| Show 040010"' I i i The Salt Lake Tribune oft '19 roarrrt 0 COMMENTARY The Public Foram 113 ommo60 - --- 's- C) 17 Itillb k Vt---- tk- 'le 7' A ecte--- - c r ' -I lb C) CI tifi f-177 vt tua 4t1 Scientists Have a Terrible Bedside illamier CHICAGO TRIBUNE SERVICE CHICAGO — Scientists are to do it?" en- gaged in frenzied competition In research centers all over this country they are racing to see who can come up with a new study or shocking finding that will be the week's most depressing news story If it isn't what we shouldn't be eating or drinking or breathing it is the end of the world That's this week's Newsweek cover story: Everything you want to know about "Doomsday Science" and how comets and asteroids might get us and if they don't the sun will fry us to a crisp But that isn't the worst since the world isn't expected to end for a few billion years so we have time to get our estates in order and put on clean underwear Of more immediate concern is a study that was unveiled at a meeting of the American Heart Association The study said that if you are going to have a heart attack you are more likely to have it on a Monday than on any other day of the week In fact the rate of heart attacks on Mondays is 50 higher than any other day of the week But not for everyone If you are a woman at home Mondays aren't any more dangerous than any other day (If you wonder what "a woman at home" is you don't listen to public radio which is where political correctness is at its most correct A woman at home is how they now describe what used to be called a housewife homemaker wife mother etc in the sexist days of old) Nor is Monday dangerous if you are a man at home Or even a man sitting in the corner tavern which is far better than being a man at home Mondays are dangerous only to the tickers of those who have to get up and go to work Which shows what a racket scientific research really is The group that 1 By Arthur Caplan NEWS SERVICE KNIGHT-RIDDE- ST PAUL Minn — A California woman gave birth Nov 11 to twins Giving birth at 53 is remarkable enough but ld even more remarkably the woman had the babies even though she had lost the ability to make eggs Mary Shearing and her husband Don created the twins using eggs donated by a woman in her 20s The eggs were then fertilized using a process known as in vitro fertilization The eggs were surgically removed from the donor and mixed with Don's sperm in a laboratory dish some of the resulting embryos then were implanted in Mary Shearing's womb where they became Amy Leigh and Kelly Ann 1 heard about the birth of the twins on TV The newscaster said that Mary Shearing was the first woman to successfully give birth after menopause to twins But the ethical issues raised woman uses when a donated eggs to get pregnant are not so simple Not because a couple is somehow too "old" to be parents But because the procedure may be too dangerous for the children who are created in this way Mary Shearing and her husband went public last October about their efforts to have a child They and their doctors at Martin Luther Hospital held a press conference to a rapt audience of dozens of journalists at which they announced that Mary was the oldwoman ever est to become pregnant The media quickly grabbed the story and ran out to find people who didn't think what the Shearings were doing was such a hot idea Some professional hand wringers including rne wondered whether it was a good idea for a woman to face the of pregnancy Others rigors concern about whether it ld ii Mike Royko 410 kJ revealed the Monday Ticker Threat spent years studying thousands of people But anybody who works could have saved them the bother Every Monday morning millions of people around the world get up shuffle into the bathroom look in the mirror think about the hectic commute the hated boss the tedious job the long week ahead and maybe the pain of a hangover and mutter: "Agh I could die" So should it be surprising that many of them do? This study will receive widespread attention as all grim scientific findings do That's why the scientists are in their Gloom Race They know that good news is ignored Or even suppressed Somewhere under government lock and key is a study that says the martini is good for you And two martinis are better for you than one But that study is being kept secret because it would make millions of husbands happy and millions of wives furious and poses a danger to family values Most people will overlook the real significance of the Dangerous Monday Study It isn't that Mondays are bad for you It's that work is If people weren't getting up to go to work the Monday heart-attac- k rate would probably drop It proves that Slats Grobnik was way ahead of his time Years ago he heard some experts talk about the benefits of work and the glories of the work ethic and how it builds character pride and a sense of purpose Slats said: "Yeah? If work is so good how come they got to pay us self-estee- m Too Many Risks for al Tribune Readers' Opinions It1) awe'" A39 Friday November 20 1992 Post-Menopaus- al was fair to bring a baby into the world knowing that the kid would be entering high school about the time mom was applying for Medi- care Don and Mary Shearing weren't very worried about the age factor "While it is important" Mary said "it is not something you run your life by" Their doctor David Diaz noted that Mary was in good health making her chances of having a successful childbirth equal to those of a younger woman Lots of couples fell asleep arguing about whether grandmoms ought to have babies But the birth of the twins ought to remind us that more than adult choices and preferences are involved when technology is used to make a baby Mary and Don Shearing's twins arrived three months early One of the twins weighed 2 pounds 2 ounces at birth the other 2 pounds 12 ounces They are very low birth weight very premature babies And they are the reason we need to proceed more cautiously in using egg donation and in vitro fertilization to permit older women to get pregnant Premature babies face some very dismal statistics About a quarter of all children born at 28 weeks die Roughly one in 10 have severe bleeding in their brains that can cause retardation and other problems Thirteen percent have chronic lung failure Nearly a quarter have significant physical or mental impairment Premature babies spend a lot of time in neonatal intensive care The cost of one day for infant intensive care is $2500 Bills of $50000 to $100000 are not at all uncommon for preemies the size of the Shearing twins Extreme preemies also face a 30 chance of having to go back to the hospital for a long stay at Besides identifying Monday as the most dangerous of days the scientists also pinpointed the most dangerous hours on Monday or any other day They said you are more likely to keel over during the first two hours after getting out of bed So we now know that we are in greatest peril during those 120 minutes when we roll out of the sack gulp down some coffee scrape the stubble from our faces (or apply makeup as in the case of female persons or alternativelifestyled males) listen to the morning broadcasts of mankind's latest madness plunge into traffic and get out there to hustle a buck And especially on a Monday morning Now that we know of this peril what can be done to reduce it? Hah That is another trick of the scientists First they say: "We have a new study that shows you are in grave danger" And we say: "Oh my goodness what should we do?" And they say: "Uh we don't know yet" Well thank you very much You go ahead and ruin Monday mornings for millians of people then you say in effect: "Well if next Monday you should suddenly feel like an ape has you in a bear hug remember you heard it from us first" However the solution seems obvious Don't get up on Monday mornings Stay home Pull the blanket over your head and don't get up until Tuesday Happy Valley News While Not Where to Write not opposed to The I am Salt Lake Tribune reporting on what LDS authorities say or do I do object to Tribune reports which merely parrot the LDS party line giving only one side of the story even if the message promoted at the time is a negative one All statements by LDS authorities are usually presented by The Tribune as though they are politically correct Just because the LDS religion is dominant in Utah is no reason for The Tribune to be used as a public relations outlet or missionary tool for the Mormon Church A Tribune report about any religious cult which would encourage crocodiles to run between the pews during healing services would probably contain contrasting information about the validity of such a practice including interviews with survivors and relatives of those bitten or eaten by the crocodiles Tribune "One-True-Chur- reporters Happy-Mormon-New- s'' should realize that a large number of Tribune readers are not satisfied Mormons The walking wounded of Mormonism those mauled b3) the crocodiles of the LDS system also abound in this valley HELEN RADKEY Salt Lake City Utah 84110 AIDS Confusion MG Linder's letter (Forum Nov 9) concerning AIDS is sick and confused Linder asks rhetorically " there are limits to how far government agencies ought to go in order to protect us against our- basis enjoy both riding and hunting careful selection of clothing is all that is necessary to safeguard oneself while riding in a public area during hunting season While there may actually be individuals who hunt in a closing the Wasatch front to hunting unfairly discriminates against responsible hunters and would ultimately damage the wildlife population There are many more regulations limiting hunting area than there are restrictions on biking and the entire open season for hunting only affects perhaps 5 of the biking season I believe if common sense and prevail the two sports can share the Wasatch I A ss JIM E BROWN Sandy are there not?" It making appropriate lifestyle choices?" Mr Linder suggests that the money spent on AIDS research would be better spent on " cancer victims abused chil" dren If his concern is cost doesn't he realize that $10 immunization shots for AIDS were they ever to be found could save billions in medical costs that we all pay now to help AIDS sufferers? And consider the lost productivity and creativity of those wasted lives Is Linder's concern moral? People could avoid lung cancer by 4) that somebody had to speak up about the danger of playing in the NBA against Earvin "Magic" Johnson and that by doing just that Karl Malone did the right thing Mr Malone is depicted as someone who has taken too much abuse in this case abuse that probably resulted from assumptions made by the media Yet by assuming there is more to Mr Johnson's than the various controversies Mr Rosetta is guilty of the same I agree that Mr Malone did not knowingly stab Mr Johnson in the back However is not this situation indicative of the larger HIV issue? Does not Mr Malone's fear of such an infinitesimal possibility reinforce the myths and stereotypes associated with HIV? e GUS double-s- paced not smoking heart disease through better diet and many other diseases with personal lifestyle choices Is Mr Linder's complaint