Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.issues From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: issues Fri, May 8 1992 Date: Fri, 8 May 92 05:31:37 EDT Message-ID: 05-08 0000 DECISIONLINE: Issues & Debate USA TODAY Update May 8-10, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Here are some of the issues and topics being debated across the nation Friday morning in USA TODAY: Infertility; King; Neuharth. TODAY'S DEBATE - INFERTILITY CLINICS: USA TODAY'S OPINION: Dr. Cecil Jacobson, the Virginia fertility specialist who secretly used his own sperm to inseminate patients, will be sentenced Friday on 52 convictions of perjury and fraud. His case taught a valuable lesson about the fertility industry: Self-regulation is not enough. ... Many of his most offensive acts were legal - like donating his own sperm. The only way Jacobson was stopped was on federal wire, mail fraud and perjury charges. No federal and only a few state laws govern fertility clinics and sperm banks, although some programs follow voluntary guidelines set by the American Fertility Society and the American Association of Tissue Banks. Supervision is so lax, no one knows how many clinics and banks exist. ... Sloppy fertility practices can pose a health menace. ... One way to reduce the risks is for states to make the voluntary guidelines mandatory. ... Infertility is traumatic enough. Those who seek treatment for it need to know that the road to a cure is safe. OTHER VIEW: HARRY SCHWARTZ, a Scarsdale, N.Y., writer specializing in medical issues and former economics professor: Long experience with many government-regulated areas of economic life teaches several important lessons: Regulation is never perfect and cannot prevent the occasional violation of rules. Regulation tends to increase costs and thus raise prices. Finally, regulation tends to decrease the number of suppliers competing for customers' business, a decrease that also tends to raise prices. All these lessons apply very much to the field of fertility clinics. ... Those who need such help can find competitive would-be suppliers in most places. ... This is a field in which the old slogan, caveat emptor - let the buyer beware - is very applicable. Those who want this help need to check several clinics and individuals offering to serve them, getting data on comparative prices and comparative success rates. VOICES ACROSS THE NATION ON RODNEY KING'S PLEA TO GET ALONG: WINTER PARK, Fla., W. Gene Grace, 44, dean of students: We not only can get along in this country, but it's mandatory that we do. All Americans should work very diligently to ensure that all citizens are treated fairly and equally, not only in the court system, in the workplace and in the marketplace, but in all aspects of society. BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz., Virginia Smith, 56, retired nurse: As individuals, we have to look to God and the teachings of our religions to be guided in our everyday actions. The hearts of people have to be changed to be more accepting, less prejudicial. All people have to accept responsibility for their own actions and their own behavior. FARGO, N.D., Cynthia Miller, 23, student: I think we can all get along, but people must make compromises and think about how others may feel. People have to start thinking about others besides themselves. I was happy to hear Rodney King say that. ALBANY, Ga., Stephen Lane, 37, machinist: (We can get along) if we just quit being so selfish and quit thinking of ourselves. It's getting to be too much of a "me" society, and that's what caused a whole lot of that. You get your little groups, and they just start pulling for what's right for them and they don't look at the big picture. BRIDGETON, N.J., Bruce Howell, 54, minister: I do believe that we can get along. We can try to get involved in community activities and support groups that include cross-cultural and racial mixings of people. We need to be involved in projects so we can work together. TOPIC - NEUHARTH: Finally, the decade of the '80s is put in proper perspective by a book out this week. More success than excess. More giving than greed. More jobs. Lower unemployment. Higher incomes. Lower inflation. Most of us much better off. That's the script in "The Seven Fat Years and How to Repeat Them," authored by Wall Street Journal Editor Robert L. Bartley. ... Here are the highlights for ... 1983-1990: Unemployment down from 10.8% to 5.3%. Per-person annual disposable income up from $9,789 to $15,313. The stock market D-J average up from 1070 to 2761. Charitable giving up from $49 billion to $97 billion a year. ... Here's how I see it: The decade of successes ended as about 80 million baby boomers approached mid-life crisis. Things came easily for most of them in the '80s. Many had too much too soon. When the boomers' turn came to nourish the rose garden others had planted, many couldn't handle it. ... Bartley sees a possible curtain call for the '80s. Could be. It depends on how and how many boomers grow up. They're smart enough. Just too many of them spoiled. And scared of the second half of their lives. Issues & Debate Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM