Gingrich: Pay pregnant teens to take vitamins

[Bozita]

Source: Associated Press

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Gingrich: Pay pregnant teens to take vitamins
David Eggert / Associated Press


LANSING -- Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich says Michigan should pay pregnant teenagers to take prenatal vitamins and stay healthy so the government avoids expensive costs when babies end up in neonatal intensive care units.

The Republican also told state senators Wednesday he supports paying poor children to read, and the state should consider paying girls to not get pregnant.

Gingrich is the founder of the Center for Health Transportation.

He says politicians and the media spend too much time focusing on the finances of health care. Gingrich says more attention must be paid to cultural changes such as requiring students to exercise, putting grocery stores in the inner city and incentivizing people to not smoke.

Read more: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090...

[TheWraith]

1. Socialist!!!

How DARE he consider spending money on making people's lives better!

[oldtime dfl_er]

25. Funny, that's the first word

that came to my mind too!!

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

76. Mine, too...

Talk about your Social Engineering.

The government coercing minors to take medication? Heaven's, What's Next?!

Dare I say, "Well Baby Care?"

[Dorian Gray]

79. I didn't realize that vitamins

were meds.

Honestly, I think that if someone has incentive to allow their children to be healthy when born, it's not a terrible thing. It's just that it's coming from Gingrich that makes me question the measure. I don't trust him at all.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

81. sar-ka-zem

nt

[No Elephants]

35. Making our lives better is not his motive. It's making our lives less expensive for government. It

is only a coincidence that his proposals would also improve lives.

[4_TN_TITANS]

90. Well said.....

If and when Compassion & Conservatism meet, it's completely by accident. As reasonable and commonsense as it would be, it's about the Mighty Dollar - not about improving lives.

[radfringe]

50. If a Dem suggested this...

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA - WHY SHOULD I PAY FOR VITAMINS FOR SOME DUMB TEENAGER THAT COULDN'T KEEP HER LEGS CROSSED!!!!

ABSTINENCE ONLY!!! ABSTINENCE ONLY!!!!!!

DEMS WANT TO KILL BABIES WITH VITAMINS!!!!!!

the previous was brought to you by the NOPer spin machine...

[MisterP]

2. calling for more foresight than the God-Market is willing to provide? government involvement?

Gingrich's a RED!

[ck4829]

3. Even a broken clock is right twice a day

But, who knows, could a reformed Gingrich be on the way?

[Wetzelbill]

4. This is just ushering in a new era of Communism nt

[Lost in CT]

5. He must have hit his head or had a small stroke...

cause only a brain injury could explain Gingrich being right on something.

[Twinguard]

31. by my count, thats two things he's been right on

the first was when he called boss Limbaugh out (indirectly, but hey I'll take what I can get) on wanting the president to fail.

Hopefully this attitude will snowball and make the right wing actually tolerable at some point. I'm not holding my breath, but any change in a positive direction would make the right more pleasant to work with.

[havocmom]

6. I don't trust ANY GOP pol trying to promote young people to swallow

pills of any sort. I just don't trust what they might be dispensing.

[GinaMaria]

7. How about we just pay for the vitamins?

or am I missing something here? How do we know that someone has taken the vitamins?

[skooooo]

8. Have to check under the tongue..

It will be a new job for someone.

[Schema Thing]

9. Newt promises to personally smell their pee

[notadmblnd]

26. How about we just provide free birth control?

to both males and females. Condoms and other birth control options could be made available at clinics and high schools without parental consent. I realize that no parent wants their child to engage in promiscuous sex, however, our kids are going to do what they want despite what we want for them.

[madmom]

28. BINGO! You hit it right there, but if he said that he would have the

religious zealots on his back.

[emmadoggy]

32. Not only that but how about

universal single-payer health care so that if they don't use the birth control that is available to them or if it fails and they still end up pregnant, they have free access to all the prenatal care, advice and medical supervision they need?

