Viewpoints: Lessons On Finding Hope, Not Dragons, In CRISPR; Time To Start Over, Follow Canada On Nutrition Labels
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Stat:
Why My Patient Advocacy Organization Is Investing In CRISPR
As the mother of a son with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a cruel genetic disease that breaks down muscle until the body can no longer function, I don’t see CRISPR as scary or dangerous. To me, it represents the best hope we have for curing my son’s disease and possibly many others. I believe CRISPR is a weapon — not a giant gorilla type of weapon — but a quiet, surgically precise weapon against diseases that have long confounded the scientific community. (Debra Miller, 2/8)
The Hill:
Regulators Must First Admit Defeat On Nutrition Labels To Improve
The new Canadian Food Guide has made waves up north by deemphasizing serving sizes. As one bariatric medicine specialist said in Canada’s National Post, “Nobody weighed and measured their foods. Nobody really followed it, nobody knew what a serving size was. They were ridiculous and idiotic.” Instead, the new guide focuses on proportions (as opposed to serving sizes) with an emphasis on eating more plant-based foods. If only we could do something similar with the ineffective U.S. food label, which is long overdue for a major rethink. (Richard Williams, 2/7)
The Washington Post:
Trump Boasted About Jobs For Disabled People. But His Policies Have Set Us Back.
Amid the anticipated rhetoric about issues like immigration and abortion, President Trump briefly turned his attention during his State of the Union address to an unexpected topic: the employment prospects for Americans with disabilities. He announced that “unemployment for Americans with disabilities has … reached an all-time low.” It’s a great bipartisan applause line, but when you look at the details, it doesn’t hold up. And it profoundly misleads the public about the Trump administration’s actual record. (Ari Ne'eman, 2/7)
The New York Times:
The Bad News About Helicopter Parenting: It Works
I recently met a Texan couple whose son was still in diapers. They were angling to get him into a preschool that feeds into a private preparatory school with a great record for college admissions. The couple were ambivalent about doing this. They were from immigrant and working-class backgrounds, and had thrived in public schools. In theory, they believed that all children should have an equal chance to succeed. But I suspected that if they got their son a spot in the preschool, they’d take it. These days, such chances are hard to pass up. (Pamela Druckerman, 2/7)
The Hill:
Democrats Are Not The Party Of Infanticide
I have always thought of the Democrat Party as the party of equality, human rights and fairness. We are advocates for the disadvantaged, the neglected, the ignored. We see the complexities of Americans’ lives and challenges. We believe in criminal justice reform and second chances, while Republicans fight to keep long mandatory-minimum sentences and implement proactive law enforcement measures. Republicans see things differently from us, but a frightening transformation is under way. The GOP has branded the Democrats as the party of infanticide. Suddenly our economic ideas don’t matter; our history of standing up for civil rights and protecting access to health care are distant images in the rearview mirror of the Republican Party machine. We are tagged as the party of “fourth-trimester abortions,” and that’s wrong. (Jessie Tarlov, 2/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Abortion’s Dred Scott Moment
In the past few weeks, as the constant debate around abortion has become especially heated, I’ve continually thought about Dred Scott. Like slavery did 150 years ago, abortion has deeply divided the U.S. and raised fundamental questions about the nature of our society. (Cardinal Timothy Dolan, 2/8)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
In Ohio’s Fight Against The Opioid Epidemic, Coverage For All Aspects Of Addiction Treatment Is Key
But for all the critical ground it’s made, Ohio – like the rest of the nation – still has significant room for improvement in a key area that can make all the difference for patients and families: comprehensive insurance coverage for evidence-based addiction treatment. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only about one in ten individuals with a substance use disorder receives treatment. (Shawn A. Ryan, 2/7)