really about sexual conduct? The reproductive choice to bring more than two children into an already overcrowded world leaves us all paying the educational and social costs Are we to accept the sick idea that AIDS victims who contracted the disease through sexual conduct that Mr Linder does not approve of deserve to die? PHIL PEARL Salt Lake City J MAGANN Salt Lake City Unwelcome Mat The Salt Lake City-Count- Moms least once during their first year of life because they get another serious illness The technology to rescue premature very low birth weight babies is so new that there is relatively little information on how these kids do as adults Families like the Shearings ought to be free to have kids without requiring the permission of the government ethicists or anyone else But when it comes to reproductive technologies it is silly and morally irresponsible to behave as if medical science knows what it is doing when it does not There are very real risks when older women get pregnant These can however be explained so a woman can choose what she wants to do The problem with using egg donation in menopausal woman is that it poses very real even fatal risks not only to the mom but to her babies There is a very good chance that older mothers will not be able to carry a pregnancy safely to term So not only do we need to consider the health of the mother but also the legal ambiguities about maternity that arise when donor eggs are used the downside of having older parents and the real risk that any children who result face a real risk of being born too soon — so soon that they risk death or permanent severe disability It seems rude even cruel to say that a technology that holds out the promise of having a child to a desperate woman or couple ought not be used because it is toorisky Still the doctors and couples who want to use this technique must remember that they are experimenting with the lives of children who cannot give their consent Arthur Caplan is director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at British population smokes Salt Lake County should keep in mind that a successful vacation destination is one that makes its guests feel welcome comfortable and at home Banning smoking tells tourists who smoke that they can take their money elsewhere SHARRIE MARTIN Salt Lake City the University of Minnesota Medical School and is a columnist for the St Paul Pioneer Press recently purchased Saturns we've essentially run out of cars For those of you still in the market for apparently one of the most popular American-mad- e automobiles we have a limited number of new Saturns scheduled for delivery soon If this were a standard sort of car ad Saturn would now offer some incredible incentives to anyone willing to come in and put down a deposit on one of the "limited number" of Saturns arriving early next month But then that's not the way Saturn does business high-pressu- re tactics on the showroom floor Or the wheeling and dealing behind the scenes But whatyou will find is a environment a good value and a solid automobile The very reason we can't keep enough Saturns on hand to satisfy the demand To experience the Saturn difference foryourself stop by and nrtel see one of the last Saturns we're holding onto SATUZN: until the next shipment arrives You can't miss the Saturn store It's the one without a parking lot full of new cars in front of it no-hass- le SATURN of SALT LAKE A DIFFERENT KIND If you'd C a 1992 of Wht Temple COMPANY y one-fourt- Thanks to the hundreds of people who 8tb So - al We'd certainly like to sell but Saturn new a you You won't find the usual - Board of Health has proposed a regulation which would with few exceptions ban smoking in virtubuildally every ing in Salt Lake County This ban would include eating establishments entertainment centers hotel and motel facilities and many other places that tourists visit Untold amounts of time money and energy have gone into attracting tourists to visit Salt Lake City and surrounding areas Now the board of health wants the county to shoot itself in the foot by banning smoking in "public" places h Over of Americans smoke For most other nationalities the rate is higher More than 60 of Japanese males smoke more than 40 of German males smoke and over a third of the But the scientists already thought of that They said people would just start dropping dead on Tuesdays instead of Mondays So you can't win unless you want to stay in bed until Sunday which is the safest day of the week for your heart Unfortunately most of us can't do that But I wish those scientists would Either that or tell us the truth about the martini n response to BJ Nicholls letter "Hunt less Preserves" (Forum Nov 7) I too ride my mountain bike on many of the Wasatch Front trails on a regular continues "Should billions of tax dollars be spent to fight a disease which can be controlled by people Salt Lake Tribune sports editor HIV-positiv- numbers Information other than your name will be kept confidential Preference is given to original letters of 300 words or less that are typewritten and permit publication of the writer's true name (Names may be withheld for good reason) All letters are subject to editing Mail to Public Forum The Salt Lake Tribune PO Box 887 Salt Lake City selves Promotes Fear Dick Rosetta contends (Nov When submitting letters to the Public Forum please include your full name signature address and daytime telephone Incompatible-I- A DIFFERENT KIND like to know more about Saturn and aut new oda rid coupe and wagono pleaot call no of at I CAR 5t Saturn Corporation p I |
