Should Women of Any Age be Able to Take Fertility Drugs to Have a Child?

Summary of Article

1. Read the article and write summarize.

2. After reading the article you will be able to answer this question and response by starting your essay "Do you think a woman of any age should be able to take fertility drugs to have a child?" Give 2 reasons for your opinion. I.

Introduction talk about the summary about the article by mentioning author and thesis statement should be stated some general information with the response question has been provide

A. Summary of article (includes title of the reading, author's name, main idea, main points and how the writer concludes) (you must paraphrase the summary and not use the words from the reading)

B. Thesis statement (directly answers the question) Your essay must be four well-developed paragraphs, typed in Word, and correctly formatted.

Remember to DOUBLE-SPACE and no outside sources at all, everything own words In Conclusion:

A. Summary statement of your opinion

B. Additional opinion I have shared the article and examples could you follow that

How Old Is Too Old?

When a healthy woman walked into Dr. Richard Paulson’s Los Angeles infertility clinic, he saw no reason to reject her as a patient.  Her medical records indicated that she was 50 years old—five years younger than Paulson’s upper limit for in-vitro candidates—and she passed all the physical tests.  By the time Paulson found out she was actually 60 years old (she had been lying to her previous doctors), the woman was already pregnant with an embryo created from her husband’s sperm and an anonymous (no name) donor’s egg.  At 63, she delivered a normal baby girl and went into the record books as the world’s oldest first-time mom.

Reproductive technology has enabled postmenopausal women to bear children.  The numbers are still small:  worldwide, fewer than 100 pregnancies have been reported in women over 50.  But the mere possibility raises difficult questions about the long-term emotional and physical effects on both mother and child.  Doctors have struggled with how to set and enforce age limits.

At Paulson’s clinic at the University of Southern California, the average age of patients is a relatively young 43.  “Women appear to have two biological clocks,” says Paulson.  Though the ovaries shut down at menopause, “the rest of the reproductive system is still working,” he says.

Many feminists argue that the extra medical help equalizes the situation between men and women because men can have children at older ages.  “We can’t be too judgmental and moralistic about women who avail themselves of technology that exists,” says writer Katha Pollitt.  Others think that messing with nature’s clock is a wrong use of medical technology. 

Thesis Statement

Other critics worry about the mother’s health.  Paulson’s patient, along the way, developed diabetes and high blood pressure.  Both were successfully treated, but no doctor will deny that pregnancy puts strenuous demands on an older woman’s body.  “It’s not an easy pregnancy,” says Dr. Mark Sauer.  Added to this is the psychological stress.  Dr. Larry Stone is worried about the older parents not being able to keep up with the demands of teenagers. 

And what about the kids?  Child rearing is hard enough for parents in their 30s.  should a mother be battling arthritis and the teenage years at the same time?  Older mothers say that they’re committed and focused.  “I’m more prepared than young mothers,” says Judith Bershak, 50, of Los Angeles, who has a six-month-old child.  Bershak, a teacher, and her husband have already set up a college fund for their child. She plans to retire in five years and concentrate on motherhood.  Studies show that parents over 47 are raising children in stable, healthy families.

Because there are no legal age limits, doctors will probably continue to decide whether to accept or reject patients on a case-by-case basis.  Meanwhile, Paulson’s patient has successfully finished breast-feeding and is caring for her baby in a happy home with her 60-year-old husband.

This student read the article “Are American Schools Too Easy?”  The prompt was:  Discuss the pros and cons of the educational system discussed in the article (national curriculum).

In the article “Are American Schools Too Easy?”, Albert Shanker states that students from countries with national curriculums are better educated than American students because they have more assignments and have to work harder to get them done.  The author lists several negative points of the American educational system, such as very broadly defined curriculums, negotiable schoolwork, and varying amounts of schoolwork depending on teachers.  He believes that a national curriculum can change this situation.  From my experience, there are both advantages and disadvantages to having a national curriculum.

Let’s address the positive points first.  Because the educational system is the same for the whole country, there is no problem with moving from one city to another and beginning at a new school.  For example, my family traveled a lot, and I changed many schools and teachers.  It did not matter what part of the country we were in, whether it was the middle of the te4rm or the end.  We studied the same subjects, read the same books and the teachers’ expectations were the same.  The teachers had to follow the curriculum set by the government.  Second, students and their parents, know what to expect and what is required.  We had to study hard to get all the assignments done.  Nobody could even think about negotiating schoolwork.  The third advantage of a national curriculum is that most of the students after graduation are better prepared for getting degrees in colleges.  Their chances of getting into a college depend on how hard they work and not on how well the school provided the education.

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages to a national curriculum.  First, students do not have a choice.  All subjects are required.  When I was a student, I sometimes felt that I wasted my time studying subjects which were boring and useless for me instead of taking interesting classes.  Later, I had to fight with my son’s teacher and the school official about taking English instead of German.  In contrast, here in the U.S., my seventh-grade son can choose subjects interesting to him from a wide range of topics.  He is so proud that he can decide for himself what to study.  Second, bad grades in even one insignificant subject can hurt his chances of going to college.  Is it important for future computer programmers to run fast and jump high?  For good health it is important, but they are going to be in the Olympics.  Finally, our children spend almost all day in school, and I think it is very important how they feel and if they enjoy studying new things.  I know that my son likes to go to school here.

Although Albert Shanker presented good arguments in favor of a national curriculum in the U.S., there are some disadvantages as well.  The ability to make a personal choice is one important part of freedom.  We should consider that aspect.