate will ever be solved?  Or that it will ever be completely legal?  With as religious as America is as a whole right now, is there really a chance?  Is there any concrete evidence of when life begins?  I’m concerned about the future of America, I’m concerned that we won’t always have this freedom, and if we give the government the right to choose what to do with our bodies then what’s next?  

I’d really appreciate a reply to this.

Sincerely,

[going to mail]

letter to texas alliance for life

Alexa Battisti

4200 54th Avenue S.

Box 171

St. Petersburg, FL 33711

4/30/08

Texas Alliance for Life

Executive Director

Joe Pojman, Ph.D.

Joe@texasallianceforlife.com

Dear Joe,

I’m at 19 year old student at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL.  I have been doing a paper on women’s health issues and my research led me to your website.   I’m writing to you concerning your stance on the abortion debate.  

Why do you believe women do not have the right to choose what happens to our bodies?  How can you, as a man, relate to what we go through?  By having abortion illegal after the second trimester of pregnancy, the government is rushing women into decisions they don’t have time to be properly informed about.  If abortion were made illegal altogether, it would force women to visit less-developed countries to obtain them, where they would be put into great risks because the people giving abortions might not have the proper credentials.  Wouldn’t it be better to just allow them here, where we can insure the woman will be safe?

America is all about freedom.  If we give the government permission to control what goes on inside a woman’s body, that’s only the first step.  What’s next?  Do you honestly want the government to have that much control over your life?  That goes against the principles this country was founded on.

I’d appreciate it if you’d reply.

Sincerely,

Alexa Battisti

letter to national abortion federation

Alexa Battisti

4200 54th Avenue S.

Box 171

St. Petersburg, FL 33711

4/30/08

National Abortion Federation

Naf@prochoice.org

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m at 19 year old student at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL.  I have been doing a paper on women’s health issues and my research constantly led me to your website.   I’m writing to you concerning your stance on the abortion debate.  

First of all, let me start off by saying that I fully support your organization and truly believe the government should not have a say in our health issues.  What exactly is your organization doing to lobby against the government for legalized abortion?  What is your stance on the federal abortion ban that George Bush signed in 2003, making all abortions after the second trimester of pregnancy illegal?  Do you feel schools across the country should be doing more to educate the public on this issue, despite its controversy?

Personally, I feel that if abortion is made fully illegal, then that is only the first step in the government trying to control our lives.  If you agree with this stance, what do you feel will be next?

I’d really appreciate a reply, thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Alexa Battisti

[emailed]

3 selected organizations

Planned Parenthood - 

State Public Affairs Office: Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates 
6623 Gateway Avenue, Unit A
Sarasota, FL 34231

Texas Alliance for Life -
Executive Director
Joe Pojman, Ph.D.
(512) 477-1244
joe@texasallianceforlife.org

National Abortion Federation 1660 L Street, NW, Suite 450 Washington, DC 20036
	Phone: Fax: Email:	202-667-5881 202-667-5890 naf@prochoice.org

research paper

Alexa Battisti

Project 2

Kat Robinson

Analytic and Persuasive Writing

4/25/08

Since the dawn of time, women around the world have struggled to attain the freedoms and equal treatment from men that modern women enjoy today. Women have had to battle against oppressive minds for the rights to vote and to own property and are still fighting for equal work opportunities and equal pay as men. In today's societies across the globe, women are in a constant struggle with their respected governments in matters such as health care and availability or access to abortions. A noticeable difference in the nature of difficulties that women face will come about between developed and undeveloped nations further on in this paper.  Access to women’s healthcare is significantly lower in less-developed nations.  Even the most affluent and well-developed countries in the world still have major flaws in their health systems for women, and it is important that they are recognized so the discrepancies can be prevented.

According to Kaiser's Women's Health Survey, the most difficult problems American women face in receiving the medical attention they need are sky-high insurance rates, costly prescriptions, sub-par preventive care, and trouble accessing medical care in the first place (1).  Kaiser's Survey estimates that over one in four non-elderly, American women delayed or went without the medical assistance that they thought they needed because of high expenses (2). In the complex realm of medical insurance, many women do not get equal opportunities in attaining it.  This shows that in America, the main problem is cost, rather than access, of healthcare.

Since many women with families are expected to take on the responsibility of rearing the children, they choose to remain stay-at-home mothers or work from home and therefore pass up the insurance that most men enjoy from big companies and corporations.  This causes them to rely on men for healthcare benefits.  Despite putting in just as much effort as any other person with a career, these women are unjustly unrecognized and ignored by health care professionals. The Kaiser Survey affirms these facts with a study that states “eight in ten mothers/guardians say they have lead responsibility for choosing their children's doctors (79%), taking them to appointments (84%), and ensuring they receive follow-up care (78%)” (Graham 2).  Women are still struggling to get the medical attention they require in one of the most powerful and culturally evolved nations in the world today, not just in under developed nations.

