Friday, November 15, 2019

Being Healthy



Recently, Paul and I got into a discussion regarding health. Even though he is overweight, he argued that he was healthy based on  recent test results, low blood pressure and conversations with his doctor. I argued that being overweight was associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, senility, depression etc. With this in mind, an October 27, 2019 article in the New York Times “Obesity is a population-size crisis in Western countries-but it’s a problem that may resist population-wide solution “was pertinent to our discussion. This essay focuses on the variables associated with being healthy.
The New York Times article pointed out that obesity was like cancer. Obesity is about biology, behavior, society, and culture which makes research difficult. We know that the same diet affects even identical twins differently. Also, it was pointed out that research regarding red meat and processed meats are controversial. One researcher at the National Institute of Health compared ultra-processed food [accounts for roughly 57% of the American diet] with non-processed foods. Results of this particular study suggested that limited consumption of ultra-processed food may be an effective strategy for obesity, prevention and treatment.
However, there were many criticisms of this particular study that included: it was too short to observe the metabolic and behavioral changes; it was done in a lab compared to field research; and it did not take to account for many other variables like lifestyle. In essence, to do a proper study which takes into account controlling the many variables and using a universal or random population is expensive and not likely to happen unless government funds the research.
I suggest incorporating additional relevant variables and taking a more encompassing and healthy approach than limited to diet alone. Yes, diet is extremely important. However, let’s take a glimpse at how Centenarians approach life. Reaching 100 is a clear cut definition of health. We already know that this group has been studied by a number of researchers. In fact Howard’s book “How to Live to 100 Years Old: 16 Lifestyle Characteristics of the Oldest and Healthiest People in the World” provided one model for evaluating important variables related to longevity. His findings: 1. Have low blood sugar 2. Have low blood pressure 3. Have low blood total cholesterol 4. Keep weight low and steady [BMI from 18.5 to 25] 5. Eat fewer calories 6. Eat mostly vegetarian with coffee and tea 7. Take your vitamins 8. Exercise regularly, be active and stay busy after retirement 9. Don’t smoke or stop smoking if you do 10. Drink less alcohol 11. Get regular restful sleep 12. Have healthy gums 13. Challenge your mind, stay positive in attitude and avoid anxiety and depression 15 Shed those stressors, have daily structure and be resilient 16. Stay socially connected with serenity and a purpose to life.
Let’s face it, all research studies are flawed. They are compromised because no study employed a representative sample of the population. Each study has findings which can be generalized to represent only the particular sample utilized. It’s just too expensive, to select a random sample. We also know, that obesity is related to diet and the likelihood that processed meats are not healthy is just one aspect of being overweight. With that being said, Howard’s research on Centenarians is subject to the same criticism of randomness. However, his research incorporated many parameters of these Centenarians. In his study, healthiness was defined as  being  physically healthy; emotionally healthy; employing healthy habits with discipline and stick- to- it- ness; and surrounding oneself in a healthy community. In essence, the 16 characteristics of the Centenarians seemed reasonable. Even if one employed the 16 characteristics, there is no guarantee of reaching 100 years.
It’s obvious that superlative health can be achieved by some. It’s also obvious, that going on that “magic” diet alone does not solve the present obesity crisis affecting about 40% of the adults and about 19% of the children and adolescents in the United States. Healthiness is based on many factors including what we eat. Reaching 100 is a realistic and measurable definition for being healthy.  My ride and  tie, endurance and running friend Paul has made a good start, has lost weight, but, according to Howard’s research, has more choices to make regarding his health.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Hate Speech


