What about the health of our teens?

12/10/2004

Clearly Becky Berry does not care about the health of our teens because Abstinence Until Marriage programming does not allow information about self-protection to be taught. Because teens who have only this education also tend not to use contraceptive protection at first intercourse, they are exposing themselves not only to pregnancy but deadly diseases.

Teen pregnancy has been declining consistently since the early 1990s, well before the push, and massive funding, for Abstinence Until Marriage programs. Repeated studies have shown that both delayed sexual activity and increased contraceptive use account about equally for the decline in pregnancy rates. "Comprehensive" or "Abstinence Plus" curricula such as that used at TPS rightly promote both.

The teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. is still the highest in the industrialized world by far. Comprehensive prevention education is only one piece.

If our society recognized sex as essential, normal, and central to being fully human, with individual accountability for engaging, we might bring teen pregnancy rates down to that of other industrialized countries.

Prohibition did not work with alcohol, and it certainly won't with sex.

BREN BLAINE

Executive Director

Planned Parenthood of NW Ohio

Way to go Target Stores! Get rid of those pesky Salvation Army bell ringers in front of your stores.

What better way to take the spirit of Christ out of Christmas? I suggest not even using the word "Christmas" in promotions because it might show a bias toward Christians or Christian ideals - and at such an inappropriate time of year!

Use the word "Xmas" instead. It surely suits a policy of not favoring or catering to one charity or group above another. But wait. That must be a new policy because I seem to recall seeing a recent Target national TV ad campaign clearly designed to woo affluent, gay shoppers. Gee, is that a bias directed at making money for Target?

Well, at least this Santa won't have to park his sleigh in front of Target this year when he needs more presents.

Anyway my reindeer are trained to home in on those Salvation Army bell ringers who make those familiar sounds of Christmas and foster the spirit of giving. Those are the stores that I'm going to.

Ernest P. Ryan

Temperance

If you add up the amount of money wasted the past couple of years on consultants for the Marina District project, trying to save the dead Southwyck Shopping Center, the steam plant, and other city projects, I would bet that no safety forces would have to be laid off. The money was there, just wasted by this administration.

Police protection has not been restored to the levels that were present before the strike in 1979. There are plenty of "administrative" areas where cuts can and should be made to avoid the layoffs. This would also mean the leader of the police TPPA union should also hit the street. The 3/4 percent tax was always to make sure the city was protected. Not for new trees along Hill Avenue or in the median of the Anthony Wayne Trail for example.

Carty Finkbeiner used to call it "brain drain." To me and the rest of the people who fled the city, this is the reason. Brain drain is still present, but it's occupying One Government Center.

Carl Zellner

Waterville

The controversy surrounding the Giant Eagle strep testing can be viewed as two very different philosophical approaches to consumerism of medical services. Giant Eagle is a retailer. As such its consumers pick off the shelf the product(s) wanted. A specific product, be it Folgers Coffee or the strep test, is purchased.

Medical services at doctors' offices are to provide care for that which is likely, but also the recognition and treatment of those conditions which may be not likely but if missed or overlooked could be catastrophic.

Somewhere in between are the consumer-driven purchases of physician services, like selection of exactly what is wanted to alter physical appearance surgically. Compounding this is health insurance carriers selecting some diseases and procedures to be covered, others not.

All are right, as long as one knows exactly what one is getting. Only one problem: It takes an extremely savvy consumer. Dr. Donna Woodson is right by implying that Giant Eagle might not have any corporate sense of responsibility for the missed case of meningitis.

Conversely, traditional physicians must recognize the new wave of consumerism for our services. For my part, I have pulled all the magazines older than two years from my waiting room. To The Blade, I say thanks for the heads up.

G. Mark Seal, MD

Regency Court

I went to St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Collingwood Avenue on Sunday, greatly moved by Molly Ivins' brilliant column. I know that many people have been doing what they can to force America to understand and stop the torture done in each of our names at Guantanamo and around the world.

I mentioned at church in the prayers the International Commission of the Red Cross report finding American torture at Gitmo and the need for us to do something about it.

One of my parishioner friends pointed out to me a stained glass window in the front that he believed had been given in honor of a World War II Marine who had died many years ago.

At the top it said "Semper Fidelis," and about a third of the way down it said "Keep our honor clean."

I know the enemy has done awful things, but we are a nation that is better than that.

Stop American torture. Keep our honor clean, now.

In 10 years, we should not look back in shame at what we did out of fear or, for that matter, did not speak up about out of fear or misguided patriotism.

Benjamin Davis

Alvin Street

Thanks to The Blade for the facts and figures regarding the turnpike workers threatening to strike. It is just another example of unadulterated greed on the part of the union and its workers.

I find this incredible:

1. Workers start at $16.17 per hour with a little less than a 10 percent raise each year, topping out at $20.24 per hour.

(Who else receives raises of this magnitude? I'd be willing to bet even the bad workers still get raises.)

2. Full health insurance benefits at no charge to the employee and prescription co-pays of $5, $10, or $15?

(Most of the rest of us pay from $150 to $300 per month for health insurance and drug co-pays of $40 per prescription.)

3. An 8.5 percent contribution to the employees pension fund?

(Most of the rest of us have to fund our own retirement in additon to Social Security, which is the way it should be.)

4. Retirement with benefits.

(It never ends)

This job is not what you would call rocket science. How much skill is involved to stick your hand out and collect money? The toll booths shouldn't be there anyway, because the Turnpike was supposed to become toll free years ago.

I am sure that if these jobs were posted with lower wages and fewer benefits, people would be standing in line to fill the positions.

I hope The Blade continues its reports on these public employee wages, benefits, and retirement packages. If it does, there will be a marked increase in sales of stomach medication statewide.

Walt Breier

Perrysburg

Am I the only one who sees a problem with someone with HIV spitting in the eye of a police officer getting four years in prison, but someone who has 19 DUIs only gets about six months in prison?

This doesn't seem right to me. Both HIV and drunken driving can kill.

I think we need to change some laws here!

KIM ELLIS

Maumee