Shannon Lewis
English 125
October 10, 2000
TITLE
"Beauty in things exists in the mind
which contemplates them."
David Hume – Scottish philosopher
Each of us arrives in this world quite by chance. The genetic baggage that we bring is not of our choosing. It has been packed for us, by a complex of random, unpredictable events. One's father contributes a minute sperm cell, really nothing more than a nucleus propelled by a thrashing tail. The sperm respond to chemical cues and migrate through the mother's oviduct toward an awaiting egg. The cells which gave rise to the gametes (the sperm and the egg) were each the site of a random reshuffling of chromosomes (Lee, 79). So we are each unique. Each of us begins as a zygote with a total of some 50,000 to 100,000 genes (Lee, 80). These are the code, the instructions, which within hours cause for the first cell to divide into two, then four, then eight and so forth.
After graduating from school and gaining a comfortable means of living, it is then and only then, most couples want to begin their family. Many people can't fathom being unfertile unless proven otherwise. Unfulfilled hopes can strengthen a relationship, but can also drive them far apart. New and ever changing technology will then become the hope for these unfortunate couples. Artificial insemination is but one way to overcome the sadness.
Kristy and Kevin had one beautiful little boy - Trevor, but that wasn't enough for them. They had both dreamed of a house full of little feet running and playing cheerfully. After trying to get pregnant time and time again Kristy and Kevin consulted a doctor. The doctors left them with little hope by revealing the confusion of how Kristy managed to get pregnant the first time. Leaving the couple with no other choice Kristy and Kevin decided to give artificial insemination a try. The first attempt was a failure. The second tim...