The October 6, 2019 article “Free Speech Is Killing Us” found in the New York Times was certainly relevant. This article addressed noxious speech found on social media and the ineffective stance taken by the media giants and the politicians regarding limits. Numerous examples of physical violence and murder were given that recently took place in our country as well as the 1993 -1994 genocide in Rwanda were cited. Should our government and social media platforms be held accountable for allowing the spreading of false, hateful and noxious speech?
Some might say that free speech is protected by our First Amendment. Others might say that the First Amendment does not apply to private companies; and the Constitution does not guarantee it to them. Others might say that not all free speech is protected such as 1. Libel 2. Incitement to violence and 3. Child pornography. Further, what about noxious speech that drives a woman out of her workplace; rhetoric that correlates with hate crimes; speech that bullies a teenager into committing suicide; or words that influences democracy in the direction of totalitarianism?
Others point to the 14th amendment which guarantees full citizenship and equal protection to all Americans including those who are harmed by hate speech? Do you protect just the hater or the distributor of noxious incitement and not protect the victim or victims of such derogatory behavior? The Christchurch gunmen for example wrote a number of negative posts and indicated on one “that it was now time to make a real-life effort post.” He murdered 52 people.
Make no but doubt about it, hate and noxious speech can be defined. Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos have been barred from all major social media platforms. There are plenty of inappropriate hateful online posts that come from a variety of sites in and out of our country. The government’s responsibility is to protect its people. Protect the people now. Do your job.
There are many variables that result in causing one individual to hurt another. Let’s not use a parataxic mode of thinking and believing the power of one post and its resultant causing someone to kill another. However, it’s true that “sticks and stones can break one’s bones.” However it’s not true “that names will never hurt me.” It’s also true that “hate can evoke feelings of animosity, anger or resentment which can be directed against certain individuals groups or entities.” Hate also is associated with violent antipathy. The unpleasant emotion and behavior of hate (revenge}, and if it’s a character trait, is a real threat to our political process, our Republic, and to our well-being. There’s too much sadomasochistic behavior {the tendency to derive pleasure, from inflicting pain, suffering or humiliation on others} present on social media from known and unknown sources. Let’s come together to protect the recipients of hateful rhetoric that’s all too common in social media. Protecting recipients from unhealthy words affect well-being. Protection is not only constitutional but it’s also one of the 10 commandments “thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” I thought this country was founded on Judeo-Christian values. Am I naïve?

Friday, November 1, 2019

Effectance Motivation



Originally, Alfred Adler was part of Freud’s inner circle. Dr. Adler broke from Freud and with his theory he placed more emphasis on the ego and the dynamics of social interaction. Dr. Adler, in doing so, developed his own school of individual psychology. Adler wrote about family interactions as well as the development for potentially good behavior like affiliation, nurturance, empathy as well as the potential for bad outcomes like sadomasochism.  This essay incorporated only three of his pertinent motivational concepts- Striving  for Superiority, Style  of Life  and Social Interest while explaining aspects of my behavior.
Striving for Superiority, was viewed by Adler, as either imaginary or real. It emerged in order to compensate for either some bodily weakness or some sense of emotional inferiority or insecurity. He hypothesized that all newborns enter the world tiny, weak, helpless, and dependent on the caretaker for survival. To him this meant that all newborns begin life with a generalized view of inferiority or anxiety. As a result, the innate psychic task was in place to compensate for this weakness. It did so by striving for superiority or mastery in order to overcome this deficit to develop one’s personality in attaining possible completion.
