Planned Parenthood; underage drinking
Planned Parenthood
State Sen. Konni Burton wrote that she is “proud of our state leadership’s commitment” to meeting women’s healthcare needs.” (“Planned Parenthood is not the key to women’s health in Texas,” Aug. 16)
She wrote to “refute” that Planned Parenthood is the only option for under-served women seeking healthcare and family planning.
If Sen. Burton wants us to believe Texas invests so much in women, she should explain why Texas leads the nation in the percentage of residents without insurance.
Texas needs more providers of comprehensive reproductive healthcare services. The Department of Health and Human Services has warned states threatening to defund Planned Parenthood that telling patients where they can and can’t get care violates federal law.
Burton and others ignore that many unintended pregnancies can be attributed to limited availability and/or incorrect use of contraception.
If these leaders focused less on the use of fetal tissue in vital and potentially lifesaving medical research and directed more attention to providing medically accurate, science-based education programs and contraceptives, all Texans would benefit.
Planned Parenthood fills that vital role.
— Tori Adams, Fort Worth
Underage drinking
When we think of the consequences of underage drinking, some immediately think of drunken driving.
That risk is real. Last year, 1,949 Texas drunken-driving crashes involved drinking drivers under age 21, leading to 91 deaths and 222 serious injuries, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
However, more than two-thirds of deaths from underage drinking do not involve driving.
For example, binge drinking between ages 12-20 affects learning, memory and motivation.
We must help children understand that it’s never safe or acceptable to drink before they’re 21.
They’ll listen: 62 percent of Texas teens say their parents are the motivating factor for them not to drink.
The MADD Power of Parents program is available for free at www.madd.org/texas.
— Jason Derscheid, executive director, MADD North Texas, Fort Worth
Letters
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This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Planned Parenthood; underage drinking."