In contrast, India, with a population of over a billion, is one of the largest countries in the world as well as one of the least sophisticated. The prejudice against the female population is both shocking and extreme. Because women occupy such a low status and often go through life uneducated, their health care and medical treatment run parallel. According to Velkoff and Adlakha's article “Women's Health in India,” there is such a strong preference for sons in India that there are over 35 million “missing women” who should be a part of the population, but are unaccounted for (3). “This deficit of females is due to higher female than male mortality rates for every age group up to 30.” (Velkoff and Adlakha 7).  The fertility rate is at a dangerous number for poorer women in India, due to their poor levels of healthcare.  For example, “Utter Pradesh, the most populous state in India, has a total fertility rate of over 5 children per woman. On the other hand, Kerala, which has relatively high levels of female education and autonomy, has a total fertility rate under 2” (Velkoff and Adlakha 2).  The reason the fertility rate in poorer cities is much high is the desperate desire to have a strong son who can do the necessary work for survival and who can help his family.  As a result, many women in these countries, such as Ghana, Chad, and Iraq, try many times to get pregnant in hopes that they will have a boy.  Multiple pregnancies can deteriorate a woman's nutritional status and can lead to problems such as premature births and low birth-weight babies (Velkoff and Adlakha 2).  These health risks are often exacerbated in the poverty-stricken areas because these women do not have any access to medical treatment, and even in places where they might find it, they lack the financial means to fund their healthcare, drawing a similarity to the United States.  Because the fertility rate in India is such an important issue, Velkoff and Adlakha suggest delivering information mainly to uneducated women about contraceptives (4). India's current growth rate, which is in exponential form, is dangerous to the health of its women as well as the welfare of the rest of the world.  Access to better healthcare and the equal treatment of men and women could help to alleviate these problems.

The healthcare issues in places such as India and Saudi Arabia draw many local women to abortion.  Abortion is one of the most hotly debated topics around the globe, often causing a division in communities between those who believe that a woman has the right to choose and those who believe that the baby has a right to live.  There are various political groups supporting each stance, and it’s impact on American life is evident in everything from bumper stickers to it being one of the main topics in the upcoming presidential race.  The American organization Planned Parenthood, which is a nonprofit association that assists Americans in pregnancy and STD prevention and control, states that President Bush signed the federal abortion ban in 2003 (1). This ban made all abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy illegal, which outraged many feminists and women's right activists because many doctors say that these abortions are the most safe and effective in protecting women's health.  In rebuttal, religious groups, such as the Roman-Catholic church, argue that the fetus is a person at this point.  Although this ban does not make all abortions illegal, it forces women to make hastier and riskier decisions that will affect their lives forever.  By not having the option of waiting until the second trimester, most American women do not have the time to make an educated decision.

In contrast, China, another extremely developed country, actively encourages abortion, according to the article “Gender and Women’s Health” (2). The New York Times recently reported that the Chinese government has decided that after twenty-five years of their “One Child Policy” (which basically means that each married couple can only have one child) that they will continue to enforce this law for an additional decade (1).  This policy has caused mixed reactions from other countries throughout the world, ranging from admiration for their efforts in population control, to scorn for their brutally high numbers of purposefully induced abortions. Because China is such a male-dominated society, many women are often forced to have abortions if they discover that they are pregnant with a daughter, as opposed to a son. This cruel practice has produced a staggering “gender imbalance that has raised concerns that there may be too few women in the future” (Yardley 1). 

Abortion in under-developed countries often goes unchecked and is rarely illegal, but the people who perform the procedures may not hold the proper credentials.  In one sense, this gives people in less-developed countries an advantage for the access to abortions, but in another aspect they lack the proper education, tools and preparedness for a safe and healthy procedure.  These abortions, although often cheap and afford the woman the right to choose to give birth or not, are extremely dangerous and run a high-risk mortality rate. Considering all of this, abortion is a very complex and pressing issue on current female populations, but there is definitely potential to find a fair resolution in the future.  Many argue that abortion is wrong, both morally and physically.  Some say abortions physically harm the woman, causing complications ranging from problems in future pregnancies to even death.  Others are opposed to the killing of an innocent child, although there is even more debate as to when a fetus is considered human.  Another point of view against abortion cites the mental state of the woman afterward, who many times expresses regret and guilt.  The Christian organization Pro Life’s slogan is “helping mom’s, saving babies, and ending abortion!” and their website features numerous testimonials of women that have had traumatic experiences regarding abortion.  One woman claims she was “made to believe that I was doing something that was as natural as going to the dentist for a teeth cleaning” (Pro Life).

Women's health is a big issue throughout the world. Women living in different parts of the world experience different health problems and difficulties with their governments, ranging from access to funding, from religion to laws.  It is usually the case that the women living in poorer conditions have the highest health risk and many efforts are being made to calm down the critics.  However, it should not be assumed that only women in poorer countries experience difficulties and health risks.  Many women in the United States experience problems with access to healthcare and the lack of financial wealth to fund it.  They also experience the same problems as women do abroad with the lack of access to abortion, because some women need abortions because of things like ectopic pregnancies and unhealthy blood pressure, but are unable to receive them due to laws put in place by their government to protect their baby, even if it means killing them.  Works Cited

Farr, Kathryn. Sex Trafficking: The Global Market of Women and Children. 2nd ed. New York: Worth Publishers, 2005. 

Planned Parenthood. 2005. Planned Parenthood Organization. 4 Apr. 2008 . 

Annotated Bibliography on Women's Issues in Pakistan. 2007. United Nations Common Library. 4 Apr. 2008 .

Gender and Sexual Health. 2005. RHO Cervical Cancer. 4 Apr. 2008 .

Women's and Gender Studies. 2003. Sonoma University. 4 Apr. 2008 . 

Women and Health Care: A National Profile. 7 July 2005. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. 4 Apr. 2008 . 

"U.S. Census Bureau." 14 OCT 2004 21 MAY 2008 .