Categories
Family Planning Population Reproductive Health Women's Issues

Watch this Legislation

Watch this Legislation—2-2011

© Richard Grossman MD, 2011

What is this country coming to? Even if you are not concerned about population issues, you should be concerned about various legislative actions that are gestating now. These bills, if they become law, will be serious steps backwards for the rights of half of our voting population—women.

If they were to become law, the infrastructure of health care for women (and for some men) would be destroyed. Many children will suffer, too.

The efforts at a federal level to restrict access to reproductive health care are in the “spending bill”, H.R. 1. During this economic downturn it makes sense to cut funding, but women and children seem to be getting the short stick.

The federal WIC program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) provides healthy food to pregnant women, their babies and children up to five years of age. Over six million children receive food through this program, as well as more than two million pregnant and breastfeeding women.

One of the strong points of WIC is that the program encourages women to breastfeed. Remember that nursing is healthier for the baby and for the mom, and that nursing also is an effective means of child spacing.

The proposed budget would cut more than a tenth of WIC funding. What will happen to those unfortunate mothers and their children if the WIC program is not available to them?

Another federal program, Title X (ten), provides family planning services to millions of women. It has become even more important since the economic downturn; the number of Americans without health insurance has risen to over 50 million! This program also pays for services such as cancer detection and the diagnosis and treatment of reproductive tract infections. From a purely financial standpoint it is well known that contraception pays for itself in the long run. Every dollar invested in family planning saves more than four dollars in obstetrical and pediatric services. Title X is one of the best programs to save the taxpayers’ money!

Nevertheless, some legislators are trying to take away all funding from Title X in H.R.1 and rwith H.R. 217. Apparently this is to remove support from Planned Parenthood, which administers much of the funding. Although Planned Parenthood does provide abortion care for many women, it carefully observes the laws that prevent using federal funds for abortions.

Furthermore, family planning services have been shown over and over to decrease the demand for abortion. If Title X is canceled there will be an increase in unplanned pregnancies and requests for abortion—just the opposite of what the antiabortion legislators (and you and I) want!

Earlier this month the House of Representatives passed the Pence amendment to H.R. 1 (the spending bill) aimed directly at Planned Parenthood. In addition to taking away Title X moneys, it will prevent any federal money from going to this organization. Fortunately, the Senate (with its Democratic majority) will probably prevent this bill from becoming law.

As a doctor who performs abortions, I take special note of South Dakota HB 1171. It is titled “An Act to expand the definition of justifiable homicide to provide for the protection of certain unborn children”. Just what the bill means, and how it will be interpreted if it becomes law, are uncertain. Perhaps the bill might as well be called the “The abortion doctor assassination authorization act”. Remember that the US Supreme Court declared abortion legal in 1973. Since that date the number of women suffering and dying from abortions has plummeted.

If this bill were to become law it is likely that the few doctors who do perform abortions in South Dakota will stop doing so. Where safe medical abortion services are not available, nonmedical people are ready to take over. Poorly trained people, without proper instruments or sterile technique, worked in the back alleys before 1973. Once again we will see victims of illegal abortionists in our hospitals and morgues.

There is other miserable legislation afoot, but these—H.R.1, the Pence Amendment and South Dakota HB 1171—are among the worst. Keep an eye on them, and let your legislators know that you still respect women and women’s right to have safe and legal abortions. A good source of information about bills before Congress is www.opencongress.org, which not only provides information but also makes it easy to email legislators.

Call our federal legislators and let them know what you think about these bills: Representative Scott Tipton—202.225-4761 Senator Mark Udall—970.247-1047 Senator Michael Bennet—970.259-1710

Categories
Population

Micronutrients

Imagine that you could be ten IQ points smarter! Even better, imagine that you could make millions of people more intelligent. Although it is too late for you and me to be smarter, we do have the potential to improve the brainpower of others.
What would it take to achieve this? Ensure they get sufficient amounts of iodine, an essential micronutrient. People who live by the ocean and eat fish consume adequate iodine, but inland it is often a different story. More than a billion people live in iodine-deficient areas, and half of the world’s births occur in these locations.
Iodine is an essential part of thyroid hormones that regulate metabolism. Growth and development depend on them. When iodine is lacking, a person may feel sluggish and have little energy. If a mother is deprived of this vital element when she is pregnant, the fetus will not develop properly. The chance of miscarriage is increased—and so is the risk of stillbirth.
If an iodine-baby deficient survives, it is likely to be born small, develop slowly, and be left with severe, permanent mental and physical deficits. (An old term for congenital hypothyroidism is “cretinism.”) In richer countries, including the USA, newborns are routinely screened for the and the problem is treated in time.
Because all people consume salt, the best way to get adequate iodine is by eating iodine-fortified salt. Most salt sold in this country is iodized. Sea salt may not contain sufficient iodine.
Kiwanis International and UNICEF have worked to increase the iodization of salt worldwide. When they started twenty years ago only about 20 percent of the developing world’s salt supply was iodized, but now over 70 percent is. But there are still those billion-plus people—responsible for half the world’s births—who lack access to this essential micronutrient.
How does this influence population? Child survival is key to slowing population growth. Unless people can be sure that their kids will grow into healthy adults, they will continue to have large families. Furthermore, societies will benefit from healthier, smarter citizens with adequate iodine.
Iodine is not the only micronutrient essential to good health. Although micronutrient deficiency is most common in developing countries, even wealthy countries have vulnerable populations. Many breastfeeding women in the USA are low in at least one vitamin or mineral. Deficiencies are made worse in the tropics where many people (especially children) are infested by parasites that suck nutrients from their human hosts.
Most patients I see already know about the importance of folic acid (vitamin B9). B9 is essential for the synthesis of DNA (our genetic coding) and thus is critical during pregnancy. Without adequate levels a developing fetus may have serious problems, including brain or spinal cord abnormalities. We recommend that every woman take at least 0.8 mg daily starting three months before conception, and during pregnancy and nursing. Natural sources include leafy vegetables and beans, and many processed foods are supplemented with folic acid.
Vitamin A deficiency is rare in the US, but in developing countries it is both common and devastating. Vitamin A has essential benefits in addition to preventing night blindness. Children deficient in Vitamin A may develop permanent blindness from scarring of the cornea—the window in the front of the eye-—and they usually die within a year of loosing their sight.
Vitamin A is fat soluble, so it can be dosed just once or twice a year. Programs to distribute vitamin A have been very successful in preserving children’s vision. Further, vitamin A given to at-risk populations can reduce child mortality by 23% because kids are more resistant to measles and other infectious diseases. Women with adequate vitamin A levels may be less likely to die in childbirth.
Other vitamins and minerals are also important for the realization of full human potential. We in the USA are fortunate that most of us get all the micronutrients we need from our diet. Indeed, occasionally people ingest toxic amounts from taking too many supplements. In poorer countries though, many people (especially children) have multiple deficits. The organization Vitamin Angels (vitaminangels.org) helps distribute micronutrients internationally. Their site includes much information about micronutrients, as well as inspiring success stories from their programs.
The next time you shake salt onto food, think about iodine, Folic Acid, Vitamin A, and the other micronutrients our bodies need to be healthy. Then consider how simple it can be to improve the brainpower and overall health of millions of people.

© Richard Grossman MD, 2010
This article may be copied or published but must remain intact, with attribution to the author. I also request that the words “First published in the Durango Herald” accompany any publication. For more information, please write the author at: richard@population-matters.org.