Ever read something, have a snap judgment and then post a response on social media and have people disagree with you?
Oh, you don't have a Facebook or Twitter account. All right then. For those of us who do, it happens. You could post a picture of a pug puppy with the note "Cutest ever!" and someone will tell you pugs look like they ran into a brick wall and lab puppies are way cuter. Seriously. There's no way to fix everyone on the Internet, and you just have to let some things go.
I wrote, "Pete Kelly is an idiot. He's also a fiscal drunk. At a time our state is in deficit mode, he is buying pregnancy tests for women's restrooms in bars. Because. He. Doesn't. Get. It."
There was a link to the story showing that a total of $900,000 had been allocated to put pregnancy tests in nine bars in Alaska -- most of them in rural areas -- and a study with UAA commissioned.
Someone I respect, former President of the Alaska Senate Lyda Green, objected. Oh, she didn't say Pete Kelly is a genius. No, she reminded me that she and I have had several chats over the years about "the importance of being able to disagree on the issues or political debate of the day and still show respect to the very one with whom you (or I) disagree. We had many such conversations. Please, my friend, use your columns with that in mind. Your extensive vocabulary and incredible memory should have no problem with that."
I thought I was showing restraint!
I like Lyda. So I am going to try my hardest. She and I are on opposite sides of the political fence, but I really admired her work as the Senate president. I thought she voted the wrong way on a few things, but she always let the vote come to the floor -- because that's how democracy works.
Here it goes. Sen. Pete Kelly, (who may not be an idiot, I don't know him), has some pretty stupid ideas to stop a really serious problem.
Clearly, I'm not trying hard enough. Why am I being nice again? Lyda. Right.
The problem of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in Alaska is beyond serious. Two percent of our babies are born with it -- more than with Down syndrome or autism. FASD is 100-percent preventable. The cost of taking care of a life with FASD is between $1 million and $4 million. That's just money. Not to mention the cost to human potential. It should be our fervent commitment to eradicate FASD.
That said, how in the world is spending that kind of money on pregnancy tests in bars going to do anything? Pardon the news flash here, but if you haven't heard that Alaska is just about broke, you're living further out in the boonies than I am, and I'm out here a long way.
The thing that kills me about Pete Kelly's bill is it completely ignores studies already conducted and evidence that is available to anyone with simple Google skills.
This newspaper produced a series on alcohol and Alaska last year and laid out solutions. You know, solutions, those things we try to find to fix our problems. The No. 1 fix was to educate women before they get pregnant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded studies that found when doctors talked to women about what drinking did to their babies -- particularly women who were binge drinkers -- that they were more committed to birth control -- including long-term prevention.
Nine bars. Pregnancy tests. Really?
Last year Mr. Kelly said he was opposed to the funding of condoms in bars. He called that "a level of social engineering that we don't want to get into" and said control was for people who don't necessarily want to act responsibly. With those remarks, he drew national press, and my guess is that's why he's pursuing it again.
So, in the spirit of Lyda Green, I am asking as nice as I possibly can for Sen. Pete Kelly to drop his current bill and replace it with a solution. Women, when given information and affordable access to birth control, will begin solving a problem none of us can afford -- especially those born with FASD.
Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.
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