Author: Prof. Reis

Menstruation, HPV, and Menopause

After doing the readings and watching the short videos, please write a response that addresses how women learn to think about their sexuality as girls, young women, and older women from the ways in which menstruation, HPV, and menopause are presented. Please keep your responses focused on these three factors rather than writing randomly on other ways (the media, for example) in which women are exposed to messages about their sexuality. 

Pregnancy and Birth

Is birth a women’s issue? How does the fact that birth involves “two patients,” influence perceptions of birth and the nature of maternity care? How are the process of birth and the management of maternal and infant care related to women’s rights?

 

Question for Abortion readings

Write a journal response that explores the relationship between a woman and a fetus. Is a woman merely an incubator (a fetal container) for another organism?

Should a woman be compelled to undergo medical treatment if she is pregnant (or be prevented from undergoing treatment)? Should a woman be punished for making decisions (like drinking too much alcohol) that could harm the baby?

I realize these are difficult questions; just do the reading and start to think about these issues. 🙂

Egg Donation and Egg Freezing

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This week you will be reading about some aspects of assisted reproductive technologies, particularly egg donation and egg freezing. Judging from this advertisement from the University of Oregon student newspaper a few years ago, how is the egg donation process being promoted to college-age students? How does this fit in with the other material you’ve read this week?

2nd question for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

On page 261, Deborah and Zakariyya visit Lengauer’s lab and see the cells for the first time. How is their interaction with Lengauer different from the previous interactions the family had with representatives of Johns Hopkins? Why do you think it is so different?

Please read the other short articles on the syllabus for this week as well, though they don’t need to be incorporated into this answer (if you see a way to, then that’s fine also; either way). They help put this particular story into a larger context of health inequalities and racism, and they’re also interesting!