Parental input gone in school-based clinics
School-based health clinics are popping up everywhere, but parents should know that their right to decide what's best for their children is being sacrificed for this convenience.
As stated in the clinic waiver parents are required to sign, New York state law does not require parental consent or notification for treatment or advice about drug abuse, alcoholism, sexually transmitted disease, reproductive health or mental health issues. Reproductive health includes contraception and abortion. Furthermore, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, parental consent is not required for minors who can give informed consent and are mature enough to make their own health care decisions. The determination of maturity is up to the health care provider.
The Guttmacher Institute, the educational arm of Planned Parenthood, says that, is most cases, state laws apply to all minors age 12 and older.
In my opinion, that means a sixth-grader can be treated for depression or drug abuse or given contraception and taken out of school for an abortion without their parents' knowledge or consent. Yet they cannot get an aspirin without parental consent.
A recent study by the Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center shows a strong connection between the use of oral contraceptives and the deadly "triple negative breast cancer." The study found that the connection was highest among women who began using oral contraceptives while they were teenagers. Those who start using oral contraceptives before the age of 18 multiply their risk by 3.7 times.
This study also showed a 40 percent risk increase for women who had induced abortions.
We need to tell our legislators that we don't want school clinics unless the laws are changed to guarantee parents' rights to have input in their children's health care.
Paul J. Wenner
Stamford
Give me a reason to return to New York
I left New York state many years ago, and now have a chance to return "home." I always considered New York as my home while in the service, and now have a chance to return. I have traveled back and forth from Delaware County to Nebraska and after each trip to New York, I wonder why I even ponder returning. High taxation, declining property values, lack of employment opportunities are all cons on my list.
Lincoln, Neb., was recently in the news as a prime example of success and fiscal responsibility, and New York it appears is the total opposite.
I love the Oneonta area, and the house in Delaware County is a retirement dream, but with the latest idiocy of the closing of Parks and Recreation facilities to keep the dependency culture of New York City, I believe my mind is made up. All I ask is for someone with a sense of reason to give me a reason to come "home."
John M. Stanley
Lincoln, Neb.