As a young child, I received a medical diagnosis of asthma. This diagnosis explained my difficulty with breathing. I was cautioned not to exert myself physically. I was also not allowed to leave the house when the air quality was bad. This deficit was real. Eventually, I compensated and overcame my breathing difficulty and physical weakness by engaging in PE and in pickup games of basketball, baseball and football during my later elementary and junior high school years. In order to become physically stronger, I lifted free weights. In fact, I became a lot stronger and had my brother and friends hand me the barbell for bench presses. It took a lot of them to pick up and hand me 350 pounds so that I could bench press. I also performed 30 chin-ups within a minute as well as 60 push-ups within a minute.
As an adolescent, I played football for the Denby Tars which was one of the or the dominant high school team in the city of Detroit. I earned honors and was awarded a football scholarship to play for the University of Detroit Titans. I pushed myself physically and athletically to control and dominate those one-on-one battles during practice and in the games. This could be explained as a striving for superiority, excellence and effectance. Of course, expending tremendous amounts of psychic and physical energy, having a myopic purpose, with realistic goal setting were important and necessary at that time.
Years later, in my late 30s, I began running and also became involved in the horse world. In my 50s, I discovered a sport called Ride and Tie. This sport combined having a human and horse partner. In this sport, I met world-class equestrians-winners in Tevis and Polo competitions and world-class runners-winners in Western States 100 and other nationally sanctioned races.  I also wore my Tevis completion buckle. Once again, expending tremendous energy, dealing with overuse injuries, having a singular focus and realistic goal setting were necessary.
Striving for Superiority  became, in  certain respects, my own particular Style  of Life  as I spent a great deal of time and energy physically conditioning that included  running 50 miles a week on average and riding my horses 50 miles a week on average  so that I could compete in the many running events [age division winner in the 100 Western  States ], endurance competitions and ride and tie [coming in first place in the 100  mile Swanton Pacific  Ride and Tie with my partners]. I ran so I could compete in ride and tie. I competed in endurance rides so my horses would be ready for Ride and Tie. Ride and Tie was my passion, my Striving for Superiority, and my favorite sport. In essence, I incorporated ride and tie behaviors which became my Style of Life.
Social Interest for Adler meant focusing on social welfare – doing well and thinking about mankind in socialized ways instead of self-serving or narcissistic interests. It’s not about fame, leadership, power, self-aggrandizement or political ambitions Once again it’s a matter of using a real or imaginary weakness or deficit as a striving compensation for behavior.
 Returning to the past and school years. At one high school reunion, a longtime friend from elementary school and a high school class officer, told me she remembered me as being really smart. My personification during junior high and high school years were sports and girls. They were certainly more important than academics. Not being motivated in high school academically, I developed an ambivalent attitude about school learning. That negative attitude was a psychic weakness and my drive to overcome for compensation.
It wasn’t until my University years that I got turned on and became passionate about the field of psychology. My Striving for Superiority took that direction in my 20s and 30s as I achieved a BS; two MA’s and a PhD. In part for Social Welfare and giving back, I taught kids, adults, and college students in both the public school, community college and at the University. I practiced psychotherapy with kids, adults and families. I performed research on the ego development of pregnant teens and presented my research findings to a National Psychological Association.
While in “formal” retirement, I wrote two books regarding the motivations of college and professional football athletes and older athletes participating in extreme sports and presented my insights to numerous groups. My Social Interest centers on reading, writing and educating on various health topics. Striving for Superiority ,Style of Life and Social Interest are related to both my emotional and physical well-being. Thank you Dr. Adler for enlightening me to your insights regarding a motivational model for man. For depth, consult: Adler, A. Understanding Life: An Introduction to the Psychology of Alfred Adler.
PS
While  beginning  my eighth decade,  I still run 50 K’s and am considering co- producing a full-length film on racism and sports with my good friend. Adler would call this Fictional Finalism. Is this quest, a striving ideal or a fiction?