I'm sorry but I think it's a ridiculous notion to believe that getting pregnant teens to take a few vitamins is going to prevent babies in the NICU. Babies end up in the NICU for a whole host of reasons and I doubt that not taking their vitamins is high on the list. (Disclaimer: I DO believe prenatal vitamins are important and helpful, just not a cure-all in this situation.)

Not only that, but paying poor children to read?? How about we just FUND our public school system so they can more adequately teach and support that child's education needs? You know, make schools happy places where teachers are paid properly, they have all the supplies and materials they need and enough staff and funds to adequately extend extra assistance & services to students who need it? You know, provide an environment that is encouraging and supportive where children can thrive?

Instead of just passing a few bucks under the table to Newt's idea of the "dirty underbelly" and thinking that will make it all better and when it doesn't he can scream about how "they don't want help! They are just greedy losers who don't want a better life! We tried to help them and it didn't work!"

[MISSDem]

46. The main cause of birth problems is lack of pre-natal care

and not getting enough of one of the vitamins/minerals, I think maybe folic acid (is that it?). So he is on to something, IMHO.
And as to funding the schools, my taxes for that go up, up and up but I don't see much progress in the kids' education. So something else is needed so maybe paying them is another good idea.

[emmadoggy]

51. Did you read this line?

"they have free access to all the prenatal care, advice and medical supervision they need?"

Prenatal care, advice from a physician, information on why it is important to take the vitamins. Hell, give them FREE VITAMINS.

Not enough Folic Acid is related to neural tube defects such as Spina Bifida, so, yes, it is very important. Although my understanding is that boning up on the Folic is most beneficial if started BEFORE becoming pregnant and during the first 3 months.

As for schools, well the State of Iowa recently announced an across the board 6.5% budget cut for Iowa schools for next year. Personal property taxes are not the only source of school funding.

[JerseygirlCT]

86. Yup, yup, yup. You're right! nt

[WriteDown]

33. Why don't we pay people to take birth control....

Even better. Put some money in my pocket. Maybe like 5$ every time I need a refill.

[qwertyMike]

36. YES YES YES

Quote from above:

"Condoms and other birth control options could be made available at clinics and high schools without parental consent." - my bold

Parents, excluding my esteemed self, know dick about the schoolyard, or they don't remember.

Think of the saving, both money and sometimes heartache.

As for Newt - I hope he's serious.

[JerseygirlCT]

85. I've never really understood the reasoning behind

thinking that available birth control will suddenly cause teens who aren't sexually active to become so. I think that decision is far more complex than we as adults often credit.

And I think parents that start talking openly about these matters when their kids are very small, and keep that conversation going - even when it might be a little uncomfortable for some - tend to have far more responsible kids. I don't want all the gory details, of course, but I do want to know if my teen is sexually active - but that information isn't going to be imparted if the conversations are stop and start and rare. My older and I spoke about these things very openly - it was a continuing conversation, and therefore something comfortable for us both.

I suspect those who are so concerned about available birth control are also not really talking "with" their kids, but maybe just "to" their kids. That doesn't work.

[struggle4progress]

67. How about we pay Gingrich to move to a small uninhabited Pacific island, so we aren't bothered

by his manipulative gameplaying?

[waiting for hope]

10. Didn't KO say the other night that

Newt will say anything that is deemed politically correct in the current situation? I don't trust him..

[Barack_America]

15. Oh, this is most certainly not politically correct.

He's talking about compensating teenagers to not have abortions. Can't make that easy money for swallowing a pill if you terminate the pregnancy, can you?

This is an ethics nightmare.

[marshall]

84. It's a backdoor way of interfering with choice

It's a double edged sword--some good and some bad.

[Enthusiast]

30. You don't trust Newt?

Oh, why not? He is just the slimiest Republican out there. He is as repulsive as Limbaugh.

[waiting for hope]

49. LOL - oops, forgot the disclaimer -

He's a repuke, therefore ....

