I would like to share a couple of things that have perked my interest. Hope it’s not old news but, in any event, would love your opinions. I will try and frame the information in a way that excludes my personal feelings. Good luck on that one!

1.) At the beginning of the week, a Georgia man who was involved in a consensual sex case at the age of 17 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, was granted release by a Superior Court judge. He had already served 2 years. However, the state objected, so the guy was not freed. Now it must go to the Georgia Supreme Court for a ruling.

Here are the basics of the case: In 2003, at the age of 17, a high school football
player received oral sex from a 15 year old girl at a New Year’s Eve party. Under
Georgia law, although the sex was consensual, the encounter constituted
“aggravated child molestation”. (At that time there was a more
severe penalty for oral sex than intercourse.) The year after his sentencing, the
legislators changed the law to make consensual sex between teenagers a
misdemeanor rather than a felony. Also, a bill that would have allowed judges to
review controversial penalties stalled in the Georgia Senate. Meanwhile, this now
21 year old young man who is registered for life as a sex offender, is back in
prison while the state and the judge duke it out. If the state wins, he would have to
serve 8 more years in prison.

My questions:
Was the law fair in the first place?
Should the judicial system even be involved in matters such as these?
As the act was admittedly consensual and both parties were minors, why was
the male targeted and not the female?

2.) Last December, in Rome, Georgia (believe me, it is just a coincidence), a 42 year old mother of two wanted emergency contraception. But while trying to fill her prescription at a Kroger pharmacy, she was told the head pharmacist refused to stock it.

Since that time, this women’s studies professor (ironic, isn’t it?), with the help of her students, called all of the pharmacies in the local area to find out
what barriers women faced when trying to buy emergency contraception.
Now she has joined forces with NARAL Pro Choice America, to introduce the
Access to Birth Control (ABC) Act. The bill is being sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans. This legislation would insure a woman’s
right to birth control, including emergency contraception, without harassment or delay. In addition, she held a press conference in Atlanta calling on lawmakers to pass legislation improving rape survivors’ access to emergency contraception.

My question:
Do you think any pharmacist or doctor has the right to refuse services or
treatment based on their personal beliefs?

3.) Since the Bush administration has taken office, there has been an enormous push
on the part of the President and, prior to the 2006 election, the Republican Congress, to promote faith-based abstinence. Many leaders of Christian-right organizations have been appointed positions and granted advisory status at the Department of Health and Human Services. In turn, the organizations of these
top-level advisors have received tens of millions of dollars in AIDS and abstinence grants and federal contracts. By some accounts, more than one billion dollars has been earmarked by the Bush administration for abstinence-only policies, mostly to companies who supported and funded his campaign. A spokesperson for one of these major enterprises stated, “There are three areas we’re about. We’re promoting pro-life causes, abstinence and HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa and we’re now moving with that into China”. The company who employs this same guy pumps hundreds of thousands of dollars into many other conservative causes, including Concerned Women for America and the Federalist Society. They have also launched investigative attacks on Planned Parenthood.

My questions:
Do you think abstinence-only programs work?
Should we as taxpayers be paying for these programs?

Sorry this is so lengthy. Perhaps you can find the Cliff’s Notes in your local bookstore. Again, I would love to hear opinions on any or all of these subjects.

I guess everyone will be heading out for summer holidays so have fun and be safe.