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Show Jeen pregnancy vaccination indicts only women An attempt to implement a program by a Cook County, Illinois Il-linois commissioner to "vaccinate all young women under the age of 18 against pregnancy has local officials concerned. The proposal, "Preventing Modern Pandoras: Vaccinating Young Women Against Pregnancy and Abortion," was submitted sub-mitted May 27, by Maria Pappas, one of the Commissioners of Cook County which includes the city of Chicago. OO Her proposal suggests that Norplant, the five year birth con-V"T con-V"T trol implant should be "promoted and encouraged through the I health and educational systems as well as civic and religious organizations as a necessary vaccination." Pappas further sug-j sug-j I gests that "$100 could be offered to women who seek the I implant.' Candace Gunnel, chairwoman of the Sex Respect program J for Davis County is appalled at the idea. She claims that the proposal does not address the idea of abstinence, the focus of the Sex Respect curriculum now being taught in Davis County schools. Beyond that obvious omission, the proposal puts the entire problem of teen-age pregnancy squarely on the shoulders of young women. Not once in the 30 page document is the subject of a man ' s role in the problem addressed. Teen-age pregnancy is a rising problem across the nation, but why should the entire focus of solutions be directed to teen-age girls? Why can't young men be held responsible for their actions? The suggestion that young women be vaccinated against pregnancy is as ludicrous as suggesting that young men have a vasectomy and later have it reversed, when they have, as the Illinois Il-linois proposal suggests young women should, "Achieve some form of self-supporting status, at the very minimum, they must complete their high school education, obtain some degree of job stability and security and have developed a stable partnership partner-ship arrangement with another individual before becoming pregnant." Why do women have to learn to go it alone before they have children? What message do we want our children to learn about men. The constant complaints about male bashing by the I media seem to be justified by the Illinois report that suggests "We must instill in young women that bearing even one child before they are economically, emotionally and physically able to do so, will result in a self-imposed life-sentence of underemployment, poverty and stress and their children to a life of neglect, inadequate care, delinquency and unemployment." unemploy-ment." Where is the man? The report suggests that society has failed to recognize the fact that all children require an extensive support system both during their gestation period and for a minimum of 18 years after their birth. It concludes that "if that support system is of poor quality, or breaks down for any period within that time, the variety of costs both to the woman and society can be severe." se-vere." Again the woman is targeted as the person responsible for the ills of society. That belief is even more clearly stated in the report which quotes the latest statistics which reveal, that the "major source of poverty, child abuse and neglect and an assortment of other serious crimes" can be attributed to women having children before they are physically, emotionally emotional-ly and financially prepared. The Illinois scenario is no different than any other. Nationwide Nation-wide the race is on to teach irresponsible young women about the problems of pregnancy. Vice President Quayle spoke out against the Murphy Browns of this society. For some reason, even in our enlightened society, we still promote the antiquated idea that pregnancy is the woman's problem. "I knew a girl in high school who went out and got herself pregnant," was a description recently given by one Davis County community leader. I If anything needs to be aborted in our society it's that kind of thinking. Let's focus on the entire problem, not just the half that can visibly be branded. Oh |