NewsWhore
09-18-2006, 06:10 PM
Gynecologist Lilliam Fondeur believes that the Dominican Republic should study the decision by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, a pediatrician, who has made the morning-after pill available for free to teenage girls age 14 and above, without requiring prior parental consent. The decision comes as a result of a situation where almost 4,000 babies are born to child-mothers every year. The move is aimed at reducing the number of unwanted teenage pregnancies and to help poor children to have the same opportunities as daughters of better-off parents who are able to purchase the pill. She points out that in the DR, tackling the problem of teenage pregnancy and mortality has been established as a priority in national programs. She goes on to say that the DR should follow Chile's example and improve conditions for women, in real terms: not just in words, but through actions, as President Bachelet's government has done.
"The ideal is that our teenagers postpone becoming sexually active until they are physically and emotionally mature, but this is not the reality," writes the gynecologist in her column in El Nacional. She points out: "Many children and teenagers, mostly poor, are initiated into sexual activity between the ages of 9 and 12. This is not a government problem, but a problem for all Dominicans," she concludes.
The main opposition to contraception programs has come from the strong Catholic Church. Recently, Jesuit Priest Jose Luis Aleman questioned the Catholic Church's imposition of its point of view on the question of whether to allow rape victims or mothers carrying abnormal fetuses to abort, observing that the church cannot impose its points of view on a population.
Dr. Fondeur can be contacted at lfondeur@gmail.com
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#12)
"The ideal is that our teenagers postpone becoming sexually active until they are physically and emotionally mature, but this is not the reality," writes the gynecologist in her column in El Nacional. She points out: "Many children and teenagers, mostly poor, are initiated into sexual activity between the ages of 9 and 12. This is not a government problem, but a problem for all Dominicans," she concludes.
The main opposition to contraception programs has come from the strong Catholic Church. Recently, Jesuit Priest Jose Luis Aleman questioned the Catholic Church's imposition of its point of view on the question of whether to allow rape victims or mothers carrying abnormal fetuses to abort, observing that the church cannot impose its points of view on a population.
Dr. Fondeur can be contacted at lfondeur@gmail.com
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#12)