Final Paper

The Net’s Influence: How Women's Tennis & Social Justice Have Gone Hand in Hand

            “Venus wanna win Wimbledon, Serena wanna win the US Open.  And when I think about that, there are times you know – I wonder what I would do.  And I know what I would do now.  I would go back to the ghettos of Compton, and get some of those gang members who used to protect my daughters from other gang members.  And uh - I would go get the members of the Crips and bring them to the US Open and Wimbledon. And they would sit in box seats, and they would sit there and watch my daughter.”  This is a quote from a very proud Richard Williams, the father of Venus Ebony Starr and Serena Jameka, in 1992 (TWS, 2012).  The sisters, who currently have an impressive twenty-two Grand Slam titles and eight Olympic Gold medals between them, were naturals from the very start (Wertheim, 2010).   These two African-American women have not only been phenomenal on the tennis courts, but they have also showed people that tennis is not just for people with wealthy backgrounds (Sullivan, 2012).  Tennis is a sport for people from all walks of life.  The Williams sisters proved that, and they have had the help of tennis stars before them including Althea Gibson, Martina Navratilova, and the later Maria Sharapova. 

            Both Venus and Serena began playing tennis at age four with their father being their coach.  They practiced on courts in Compton, the “low-income, gang-afflicted hub city outside Los Angeles.”  It was said that the girls had an upbringing that was as stable as you could have in Compton back then (Sullivan, 2012).  At age eight, Venus was dubbed the “Ghetto Cinderella” while gunfire was occurring in the park as she was practicing on the tennis courts nearby.

            Richard Williams did not want his daughters to grow up in a poverty and crime-ridden area.  In 1991, Richard invited Rick Macci, a well-known tennis teaching professional, to come watch Venus play.  When Macci was asked about the call his response was, “Richard said he’d like to meet me but the only thing he could promise me was that I wouldn’t get shot.  All I could think of was: ‘Who is this guy?’  After I footed the bill for a flight to L.A. Richard picks me up in this Volkswagen bus that has dents all over it. There were tennis balls, clothes, McDonald’s wrappers, Coke cans, everything scattered throughout this wobbly bus.  It was 7:30 in the morning when we arrived at East Rancho Dominguez Park, and there must have been thirty guys there already playing basketball and another twenty lying in the grass passed out.”  Despite their hometown, after Rick Macci’s visit it wasn’t long before Venus Williams, “the little girl from the ghetto playing tennis as gang-fire rattled the spray-painted windscreen,” started to make headlines (Wimmer, 2000).

            In 1991, the family moved to Florida, and at the same time both girls were taken out of the Junior Tennis Circuit by their father.  Despite their stunning records – Venus had won 63 of her 63 Junior Tournaments by age 12 and Serena at age 11 had won 50 of 52 tournaments– Richard believed that they were too young and would be burned out and ruined if they started competing so young (TWS, 2012).  While many people criticized this move, their father knew it was the right option for the girls and their future. 

            It wasn’t until three years later, in 1994, that Venus played competitively again.  She was “hardly the gangly kid from Compton anymore,” as she stood nearly six feet tall.  She won her first pro-match against a lower ranking player at the time.  It was an impressive match, but she had to face a tough competitor in the next round of the tournament.  She was up against one of the top players in the world, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.  Venus was winning at the beginning of the match 3-1, but Arantxa used a slippery veteran move and took a bathroom break.  Venus then lost her momentum and lost the match.  However, she seemed to be the only one who cared about the loss.  Everyone else was extremely impressed with her opening act.  Based on one professional tournament, Venus Williams then signed a deal in May of 1995 with Reebok.  It was an unprecedented five-year $12 million deal.  It was “the kind of loot usually commanded by established pro male athletes” (Roberts, 2005).   

            Unfortunately, Serena’s professional tennis debut did not go as well.  On their way to the tournament, they missed their plane and misplaced several of Serena’s tennis racquets.  Serena played the “unimpressed and unassuming” Anne Miller who beat Serena in a crushing 6-1, 6-1 match.  Serena and Richard were crushed by her debut match, but nothing could shake their confidence (Roberts, 2005). 

            The two black girls who were trying to find their spot in the professional circuit were getting criticism thrown at them from the players within the tennis community; as the girls were handling their peers’ snarky remarks the public’s fascination grew.   When Oracene Williams, Venus and Serena’s mother, was asked about the pressure her girls felt, her response was this: “There’s no such thing as pressure.  As black Americans, that’s all we’ve ever had.  It’s life.  So where’s the pressure?  It’s like squish them down, they can’t have that confidence.  I teach my kids to live in reality.  You’re black, you always have to work harder, but you don’t have to prove yourself to anybody.  I don’t expect you to, and I don’t expect you to apologize. Ever” (Roberts, 2005).

            The Williams sisters certainly are not the first African-American professional tennis players.  Before them came a female player by the name of Althea Gibson, who was often referred to as “the groundbreaker” (Wimmer, 2000).  Althea made tennis history by becoming the first black person – man or woman – to play in a major United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) sanctioned event. 

            In her early days, Gibson dominated the Cosmopolitan Club, which was New York’s most prestigious black tennis club.  Her game developed very quickly and after just one short year of taking lessons she entered into her first tournament in 1943.  Her first tournament was called the ATA’s (all-black American Tennis Association) New York State Open Championship, which she won.  She won the ATA’s New York State Open Championship again in 1944 and 1945.  Then in 1946, at age eighteen, Althea moved from the girls’ division to the women’s division of ATA competition.  In her first women’s division championship match Gibson lost to a respected player, but she did catch the eye of two ATA officials who were interested in the promotion of black tennis players. 

            These two ATA officials guided and coached Gibson for a year and in 1947 Althea Gibson won the first of her 10 consecutive women’s ATA national championship titles.  While Gibson was busy dominating the ATA circuit, the two ATA officials were working to get her entered into USLTA (United States Lawn Tennis Association) events, which at that point had only had white participants.  After many trials, struggles, and much discrimination Gibson received an invitation from the USTLA to play in the national championships at Forest Hills in1950.  She made it to the second round of the tournament and then lost to the reigning Wimbledon champion. 

            However, despite Gibson’s loss at her first USTLA appearance, she became the first black person to play at Wimbledon in 1952.  She advanced to the quarterfinals before losing.  By 1952, Gibson had shocked the world once again and was ranked ninth in the USLTA standings.  Gibson had a few rough years from 1953-1955, but during the 1956 season Althea Gibson won 16 out of the18 tournaments in the professional circuit.  Additionally, on May 20, 1956 Gibson won the French Open Championships becoming the first black person in history to win a major tennis singles title, but Althea Gibson couldn’t stop there.  She then went on to win additional Wimbledon and US National titles.  In 1957, Althea became the number one female tennis player in the world. Also, in 1957 and 1958 the Associated Press named her the Female Athlete of the Year. 

            Gibson retired from tennis in 1958, but this woman could not stop for great because she wanted to be remarkable.  In the early 1960’s Gibson took up golf and broke another color barrier by becoming the first black woman to hold a Ladies Professional Golf Association player’s card.  This astounding woman broke the color barrier for all of the great black athletes that came after her (Woolum, 1992). 

            Another tennis player who broke down the barriers for future athletes was Martina Navratilova.   Navratilova had an absolutely stunning won-loss record of 427 wins and only 14 losses over her professional career.  She revolutionized the way women trained for matches by establishing daily weight training, running, and nutrition program.   Martina Navratilova was the prominent women’s tennis champion in the 1980’s.  She was the number one ranking women’s tennis player in 1978 and for fourteen consecutive years she was ranked among the top three players in the world (Woolum, 1992).   

            However, her amazing talent and spectacular wins are not what made her so famous in the record books.  Martina Navratilova was the first openly lesbian professional tennis player in history.  She did not receive endorsements like all of her competitors because of her sexual orientation.  One source states that “Navratilova never stopped doing or saying what she believed as she went on to dominate women’s tennis, even though endorsements never came.  People made wisecracks about her sexuality and the physicality she brought to women’s sports, failing to acknowledge that the sort of training regimen and support team she first embraced is now commonplace for athletes” (Howard, 2005).  Throughout her whole professional career reporters and public speculated about her sexual orientation, and when it became clear to fans that she was a lesbian, her star power decreased significantly (Fuller, 2006). 

            Despite the criticism from the public, Navratilova stood up for what she believed was fair and just.  She contributed as much to the gay rights movement as she did to tennis.  Navratilova did not hide her feelings in order to gain fame, endorsements, and money.  She not only acknowledged that she was a lesbian, she campaigned on behalf of gay issues.  When Chris Evert, a tennis rival from Navratilova’s professional days, was asked about Martina she recalled, “She revolutionized the game; she brought a fresh new honesty.  She’s never been afraid to speak out or say what she really thinks” (Smith, 1998). 

