Chicago Hope :: essays research papers

Chicago Hope, David E. Kellys infamous doctor-drama, premiered on September 18, 1994. Six years later, the institute was canceled after its final seasons finale, which aired on May 4, 2000. Even though Hope couldnt beat its direct competitor ER in the ratings race, the show still had a lot of dear(p) things going for it. Chicago Hope was nominated for a myriad of highly prestigious awards during its run. Many of these awards were lost to ER and other dramas but leading-lady Christina Lahti did receive two an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her performances on the show. Critic Mark Harris, even when as far as saying, Lahti is, no question, the best dramatic actress in immemorial time. (Entertainment Weekly, Oct. 4, 1996 p.51) Also, Hector Elizondo received an Emmy for his supporting role and people involved in off screen production won multiple awards. Chicago Hope was love by critics even when being directly compared to ER. Chicago Hope was basically CBSs answer to ER a drama about doctors, taking enter in a teaching hospital in Chicago, that aired on Thursdays at ten. The cast was constantly changing due to the constant ratings battle CBS was waging against NBC. base the scenes, CBS put its money on Executive Producer/Writer David E. Kelly who, at the time, was just coming off a successful run with Picket Fences age NBC also went with a big name Producer/Writer/Novelist in Michael Crichton. Also, Hope used numerous directors and guest directors over the course of its six-year run, keeping the show fresh. Aside from the battle with ER and the constantly changing staff, this show definitely met or exceeded all of the requirements for a quality TV series outlined by Professor Robert J. Thompson in his book Televisions Second Golden Age.Chicago Hope was not your everyday TV escape. It was a show that do the viewer actually think about what was going on in both the show and the real world. It brought up issues that actually affected the lives of the people wat ching. It dealt with polemical issues like death, birth control, and AIDS. In the words of critic Ken Tucker, in a fall season with little quality this is a solid drama. (Entertainment Weekly, Sept. 23, 1994 p. 52) Furthermore, Hope was the breathing in of Producer David E. Kelly, which, before the premiere even aired, meant that it was of high quality.

Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia - Mercy Killing :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Euthanasia Mercy Killing        Sue Rodriguez has reminded us all of our own mortality and our need to think carefully about the conformation of society we want to live and to die in. Sue Rodriguez was known through the media, and her well spoken and eloquent speeches.  People painfully in support of what she believed in, watched as her strength was sapped by the devastating disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and we were moved by her clear thought and her bravery as a person facing final stage.  hither was a woman who acted on her beliefs with courage and tenacity and whose grace has enriched us all.        It is no defense to point to the fact that a person has requested to be killed  No person is entitled to consent to have death inflicted upon him, and such consent does not affect the criminal responsibilities of any person by whom death may be inflicted upon the person by whom consent is given, which seems to me an that no one has a right to consent to have death inflicted on him or her.  In addition, if a person causes the death of another, the consent of the deceased does not provide the person who caused the death a defense to criminal responsibility.  Is there a difference of opinion, do you think, among a person who, at a dying persons request, prepares a poison and leaves it on the bedside for that person to take, and a person who helps the patient to confound it or who administers it directly at the request of a dying person who is unable to take it personally?  Is there, in short, a real distinction between killing and letting die?  Well, this is the difference between passive and active euthanasia, and if you believe in euthanasia, you must decide which one is correct or make up accept both to be correct depending upon the situation.        We must carefully think through a number of conceptual issues. What is a person?  What is dea th?  How does the difference between active and passive function in arguments for and against euthanasia?  Is there any difference between killing and letting die?  Suppose the relate agrees to withhold treatment... The justification for his doing so is that the patient is in terrible agony, and since he is going to die anyway, it would