[Bozita]

59. Yes, he did! ... KO's got this asshat's number.

[Wickerman]

11. Uh, yeah, that would be a start there, Newt

that would be a start. Regrettably, I don't think that undoes the damage you did years back.

[Barack_America]

12. This is fucked up beyond words.

So Gingrich wants to provide a cash incentive for pregnant teenagers to not have abortions and continue their pregnancies in a government-acceptable fashion? And how would we ensure that these teens comply with the government's "health" regulations? By making them swallow their pills in front of social workers? By sending them to camps where they can be monitored?

Wow. Gingrich was truly born at the wrong time, he would've been a tremendous hit in the Hitler administration.

[iamjoy]

24. What's Wrong With It?

What is wrong with providing teenagers or un-wed mothers money to help them support themselves and their child? What is wrong with making sure these women have access to good pre-natal care?

The problem really is who is saying it - in this case, Newt Gingrich - one of the party that doesn't believe in social welfare programs. This party that was willing to shut down our government in 1995/1996 rather than to adequately fund these programs. They took women off of the public dole forcing them to work at jobs that didn't pay enough to support their families. It is the party that doesn't want to fund school lunch programs adequately so that children in poverty can get at least one healthy meal a day.

And it is the party that really doesn't think women should get to decide what happens to their own bodies.

There's nothing wrong with the overall message here, I just don't trust the messenger.

[Barack_America]

29. Because I guarantee you his motive is not to increase the number of healthy pregnancies...

...it's to increase the number of pregnancies carried to term.

And you're right, you shouldn't trust Gingrich. Since when has he ever given a shit about teen mothers and their resulting offspring? All he and his party have ever cared about is that they don't abort their fetuses. Considering that has been his motive with every other policy he has proposed, I have to assume that is his motive here as well.

[CTyankee]

56. And, like so many male repukes, he wants to have some control over women's lives.

It's amazing that no one on this thread has picked up on that...

[Posteritatis]

74. If they actually *want* to carry the pregnancy to term...

... then I'm entirely unoffended with providing the means to make it more likely that their kids will be born on time and healthy. Gingrich is still an asshole, yes, but as someone who does give a damn about teen mothers and their offspring I wouldn't have any objections to them being given access to the things the kid will need while he/she develops.

I still think that if someone doesn't want to carry to term then they have every right to terminate the pregnancy. If they don't want to terminate, however, helping them through the pregnancy safely should be a priority.

[zbdent]

13. so ... which pharm giant gave tons of money to Newtie ...

so you know exactly which prenatal vitamins will be required by law ...

[KamaAina]

34. Given Newt's paleolithic attitudes, I'd guess these...

[FiveGoodMen]

42. My first thought as well.

[Psephos]

65. Pharm giants don't make vitamins

That's a generic, nonprescription market. I.e., there's nothing in it for them.

[get the red out]

14. Birth control?

But what would he and his wingnut friends do about making birth control accessible? Oh yes, GAWD doesn't like that! Of course if you are married 3 times, left your first wife when she was in the hospital with cancer, that's perfectly ok.

This nut just can't get enough of being in public. He is hoping to be around when Rush finally gets kicked to the curb or has a heart attack.

[tridim]

16. What's Newtie's plan after the baby is born?

Crickets..

[Deja Q]

22. Playing cricket with babies? No way! Who'll buy the wickets and bats?

[Rebel Scum]

27. Like Carlin once said...

"They're all for the pre-born, but once you're born...(raises middle finger)...you're on your own."

[Lars39]

53. Newt's orphanages.

Live your life behind bars, cradle to grave.

[llmart]

70. Maybe you're not old enough to remember this.....

but his plan used to be orphanages.

[slackmaster]

17. I thought vitamins caused autism

[struggle4progress]

69. I think the latest research shows autism is caused by the raspy voices of newts

[msongs]

18. how bout pay UNpregnant teens to take birth control pills, especially in Alaska nt

[bluestateguy]

19. Mandatory sterlization of welfare mothers!!

Just kidding.