            Another player who is not afraid to speak her mind is Maria Sharapova.  Maria began playing in the professional circuit at an extremely young age; she was only 14 years old.  When interviewed by TransWorld Sports she was referred to as the “best in the world for her age.”  Additionally, by age 14 she had earned a remarkable eight junior titles.  Her coach referred to her as “very selfish,” but that is also what he stated allows a player to reach the top.  (TWS, 2002).

            Maria Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon at age 17, and by age 20 she had already won three Grand Slam titles.  The extremely talented Maria Sharapova is only 25 years old and she is already the world’s highest-earning female sports star.  Of the top ten earners in women’s sports, six others are Sharapova’s on-court rivals. 

            Tennis has the highest earning women athletes out of any other sport in the world.  Women’s tennis is a worldwide sport where spectators can turn on their televisions to “watch the world’s richest sportswomen trying to obliterate one another.”  Women’s tennis is an extremely global sport.  During the 2011 season, viewership of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments increased by 73% globally.  Additionally, the overall broadcast time and the tournament attendance both rose by 12%.  It has been said that “The WTA, is probably the only entity able to offer a truly global platform in women’s sport” (Adams, 2012). 

            It is clear that women tennis players earn more than their peers who play other sports.  However, when female professional tennis players are compared to their male counterparts a different story arises.  For example, the male professional players competed for $130 million dollars in prize money throughout 2012, but the women’s professional circuit only competed for $96 million.  Not only is there a monetary difference, but there is a difference between the time and type of media coverage female athletes receive versus male athletes.  Studies of broadcast coverage of women’s sports have discovered that less than five percent of televised or newspaper stories are devoted to female athletics or athletes.  Additionally, the type of coverage differs greatly between the genders.  The female athletes receive half the coverage of male athletes in text and visuals. 

            Needless to say when the women are featured for a sports story the subject matter is typically quite different than if a male was being interviewed.  The media portrays female athletes by overemphasizing femininity and a sex appeal.  Many of the interviews will “strike against mental toughness and physical strength” in women’s tennis.  The tennis announcers will typically refer to the women players as “sweet” and “gracious” while the men are referred to as “tough” and “hard-nosed.”  The age and cuteness of women tennis players has always been overemphasized (Fuller, 2006).

            Age, sexual orientation, race, and economic background are things that used to prevent women from playing the timeless sport of tennis.  However, there have been strong, courageous, and outspoken women who have paved the way for those in the future.  Venus and Serena Williams proved that tennis is not a “rich girl sport.”  Althea Gibson broke the color barrier for all black athletes.  Martina Navratilova showed the world that your sexual orientation is not a deciding factor in how well you play the game, and Maria Sharapova proved that you are never too young to follow your dreams and compete.  All of these talented and brave women have opened the doors for the many young women who dream to follow in their footsteps, and if they do, women’s tennis will continue as one of the most uplifting and entertaining sports on the planet.   

Works Cited attached in email.  Will give upon request.  

Holiday Shoppe!

Today I volunteered with the Holiday Shoppe.  We went to Walmart and shopped for two hours for coats, hygiene products, toys, and other fun items for children ages 0-18.  It was a really fun experience and very rewarding knowing that many children's faces were going to light up on Christmas morning, and I had a part in putting that smile there.

While shopping, I not only got to spend time with other Wartburg students who were volunteering, but I also got to reflect on how blessed I have been.  I have never woken up on Christmas morning wondering if Santa had remembered to bring me any presents.  I have never had to go without for a holiday.  My parents have always had decent jobs and were always able to support our family.

I have also been blessed in the fact that my parents have taught me to help those who are less fortunate.  My parents have taken my brother and I to volunteer at various projects, including monthly Community Meals.  They have taught me to be generous in my givings.  They have shown me how it is our job as people to help each other.  I am very thankful for this lesson my parents gave me.

This experience today was so much fun, and it allowed me to reflect on my life and how blessed I have been.  I am very thankful for my blessings not only during the holiday season, but also throughout the whole year.  In conclusion, I would just like to say how proud I am to "Be Orange" and be able to help with The Holiday Shoppe.

Contrasting: Hunger Games vs. United States

I found it very interesting today in class when we began to compare the Hunger Games to the United States/modern society. I listened to many striking similarities (that I agree with), however I got the urge to play devil's advocate, just for fun. Rather than using the whole roll of toilet paper myself (...haha) I figured I could write about some of my ideas in my blog.