The Awakening Essay -- essays research papers

Books, unlike icons, have been around since the beginning of time. For the most part, they be more substantive than the movies that be made from these books. This is due to the fact that an author is able to convey his/her message clearer and include things in the book that cannot be exhibited in a movie. For this reason, the lecturer of the book is much more effected than the viewer of the film. In the novella, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, there is much more evidence of symbolism as well as deeper meaning than in the movie version of the book, Grand Isle. Chopin conveys her symbolic messages finished the main characters newly acquired ability to swim, through the birds, through sleep, and through images of the moon. &9Edna Pontellier, the main character of the novel, struggles all summer at Grand Isle to learn to swim. She has been assisted by many people save was always too afraid to swim on her own. One Saturday wickedness, after attending an evening in the hall, Edna swims out for the firstly time by herself into the inviting ocean. Realizing how unaccented it is and due to her " stirred fancy," (Chopin, 30) she accidentally swims out very far. At that moment, "a quick vision of death smote her soul, and for a second of time appalled and enfeebled her senses." (Chopin, 30) For the first time she comes face to face with death. Those are the events described by the book. The movie, on the other hand, only shows Edna swimming out, struggling a little, and returning to shore. In addition, the movie doesnt mention the strength and joy Edna incurs after this experience. She states that she "never was so exhausted in her life. But it isnt unpleasantit is like a night in a dream." (Chopin, 31)&9At the end of this story, Edna kills herself by swimming out into the ocean. The movie shows just that, omitting two very significant symbols which are present in the novella. The first of these two symbols is the injured bird thats "beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water." (Chopin, 124) This bird symbolizes Ednas struggle to bring to pass the master her own life as well as her failure to achieve this goal. The other symbol is "the old terror that flamed up for an instant, then sank again." (Chopin 124) This is the homogeneous terror she feels when she swims out for the first t... .... Chopin relates Edna to the Sleeping Beauty who has awoken to a new world with a new perception of her surroundings.&9Symbols of the moon are another aspect thats ignored in the movie. During Ednas first solo swim, the author describes how the moon gave her the power and bravery to keep going it "conveyed to her excited fancy." (Chopin, 30) After the swim when Edna is talking to Robert, "strips of moonlight," (Chopin, 32) are visible all around them. They symbolize the untamed feelings Edna has for Robert, her first true love in life. The moonlig ht makes her feel "the first throbbings of desire." (Chopin, 32)&9Books, more often than not, are better than the movies that are made from them. This is due to the immense power of our imaginations. Readers use their imaginations to fill the piazza that exists between him/herself and the book with such things as dreams, past experiences, and hopes. For this reason, there is much more depth and symbolic depictions in the novella, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, compared with the movie version, Grand Isle. collect to this, the effect on the reader is much more potent than the effect on the viewer.

Planck V. Indiana :: essays research papers

Planck v. Indiana     In the reviewing the case of Planck v. Indiana, many complicated issuesarise. Included in those, individual rights conflicting with the universal goodare among the most difficult. According to Mr and Mrs. Plancks attorney, JohnPrice, the Plancks apparitional beliefs prohibit them from accepting professionalmedicine practice, as they practice alternative medicine and scale school theirchildren. After a complaint from an older Planck daughter, who did not embraceor respect her familys lifestyle, the state was called in to investigate thehealth of the Planck children. In a preliminary check by the state of Indianafor eyesight, Lance Planck was found not to be in need of any service. Despitethis finding, the Madison County gilt-edged Court ordered that all of the Planckschildrens eyes be examined by the state. One month after the Court orderedthis, twenty armed officers with guns drawn came to the Plancks dwelling andcommanded Mr. and Mrs. Planck to give up their children. Mr. Planck told theofficers that he did not know why they were there, was pushed to the ground andhad loaded rifles pointed at him. The children were then forcibly removed fromtheir parents custody, and at no measure was any identification shown by theofficers. Curt, Lance Plancks younger brother, resisted this removal from hishouse, and was threatened by an officer that he would be "dragged out of here."After this scene, Emily, Stephen, and Curtis Planck were loaded into a van anddriven to an eye doctor in Anderson, Indiana. The examining doctor, Dr. JosephWoschitz, came to the conclusion that no treatment was needed for any of thechildren. How can the state justify this type of air? Is ripping a childunwillingly from his mothers arms in the best interest of the public good?What does society have to benefit from this? In short, this does not affect thepublic good per se, but does affect the Plancks and any other family thatpractices a rel igion that is not widely accepted.     Following the above events, Mr. and Mrs. Planck were subsequentlyarrested, had their first Amendment rights violated, and had their home invadedby armed SWAT team members who fired a CS tear gas canister into their house.Simply, Mr. and Mrs. Planck and their children were targeted by the stateselectively because of their religious beliefs which they manifested in homeeducation and the practice of alternative medicine. The fundamental argumenthere is that the Plancks rights have been violated, and the State of Indianahas overstepped its duty of caring for the Plancks children.