Friday, October 25, 2019

Man's Emotional State


It is known that factors affecting security, anxiety and life are forces of nature; realities regarding the frailty of the human body; and the irrational aspects of society.  it can be debated whether or not the advancement of society has contributed to reducing or increasing man’s anxiety which this essay addresses. It’s apparent that there have been tremendous intellectual and technical advances made within the last century. However, it can also be argued that man’s emotional development, based on behavior, has remained in the Stone Age.
Man has been somewhat successful in dealing with nature such as “knowing” the path of hurricanes with its algorithms statistics . Also, we now have apps that inform us regarding the location of fire. In fact, if we lose energy or electricity, we can purchase a generator to alleviate the disruption of our routines. We might even be able to   purchase homeowners insurance that covers earthquakes, flood damage, fire etc. We also can go green by purchasing solar, electric cars etc. However, global warming affects us currently; and the destruction of our planet are predictions for our future. This threat clearly raises the anxiety level of many Homo sapiens despite current feeble political attempts for combating this potential catastrophic problem. With all the “warning” devices, reminded me of the study by Joseph Brady in the 50s. Simply, one group of monkeys were provided with continuous regular scheduled electrical shocks and another group of monkeys learned they could press a lever to avoid the shock. The monkeys with the control [pressing a lever] developed more ulcers than the other group. Better not be a monkey.
Regarding aging, there have been wonderful medical advances including diagnosis, medication, prevention and rehabilitation. Some societies have actually increased the lifespan of their inhabitants. However, other societies, subgroups, and others have done harm to their bodies and in the process shortened their lifespan. Despite all the information regarding health, health plan insurance, diets, food plans, health clubs,  pools and apps that measure physical activity, many people do not do well as evidenced by obesity, various medical  illnesses, alcohol and drug or opioid abuse and the dramatic increase in  homicide and suicide rates. In other words, despite intellectual advancement, man’s emotional, rational thinking and objectivity remain barriers .He prevents optimal living by not taking better care of his body.  For instance, food consumption often serves as a medicinal way of filling emotional needs and voids. The everyday reality is troublesome {anxiety} and that interferes with rational choice as evidenced by mortality statistics. Instead man employs too many every day illusions and rationalizations for effective living
Society and its political divide have created more difficulties. Within the 20th century we had totalitarian regimes and world wars. Democracy came to the rescue during that time. There were a number of reasons for the rise of totalitarian regimes that included, but not limited to an economic depression; humiliation and promises of revenge for a World War I defeat; a character structure that had a deep respect for order, obedience, dependence, suggestibility and authority; persuasive, exploitive, sadistic political figures with their seductive promises and lies of nationalistic strength and ridding society of its others and undesirables. The anxiety, feelings of helplessness and powerlessness factored in and resulted in submission and dependence on a leader that was going to rescue the day. Thus, feelings of anxiety, helplessness, insignificance and inability to control one’s life were psychological factors of the day.
Today, although we are not engaged in a world war, we’ve been at battle in the Middle East since 2001. Like yesterday, we have another current enemy that have been called terrorists, Isis, Iran, Hezbollah, Syria etc. In fact we have been involved in regime change, use of military, tax dollars, and diplomacy to fix that situation. Yet somehow, it can be argued that the powerful have perpetuated these wars to protect their interests-oil and the military-industrial complex with the result of continued stress.
Yesterday, Jews, people of color, LGBT, Gypsies and others were hated and scapegoated and blamed for economic hard times. Today, hate crimes against Jews, immigrants, and Muslims dominate statistically; people of color are also discriminated against; homeless, and refugees leaving their homelands continue to make the news. Walls, refugee camps, National Guard, sadistic remarks, chain-link detention centers etc. are discriminatory strategies to protect. I’m not sure what we’re protecting, but we are scapegoating all the “undesirables” and perpetuating hatred.
Yesterday, we had the great depression and economic hardship. Today, we have the record for the greatest income inequality; loss of manufacturing jobs; trade wars, increasing automation; record numbers of homeless, inadequate minimum wage and absence of benefits affecting many in our society. Yesterday, a high school graduate earned decent wages .Today college debt and being overqualified seem to be the norm. With less worker unions, wage earners have meager protection against the giant corporations with feelings of insignificance and powerlessness.
Yesterday, one had to cower under their school desk, head to the school basement, lineup orderly to walk outside to deal with the threat of fire and nuclear annihilation. Today, the teacher might go to the target range; lock the classroom door; teach her students about hiding places and report suspicious activity among fellow students. Get a gun to protect yourself. Gun violence in schools is one current threat for pupils of the day.
Yesterday, we had the radio and television. Today we have electronics and social media dependence. Don’t leave home without your smart cell phone, iPod, navigation device etc. Not  only are we more dependent on these devices, we are at the mercy of the hacking by some government or individual to take our money, manipulate  our grid, interfere with the  transportation network , mess up our satellites, and raise havoc with our military. This is all scary stuff.
It’s clear to me, that psychologically, anxiety, fears, insignificance, meaning, dependence and submission remain significant today. With that being said, it’s no wonder that narcissistic self-serving, Elmer Gantry type histrionic individuals continue to remain a threat. The Pied Piper of today, like yesterday, has had little difficulty fooling and deceiving his flock based on their unresolved needs. They continue to go along with the program regardless of intelligence, rationality or morality. The faithful remain. Anxiety is one major variable or cause. Man’s cruelness toward man perpetuated by anxiety driven behavior continues regardless of century. The pursuit of security, peace, and happiness continue to be illusions for the masses. Anxiety, worry and fear are still present regardless of the present form of democracy and capitalism.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Male and Female Brain Differences