1. Panem has a much different system of government then the United States. They have one President, who is more like a dictator. There are no checks & balances in their government like there is in ours. President Snow controls his government by force, killing them if they steal, trespass, or leave their district. However, in the United States we are punished for "little" things like stealing, but people are not killed by the government for it. Also, we are encouraged to travel to other parts of the United States to boost their tourism revenue and to educate ourselves.


2. In Panem, the schools are very different from ours. They mostly learn about the history of Panem and how the capital took over; this instills fear in the children. However, when learning about Panem the children don't learn about the other districts, and the laws that make the children go to school are very loose, as many do not go to school at all. In the United States children are encouraged to learn and be smart. We learn multiple subjects, and reading is very encouraged. Children in our schools also learn about other countries and the world around them, rather than just their state or only the United States.




3. Another difference is Panem's media. In Panem, the media is extremely controlled by the government. They glorify the Hunger Games and children dying, even though much of the population is disgusted, angry, and fearful of these acts. This is very different from the United States in that we have free speech. This allows our media to say whatever they want for the most part. Also, it is never mandatory to watch something on television, like in the Hunger Games.


I'm sure that for each of these differences there are two or three similarities, and that is fine. I just felt like writing about some of the differences that I thought of during our discussion today.

Do we need the Electoral College?

Today in class we discussed whether the electoral college should be used or if we should use a system based on popular votes.  We had many strong opinions in our group, but I have my mind set.  

I think that we should keep the electoral college.  Although in some very rare cases the electoral college may not reflect the votes of the population (Gore vs. Bush), it does protect the interests of the states with small populations.  For example, if we had a system of voting that was based upon popular votes, the smaller states would not get visits from the candidates, which could in turn reduce voter turnout.  The candidates may not see the need of visiting states with small populations, since they would only need the most number of votes.  Candidates would probably travel to California, New York, Texas, and other high populous states.  

The electoral college benefits states with small populations and coming from Iowa, I can't help but like that.  I like to think that my vote is important in the election, and I feel that without the electoral college, I wouldn't have that same feeling.  

The Importance of Internships

This blog is simply written because it is a topic that is very prevalent in my life right now.  On Tuesday, I will be starting a paid internship at John Deere's Product Engineering Center working on various projects with engineers.  I am majoring in Accounting and this internship will consist of a lot of data entry and analytics work.  I am extremely excited and nervous!

Today, the importance of an internship seems as if it can make or break your chances of starting your career within that company.  Many companies are creating jobs for interns that could easily be transferred into a full-time position.  I found this article from Experience.com, and I think that it clearly illustrates my point.  Not only did this article demonstrate my idea, it also made my nerves increase a bit!  Enjoy the article!

Interns For Hire: The Best Benefit Can Be A Permanent Job

By Aimee Whitenack

Interns know that an internship may be just the way to land a full-time job with a coveted company. And employers are recognizing internships as the best route to snagging stellar young talent.

"I knew in the back of my head that the potential for a job offer was greater than they indicated." Jason Landstrom, intern turned full-time employee

In today's job market, internships are about more than developing skills and glimpsing a specific industry or company. Interns now want something tangible from their work experience - namely, a full-time job. And employers seem to agree.

Many companies recognize internships as one of the most effective recruiting tools available to them, positioning interns as trial employees. Training a pool of interns the same as entry-level employees and offering positions to the best of the lot costs much less than a failed hire. In short, an internship can be a win-win situation for all involved.

The best-case scenarioAccording to a poll conducted by InternsNet.com, "full-time-job access" is the number one offering students would like from an internship (over mentor programs, team building, and training programs). "I accepted my internship knowing that 99 percent of the people get offered jobs after the internship," says Mark Rosen, 24, who interned at Arthur Andersen the summer before his senior year at the University of Vermont.

In college, many of Rosen's professors stressed the importance of internships as a route to full-time jobs. Sure enough, on the last day of his internship, the consulting firm offered Rosen a permanent position - plus a $1,000 signing bonus if he accepted before November and a promise that his salary would keep pace with the market over the course of the school year. He signed on the spot.

The real bonus for Rosen, however, was bypassing the aggravation and time commitment of conducting a job search during his senior year. "I saw my friends, especially my accounting friends, have to go down to Boston and New York for interviews all year," he says. "Meanwhile, I just kept getting letters in the mail telling me I'd gotten another raise."