But I once went out on a date with a girl who believed that this should be governmental policy.

There was no second date.

[Barack_America]

21. More like "bribe pregnant teens to not have abortions" nt

[No Elephants]

40. So...you and Adolpha Hitler did not hit off, huh? Not surprised!

[DBoon]

61. Mandatory sterilization of Republicans!

We can eliminate the menace of Gingrich in a single generation!

[Doctor_J]

83. Actually that was Newt's position in 1994

I wonder what changed his mind.

[Deja Q]

20. And if his party was still in control, would he even be suggesting any of that?

It'd be about self-responsibility, abstinence as a righteous thang, and so on. (nothing against waiting for the right person, but that's not the issue right now.)

Mind you, given the extreme nature of these times, I'm not going to heckle either - it's possible he's being sincere.

Or maybe he wants to accelerate the bankruptcy of Michigan, what with the attitude amongst many teens that sex is as casual as tying one's shoelaces or breathing. (Why Michigan only?)

I will agree utterly that we should encourage children to read. Our society claims education pays off (even though most who have made it rich dropped out of college, but whatever), so why not set an example from early on to the very end? Anything to combat the "nerd" and "geek" stigma attached to education.

Ditto for exercise. That should be put back into schools if it was taken out.

Sorry to rush this response; am on lunch break...

[Bluestar]

23. Newt, please turn your attention away from young girls who might be pregnant

It is just too creepy for words!

[groundloop]

37. Good ol' Newt

Good ol' Do As I Say and Not As I Do Family Values Newt.

I remember him all too well (he "represented" my district before he fell from grace), and I don't trust him any further than I could throw him. Newt will say or do anything to keep his face in front of a camera or microphone.

[defendandprotect]

38. Gingrich concerned with female health -- ???

Gingrich: Pay pregnant teens to take vitamins
Source: Associated Press
Gingrich . . . "The Chinese are Coming! The Chinese are Coming!" . . .

is somewhat correct about the connection between healthful nutrition and

birth defects --

Yes, you can take vitamins, or we can see that young women of child bearing age

are eating healthful foods. A lack of folate -- folic acid in its synthetic form ---

is strongly connected to SPINA BIFIDA and other neural cord disorders.

And, the connection seems to be about 10% in "Down's Syndrome" ---

Yet the government never undertook a campaign to alert females and families to this

shocking information about a decade ago. Finally, after a lawsuit, they began putting

folic acid into flour.

So eat raw fruits and vegetables if you are of child bearing age!!!

*******************************************************************


How about rather than paying girls to not get pregnant -- we pay males to have

vasectomies?

This GOP wants students to "exercise" while those programs are cut from our schools

by GOP?

Don't underestimate Gingrich -- he's quite a successful propagandist -- and while

he seems to think that the GOP owes him a leadership post or shot at something like

Prez, perhaps -- the right-wing GOP does seem to agree with him!

Gingrich is quite the destroyer . . . very succesful at it!!!

[Duer 157099]

39. Look, what he's really saying is...

that once you implement such a policy, is a natural progression to then say something like "you cannot collect welfare/food stamps/etc UNLESS you take these vitamins" - which then can morph into "... unless you take this DRUG" etc etc

[superconnected]

60. Interesting. Yeah, there does need to be nefarious corporate greed in there somewhere - it's Newt.

[No Elephants]

41. Newt is trying to make his Party more palatable to more people, while not making it

unpalatable to Neanderthals.

It's a delicate balance.

[Politicalboi]

43. And how much stock

In vitamins does Newtie have? There's got to be a catch here.

[MISSDem]

44. Is the world coming to an end? I agree with Newt.

Can this be happening?

[Barack_America]

48. Think carefully about this.

If he were truly concerned with the costs that children born to teenage mothers incur on the government, wouldn't there be better policies, such as free family planning (including birth control and abortion)?