Researchers studied physiological arousal measured by genital temperature, wetness and swelling among males and females while viewing pornographic video. Subjects were “healthy” adult men and women along with females having different sexual orientations. These researchers employed [f M. R. I.] scans and measured activity differences in the brain. One purpose was to determine if there were brain activity differences between the sexes. The researchers also incorporated 61 previous research studies as well. They found no significant differences between the sexes pertaining to   sexual arousal. Their study also found brain activation in women that revealed similar brain responses to arousal as well as to photos of vomiting or feces. This sameness, opposite or combination was puzzling to say the least and not yet adequately explained.
One question raised, in the article, was why statistically are males the more frequent consumers of pornographic material?  It’s obvious, that arousal is one variable. However, a second variable relates to the behavior or motivation of the individual. One behaviorally can pursue pornographic material in order to become aroused. Of course there are other means for arousal. Second, we know that the age of an individual determines one’s testosterone and estrogen levels and these levels began to diminish in the 20s. Hormonal levels relate to sexual arousal. Third, we know that sexual behavior is affected by attitude, thoughts, feelings, mental health, mental illness, life satisfaction etc.
Turning to the brain, we also know that male and female brains are more alike than different. That cannot be said as far as sexual behavior between the sexes. We also know that the brain can be divided into three sections and sexual arousal is located in the hypothalamus which is located in the archaic brain where there are no significant male or female differences. Most differences, in the brain, are found in the third section -cortex. Within the left hemisphere, males exhibit less impulse control than females. Other executive functions found in the cortex {left hemisphere} include higher cognition, abstract thought, and use of language and social behavior. For females, their left hemisphere is usually their more dominant hemisphere.
 Furthermore, when there are frontal lobe abnormalities, the brain has difficulty regulating such things as inhibition or control of impulses and emotions, planning and organization, movement, overall social and cognitive behavior including judgment, and decision-making. Individuals with antisocial behavior-frontal lobe abnormalities  {more often men] are characterized by increased violence, impaired impulsivity,  poor judgment,  failure to conform to social norms, aggressiveness, disregard for the safety of oneself and others, glibness, inability to feel love and are more deceitful.
Related to arousal and viewing pornography was highlighted in a New York Times article.  For instance, in 1998 there were over 3, 000 reports of child sexual abuse imagery. 10 years later, yearly reports soared past 100,000. In 2017 there were 18.4 million reports that included over 45 million images of videos of child sexual abuse.
Difficulties like not enough funding for the various governmental  agencies  dealing with sexual criminal behavior, encrypted sophistication by social media  criminals, not enough regulations or oversite  by the tech companies, inadequacy or will of politicians, the diversion of government money from one agency to  another ie. Homeland security (to combat immigration], and the inability of all the agencies in keeping pace with the increased levels of abuse.
Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder “pertaining to the act or fantasy of engaging in sexual activity with prepubertal children as an exclusive method of achieving sexual excitement.” Incarcerated individuals with this diagnosis reported that some engaged in child sexual abuse and then became involved in video and others reported that they initially watched video and then engaged in child sexual abuse. Incidentally, more males are incarcerated than females with this diagnosis.
Arousal, for the sexes, play an important role in human nature. However, the Internet makes it too easy to view pornography. Although there are no apparent arousal differences regarding erotic imagery between the sexes, the following is true: 1. More males have an antisocial behavior diagnosis 2. More males are incarcerated for sexual crimes 3. More males are engaged in online pornography 4. Males have more right hemisphere domination 5. More understanding regarding sexual behavior can be found in the executive functions of the cortex.

References
The New York Times “Men’s and women’s brains show similar responses to erotic imagery. What does that reveal about the deeper mysteries of sexuality?” Found in the September 22, 2019. “Stolen Innocence Gone Viral.” Found in the September 29, 2019 edition.
Cerebral Dominance The Left &. Right Brain found in 2008 Institute for Natural Resources