Is that your final answer?Many consulting, accounting, and investment banking firms design internships to snag permanent employees, but these aren't the only industries that provide interns access to full-time jobs. Jason Landstrom, 25, took an internship at a leading global agricultural and financial company and was the only intern at his location. A week before his internship ended, he too received a job offer.

Unlike Rosen, however, Landstrom held off on accepting. "I wanted to think about both the job and the industry. I didn't want to commit right away because I had a sense that maybe there would be something else out there that would be better for me," he explains. So Landstrom spent the majority of his senior year job searching. In the end, though, he accepted the original offer. "I think if I hadn't looked, I would have questioned my decision," he says. "When I actually graduated, I had shopped around and was much more comfortable with what I was doing."

Both Landstrom and Rosen maintain that internships are the best way to know what you're getting into with a full-time job. "I trained the same way and did the exact same things as I would as a first-year [employee]," says Rosen. "When you're working full-time, you don't get pampered like you do as an intern, but [an internship] is definitely a taste of what's to come." Rosen's firm took him and his fellow interns to Red Sox games, comedy shows, and lavish dinners throughout the summer in hopes of recruiting them postgraduation.

But if your internship is more about grunt work than grand social outings, fear not. It will still give you the chance to know the people you work with and the company culture - two of the most valuable pieces of knowledge for any job seeker. Use this knowledge to honestly evaluate your internship. Just because you get a job offer doesn't mean you have to take it. If nothing else, mentioning the pending offer will impress other employers, as will your experience-based reasons why another company would be a better fit for you.

Everyone's a winnerEmployers benefit from this deal as well. "One of the big goals is that you hope these people like the internship well enough that, unless they screw up in some way, they get an offer when they graduate," says Marty Barrett,* an analyst at a boutique management consulting firm in Boston. "At the very least, you hope they spread the word to their friends when they get back to campus, saying, 'It's a great experience if you're looking for this, this, or this.'"

Each year, Barrett's company offers full-time jobs to approximately 75 percent of its summer interns, but Barrett describes the internship program more as a "feeder process" than a screening process. "Interns are buttered up in a lot of different ways, by the events that they're taken to, by the way they're not crushed with work. Most know that they're getting wined and dined in hopes that they'll have a positive impression of the place and want to join it." In short, companies are looking not only for strong candidates, but a little brand recognition back on college campuses as well.

How to play the gameHaven't received a job offer yet? This may not be a bad sign. Publishing companies, nonprofits, start-ups, etc., often can't hire full-time employees well in advance of a start date. Not securing a job offer at the end of your internship, then, doesn't mean you won't land one down the road. Keep in touch with managers, both through periodic email updates and by sending a resume and cover letter stating your interest in a full-time position.

But you also need to be a savvy employee. Barrett says that interns need to be diligent about all of their tasks, large or small. "Since you're not given the same amount of work [as full-time employees], you have to do the little things right, like showing up for meetings, finishing tasks on time, and communicating effectively." He adds that interns should be on their toes during company social functions. "It's kind of weird because you're in college and probably less mature, but you're actually held to a higher standard than regular employees. Be professional, even if the company culture is casual." This means watching how many beers you throw back at a company outing, as well as how appropriate for the workplace some of your weekend tales are.

With many companies, you'll have to be proactive about making a good impression. Build relationships with as many employees as possible by taking advantage of mentor programs or asking higher-ups for informational interviews or lunch dates. It's also a good idea to ask employers to write you letters of recommendation at the end of the internship. If they leave the company, you'll want their support documented, and the letters will certainly help you land another job-or another internship. With all of these internship benefits, why not?

https://www.experience.com/alumnus/article?channel_id=internships&source_page=additional_articles&article_id=article_1126286322633

Hostility in Scholars

Recently in our Scholars class we have had very controversial topics, and I do not think that we have been handling these situations to the best of our abilities.  We have had quite a bit of yelling or raising of voices during the debates and discussions.  We have had others leave the classroom and then go talk bad about someone else in the class, due to the fact that they don't like the other person's opinion.    Isn't that how wars start?  One group of people don't like the other groups view on religion or another topic, so they go to war to fight it out? 

Being the intelligent group of people that we are, I think that we can do better.  We do not need to talk bad about each other due to a difference of opinion.  We can disagree in class, and even outside of class it is acceptable to disagree.  We do not need to be negative and talk about people behind each other's back just because someones belief is different then ours.  

If we can learn to talk civilly and respectfully with each other when we have differing opinions, then our class will be a much more open, kind, and inviting class to come to.  However, if we continue to disrespect people whose opinions are different, then we will become much better people overall.  

