* The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t think much of parents who use the TV as a baby-sitter, judging by a recent report released on the subject. The report says “toddlers and babies should not watch television, while older children should not be allowed to have television sets in their bedrooms,” according to an article in the National Post yesterday. Exposure to the mass media has risks and benefits, says the academy, but media education is necessary to help parents distinguish good exposure from bad and to make their child-rearing decisions accordingly. The report was published in this month’s issue of Pediatrics magazine.
* There is a good article from yesterday’s desertnews.com on the importance of teens being counseled prior to making a decision to get an abortion.
* Two international stories report on abortuaries that have closed down because of consistent pressure from pro-life protestors. The Miami Herald today reports that “Patricia Baird Windle, whose battle with activists led to a landmark US Supreme Court decision in 1994 protecting the right of women to be free of harassment outside abortion clinics” has sold her 2 abortuaries, admitting that she has been worn down by more than a decade of what the Herald called “anti-abortion militants”. The Irish Times reported yesterday that the Ulster Pregnancy Advisory Association has closed its doors after more than 20 years following what the paper called, “picketing of its counsellors’ homes and the vandalism of its Belfast headquarters.”
* The African country of Malawi is planning to introduce legislation to prosecute AIDS carriers who recklessly spread the disease, reported African Eye News Service yesterday.