December 2015

Infertility: The Important Missing Piece in Health Education Classes

By Mirah Riben Why would adolescents need to be concerned with infertility, one might wonder? The answer is that, since fertility is precarious, decreases with age, and is negatively impacted by common adolescent behaviors, it is important to be cognizant of these risk factors to avoid than anguish of infertility. “Abstinence Only” sexuality education curriculum is mandated in order for American public schools to obtain federal funding. Opting out of…


Why All U.S. States Should Allow Adoptees Access to Their Authentic Birth Certificates

By Mirah Riben At the present time only six U.S. states allow adopted citizens unrestricted access to their own authentic birth certificates (AL, AK, CO, KS, ME, OR). Eight other states allow access but with restrictions that do not apply to non-adoptees in those states. Oregon, which granted adoptees access to their birth certificates nearly two decades ago, has now gone a step further and become the most liberal state…


Abortion, Adoption and the Destruction of Family and Parental Rights

The Right has taken a complex issue and narrowed it down to a catch phrase – “Adoption not Abortion” – that arbitrarily and narrowly defines it in black and white terms, positing adoption as the solution to reduce abortion. The debate over when life begins will be left to others. Presenting adoption as an alternative to abortion is an absurd premise. Abortion is a choice to not be pregnant. Carrying…


The Hottest Gift This Holiday Season: Human Babies?

By Mirah Riben A 47-year-old Georgia woman was arrested after attempting to illegally obtain a baby for her teenage daughter. Detectives started investigating Elaine Williams after a citizen called police about a suspicious Craigslist ad. The post asked for unwanted babies, saying mothers could drop them off in a “baby box”. According to investigators, Williams was attempting to buy a baby for her 14-year-old daughter. Police say Williams told them…