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Cheryl Wetzstein

Cheryl Wetzstein

cwetzstein@washingtontimes.com

Cheryl Wetzstein, a Washington Times staff member since 1985, is manager of special sections in The Washington Times' Advertising and Marketing Department.
Previously, she spent 30 years as a Washington Times news reporter, covering national domestic policy, in addition to being a features writer, environmental and consumer affairs reporter, and assistant business editor.
Beginning in 1994, Mrs. Wetzstein worked exclusively on welfare and family issues such as child support enforcement, abstinence and sex education, child welfare, sexually transmitted diseases, marriage, divorce, cohabiting and gay marriage.
She has won several newspaper awards, including 1977 Cub Reporter of the Year and 1983 Heart of New York award, both from the New York Press Club.

Articles by Cheryl Wetzstein

** FILE ** A surgeon general’s warning is printed on a pack of Camel cigarettes. (Associated Press)

Tobacco down among youths; marijuana up

More and more younger Americans are snuffing out their cigarettes -- at least those filled with tobacco, a new national survey suggests.

December 18, 2013
FILE - In this undated file photo provided by TLC, Kody Brown, center, poses with his wives, from left, Janelle, Christine, Meri, and Robyn in a promotional photo for TLC's reality TV show, "Sister Wives."  Advocacy groups for polygamy and individual liberties on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013, hailed a federal judge's ruling that key parts of Utah's polygamy laws are unconstitutional, saying it will remove the threat of arrest for those families. The ruling was a victory for Brown and his four wives and other fundamentalist Mormons who believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. (AP Photo/TLC, Bryant Livingston, File)

We told you so: Conservatives foresaw polygamy ruling

A federal judge's ruling in a Utah polygamy case has released a flood of "I told you so" reactions from traditional-marriage supporters, who have fought — often in vain — to formally define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

December 17, 2013
State Rep. Amanda Price, Republican, defended the measure requiring women to purchase an insurance rider that covers abortions saying that "abortion is an individual choice." (ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS)

Mich. law makes women buy own insurance for abortions

Adding to a growing movement in the states to press for new restrictions on abortion, Michigan this week became the latest state to require women to purchase their own insurance riders if they want coverage of elective abortions in their future health-care policies.

December 12, 2013
Monte Harms, of Albuquerque, N.M., advocates Albuquerque's late term abortion ban outside of a voting site at Eisenhower Middle School in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013. Albuquerque voters will decide whether to ban abortions after 20 weeks following an emotional and graphic campaign that has included protests and hundreds of thousands of dollars on television and radio ads that have brought out more than twice as many early voters as the recent mayoral elections. (AP Photo/Juan Antonio Labreche)

Study IDs reasons for late-term abortions

Why do women have abortions late in their pregnancies? It could be because they are often college-age, in a shaky relationship with the would-be father, and have financial problems, especially when a $650 first-trimester abortion time-lags into an $1,850 procedure, says a new study.

December 10, 2013
Blood units are prepared for storage at the National Center for Hematology and Transfusion in Sofia, Bulgaria. It's a grim reality for patients and families the struggling EU nation where donors are troublingly scarce, hospitals are strapped for funds and blood traders are thriving. (Associated Press)

With new HIV research, FDA may let gay men donate blood

A push by activists to ease the 30-year-old blanket ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men faces a key test this week as a federal panel hears results of the latest research. The findings will be released amid growing pressure from politicians and advocates, including college students, to change the policy.

December 1, 2013
Supporters of same sex marriage legislation rally in the rotunda at the Illinois State Capitol during veto session Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013 in Springfield Ill. Illinois lawmakers  are expecting to consider gay marriage legislation during this week's veto session. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

Gay-marriage momentum comes to a sudden halt after Illinois

As Illinois becomes the 16th state to approve gay marriage at a public signing ceremony set for Wednesday, the political trench warfare over same-sex unions may be facing a watershed moment: Illinois is the last state where gay-marriage advocates have an advantage in both the governor's office and statehouse, and defenders of traditional marriage say the political playing field will be far more level in the remaining 34 states in the years ahead.

November 19, 2013
Jerry Bowman, left, and David Strzepek join other supporters of Social Security benefits for same sex couples during a marriage equality rally Monday, Nov. 4, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. Illinois lawmakers return to the Capitol Tuesday for the final week of veto session and are expected to consider gay marriage legislation. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

Ruling aids challenge to gay-parenting study

A gay-parenting study condemned by gay activists is about to undergo more scrutiny: A Florida judge this week said internal emails related to the study must be turned over to a gay activist who is looking for evidence to have the study officially discredited and retracted.

November 13, 2013
** FILE ** Proponents of gay marriage rally outside the House chambers at the Hawaii Capitol in Honolulu on Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Oskar Garcia)

Hawaii poised to be 15th gay marriage state

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie is poised to make Hawaii the 15th state to legalize gay marriage this week, after the bill passed its last legislative hurdle Tuesday.

November 12, 2013
Sisters Madelyne Meylor, 20, left, and her sister Olivia, 19, of Mount Horeb, Wis., have filed a federal claim, saying they believe a cervical cancer vaccine caused their ovaries to stop producing eggs. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

HPV vaccine cited in infertility case

Two Wisconsin sisters have asked a federal court to find that a government-recommended vaccine is responsible for them losing the ability to conceive children.

November 11, 2013
Supporters of same sex marriage legislation rally in the rotunda at the Illinois State Capitol during veto session Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013 in Springfield Ill. Illinois lawmakers  are expecting to consider gay marriage legislation during this week's veto session. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

Illinois lawmakers pass bill for gay marriage

Illinois all but became the 15th state to enact gay marriage Tuesday as lawmakers passed the bill with only one vote to spare in the lower chamber, sending the bill to a governor eager to sign it.

November 5, 2013
Lee Valerius signs in at a vigil outside an abortion clinic in Dallas, Texas last November following a federal appeals court ruling upholding most of the state's new abortion restrictions. (AP Photo/Rex C. Curry)

Texas to respond to abortion law appeal by Nov. 12

In a pair of closely watched abortion cases, the Supreme Court Monday received an appeal to block key provisions of a new Texas law restricting abortions, while the judges declined without comment to hear a case seeking to revive restrictions on abortion-inducing drugs.

November 4, 2013