Think about the interests of Gingrich and the Republican party with respect to big business and pregnancy. Does it become a bit more clear why Gingrich would be proposing paying teenagers to stay pregnant and take pills?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

63. The story said he proposed paying them to not get pregnant, not to stay pregnant.

[damntexdem]

45. How about paying not-yet-pregnant teens to take birth control pills?

Oh, sorry, I guess THAT would be socialism.

[TrogL]

47. There's a study showing daily vitamin use accomplishes little

Caveates:

1. I'll have to find the link.
2. They were looking specifically at mortality, not daily health or health of infants.

[depakid]

71. The time to be taking vitamins is BEFORE pregnancy

because by the time most girls knw that they're pregnant the damage has already been done.

see, e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_tube_defect

[Lars39]

52. Like Palin, he's going to say or do whatever it takes to keep his name

in the news on a periodic basis to build name recognition and momentum for 2012. What joy awaits us.

[Pharlo]

77. Not only that, he's doing his damndest to

target the more moderate Republican faction by, essentially, installing himself as the "Not Rush Limbaugh" candidate.

[Turbineguy]

54. Outrageous!

Next he'll be advocating birth control to high schoolers! Where will it all end? Will white people stop having babies altogether? Will they be out-bred by darkies?

And this non-smoking stuff? They should smoke and drink and drive!

I am outraged! Outraged, I tell you!

[mbperrin]

55. Teen girl 1 to teen girl 2: Wish I had some bucks to go to

the big (fill in blank here)! Teen girl 2: Just get pregnant, silly! Then they'll pay ya to take vitamins. Teen girl 1: Good thinkin'! Well, gotta make a call! Bye! Teen girl 2: Bye! (Click)

[Juche]

57. Newt is weird

He is an authoritarian wingnut, but he has good ideas now and again. Its hard to rectify those two things.

[superconnected]

58. Who'd he impregnate?

[JDPriestly]

62. Has Gingrich been travelling in Old Europe.

Next thing you know, they will be giving vitamins to moms in their 40s too. Good for Gingrich. This is the first good idea I have every heard out of his mouth.

[Ian David]

64. Frankly, I think Newt Gingrich is a fascist moron... frankly. n/t

[struggle4progress]

66. "The Center for Health Transportation"? WTF is "health transportation"? Sounds like BS to me

[Doremus]

68. I hope the repukes do this. Their base will go ballistic.

Then we can watch while they become the party of welfare queens. LOL

[Jefferson23]

72. The vitamins would have to be imported from China of course, lol.

No kidding though, Newt is probably gearing up for trying to restructure the GOP. I heard him some time ago before the election and he sounded terrified at the number of people who were attending Obama's rallies. He said, we, meaning Rethuglicans, need to be in the cities offering real help to the inner city youth blah blah blah! He is looking for political gains here, will be interesting to see how the rabid far right responds to his ideas.

[boston bean]

73. why doesn't he pay the boys to abstain? nt

[auburngrad82]

75. What? Don't they believe that abstinance is the way to go?

Or have they finally realized that abstinance doesn't work?

[Vinca]

78. How about chucking abstinence-only sex ed and teaching birth control?

[Blue_Tires]

80. WHY are Michigan legislators getting a lecture from a Georgia shyster ratfuck bastard?

whose state and record on teen pregnancy is even MORE fucked up?

[Doctor_J]

82. Newt's really evolved in 15 years

During the first Contract On america he would have wanted them imprisoned.

[sutz12]

87. Funny how the only motivation they can concieve of is money....

Pay them to take vitamins? How the hell does that work? How do you prove they actually take the vitamins?

How about we teach them good nutrition in school, including real scientific advice on supplements.

[tinrobot]

88. Vitamins are not health care.

He's only doing this to appear to be "compassionate"

If he's so concerned, he should fully support pre-natal health care.

[nichomachus]

89. How about we pay Newt to STFU, go away, and leave us alone n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

91. ...so when a 9yo gets pregnant these damn pro-choice people won't have that as an excuse!

Because, you know, she'll be healthy and they can't say it'll be dangerous for her health!