Saturday, October 12, 2019

It's about Winning and Losing


Shortly after the University of Michigan’s football recent loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, a number of individuals called for the firing of head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh was also criticized for failing to win a Big Ten championship but more importantly for not being able to best Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes. Urban Meyer stepped down from being their head coach after the past season. However, this year’s Buckeyes team, with its new coach, are currently tied for third place in the AP college football poll while Harbaugh’s Wolverines are ranked 16.
Harbaugh, prior to becoming Michigan’s head coach, was previously the head coach at Stanford from 2007 to 2010. His record at Stanford was 29 wins and 21 losses. Leaving Stanford, he became head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 through 2014. His record with the 49ers was 44 wins, 19 losses, and 1 tie or a .690 winning percentage. His National Football Conference Championship 49er team played in the Super Bowl against the Baltimore Ravens. His 49er squad lost to his older brother John’s Ravens in that game. After last week’s victory, Jim Harbaugh’s record at Michigan stands at 42 wins and 15 losses.
Let’s compare Stanford’s football record from 2011 to 2019. Currently, David Shaw‘s record as Stanford’s head coach stands at 85 wins and 29 losses. While his overall record is better than was Jim Harbaugh’s, it must be pointed out that in his first three years, his record was 34 wins and 7 losses.  Credit must be given to Harbaugh for his recruitment of those players. The San Francisco 49ers head coaches had been Jim Tomsula, Chip Kelly and currently Kyle Shanahan. Their overall record stands at 30 wins and 47 losses. Clearly, Jim record was significantly better than the array of 49er coaches.
Let’s now take a look at the Ohio State Buckeyes. Urban Meyer’s coaching record from 2012 through 2019 stands at 82 wins and 9 losses. In 2014, the Buckeyes were National Champions. His team also captured three Big Ten titles. Make no mistake about it, Myers record was spectacular. Perhaps, a big part of Meyer success was related in his ability to recruit outstanding high school players to come to Columbus. Just think of the All-Americans under coach Meyer- 19.  Further, 44 OSU players play in the NFL. Plus, Meyers had talented, skilled, offensive players such as Hyde, Miller, Elliott and Haskins to name a few. On the other hand, the Wolverines have 18 of their players playing in the NFL and 8 were All-Americans. Thus from a football achievement standpoint, that nod clearly goes to Meyer’s players.
Make no mistake about it, there are other significant variables that account for a football teams won and loss success but are beyond the scope of this essay. For example, what about the coaching continuity prior to the hiring of Harbaugh and Meyer as well as within their coaching tenure? The Buckeyes  have had more coaching continuity. Second, was Meyer’s offensive and defensive philosophy better suited for college football than Harbaugh’s? Third, which coach had better developed their player’s football potential? Fourth, which coach had better developed their player’s personality for life after football? Fifth, which coach developed a greater team camaraderie among its players? Sixth, which coach made a greater impact on the personal lives of their players? Seventh, which coach had more wins in their first three seasons-players recruited from the previous coach?  Meyer’s record was 38 wins and 3 losses while Harbaugh’s was 28 wins and 11 losses. These are just a few of the variables associated with winning a football game. We conclude, at this point, in their meetings, Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes scored more points per game than Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines. Is that a good reason for firing Harbaugh?
Go Blue!

Friday, October 4, 2019

Making Things Right


Two articles in the September 15, 2019 edition of the New York Times caught my attention. The first, “Opioid Defendants Seek To Disqualify Judge” took place in Ohio. Defense lawyers representing giant retail pharmacy chains like Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid and drug distributors Cardinal Health, Amerisource Bergen, and McKesson filed briefs claiming that this judge was biased. Apparently the judge made comments about his intention to settle this case and bring relief to local governments and individuals hit hard by this crisis. Further, recent rulings of pre-trial decisions against the defendants were a concern. These defendants wanted the case to be heard by a jury. However, the plaintiffs argued the case should be heard by a judge because the drug industry has created a public nuisance affecting the health and well-being of the county’s citizens.
If the plaintiffs received an award, those monies should go towards research, prevention and treatment. If the defendants win, then the profit-greed motive rules without consequences. As I view it, the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacy chains, drug distributors, physicians and patients all play a part. It’s no surprise that patients seek surgery to reduce or eliminate pain and then become dependent on the addictive qualities of drug use.  Begin a clinical medication monitoring program after surgery reimbursed by the drug and insurance industries in order to effectively combat this man made hazard.
The second “California Puts Abortion Pills in Public Universities” had to do with a bill that would use public donator money to equip and train campus health centers for roughly 75,000 enrolled students in the University of California and California State University system. Of course anti-abortion groups are likely to challenge this legislation if it is signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
A similar bill was introduced in Massachusetts. According to the FDA, medication abortion, established in 2000, accounted for about a third of American abortions. Research studies have shown it to be safe and effective in most cases. The University of Illinois at Chicago utilized this method for about 33,000 students. Up to now, most of the health centers provided gynecology exams and contraception but referred students seeking abortions to outside clinics. This bill would require public universities to provide medication abortion.
As far as public universities in California providing medication abortion with donations, I’m in support. It’s clear that a pregnancy should be an individual decision made by the partners. It’s clear that university age individuals participate in intercourse which is natural. Abstinence is not physiologically or psychologically reasonable nor healthy.
If there is concern regarding the fetus, then the following variables must be in play: 1. The mother should be in a solid relationship that includes a long-term commitment; with an emotionally and mentally healthy partner; be socioeconomically and educationally established; coupled with the strong desire for mothering and child rearing. 2. Having a supportive family environment. 3. Have health care coverage.  These three variables are important for a healthy psychological environment for the well-being of the fetus. Realistically, protect the fetus.
It’s clear that Moses and God realized the nature of man per the 10 Commandments. Thou shall not commit adultery was a moral commandment and made sense morally. There were no commandments regarding legal or non- legal abortion nor regarding the rights of a fetus. Antiabortion groups are misguided, punitive and irrational with their parochial beliefs. If they don’t want an abortion fine. However, keep and separate their prejudice within their own.