Recent editorials from Georgia newspapers:
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Oct. 1
The Valdosta Daily Times on bringing awareness to domestic violence during the month of October:
October is recognized nationally as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Domestic violence is a problem everywhere, including Valdosta, Lowndes County and South Georgia.
A large percentage of 911 calls and law-enforcement responses are the result of domestic violence.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence:
_ Every nine seconds, a woman is assaulted or beaten in the United States.
_ An average of 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute in the U.S.
_ There are more than 10 million abuse victims across the U.S. annually.
_ One in three women and one in four men have been physically abused by an intimate partner.
_ One in five women and one in seven men have been severely physically abused by an intimate partner.
_ One in seven women and one in 18 men have been stalked. Stalking causes targets to fear they or someone close to them will be harmed or killed.
_ On a typical day, domestic violence hotlines nationwide receive approximately 20,800 calls.
_ The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500 percent.
_ Domestic violence accounts for 15 percent of all violent crime.
_ Domestic violence is most common among women between the ages of 18-24.
_ Nineteen percent of domestic violence involves a weapon.
_ Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior.
_ Only 34 percent of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries.
We are fortunate to have organizations such as The Haven, along with local churches and faith-based groups to provide services to area women who have suffered from domestic violence and important educational programs.
Schools in the Valdosta, Lowndes County and adjoining school districts have trained counseling professionals on staff to help young people address issues associated with violence in the home.
We also commend law enforcement in both the county and city for trained professionals who are often called upon to diffuse dangerous situations and to deal with victims in caring and sensitive ways.
Domestic violence knows no socio-economic, racial or geographical boundaries.
It exists among all social groups and in every community.
Domestic violence within families is something no one wants to discuss.
However, it is a conversation that must take place.
The culture needs to be changed and the cycle needs to be broken.
We encourage more public dialogue and more conversations among families, especially children, to make it clear that violence is not a solution to problems in relationships and is never the right way to express frustrations or anger.
Online: https://www.valdostadailytimes.com
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Sept. 30
The Augusta Chronicle on legislation that would require midwives be licensed in Georgia:
Would a license have saved tiny Asa Joy Cruz?
The answer may never emerge in the case of a Dearing midwife now under investigation by the Georgia Board of Nursing.
Ashlyn and Gabriel Cruz, instead of rushing to a hospital, chose to give birth to their little girl at their McDuffie County home. Asa died during a delivery spanning two-and-a-half days. Cindy Morrow midwifed for the Cruzes. Now there is a dispute about where the blame lies, if any, in Asa’s death.
Morrow is certified by the North America Registry of Midwives, based in Lilburn. But she isn’t a licensed midwife in the state of Georgia.
Shouldn’t that be an important distinction to draw _ the difference between “certified” and “licensed”?
State Rep. Karen Mathiak (R-Griffin) introduced House Bill 717 in this past legislative session. If signed into law, the new Georgia Licensed Midwife Act would have created the Advisory Board for Licensed Midwives to administer licensure and regulation for the profession.
Currently in Georgia the only midwives who are licensed legally are certified nurse-midwives. There’s an excellent reason: Nurses need licenses, meaning midwives need to be registered nurses. That provides built-in professional quality control.
A Georgia-issued professional license is an imprimatur showing that a worker delivering a service meets standards that prove competency in the trade being practiced. That way, there can be official _ and we hope appropriate _ consequences levied upon workers who don’t hold a required license, or upon sub-par workers who do. It provides a sorely needed layer of accountability.
Georgia requires professional licenses for, among other jobs, lactation consultants, cosmetologists and even nail technicians. Nearly everybody should agree that a person helping deliver your precious baby should possess at least as much state-approved licensure as a person giving you a manicure.
Framed that way, a separate advisory board to license midwives seems to make sense. For years, non-nurse midwives have been asking lawmakers to bestow legal licensure. H.B. 717 would do it.
But H.B. 717 doesn’t require licensed midwives to be registered nurses _ an important distinction for caregivers and their clients. Nurses practice medicine. As for non-nurse midwives, the word “medicine” is only mentioned once in H.B. 717, where it says: “Midwifery shall not constitute the practice of medicine in this state.”
In at least 30 U.S. states, there are legal standards and practices for midwives, nurses or not. Whether Georgia will be included as one of those non-nurse states could be determined next year in Atlanta if another version of H.B. 717 passes.
The question then becomes: Would licensing non-nurse midwives offer more opportunities for mothers to give safe birth? Or would it dilute the state’s pool of the highest medically qualified midwifing caregivers, by legalizing practitioners who didn’t undergo the demanding and rigorous years of study to become nurses?
This much is sure: When you’re dealing with a profession in which human lives are literally in the practitioners’ hands, the word “unlicensed” is one of the last words you’d want to hear. The state should decide who can and must be a legal midwife.
Online: https://www.augustachronicle.com
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Sept. 28
Savannah Morning News on holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for opioid addiction:
Drug manufacturers who market opioids must be held accountable for the nation’s opioid addiction epidemic.
While Perdue Pharma is filing for bankruptcy and paying out billions in damages, it just isn’t enough.
Lives have been shattered.
So many people have died.
So many others have lost loved ones.
There is not enough money in the hands of all the opioid manufacturers combined to pay for the losses.
And that is saying a lot because they have a lot of money while people using the products have been dying right and left.
Without getting into the deep weeds of the science, which frankly we are not qualified to analyze, it is obvious to any observer the drugs were not ready for market and were not dispensed with enough controls.
There are people in Georgia who are notably upset that Attorney General Chris Carr has agreed to join a national settlement agreement that may mean a lot of money to people who have lost family members, but it could also mean putting an end to any future claims against the defunct pharmaceutical giant.
The agreement could mean up to $12 billion in payouts nationwide, over a period of time, and Purdue has filed for bankruptcy as part of the deal.
Carr has defended the decision to join the settlement saying, “Our focus from the beginning has been to hold those accountable for their role in fueling the opioid crisis and to quickly and efficiently get resources into the hands of those who are struggling” and explaining that the money from the settlement will help combat the Georgia opioid crisis and “address the needs of people living in our communities who have been devastated by the actions of those who fueled it.”
Still, his office says there are about 180,000 people in Georgia struggling with addictive opioid-use.
So, we get it when people displeased with the settlement say it is simply too little and way too late.
More than 80 Georgia cities, counties and hospitals have joined another lawsuit fueled by local governments across the country to hold 27 other prescription drug manufacturers and distributors accountable.
To some it may seem like a token gesture, but we encourage cities and counties in our coverage areas to push forward _ do not waffle on these lawsuits _ and do your part in holding all these pharmaceutical makers accountable.
Online: https://www.savannahnow.com
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