Abortion Opinion

My opinion on abortion is that it should be up to each individual woman.  I do not think that our country should make a law that affects every single woman, because there is no one choice that is completely right for each woman.  Every woman who choices to get an abortion is in a different situation and has different reasons for having the procedure.  Also, there are many different beliefs that go along with abortion.  Many people lean on their religious views while some may have a lack of religion in their life to lead them to their decision.  Either way, everyone comes from different walks of life and different experiences, therefore they should be able to make their own decision.  

Some people who are pro-life believe that in "certain situations" women should be allowed to have abortions.  One of the more common situations they discuss is only women who were raped are allowed to have abortions.  However, who is to decide if a woman is raped?  Our judicial system is not perfect, and many times we have been known to fail someone who has been assaulted or mistreated.  Additionally, some women may be too embarrassed or ashamed to go through the courts in order to get justice for what has been done to them.  Therefore, those women would either not be able to get an abortion and have to carry their rapist's child, or they would do some sort of illegal procedure that would not be safe for them.  

Age Limit for Birth Control? (Medical Justice Project)

Age Limit for Birth Control?

            The main topic that has been discussed recently, regarding new legislation to have an age limit for birth control, is mostly referring to emergency contraception, like Plan B One-Step – also known as the morning after pill.  Plan B is an emergency contraception pill that can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex.   The pill is one dose (only one pill) and contains 1.5 milligrams of levonorgestrel.  Levonorgestrel is also used in many daily birth control pills; however, these pills contain a lower dosage.  The effect of Plan B depends on how soon you take it.  If taken within 24 hours the pill is 95% effective, and if taken within 72 hours the pill is 89% effective. 

            Plan B is not an “abortion pill.”  It is different from RU-486, which is an abortion pill.  Plan B will not cause a miscarriage or an abortion if taken.  Plan B does not stop development of a fetus once the fertilized egg implants in the uterus, so this pill will not work if someone is already pregnant.  Plan B was made as a backup plan though – hence the name “Plan B.”  The pill was made for emergencies only and is not recommended for people to use as their main form of birth control. 

            There has also been much talk about what age women should be to use this type of emergency contraception.  This is a big issue for people on both sides of the aisle and would affect millions of Americans.  In June this year, the U.S. Department of Justice stopped the appeal of a recent U.S. District Court ruling requiring expanded over-the-counter access to emergency contraception products without an age restriction.  Many medical organizations stand behind their support of the Court’s ruling, citing scientific evidence in support of the safety of emergency contraception for women of all ages.  The FDA has stated that it will allow the sale of one-pill versions of emergency contraception without age restriction, starting with the most common form, Plan B One-Step.

The AAP (The American Academy of Pediatrics) President, Thomas K. McInerny, MD, stated, “For pediatricians, the science has always been clear: emergency contraception is a safe, effective tool to prevent unintended pregnancy in adolescents of any reproductive age.”  Another group that has been advocating for birth control at any age is Planned Parenthood.  After the Department of Justice stopped the appeal in June - therefore allowing girls of all ages to purchase emergency contraception – the President of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards had this to say, “Age barriers to emergency contraception are not supported by science, and they should be eliminated.” Another group, the National Women’s Liberation, had this to say about the decision, “NWL demands full control over the decision to have children. We want free and full access to all forms of birth control, including contraception and abortion.”

There are people on both sides of the issue though.  According to Dr. Jennifer Landa, a hormone specialist and chief medical officer for BodyLogicMD, making emergency contraception available for young girls is sending the wrong message about pregnancy prevention and safe sex.  She says, “Overall, it shows a lack of caution if you ask me.  Of course the prevention of unwanted pregnancy is a good thing.  The problem is it encourages women to be more cavalier and not use more reliable birth control we’d like them to be using, including barrier methods that protect against sexually transmitted diseases.”  Dr. Manny Alvarez agrees with Dr. Landa and states, “This is a dangerous precedent. So you’re going to allow a 13-year-old child to be able to buy what once was a prescription regulated medication over the counter without any kind of restriction, any kind of parental advice.  How is a child at the age of 13 going to be able to understand indication, usage and potential side effects?”

Overall, this is a very important issue because of the number of people it affects.  Additionally, it can be looked at through the eyes science or religion, which can cause people to have his or her unique views.  With any decision the government makes, there will be people who agree with it, and people who disagree.