Against Capital Punishment Essay -- essays research papers

At 800 p.m. it was nearing the end of John Evans last day on death row. He had spent most of the day with his minister and family, praying and talking of what was to come. At 820 he was walked from his cell refine to the long antechamber to the deed room and strapped in the electric chair. At 830 p.m. the first jolt of 1900 volts passed through Mr. Evans body. It lasted 30 seconds. Sparks and flames erupted from the electrode tied to Mr. Evans leg. His body slammed against the straps holding him in the chair and his fist clenched permanently. The electrode then burst from the strap holding it in place. A large puff of gray smoke and sparks pored out from to a lower place the hood that covered his face. An overpowering stench of burnt flesh and clothing began pervading the witness room. Two doctors then examined Mr. Evans and declared that he was not dead.The electrode was then refastened and Mr. Evans was disposed another 30-second jolt. The stench was nauseating. Again the doct ors examined him and found his heart still beating. At this time the prison commissioner, who was talking on the line with Governor George Wallace of Alabama, was asked to cancel the execution on the grounds that Mr. Evans was being subject to cruel and unusual punishment. The request was denied.At 840 p.m. the third charge of electricity was passed through Mr. Evans body. At 844 p.m. he was pronounced dead. The execution took 14 minutes. Afterward officials were embarrassed by what one observer called the barbaric ritual. The electric chair is say to be a very humane way of administering death, if there is one (Zimring, & Hawkins, 1986, p.1).Every Western Industrial nation has stopped executing criminals, except the join States. Most Western nations have executed criminals in this century, and many were executed after World War II. Then executions suddenly decreased (Clay, 1990, p.9). This is partly because the commonwealth in many European countries might have been tired of kil ling from the war. In most characters the countries and states that stopped capital punishment followed with its formal abolition concisely after (Clay, 1990, p.10). One reason that the United States did not end capital punishment at this time is partly due to the fact that the war was never fought on our soil and US citizens had not all lived through the death and destruction of WWII personally. Some think that ... ...yclists from Los Angeles who were innocent. The jurys verdict in this case was based on alleged eyewitnesses and a perjured testimony. If it hadnt been for the investigation of newspaper journalists, and the confession of the real killer, they too would have died innocent men (Bedau, 1999, November 10).Though these both(prenominal) stories have reassuring endings, but the chances of good outcomes happening are small. People are too commonly wrongly accused of crimes. There will eer be overzealous prosecution, perjured testimony, faulty police work, coerced confe ssions, the defendants previous criminal record, and inept defense councils. People will be wrongly nonplus to death leaving their families behind wondering who was telling the truth. As long as society chooses to ignore its moral values, and as long as it brings down the value of a human life, capital punishment will remain in use. People must do the research and see for themselves the costs to society, both in dollars and in lives, are far too high. People will always make mistakes, and with the death penalty in use innocent people will die. For these reasons the United States should follow the lead and abolish capital punishment.

Against Capital Punishment Essay -- essays research papers

At 800 p.m. it was nearing the completion of John Evans last day on death row. He had spent most of the day with his curate and family, praying and talking of what was to come. At 820 he was walked from his cell down to the long hall to the execution room and slashped in the electric chair. At 830 p.m. the first jolt of 1900 volts passed through with(predicate) Mr. Evans body. It lasted 30 seconds. Sparks and flames erupted from the electrode tied to Mr. Evans leg. His body slammed against the straps holding him in the chair and his fist clenched permanently. The electrode then burst from the strap holding it in place. A large puff of gray smoke and sparks pored out from under the hood that covered his face. An overpowering stench of burnt conformation and clothing began pervading the witness room. Two doctors then examined Mr. Evans and decl ared that he was not dead.The electrode was then refastened and Mr. Evans was given another 30-second jolt. The stench was nauseating. Ag ain the doctors examined him and found his heart silence beating. At this time the prison commissioner, who was talking on the line with Governor George Wallace of Alabama, was asked to cancel the execution on the grounds that Mr. Evans was being subject to cruel and extraordinary punishment. The request was denied.At 840 p.m. the third charge of electricity was passed through Mr. Evans body. At 844 p.m. he was pronounced dead. The execution took 14 minutes. Afterward officials were embarrassed by what one observer called the barbaric ritual. The electric chair is supposed to be a very humane way of administering death, if on that point is one (Zimring, & Hawkins, 1986, p.1).Every Western Industrial nation has stopped executing criminals, except the United States. Most Western nations have executed criminals in this century, and some(prenominal) were executed after World War II. Then executions suddenly decreased (Clay, 1990, p.9). This is partly because the people in many Europ ean countries might have been trite of killing from the war. In most cases the countries and states that stopped crown punishment followed with its formal abolition shortly after (Clay, 1990, p.10). One reason that the United States did not end capital punishment at this time is partly due to the fact that the war was never fought on our soil and US citizens had not all lived through the death and destruction of WWII personally. Some think that ... ...yclists from Los Angeles who were innocent. The jurys verdict in this case was based on alleged eyewitnesses and a perjured testimony. If it hadnt been for the investigation of newspaper journalists, and the confession of the real killer, they too would have died innocent men (Bedau, 1999, November 10).Though these two stories have reassuring endings, but the chances of good outcomes happening are small. bulk are too commonly wrongly accused of crimes. There entrust always be overzealous prosecution, perjured testimony, faulty pol ice work, coerced confessions, the defendants previous criminal record, and inept defense councils. People will be wrongly put to death leaving their families behind wondering who was telling the truth. As long as society chooses to ignore its moral values, and as long as it brings down the value of a human life, capital punishment will remain in use. People must do the research and see for themselves the costs to society, both in dollars and in lives, are far too high. People will always make mistakes, and with the death penalty in use innocent people will die. For these reasons the United States should follow the lead and abolish capital punishment.