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AJC.com > Legislature > Georgia Beat > Archives > 2005 > February > 17
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Abortion bill drops disputed link to breast cancer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A disputed link between breast cancer and abortion has been removed from a bill pending before the General Assembly.
The original version of House Bill 197 would have required doctors to tell women seeking abortions that the medical procedure carried risks including infection, hemorrhage, danger to subsequent pregnancies, infertility and breast cancer.
Though some studies have suggested a link between abortion and breast cancer, the National Cancer Institute has concluded that women who’ve had abortions have the same breast cancer risk as other women.
But a substitute version of the bill passed by the House Health and Human Services Committee today removed all references to specific risks. Instead, the bill says that a woman should be told of “particular medical risks to the individual patient associated with the particular abortion procedure to be employed, when medically accurate.”
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Student obesity bill doesn’t make the grade
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Faster than the strictest dieter could shed a pound, a Georgia legislator dropped the idea of making kids’ report cards cover girth as well as grades.
“I’ve heard from people loud and clear,” Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta) said Thursday. “I’m still going to be focusing on the issue of obesity, but not with this bill.”
On Wednesday, Benfield introduced a bill that would have required schools to weigh students, calculate their body mass index — a measure of whether they are overweight — then put it on report cards twice a year. Parents of students with above-normal body mass would be furnished literature on diabetes and other obesity-related illnesses.
The bill had bipartisan sponsorship, but little support in Georgians’ houses. Benfield said she found out from angry calls and e-mails.
“They all hate me,” she said, half-jokingly.
She said the most legitimate concern she heard was about the potential harm to children’s, particularly teenagers’, already fragile self-esteem.
“That was certainly never my intent, but I’m sensitive to that,” said Benfield, mother of a pre-schooler.
She said she still plans to try to work on the problem of childhood obesity, but through another avenue. She’s co-sponsoring legislation for a prestige license tag on nutrition, the proceeds of which will go to obesity education in the schools.
• What do you think about the failure of this bill? E-mail reporter Nancy Badertscher right away with your comments, for possible use in the story in Friday’s AJC. Be sure to include your hometown.
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Virtual high school bill clicks in House
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The governor’s plan to expand the virtual high school program, which gives students the chance to take advanced courses via the Internet, passed the House with only one dissenting vote today.
A lengthy debate ensued over whether rural schools, most of which cannot afford to provide advanced courses in the classroom, will be punished for allowing their students to take classes online.
Such schools would have to forfeit to the state Department of Education about $400 for each course taken by one of their students.
House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) tried to amend the bill to guarantee that schools would receive at least a small refund to cover expenses.
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House bill requires publication of sex offenders’ pictures
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sex offenders’ pictures would be put in the newspaper under legislation unanimously passed today by the Georgia House.
A similar measure passed the House last year, but did not clear the state Senate.
The bill requires the clerk of court to publish details of a sex offender’s case, including date, time and place of arrest and his or her picture. This information would be published in the newspaper that has been designated as the county’s legal organ and would appear two weeks after conviction, the bill states.
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Underage drinkers risk losing license under proposed measure
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two Republican lawmakers announced legislation Thursday aimed at curbing underage drinking by stiffening the penalties for minors under 21 who consume alcohol and the adults who provide it.
Under the proposed bill, a minor who is caught drinking alcohol would immediately lose his or her driver’s license. The proposed legislation also calls for the suspension of the driver’s license of an adult who knowingly buys or serves a minor an alcoholic beverage.
“Underage drinking is a huge issue throughout this state,” said Sen. Casey Cagle (R-Gainesville), who introduced the bill at a press conference at the State Capitol. “We believe the best way to stamp it out is to tie driver’s license revocation into the penalty. This sends a strong message that underage drinking will not be tolerated in the state of Georgia.”
Georgia law prohibits any person under 21 to purchase, attempt to purchase, possess or attempt to possess alcohol. The bill would go further by banning anyone under 21 from drinking alcohol.
If convicted, minors would lose their driver’s license for six months. A second violation would result in a year-long revocation.
“The level of alcohol that gets to our people under age 21 is unacceptable,” said Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta). “It’s very important that we try to put the responsibility for their actions on them. That’s what this bill attempts to do.” Martin said he plan to introduce related bills in the House next week.
Some big players in the alcohol beverage industry support the bill, including DIAGEO, a company with popular brands such as Tanqueray, Baileys, and Smirnoff.
Sonya Deen, a lobbyist for DIAGEO, said that several recent studies, including a 2003 report by the National Academy of Sciences, found that youth obtain alcohol either directly or indirectly from adults.
“It is the responsibility of all of us to protect our children from the dangers associated with underage drinking,” Deen said. “While we want legal-aged adults to enjoy our products responsibly, we are also committed to blocking minors’ access to our products.”
Deen said DIAGEO is working with lawmakers in 17 states on similar legislation. She said bills have been introduced and heard in committee in Virginia and Arizona.
Paul Byrne, a student at Georgia Tech, said that drinking by minors on campus is a “huge problem” across the state. He said he supports the bills because he often hears about college students killed or injured in traffic accidents related to drinking.
“The spirit of the bill is to make it a safer environment on campuses,” Byrne said.
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