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Washington Post Examines Focus On Abortions Later In Pregnancy After Tiller Murder
The Washington Post on Friday examined the renewed attention on abortion procedures performed later in pregnancy following Kansas provider George Tiller"s shooting death on Sunday. Tiller was one of the few physicians in the U.S. who performed late abortions. The Post reports that these abortions make up a small portion of the 1.2 million abortions performed each year -- more than 88% of abortions are performed in the first trimester and less than 1% are performed after 21 weeks" gestation. Data published in 2001 from 15 states and New York City show that as many as 2,400 abortions after 24 weeks" gestation were performed in the U.S. that year, according to Stanley Henshaw, a senior fellow at the Guttmacher Institute. He added that most of those abortions likely were performed in the 25th or 26th week.Henshaw said that little is known about the circumstances surrounding third trimester abortion procedures and that "information just isn"t available." The government does not collect detailed data regarding the number of such procedures, who is performing them and under what circumstances. In addition, abortion providers who perform the procedure later in pregnancy supply very little published information, the Post reports. According to the Post, most abortion providers will not perform the procedure after 22 or 24 weeks" gestation because of legal and other concerns, social stigma, or inadequate training and lack of experience. A 2001 survey of 1,819 abortion providers indicated that 18 clinics and 12 hospitals performed abortions at 26 weeks" gestation. However, the Post reports that the number of providers offering abortions later in pregnancy likely has declined in correlation with the decreasing number of overall providers. Henshaw said the number of providers offering the procedure later in pregnancy also likely has declined.Abortion-rights supporters say that third-trimester abortions are performed only when medically necessary, such as when a fatal abnormality is detected in the fetus or a life-threatening complication in the woman is discovered. Other circumstances include cases when the woman suffers serious emotional issues or is undergoing cancer treatment, the Post reports. Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, said that women who experience such pregnancies have "no good choice" and "nee[d] to terminate their pregnancies to protect their own health." Tiller "provided both the emotional and physical care for women in that situation," she said (Stein, Washington Post, 6/5).Los Angeles Times Profiles Abortion Provider Hern The Los Angeles Times on Friday profiled Warren Hern, a Colorado-based abortion provider who performs the procedure later in pregnancy and was a close friend of Tiller"s. Hern has provided abortions since 1973 when the Supreme Court legalized the procedure with Roe v. Wade. He said he "felt doing abortions was the most important thing I could do with my life." Hern opened the Boulder Abortion Clinic in 1975, and in the 1980s authored and self-published a textbook, Abortion Practice. He said that he eventually began to focus on abortion procedures later in pregnancy, which currently make up the majority of his practice. Such abortions usually are performed because of medical complications in the woman or abnormalities in the fetus. Patients at Hern"s clinic receive counseling to explain the procedure and to ensure the woman wants it, although he said many women have already made their decision with their own physician. Hern said that although Tiller"s death has been an emotional situation, his clinic is "pretty busy taking care of people who said they couldn"t find anyone else" to perform abortions later in pregnancy (Correll, Los Angeles Times, 6/5).Bond Set for Tiller Shooting Suspect Sedgwick County, Kan., District Judge Warren Wilbert on Thursday set a $5 million bond for Scott Roeder, the man charged with shooting and killing Tiller, the AP/Yahoo! News reports. A preliminary hearing for Roeder is scheduled for June 16. If convicted, Roeder face

Possible Link Between Component Of Vegetable Protein And Lower Blood Pressure
Consuming an amino acid commonly found in vegetable protein may be associated with lower blood pressure, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Does Your Child Need Vision Therapy?

The College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) launched their annual campaign to educate the public on the steps they can take to ensure their children aren"t struggling with reading and learning because of undiagnosed vision problems. "The public doesn"t realize that you need over 15 visual skills to succeed in reading, learning, sports, and in life. Seeing "20/20" is just one of those visual skills," says Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals 2008 NFC West Champions" wide-receiver. During the many pre and post Superbowl press interviews, Fitzgerald, explained that one of the keys to his success was having vision therapy as a child. He had a vision problem that was making it difficult to pay attention in school and his grandfather, Dr. Robert Johnson, a developmental optometrist in Chicago, Illinois, diagnosed the vision problem and the appropriate treatment. Fitzgerald went through vision therapy under his aunt"s guidance, Dr. Stephanie Johnson-Brown, who is currently the executive director of the Plano Child Development Center, a not-for-profit vision care service corporation which was co-founded by her father, Dr. Johnson in 1959, which specializes in vision education and the identification and remediation of vision development problems in children and adults. According to a report from the New Jersey Commission on Business Efficiency of the Public School, "Undiagnosed and untreated vision related learning problems are significant contributors to early reading difficulties and ultimately to special education classification." Fitzgerald is joining COVD this year to help spread the word that 20/20 is NOT perfect vision and that if your children are struggling with reading you need to take them to see a developmental optometrist. You can visit COVD"s website to find a developmental optometrist near you. "Vision problems can have a serious impact on a child"s education. Don"t wait to see if this next school year will be better, take action today!" Fitzgerald encourages parents. One of the most common vision disorders that interferes with reading was recently the focus of a national study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Eye Institute, on convergence insufficiency. This is a vision problem where the two eyes don"t work together in unison the way they are supposed to when one is reading. The result can make reading very difficult. While at least one out of every 20 school-age children is impacted by convergence insufficiency, there are other visual abnormalities to be considered. It is estimated that over 60% of problem learners have undiagnosed vision problems contributing to their difficulties. The good news is the majority of these vision problems can be treated with a program of optometric vision therapy. The study by the NEI found that in-office vision therapy was the best treatment for convergence insufficiency. The five most common signs that a vision problem may be interfering with your child"s ability to read and learn are: 1. Skips lines, rereads lines 2. Poor reading comprehension 3. Takes much longer doing homework than it should take 4. Reverses letters like b"s into d"s when reading 5. Has a short attention span with reading and schoolwork Any one of these symptoms is a sign of a possible vision problem. A more in-depth symptom checklist is available on COVD"s website. Not all eye doctors test for learning-related vision problems, so it is important for parents to ask the right questions. Call your eye doctor"s office and ask the following two questions: 1. Do you test for learning-related vision problems? 2. Do you provide an in-office vision therapy program when indicated, or will you refer me to someone who does? If the answer is no to either one or both of these questions, visit COVD"s website, www.covd.org, to find a developmental optometrist near you. In closing, the President of COVD, Dr. Carol Scott, a developmental optometrist from Springfield, Missouri says, "In celebration of August being National Children"s Vision and Learning Month, I invite you to visit our website and learn more about the vital role vision plays in our children"s education." About COVD The College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) is an international, non-profit optometric membership organization that provides education, evaluation and board certification programs in behavioral and developmental vision care, vision therapy and visual rehabilitation. The organization is comprised of doctors of optometry, vision therapists and other vision specialists. College of Optometrists in Vision Development


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