Didn't Expect That

On Wednesday, April 19th, the students of Dr. Johnson's Contemporary Moral Issues class began presenting its group projects. One of these projects was an app designed for women and teens who have become pregnant. The app functioned as a kind of support system that offered the expecting mothers information on pregnancy and labor without having to suffer through the shame or embarrassment of asking for help. This information regarded what a person should and should not do when pregnant, how to deal with the symptoms of pregnancy, and, for those who were unsure, how to tell if you are pregnant. The app contained multiple sections to make it easier to find what you needed and offered services that went beyond simple advice, such as means to contact doctors should the need arise, videos of other people's experiences with pregnancy, and a way to perform a sonogram at any time. This app held a great deal of potential, but was sadly not as good as it could have been, as it lacked a few properties that would drastically alter its effectiveness, as was pointed out by multiple students.

To begin with, before gaining access to the services the app provides one had to first offer their Social Security Number as part of their account, claiming it was a necessity for hospitals that needed these numbers to accept the users of the app. This however, would likely prevent the app from reaching all the people it could as many would be turned away by the potential dangers associated with giving out their numbers. Another issue which was not mentioned during the class was regarding support for those who did not wish to keep their children. The entirety of the app was catered towards those who wanted to give birth to a happy, healthy child. However, should a woman become pregnant due to rape or be financially, physically, or emotionally incapable of caring for their child, this app would have been far less useful to her. The app should have also mentioned how to deal with deciding whether or not to abort a child as well as what channels to go through to have a baby who is born be sent to a loving family. And in addition to not being useful to these people, it fails to address how to deal with the depression that can follow if a pregnancy has significant difficulties or goes completely wrong. In short, this app could very well be useful after the addition of several features.